DVDxCopy (non-trial one)

[g_shocker182]

Ive heard a lot about this program and i was wondering if (for the 100 doller price) this will do everything that this site (dvdrhelp.com) has guides/ programs/ this forum for all in one step. if u have it please tell me everything that it does, as this would be helpful.

peace

[jdizzy40]

If you are just backing up movies and want just the movie and no extras, then you want the DVD X Copy "Express" version which sells for half the price you quoted. It uses just one DVD as opposed to using two. The DVD X Copy version keeps everything without compression, where as DVD X Copy Express does just the movie and compresses it to fit on one DVD disk. This is truly the only one step, no brainer program out there. If you want more control over what you do and want to "play around with different types of video, then you'll need to do some reading on this site. You won't find a better forum. But before you go buy, you may want to check out DVD Shrink 2.0 (the latest version). It's a gem, not a one click and go away program, but not hard to figure out and use with the guide. And it's free. All you need is a burning program like Record Now or Nero.

[mkelley]

Yes, I agree. Just to elaborate:

I bought DVDXCopy (and you get DVDXCopy Xpress free with it) and I really really like it for keeping the original movie quality absolutely intact. It will take any DVD and split it up among two DVDs preserving all the menus and extras (and quality). If you have a large screen TV or quality is your primary concern, there's little else that can do this without a tremendous amount of work.

OTOH, I use DVDShrink a lot for all my episode disks, and for any movie whose quality I don't need to keep perfectly (most movies over 90 minutes come on a DVD9 disk, which is the size of two DVDR disks -- so to back them up you either need to use two disks or compress the movie so it fits). DVDShrink is freeware, it works great and has a terrific interface, and I would highly recommend it for any episode disk or movie you want to compress.

The more tools the better...

[Dkreaky]

There have been alot of complaints about the DVDxCopy on this board and many places...

In my opinion it just depends on if you're willing to pay for it. If you aren't willing to pay there are certainly other methods that will do it for you. But for a "brand name" type of software, this would be it..

I use DVDXCOPY on episodic disks (however I will be tryin gout the method the poster above me does)

But just a note, Ive noticed that DVDXCOPY doesnt wotk on every episodic disk that I have tried (in which case i use a little ifo/vob magic and do it).. it also doesnt work on every movie I have tried... id say 90% success rate..

also depends if you want to split your disks up.. some people dont mind.. others do..
DVDXCOPY takes a long time too heh..
maybe its the same amount of time if someone were to Decrypt,VOB/IFO/edit, and then dvd2one (or dvdshring) it.. but it just seems longer since its a one step process.. just one click and youre on your way.

which is also its advantage.. if youre new to this game called backing up on DVD's then this is your solution..

I compare it like this..

DVDXCOPY and other "brand names" out there are like AOL.. simple and for the most part effective... defintely good for people who dont care enough to go through alot of steps, just point and clique.. you pay extra but for the most part get good results.


While the other processes listed here are like "non brand names" - definitely cheaper, and usually the same kind of output, but a little bit more effort.

up to you

ive heard alot of complaints about DVDXCOPY, but me personally I have never encountered any.

[mkelley]

I use DVDXCOPY on episodic disks (however I will be tryin gout the method the poster above me does)

I'm not sure if we've communicated on another thread (I'm on a lot of forums and I'm an *old* man :>) but if you are going to use DVDShrink on episode disks and want to keep perfect quality, just go to half of the episodes (easy to do within DVDShrink as it shows the PGC as well as previews any VOB you're on) and turn on compression level to 8 -- still images only -- and delete the audio. This will allow you to burn a 1:1 copy of the remaining episodes, complete with menus and all. Then turn around and do the remaining episodes.

The buttons for the episodes you converted to stills will still work and point you to the still frames of those episodes. I'm experimenting with using menuedit to get rid of even these buttons -- I won't try that until this weekend, however.

So far Shrink has not failed me on any episode disk -- whereas, as you note, DXC has some problems with episode disks (I suspect if they ever do release the Platinum version this will address this).

[Dkreaky]

apologizing ahed of time for this derail..

Mkelley do you know of any site that is specific instructions on how to use DVD2shrink with a episodic disk?

i know youre saying its simple and im sureit is.. but im at work currently and want to read ahead before i try at home.. heheh

thanks!

[mkelley]

Not the new version (there's a guide at Doom but it's for the 1.03 version of Shrink and *much* more complicated).

Let me see if I can describe it fully (although I truly think that once you bring it up you'll grasp it quickly):

1) Open up your DVD. DVDShrink spends a moment "analyzing" the disk. After that it presents the disk broken up into menus and episodes on the left.

2) You click on each episode and the preview will start playing automatically in the lower left window (you can change this behavior to only play when you want it to). It's pretty easy to identify the episodes in this manner, since you can fast forward through the episode to find the title, like in STTNG.

3) On the right there are various levels of compression for each thing you're looking at. The default is "No compression" -- you set it for Level 8 (still images) which gives the most compression for the episodes you don't want. At the lower right are the audio channels -- you uncheck these for the episodes you don't want.

4) 9 times out of ten this will get you a green bar at the top of the screen -- if so, then you press "backup", set it for where on your hard drive you want the files, and you're good to go.

If for some reason you don't quite have enough space you can go to the extras and change the compression there until you have enough space. I've never had a problem finding a way to do this.

5) Burn your disk using your favorite program (I use Record Now).

5) Go back and put "No Compression" on the episodes you compressed and add the sound back in. Now repeat the process for the other half of the episodes.

The one and only problem is when you have an odd number of episodes. My Avenger's disks, for example, have three episodes each. I could use the above and make three disks out of them, but I choose just to shrink the whole disk down to the appropriate level.

Make sure you get DVDShrink 2.2 (2.1 had some problems) and if you have any questions feel free to email me (I usually am good about checking and responding throughout the night).

[Dkreaky]

awesome man thanks