ripping dvd, newbie questions...

[VideoNoob123]

i read that dvd decrypter can do it and dvd shrinker but whats the difference? i installed both and both seem to make an iso file or other file so that should be it?

2. when i rip them can i also make the file as other files for portable devices etc.? (i have bought some dvds from walking dead, outer limits etc.).

[Kerry56]

DVD Decrypter was an excellent decryption program when it was shut down many years ago. DVDShrink had minimal decryption capabilities, but also had the ability to compress the movie to a smaller size, still in DVD-video format.

They still work for many DVD's but you will run into some with structural protection that neither can decrypt properly. I would suggest using a more modern free decryption program like TDMore Free DVD Copy for those that won't decrypt with either of the older programs.

Once you rip the movie to the hard drive, convert to a format useable in your portable devices with Handbrake or VidCoder.

[hello_hello]

I still use DVDShrink for ripping because I always convert the video and mostly the ripped files need to be prepared properly for the conversion software I use. Some programs such as Vidcoder or Handbrake let you open a DVD and pick the bit to encode (movie or episode) but for other programs you need to do that yourself before encoding. DVDShrink's re-author function makes it nice and easy to rip just the movie or individual episodes which it outputs as individual sets of vob files ready to encode. You can also edit in re-author mode. I sometimes use the edit function to remove studio promos from the beginning of a movie before ripping.

Of course if you want the original video unaltered, you need top stop DVDShrink from doing any "shrinking". If you set the output target size to something large in preferences (DVD9 or more) you won't need to think about it. By default DVDShrink is set to output DVD5 size rips.

DVDDecryptor can no doubt do most of the above and more, but I've not used it a lot. They'll both output ISO files but they both also output the same ifo and vob files etc as you'd see on the original disc. An ISO file is kind of like a zip file for discs. In fact many compression utilities (WinRAR, 7zip, TugZip etc) will open and extract the contents of ISO files. If you're using a player that can open ISO files directly and play the video within they can be more convenient as everything's in a single file.

If you encounter a DVD with copy protection neither program can cope with, you can run AnyDVD in the background removing the protection "on the fly" and generally that'll allow you to rip using older programs as they just see a disc with no copy protection.

MakeMKV is another option if you want the original video and you're not interested in re-encoding. It'll rip the contents of a DVD as save the video/audio etc as MKVs.

[VideoNoob123]

Wow. Thanks a lot for the replies and so fast! Ok will try it when im back more. I hope it will work well but have few questions:

1. If i encounter on some ptobs and need any dvd is it free or which version do you need to buy?

2. I tried out dvd decrypter and dvd shrink a bit yesterday and converted with both to files. DVD decrypter gave me only video_ts and dvd shrink gave me video_ts and audio_ts. Is audio_ts not needed? And when i change in dvd shrink to dvd9 then the quality is unaltered is it?

3. I got 3 blu rays and 1 blu ray series. Is it possible to rip those too? I didnt ask first cause i thought it might be too new but why not ask. . I just dunno how much space is needed lol

Thanks to you!

[Kerry56]

1. The TDMore program I mentioned is free to use. So, it is nice to have in reserve if you find a DVD that gives the older programs some problems.

2. The Audio_TS folder generally isn't needed, and isn't necessary at all if you are converting with VidCoder or Handbrake to another format. The Audio_TS folder is always empty. If using DVDShrink, make certain to set it to use No Compression. Under Video, there is a drop down list that normally shows Automatic. Set this to No Compression. Or for a more permanent solution, go to Edit-->Preferences and set it to output to DVD-9 as has already been suggested by hello_hello.

3. The only good decryption program for Blu-Ray that is free to use is MakeMKV. And it is only free while in beta. You will need to download the beta key each month from their forum: http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053 Or download and install new versions of the program as they are released.
When ripping Blu-ray, you have two choices in MakeMKV. You can get just the main movie as an mkv file onto the hard drive using the normal function. Or you can get the entire disc ripped to the hard drive using the Backup Mode (click File-->Backup).

Commercial Blu-ray discs vary in size from about 18gb, all the way up to 45gb in my experience. Main movie only will be smaller of course.

