New to the game, few question...

[CXChrisman]

Hello all,

I just got myself an LG DVD Burner, and I have decdided to get into backing up my DVD movies...

In any case, I tried out DVD X Copy Xpress, found it easy to use, but found that some of the DVD's came out with a somewhat blocky image(as in black sqaures would appear on the screen as though it was loading somethin, just like satalite dish or digital cable unscrambles channels) or sometimes little pauses...

In any case, I read a little more and got some tools like DVD2One, DVD Shrink, and Smart Ripper...

I am using some blank DVD's by a company called Pine...

My process to backing up a DVD is as follows:
1. Rip with Smart Ripper(Only the movie)
2. Process with DVD2One
3. record in Nero Express at 2x

I still notice that I get some of those blocky sqaures on the screen, the pausing seems to have vanished but there are still traces of it during the movie...

My question is do any of you guys know what the prob is? Maybee even a way to resolve it? Also, which DVD drive should I use to read the DVD? I have 2, the new burner, and a Toshiba DVD Rom...

Second question, if I want to back up a full movie, menu's and all, what is the best program for that, but that also keeps the quality fairly similar to the DVD9...

Thanks for any help you guys/gals can offer, sorry for all the newbish questions...



CX

[jarvis1781]

Sounds like you will have a lot of fun messing around with all the new programs out there.

In any case, when you do find a method that works for you, that will be the one to stick with.

In any case, since there are so many different ways to back up DVDs you just have to find one that will satisfy you.

[poopyhead]

My question is do any of you guys know what the prob is? Maybee even a way to resolve it?

well...when you compress a movie, you are essentially removing the bitrate (lowering quality), so blockiness is unfortunately a side effect.

however, try burning at 1X and c if problem goes away.

also, try playing your DVD-R on your PC and see if the blocks are there. if not, then it could be your dvd player not liking the media, etc...

check out your dvd player info here: https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

dvd media info here: https://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia

Also, which DVD drive should I use to read the DVD? I have 2, the new burner, and a Toshiba DVD Rom...

1) DVD burners are usually locked at 2X ripping speed, so should prolly go with DVD-ROM, as they rip faster. however, as i recall from awhile back, toshiba DVD-ROMs were sometimes locked at 2X ripping as well.

2) "ripping" increases the wear-and-tear of the drive, so you should prolly use your toshiba to rip....as it's much cheaper to replace a DVD-ROM ($30) than a DVD burner (~$160+)

Second question, if I want to back up a full movie, menu's and all, what is the best program for that, but that also keeps the quality fairly similar to the DVD9...

that's gonna be hard to do. lets say a DVD9 is fully utilized (i.e. somewhere around 7.8 GB) if you were to keep everything, you would need to compress nearly 8 GB onto 4.38 GB. this is almost a 50% compression, so don't expect too much.

if you want the best quality you can get, you would have to use CCE to re-encode the video. transcoders do not have the best quality, but they are easier and quicker to use. i've used DVDShrink to backup full DVD9 to DVD-R...the quality still looks great on my 32" TV. however, i'm sure there are others who would disagree with me.

here's quick summary of transcoders: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/141024

[graysky]

Don't use a compression method, DVD looks so good and crisp, why sh*t all over that by compressing? Do a 1:1 copy.

1. rip
2. fix and split
3. strip out audio
4. burn to 2 dvdrs (some movies fit on one)

Consult my webpage for guides (URL in sig).