DVD to 2 DVDRs

[phillip9]

I am not a programmer but I follow this forum with great interest. Like many others, I am interested in being able to back up my DVD collection. I use DVDBackup when the file sizes total under 4.3 gigs. When they are over, I try to delete non-movie files until I get below 4.3 gigs.

However, when the main movie vobs total more than 4.3 gigs, that's when you have to resort to other means. To back up my copy of of a movie that has for example 6 vobs that total > 4.3 I remove "vobs 4, 5,and 6" from the VIDEO_TS folder produced by DVD Backup and burn the remaining VIDEO_TS folder. That DVDR cames out just fine and I can play the "first half" of the movie from the retained menus (you do have to be careful not to click on a scene that is no longer in a vob on the disc).

I then remove vobs 1,2, & 3 from the Video_TS folder and replaced them with vobs 4,5,& 6 but rename these vobs "1, 2, and 3." Again I burn the DVDR. Now, here's where it gets interesting. In one of my set-top DVD players (Panasonic) the 2nd DVDR plays fine, except that if I ask for, say scene 10, I get scene 17. I figured that's because scene 17 is now in a file renamed vob 2 instead of vob 4 (etc.), and the machine thinks I'm asking for the second scene in vob 2. I know this isn't the most desirable way to go, but at least I got a "usable" backup of the movie and I watch continuously from start to finish anyway.

BUT, in my other set-top DVD player (a Sony), the second DVDR freezes at the beginning of each scene and is not usable. So, clearly my approach is NOT a universal solution to backing up a long movie ... it may work with some DVD players but not with others. I would like to know why. (Anyone know?) But, it's quick and dirty taking less than 2 hours to create two DVDRs with about half the movie on each. Since 1X disks are under $1, and 4X disks about $2, using up 2 DVDRs isn't that much more costly.

Now to the main point of this post. The above method is unreliable (as well as unorthodox); isn't there some way a programmer could create some generic ifo. bup and vob1, vob2, etc. files that would allow one to do this sort of thing more successfully? Each of the two discs would have the proper number of vobs but half would be artificial, small ones that keep the total size under 4.3 Gb I know this is very unorthodox and may not even be possible. OK, now, let me have it!

[KaiCherry]

We wrote a piece of software *just* for you

(Ok, I wrote it for *me* but...I think you will like it )

see: http://homepage.mac.com/kaicherry/ and check out DiscomVOBulator and DiscomVOBulatorPlus.

-K