Just a few Questions for you Pros out there

[nickelzy]

1. I know that the various software programs claim that it doesn't matter, but I'm wondering if there is any potential problem that might result from one using his computer while DVD Decrypter is ripping a movie or while CopytoDVD is burning a movie? I had some problems a while back with stuttering and freezing and even though I have corrected those problems (at least for now) I don't want to do anything that might cause any additional problems. And all I'm really talking about is opening up a couple of programs at a time such as MS Word, Internet Explorer and sometimes Photoshop.

2. What does dual layer mean? I've read several times people making comments about a dvd having a dual layer, but I have no idea what that means.

3. Due to reviews and posts that I've read, I've decided to move away from DVD Shrink (for now) and use DVD Decryptor and Intervideo DVD Copy 2. I saw some comparisons someone did with various programs and Intervideo DVD Copy 2 looked the best in terms of quality (followed closely by Pinnacle Instant Copy). DVD Shrink looked very average. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed using DVD Shrink for the last month and it's treated me well the last 80 movies that I've copied. However, my concern is that right now I have a 53 inch Sony Projection TV and it's only a matter of time before I upgrade to even better quality watching (which will also include BIGGER!) and I just want to make sure I'm copying at the VERY best quality that I possibly can even if that means I have to shell out some $ for a program to do so. Any thoughts on this?

[andkiich]

1) I generally don't do anything else on the PC when it is burning a DVD. I just don't want to cause an underrun situation and potentially make a coaster. Other than that nothing should effect transcoding, ripping, muxing, etc.

2) Dual layer refers to the physical DVD disc. A DVD-5 has one layer, a DVD-9 has 2. A DVD-5 can hold 4.7GB of data and a DVD-9 double that. The laser of the player or drive changes intensity and focus and reads one layer or the other. Right now, the market has DVD-5 burners, and soon there will be dual layer burners.

3) I've never had any problems at all with DVD Shrink. I find I have more quirks with the stand alone palyers than with the PC software used to make DVDs. I've only had my shrunk DVDs as big as a "42 projection, but even those look almost as good as the original, depending on compression. I'm usually playing the backups on a "36 inch Wega. If you have the money to spend on more software, go ahead and buy it, or if there is a trial period check it out.

[Jayhawk]

I do occasional surfing while the ripping process is going on but like andkiich I tend to leave it alone during the actual burning process. I think a lot of it depends on your configuration (cpu, memory, hard drive configuration, burner memory).

I used DVD2ONE for a little while and then Shrink for quite a while. I have a 60" Sony and an 84" DLP projector and it's very difficult for me to see much of a difference on movies less than 2 hours. That's especially true with non-action types. I read some of the same articles you have and yesterday picked up a copy of Intervideo's DVD Copy express. So far I've only backed up one disc and it looks great. Just not sure yet whether it really is better, or if I'm just trying to justify the purchase ($17). I do plan on doing several longer movies this week.

It really isn't the money per se, it's what to spend it on. If I actually KNEW what the best was, I'd probably buy it.

[nickelzy]

Hey Jayhawk, how 'bout that NCAA Tourney last year? Still sting?? Still having nightmares of GMac nailing down 6 3's in the first half or are you having that one where Warrick comes from nowhere to block the last second shot attempt?

GO ORANGEMEN!!!!

(I couldn't resist - I'm a Syracuse alum. I usually don't talk sh!t, but I figured I'd better get it in now while I can because I think our run is most likely going to come to an end sooner than I'd like )

[northcat_8]

I will do other things while ripping but I don't do anything else while transcoding or burning.

When I first started I did and I noticed when I backed up training day, I opened Word while IC7 was transcoding. when it was done there was a flash of green pixels. Only place in the whole movie. So I re-encoded it and didn't do anything during the process and it came out great. So from then on, I don't do anything while transcoding. Hell, I even disable the screensaver

[dafreak]

When i'm burning disks or encoding, etc. I usually just start the operation and walk away. I turn up the volume on my computer and make sure each step plays a sound when it's complete.

Sometimes, I'll browse the net or whatnot but I won't do anything that is too cpu intensive.

3. I'm pretty particular when it comes to quality. I use several different programs depending on my needs. If i can't get a movie to fit on one disk using dvdshrink with no less than 80% compression, then I'll load it up into clonedvd and completely eliminate extras, etc. If I don't like how much clonedvd will compress the disk, then I load it back up into dvdshrink and reauthor to movie only.
I'll use dvdfab, dvdstripper, and ic8 if i'm not satisfied with what clonedvd and dvdshrink produce.