i have no idea how to copy my dvds to a blank dvd

[kmnyc7]

ive been trying for the past week to take my dvds nd copy them to blank dvds, ive tried mac the riper, handbrake, u name it ive tried it, i have a Mac OS X 10.4.10 and if any1 can help me get a free or really cheap and easy program id appreciate it

[tomlee59]

First, be a bit more systematic. Study the How To guides on this site. Do a search of this forum for relevant information.

https://www.videohelp.com/guides

Next, when asking for help, you're more likely to get specific and useful answers if your questions are similarly specific. What about those tools was unsatisfactory? Without telling us that information, we're likely to give you suggestions that will have the same problem. Just saying "I tried this and that, and it didn't work" doesn't give us much to go on.

[kmnyc7]

well i uploaded dvds from my friends hard drive nd they were in .avi but i dragged it into idvd nd it took about 2 hrs to burn, what i want to do is take movies that i have, rip them to my computer, and then burn them to a blank, i wasnt systematic and im not sure what the issues where, ive downloaded programs such as mac the ripper, but it creates sum folders with .vob files nd i have no idea what any of that means, i dont mind paying alil money but i just want a quality step by step program that can rip the dvd to my computer nd then burn to a blank dvd.

[tomlee59]

You seem to believe that there is a magical way to do this without knowing anything. Sorry. You're going to have to read and learn at least a little bit about WHAT you need to do, and HOW to do it, before you can do it. My advice: Stop flailing. For pete's sake, read the guides -- start with the link I highlighted. Also look in the left-hand column of this forum. Read the "What is DVD" section to get some education on what a DVD contains, file-wise. Mac the ripper may have done exactly the right thing, but you haven't done the simple homework to know it. And to take the next step -- burning -- you need to understand the previous step. The people who created this site have spent a great deal of effort to generate tons of helpful material for newbies just like you. Take advantage of their collective insights!

Here's a summary of what you'll be doing, once you've gotten a little more learnin' in ya:

1) Rip the DVD to your hard drive.
2) Make sure the result will fit on the blank DVDs you intend to use. This is not a problem if you are burning dual-layer discs. If you are using single-layer blanks, then you may have to compress things to make the movie fit. This will degrade video somewhat, and/or force you to discard unused language tracks, special features, director's commentary, etc.
3) Using a suitable burning tool (like Toast or Nero), burn the result.

But before you can do any of this, you need to learn what "rip" means, what a "suitable" burning tool is, etc.

[kmnyc7]

yea i read all the guides and what not but i still dont know how to creat a legit copy nd burn it so me writing this post was to get specific programs to help me do this.

[lawnman]

Go to ripdifferent.com and then read MacTheRipper - Frequently Ask Questions.

[kmnyc7]

ok i got a program called burn, and im only using the movies that i got from a friend cuz i still cant find a legit ripping program, but the movies i got from his hd are in .avi format when i put in in burn it converts it to mpg but i dont get the full movie... it comes up at being 2.2gb large and i miss out on 30 mins of the movie, what do i do

[terryj]

Mac The Ripper is a legit ripping program for DVDs.
Toast Titanium 8 is a legit burning program that also
can transcode .avi files onto a DVD and make them properly fit.

Your friends .avi files will need to be transcoded into mpeg-2 files
(audio/video) to create a DVD. It also sounds like the program
will have to be smart enough to also compress the avi while transcoding
to fit within the DVD spec. Toast Titanium 8 can do this.

Amazingly, I'm on tomlee with this one.
MTR does a heck of a job, and is the default ripper
for the Mac. Version 3.0.14f is the most current version.
A simple look over their website will give you the answers
to your needs as how to purchase, how to make a successful
rip, etc.

That being said, there are NO FREE solutions to achieve a successful
backup of a DVD, from ripping to burn. (By Free, I mean that doesn't
cost you SOMETHING). In your case, it will be both Money AND time
to learn the steps successfully.