[hello_hello]

AnyDVD isn't free (unless there's a free version I'm not aware of). I think there's a free version of DVDFab that rips and there's no doubt other alternatives (ie MakeMKV), but I've stuck with the DVDShrink/AnyDVD combination myself. Well AnyDVD HD. It'll remove the copy protection from Bluray discs as well as DVDs and can run in the background also. I'm pretty sure it'll rip Blurays itself but I run it in the background and rip with the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Stream Extractor. The link is for the standalone version. It's also built into MeGUI which I use for re-encoding. Clown_BD comes to mind as an alternative. No doubt others will suggest alternatives. MakeMKV will rip Bluray discs for free while it's in Beta, which it has been for years.

The audio_ts folder isn't required. I think DVDShrink has an option not to create it. Or it might have an option not to create either the audio_ts or video_ts folders. I can't remember exactly. They're only needed when burning the files to disc and a burning program will create them if need be. Be sure to check the options when the "backup" window opens. There's settings in there which aren't in "preferences" for some of those types of options.

If you set the target output size to DVD9 you should be safe (no shrinking so the quality is unaltered), but you can always check if DVDShrink is compressing (it's shown after opening a DVD). Or set the target size to something even larger. I have it set to 50,000MB, so I can open a disc, re-author, open a second disc (I have more than one drive but you can add previously ripped files), re-author, add a third disc.... and then use the backup function to save the whole lot in a single folder without having to remember to manually disable the compression so DVDShrink won't try to "shrink" it all.
Depending on settings DVDShrink may disable some streams (ie foreign language audio or subtitles etc) so if you want "everything" it pays to check, even when using "full disc" mode for ripping.

Bluray ripping is pretty slow. Maybe 45 minutes or more just for the ripping and anything up to around 40GB for a full movie with audio etc. It depends on the video type, but 15GB to 20GB would probably be typical. And you'd probably want at least as much free space again for combining the video and audio into a single file (I use MKVMergeGUI) or for re-encoding it. I haven't ripped a Bluray disc for a while, and my memory isn't fantastic, and newer Bluray drives might be faster at ripping than mine, but that's in the ballpark.

I see Kerry56 beat me to a lot of that while I was typing......

[DJ_ValBec]

I had use DVDFab like forever [ http://www.dvdfab.cn/ ] and the latest version get the job done.

P.S.
Low DVDFab 8.x.x.x versions are free to use.
Latest stable version: v.9.1.7.1 (11-17-2014)

But ...is More !
How to used DVDFab after the free trial expired:
Follow my last post as Mrguss:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/threads/i-need-something-like-dvdfab.747844/

Good Luck.

[VideoNoob123]

thx really soo much for the tips and help, i didnt expect this as in another forum people were always bashing........

with one dvd (wrong turn love the movies hehe) dvd decrypter and dvd shrinker didnt work, i googled the error message and it seems those are too old....
so i installed the Download DVDFab 9.1.7.2 Beta and it could analyze the disc, but how can i rip the whole disc? is it possible in the trial? and without quality loss?
and when i have Video_TS and Audio_TS folders, how can i convert those to a) iso or/and b) mp4?

wow, i think blurays will explode my disc space hehe, guess i will wait with those and enjoy them like it is now.

oh and before i forget and have it on my reminding list:

dvd decrypter or dvd shrinker are enough, if not i shall use dvdfab.

[DJ_ValBec]

...I didnt expect this as in another forum people were always bashing........

There is few web-sites where is great to be par of it. & this one is one of them !


Try to use the stable version v.9.1.7.1 & also Watch the tutorials for ripping the whole disc, without quality loss or convert or wherever you are doing.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DVDFab+9+Tutorial
DVD-Fab 9's are All in one. No need for an extra program.

NOTE:
- It became an ISO after is encoded to be save on HDD or printed into the black DVD.
- DVD-Fab decrypt the ISO file from the original DVD Movie into a .vob ( .ifo , .bup & VOB extensions). All this subfiles can be save in the HDD or modify as you please.
- I personally use DVD-Fab for Ripping only. Then I "upgrade" the video file (Main Movie Only) the old fashion way using other Programs and to not loss any quality like when you convert to mp4, etc.
- Keep dvd decrypter & upgrade it for ImgBurn (https://www.videohelp.com/tools/ImgBurn)
- Also keep DVD Shrink as the old fashion guy(s) of the block.


