Backing up a PAL R2 DVD?

[Bob W]

Is it possible to backup a PAL R2 DVD? I mean can I use my computer DVD drive and SmartRipper to extract the files and make them region free? Also what about converting from PAL to NTSC, how do I do that? Thanks for any help.

[FulciLives]

Is it possible to backup a PAL R2 DVD? I mean can I use my computer DVD drive and SmartRipper to extract the files and make them region free? Also what about converting from PAL to NTSC, how do I do that? Thanks for any help.

Even if your DVD drive in your computer is "locked" to region one you can still rip any region disc or format of disc. Use DVD Decrypter in FILE MODE and just rip the main movie.

Run the VOB files through DVD2AVI to get a D2V project file and your AC-3 audio files (well most likely will be AC-3)

Now comes the fun part ... or the pain-in-the-ass part. Converting it to NTSC.

Basically you have to use a software MPEG-2 encoder (such as TMPGEnc or CCE or MainConcepts) to re-encode the PAL files to NTSC files.

There are two main ways of doing this. One method will synch up with the original PAL audio and works best when the PAL DVD is interlaced. If the PAL DVD is progressive then you can still use this method but with a PROGRESSIVE PAL DVD there is another method that will work and give even better quality but then you also have to convert the audio.

There is no real simple easy-to-follow guide but if you read through the two links below you will know all that you need to know to do this:

1.) http://www.geocities.com/xesdeeni2001/StandardsConversion/

2.) https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=160433&highlight=

The first link is to a website by Xesdeeni that is excellent but a far cry from a detailed step-by-step guide. Couldn't have figured it all out without him though.

The second link is a thread from this very website were several people (including myself, DJRumpy and Xesdeeni) get into the nitty gritty along with most if not all of the details you will need.

And I will say it now since you are probably thinking it. Everyone who asks usually brings this up. So NO you cannot keep the original menus unless you go through SO much work that ... well ... simply isn't worth it.

The second most asked question. No there is no simple ONE CLICK solution to doing this. There is no DVD2ONE or DVDShrink like program when it comes to conversion. The closest to that would be Canopus ProCoder but then again that is a $500 plus program and it doesn't really give you the control you really need if you ask me.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Bob W]

Hey that's some great information. I do have one question, how do I tell if a DVD is interlaced or progressive?

[FulciLives]

Hey that's some great information. I do have one question, how do I tell if a DVD is interlaced or progressive?

Either load it into Gordian Knot (can read D2V direct) or you can use VirtualDub but then you have to use an AviSynth AVS script to load the D2V but all you need in the script is the MPEG2DEC plug-in and the line that refers to the D2V file.

Find a scene with action (like someone walking or running from one side of the screen to another) and look for interlacing artifacts.

DVD2AVI will tell you if the PAL DVD is progressive or interlaced but it is buggy in that it will almost ALWAYS tell you that it is interlaced when it fact most are progressive.

Basically you need to eyeball it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[garryheather]

RE DVD2AVI - it might be buggy in some revisions - off the top of my head I don't know which version I use, but mine seems accurate enough. I haven't updated mine for a while, so maybe the newer ones are problematic, I don't know.

Since I live in the UK and DVD's over here are natively R2, can I just point out that you would be surprised how many films are interlaced and NOT progressive ? I'd say it's about 50/50.

[FulciLives]

RE DVD2AVI - it might be buggy in some revisions - off the top of my head I don't know which version I use, but mine seems accurate enough. I haven't updated mine for a while, so maybe the newer ones are problematic, I don't know.

Since I live in the UK and DVD's over here are natively R2, can I just point out that you would be surprised how many films are interlaced and NOT progressive ? I'd say it's about 50/50.

I use DVD2AVI version 1.76 and it works A-OK ... in fact I believe (unless things have changed VERY recently) that this is the preferred version amoung users.

However it has only correctly identified ONE PAL DVD as being PROGRESSIVE. There are many PROGRESSIVE PAL DVD discs that I've ripped and run through DVD2AVI only to have it INCORRECTLY state that it is INTERLACED.

That's why I always "eyeball it" using GORDIAN KNOT.

I live in the USA but have many PAL DVD discs but admittingly not as many as someone who lives in a PAL country but having said that most of the PAL DVD discs I've seen have been PROGRESSIVE.

In any event the moral of this story is you can't trust what DVD2AVI tells you when it comes to PAL and the INTERLACED/PROGRESSIVE thing.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman