Can't copy Columbia Tristar movies! Expert help needed

[dafoe]

I posted this problem about 7-8 months ago and nobody seemed to know the answer. I'm having the same problem and it's driving me nuts!

Normally, I backup movies by ripping all the files to my HD. After that, I put the last half of the main movie VOB files in a different folder. At that point, my VIDEO_TS folder is under the 4.3 GB limit and I burn as a UDF 1.50 disc using NERO.

After that, I reverse the process. I put the files that I left out on the first disc into the VIDEO_TS folder and take out the ones that I burned earlier. I then burn this folder the same way I burned the first disc. Obviously I leave the file containing the menu on both discs.

When I am done, I have two disc that behave exactly like the originals- all menus and special features and no re-encoding (loss of quality) . The second disc picks up where the first one left off.

This has worked for well for over 100 movies. I've even sucessfully burned single layer Columbia Tristar movies (With Record Max Now only).

BUT, when I try to use same method with Columbia Tristar dual layer discs- Spiderman, The Patriot, I Spy, Black Hawk Down, etc- I have major problems.

Prassi Primo DVD refuses to burn them at all- it asks for a blank DVD, even though there is one in the drive. Stomp Record Max Now gives me an estimated record time of 90 minutes and then spits the blank disc out. Yes, I actually have a 1x burner. A normal full dvd takes 60 min, not 90

Nero is the only one that will actually burn the disc. When it is done burning, my PS2 wont read it at all. My good DVD player which does a great job of playing anything- incuding DVD-R will get part way through the menu and another screen will superimpose it self over the top half of the main menu. Or, it will just freeze at the first or second menu.

It is impossible to access the special features on most of these discs. But most of them will play the main movies.

Two movies that wont even play the main movie are: I Spy and Sleepless in Seattle. Both these discs (the originals) will bring you to a second screen after selecting "Play Movie" or selecting a specific scene. You are then given a choice or Widescreen or Fullscreen. On the copies, this is the point where the disc freezes.

I am lost. Does anybody have a clue what is causing this or have a ssolution? I have tried everything. I am desperate!

Thanks everyone.

[DivXExpert]

Are you on a mac or pc? what are you using to decrypt? I recomend DVDDecryptor, just select all files, then decrypt.

[andydd]

I used to use the 'just chuck half the vobs on one disc n the other half on another' approach but you WONT make a compatible disc, some players may play it but other will deff have problems. If you really want to split it properally then use Ifoedit (its free) or DVD X Copy. Or now a better method would be to use IC or DVD2One or DVD95copy to compress everything onto one disc. Do some reading n youll soon be making great discs wether they are coumbia tristar or not !

[dafoe]

Thanks for the tips. I am on a PC and I'm using DVD Decryptor.

The problem with DVD2One is that it compresses the files to fit on one DVD. This kind of defeats the purpose of backing up to DVD instead of VHS. I have a high end home theater system, so I want true DVD quality.

I have tried IFOEdit many times, but as far as I can tell it is only good for strippng streams from the main movie. I tried the "split to 2 DVDs" method and it didn't work. I want the main menu and all the extras- not just the movie. But to be honest, I don't have a clue as to how to use this program. All the tutorials involve compressing to one disc. which is exactly what I don't want.

[Trust_No_1]

You should give IFOedit another try. Trust me it works perfectly. I use it and RecordNow to back up all my DVD's including Black Hawk Down etc.

Here's a link to a Doom9 guide which gives you step by step instructions on how to splt a DVD-9 to 2 DVD-5's.

http://www.doom9.org/mpg/ifoedit-2dvdrs.htm

Good luck!

[dhluke]

DVDToolMan or something... It works like DVDXCOPY as far as I know... It will split the dvd into two dvd-rs... I haven't tried it myself, but I've seen other people on this forum very pleased with the program performance. Give it a try and it might solve your problems.

dhluke

P.S. Sorry don't know url for it but a search on this forum or google should spit out the url...

[Bob W]

Why don't you just use DVDX Copy which gives you the exact quality of the original? I have never ran into a DVD that the program couldn't copy.

[dafoe]

Thanks for the tips. I will check them out ASAP. Right now, I'm going to bed.

It still blows me away that this is only happening with Columbia movies. I don't understand it.

[andydd]

Well...Using your 'cutting' method there is obviously sometyhing in Columbia dvds that it doesnt like.........it may be an menu or trailer hidden away somewhere.

Like everyone else said try Ifoedit or DVDxcopy..bit of a pain to learn it all but worth it !

[dafoe]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I want to give special thanks to Trust_No_1. That link was great. I followed the instructions, and my copy of I Spy now works perfectly!

After doing some experimenting, I found that as long as I loaded the movie into ifoedit and clicked on "get vts sectors" the copies seem to work fine.

I'm on a P4 1.7 with 256RDram, a 7200 rpmHD and a 16x DVD Rom. I'm still getting ridiculous rip/read speeds- it's never more than 1.5. So I hesitate to use any process that will slow down the rip and copy process . This ifoedit program does exactly what I need it to do in a very time efficient manner. Always a plus.

Once again, thanks a lot guys. More proof that vcdhelp.com has the best userbase. In some forums newbies (or people asking stupid questions) would get nothing but attitude or silence. You guys came to my aid. I definitely couldn't have figured this out without that link. Thanks

[crudux-cruo]

I had a problem with Spider-man too. I used Smartripper to extract the VOBs. Can't tell you the hell I went thru. Anyways, what I finally did was use DVD2SVCD v1.1.0 (I believe) w/TMPGenc and followed Doom9s DVD2SVCD instructions verbatim. I made a flawless 3 disk SVCD.