Good Luck.

[hello_hello]

thx really soo much for the tips and help, i didnt expect this as in another forum people were always bashing........

What said what?!? Actually I'm a little curios. I've not read bad things about this forum elsewhere.

and when i have Video_TS and Audio_TS folders, how can i convert those to a) iso or/and b) mp4?

DVDShrink can open a folder of ripped DVD files the same as it opens a disc, then you can use the back-up function to create an ISO file. You can choose to save to a folder or single ISO file when the backup window opens.

If by "convert to MP4" you mean re-encode the video, Vidcoder is possibly a good place to start. It's not overly hard to use.

[bemused]

Quick Question. I've succesfully burned many old video tapes to .vob files on many DVDs. Now, I'm copying those vob files from the DVDs onto my internal HDD (Windows 7, Intel Core i7; 16 G RAM; 64 b). All the DVD vob files play fine in VLC Media Player (and on my PS3). But, around 10% of the DVD vob files will not copy-and-paste to my HDD using Windows Explorer. Any suggestions?

[Kerry56]

Quick Question. I've succesfully burned many old video tapes to .vob files on many DVDs. Now, I'm copying those vob files from the DVDs onto my internal HDD (Windows 7, Intel Core i7; 16 G RAM; 64 b). All the DVD vob files play fine in VLC Media Player (and on my PS3). But, around 10% of the DVD vob files will not copy-and-paste to my HDD using Windows Explorer. Any suggestions?

If you have complete DVD-video structure on these DVD's, you can rip with DVDDecrypter, DVDShrink (using no compression), TDMore, etc. The decryption/ripping programs work just as well with unencrypted discs as they do with commercially made DVD's.

[hello_hello]

Quick Question. I've succesfully burned many old video tapes to .vob files on many DVDs. Now, I'm copying those vob files from the DVDs onto my internal HDD (Windows 7, Intel Core i7; 16 G RAM; 64 b). All the DVD vob files play fine in VLC Media Player (and on my PS3). But, around 10% of the DVD vob files will not copy-and-paste to my HDD using Windows Explorer. Any suggestions?

It sounds like the burn quality is bad and the drive can't read the disc properly.
DVDDecrypter (it's been a long time since I've used it so can't offer specifics) has an option for how many times it'll keep re-trying when the drive hits a section it can't read properly. I'm pretty sure if it can't read the entire disc it also has an option to fill what it can't with dummy data so you can at least retrieve the rest, but that's not idea.
If you have access to another PC or a second or third DVD drive etc, try another drive. Sometimes when one drive has problems with a disc another might still be able to read it. I've moved discs back and forth between three or four drives in the past before managing to copy everything, but sometimes a disc is just unreadable in places no matter what you do.

[bemused]

If you have complete DVD-video structure on these DVD's, you can rip with DVDDecrypter, DVDShrink (using no compression), TDMore, etc. The decryption/ripping programs work just as well with unencrypted discs as they do with commercially made DVD's.

Thanks much Kerry56, but Decrypter, Shrink, Imageburn, etc keep encountering an error. It's frustrating that I can view the tracks on VLC media player, but not copy them anywhere.

I was stationed in El Paso many years ago, and love West Texas; Ft. Davis, Big Bend, etc.

[DJ_ValBec]

...It's frustrating that I can view the tracks on VLC media player, but not copy them anywhere.

RE-RIP the file with DVDFab or any other ripper program, etc. Chances are that you file is corrupted.

Good Luck.

[hello_hello]

Thanks much Kerry56, but Decrypter, Shrink, Imageburn, etc keep encountering an error. It's frustrating that I can view the tracks on VLC media player, but not copy them anywhere.

Video players probably skip bits that can't be read, or maybe you've just not tried to play a specific part of the video that can't be read, but Windows won't copy part of a file. It's all or nothing. Which is a good thing otherwise you could be copying corrupted files without knowing, but it's why you might need to use a ripping program rather than just copy with Explorer. As I said, you can tell DVDDecrypter to keep going while inserting dummy data to replace what can't be read properly. It might be worth a try to see what you end up with.