Newbie to Backing Up DVD's - need assistance please

[britlit22]

I am brand spanking new to backing up DVDs and I need HELP! I just got a new computer - it is a HP Pavilion that came with a DVD+RW/CD-RW Drive. The computer has Windows XP and came with RecordNow software (which won't allow me to backup DVDs because of the copyright issue) and also InterVideo WinDVD. I called up Best Buy (where I bought my computer) and asked someone there what software to use (meaning did I need to buy something extra). The girl told me that WinDVD is what I want and it should already be installed in my computer. So I put a DVD in and there is not an option to record/burn the DVD. I assume that the company wants me to spend more money and upgrade because I got an annoying pop up window about upgrading the WinDVD software.

That is why I came to you all - what do I need to do to back up my DVDs? I am very new to this and I have been reading the forums, but many of the terms that are being used I'm not very familiar with and I am also a bit overwhelmed by all the different routes that I can go... I just am not sure where to really start. I assume that I need to download DVD Shrink or a program similiar to that...

I would appreciate if anyone could help me and explain in "newbie" terms so I can hopefully understand what I need to do. Thanks so much!

[tsantsa]

The first thing you can do is forget about calling BeastBuy. They suck.

The second thing you can do is peruse the boards a bit more and consult the guides.

Thats what I did, and then got stuck AFTER reading tons upon tons of info. People are more willing to help when you already know a bit. Just browse and you never know what you may find brutha.

I don't mean to sound like an a$$ btw, I am a relative noob myself so I am just passing on some info to you.

[poopyhead]

first and foremost...copying DVDs is illegal. even copying DVDs that you personally own for fair use is illegal because you will need to break CSS encryption to do so. this is made illegal by DMCA. this is why your comp doesn't come with any software to back up DVDs..because it's ILLEGAL.

so...if you wanna back up DVDs, you need to get your own software.

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i suggest you read this over for a good overview: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/141024

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i personally use DVDshrink because it's one of the fastest, if not THE fastest, transcoder available. it's also FREE, while most other transcoders require you to pay money.

good guide for DVDshrink here: http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/dvdshrink2-main.htm

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Recently, compressed domain transcoders have reached quite some popularity. These transcoders are based on algorithms designed to recompress an MPEG-2 stream in real-time for TV broadcast. These programs can transcode an entire DVD movie in only a few minutes, because they do not have to decode and re-encode the entire video stream, but only part of it. I will not go into a detailed explanation of the mechanisms used as they are quite involved but basically what you get is a size (and hence quality) reduction per time unit that cannot be rivaled by regular MPEG-2 encoders (though the latter category can yield better quality).

[dcsos]

That's pretty annoying that they couldn't even give you a DVD player that
works without an UPGRADE..and such an ancient version of the program.. 2.3 not 4.0 -I'm going to recomend freeware that performs all the functions that an UPGRADED WINDVD would do if you don't wanna pay for 4.

THIS WON'T HELP YOU BACK UP DVD's but will help you play 'em..
ALSO is that a DVD+RW only
or does it also write to DVD+R?
as the earlier PAVILLIONS would only burn DVD+RW

go for PLAYER
www.videolan.org

[jdizzy40]

This post should of been locked. I don't care how new you are, follow the forum rules, by first reading the newbee section. Then after reading that if you still need help, I would suggest not posting such a "cry for help". You can read english, can't you? But it appears you didn't bother to read and want your hand held. Sorry, but I'm tired of seeing people start posting and yelling for help when they haven't spent any time reading the how to guides, cause if you had, you would not of made such a post to begin with.

[poopyhead]

@jdizzy40,

whoa!!!!!!!!!! don't get your panties in a bunch :P

[britlit22]

This post should of been locked. I don't care how new you are, follow the forum rules, by first reading the newbee section. Then after reading that if you still need help, I would suggest not posting such a "cry for help". You can read english, can't you? But it appears you didn't bother to read and want your hand held. Sorry, but I'm tired of seeing people start posting and yelling for help when they haven't spent any time reading the how to guides, cause if you had, you would not of made such a post to begin with.

Excuse me, but yes I can read - if you bothered to really read my post I said that I have been reading the forums, but with all the info and suggestions from people I found it to be overwhelming. What's the point of posting in the newbie section if you are going to get chewed out for your questions? That is why I posted here - because I am a NEWBIE. I can't believe how rude some people are on these forums. Not everyone knows what to do and yes some people may ask stupid questions (like myself apparently) but to insult people like the above person just did to me - is down right wrong. What ever happened to helping someone out? Geez! You sure know how to make a person welcome.

Thanks to the those of you that did offer some insight. I am going to try DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypyter I think they will work for me.

I guess from now on if I need help I'll go elsewhere - I'm afraid to ask any more questions for fear of being ripped apart and have my intelligence questioned.

[housepig]

@jdizzy -

Sorry, but I'm tired of seeing people start posting and yelling for help when they haven't spent any time reading the how to guides, cause if you had, you would not of made such a post to begin with.

yes, of course - every guide here is written in such a way that no one could possibly have any trouble figuring out which guide to use, or following them, or understanding the terminology.

I'm sorry, not everybody gets it on reading a guide. This guy has offered up a polite request for some help, indicating clearly that he's a newbie, and gives me the impression that if he's pointed in the right direction, he'll get it figured out.

And if you are so tired of reading newbie posts, why did you open a post with "Newbie needs assistance" in the title? That's like someone who bitches about nudity going into a strip club.

@britlit22 -

don't let jdizzy scare you off - if you have questions, bring 'em on.

[britlit22]

@britlit22 -

don't let jdizzy scare you off - if you have questions, bring 'em on.

Thanks for the support. I really won't leave this forum - I was just really PO when I read that response this morning. I'll be sure to let you know if I need help. I still haven't connected my new computer to the internet (which i'll do tomorrow night) once I do I'll download the 2 programs and see if that works out.

I do have the guides on DVD Decrpyter and DVD Shrink printed out to refer too, but it's nice to know that if I have a question someone out there is willing to work with a newbie like me!

Thanks again!