DVDbackup vs. Mactheripper

[Direwolf]

I want to backup my commercial DVD movies. Which of these apps is better, DVDbackup or Mactheripper?

Also, is Toast 6 needed to burn the DVD2one output, or can Toast 5 do it?

Thanks.

[hovispresley]

Both are free, you can try each and decide for yourself.
I have used dvdback and have never had a problem with it. Each does the same job (although you can rip out just the movie with mac the ripper)
You can burn dvd's with toast 5.
Hope this helps

[WiseWeasel]

MacTheRipper removes RCE protection as well, and doesn't require you to play the DVD with DVD Player first. Also, it rips DVDs from different regions than the drive is in. It's also undergoing active development, whereas DVDBackup is good as dead (unless the author can find a way to charge for it, which is unlikely since he's a USian).

[strpyw]

I am glad to have mactheripper to help rip dvd.
With myG4cube, i still have to double check the folder size after mactheripper finished the job because many times the ripping is complete.The job would stop and appeared it is over, but indeed, many times,it stopped because i have mutlitasking going on, it hiccups and quits without saying so .Bottomline, instead of saving time, it takes more times to do the job again, Now i don't do more than one job at a time, but may be just because my cube is only 450 hz.

[WiseWeasel]

Hmm, that is quite an annoyance, especially for those who might not think to make sure the folder is the right size. I'll pass the suggestion on to Geezerbuttz, and hopefully he will be able to find a way to notify the user whether the process completed successfully, or if there was an error. You can also hit the "i" button at the end of the process and check for any errors printed on the last line there.

[strpyw]

Thanks for the tips about using i button.
It is not a matter of annoyance to me, may be perhaps i am compulsive.
But it is true that mactheripper is less stable if there is multi-tasking.
I am using mactheripper as the dvd ripper as choice exactly you said, dvdback up has stopped its development.And mactheripper is more slick, not having to play the dvd by apple dvd player first.And i don't have to create a folder for the VIDEO_TS folder to go in.I am sure the next version of mactheripper is going to get more stable etc.

[WiseWeasel]

Exactly how is it unstable? Does it actually ever crash? If so, we'll need to get some data from you to get the issue fixed. Please describe the symptoms of the instability, along with what kinds of multitasking might interfere with it. I always multitask while ripping, though I have a dual processor Mac, so maybe it affects me differently.

[SERBIAN]

My vote goes to MacTheRipper...Works very well and it keeps getting better with every update...Authors listens the comments and working on improvements very fast...

[strpyw]

Mactheripper has never crashed. But it stopped ripping the dvd and at a glance one may thought the process is complete until checking the designated folder.It happened a lot if i have several programes running at the same time.Like using toast to burn a dvd, browing the internet, itunes activity or dvd player to play a movie(i have an external dvd burner, so if i am not burning a dvd, that can be used to check out another dvd etc).
For the badly fomatted dvd disc, the same situation happended. For the same situation, DVD BACKUP would have an error message.

[WiseWeasel]

Well, we'd like to know what kind of errors you find in the info drawer (when you click the "i" button), but I doubt it's in any way related to multitasking, as OS X is very good at resource management and memory protection. We can be reached at mtr@wormintheapple.gr for support.

[tgpo]

I am glad to have mactheripper to help rip dvd.
With myG4cube, i still have to double check the folder size after mactheripper finished the job because many times the ripping is complete.The job would stop and appeared it is over, but indeed, many times,it stopped because i have mutlitasking going on, it hiccups and quits without saying so .Bottomline, instead of saving time, it takes more times to do the job again, Now i don't do more than one job at a time, but may be just because my cube is only 450 hz.

Strange. On my 450mhz Cube I've never experienced that problem. I can multitask all I want and it doesn't kill MTR. How much RAM do you have?

[brett]

mtr is NOT unstable ime -- it's been rock solid

[Ladd]

Re: MTR -- is the process finished or not?

FWIW: I agree that if it is not too much trouble, having some sort of "I'm done" notification would be nice.

[Direwolf]

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm a total noob to DVDs.

I gave MTR a try with the animated feature, Spirited Away. It took about 45 minutes to rip using the movie-only option on a G4/933. Awesome app! Kudos to Geezerbuttz and/or Wise Weasel.

So, my next question would be: in DVD2one, do I want to do a DISC COPY or MOVIE COPY in order to have a working DVD menu and scene selection? Or is the menu/scene selection not possible?

(I realize I could probably figure it out by trial-and-error, but unfortunately, I don't have access to this Mac often so I'm trying to save time.)

[deadsierra]

So, my next question would be: in DVD2one, do I want to do a DISC COPY or MOVIE COPY in order to have a working DVD menu and scene selection? Or is the menu/scene selection not possible?

Disc Copy copies EVERYTHING on the disc, menus, alternate features, trailers, FBI warning, and all. The movie copy only copies the main feature, with chapter breaks. You want Disc Copy if you want everything.

[Direwolf]

Hmmm, but I only ripped the movie using the Movie-Only option in MTR, and the output folder is something like 4.9GB (vs. 7.71 for the whole DVD)?

Sooooo, do I want to do a DISC COPY or MOVIE COPY in order to have a working DVD menu and scene selection? Or is the menu/scene selection not possible?

Sorry if I'm mistaken in any way

[deadsierra]

Hmmm, but I only ripped the movie using the Movie-Only option in MTR, and the output folder is something like 4.9GB (vs. 7.71 for the whole DVD)?

Sooooo, do I want to do a DISC COPY or MOVIE COPY in order to have a working DVD menu and scene selection? Or is the menu/scene selection not possible?

Sorry if I'm mistaken in any way

If you ripped the main feature title then you should pick Disc Copy to get the menu. If you literally only ripped the movie, then you don't get menus. Disc or Movie, it doesn't really matter at this point. Note that I haven't experimented with this all that much, I always just copy the whole disc.

[Direwolf]

Sorry deadsierra, I miswrote

I meant to say that I chose the "MainFeature" rip option in MTR. Can I assume that would include working menus and scene selections with "DiscCopy" in DVD2one?

Or am I "making an ASS out of U and ME"?

[deadsierra]

Sorry deadsierra, I miswrote

I meant to say that I chose the "MainFeature" rip option in MTR. Can I assume that would include working menus and scene selections with "DiscCopy" in DVD2one?

Or am I "making an ASS out of U and ME"?

The Main Feature mode should rip the main titleset, which should contain the main menu and the movie. It might remove the FBI warning too, but I don't know, as I haven't tried. Use the Disc Copy mode in DVD2oneX. It won't hurt. (unless it does)

[Direwolf]

Since I only have access to a superdrive Mac a few hours per week, I was hoping to not have to experiment too much.

Maybe Wiseweasel can clarify the "Main Feature" rip option?

[deadsierra]

Since I only have access to a superdrive Mac a few hours per week, I was hoping to not have to experiment too much.

Maybe Wiseweasel can clarify the "Main Feature" rip option?

Unfortunately, everything to do with computers ends in "in theory". The Main Feature option will rip the main title set, which in most movies, includes the main menu and the movie. The Disc Copy feature of DVD2oneX will need to be used afterwards to maintain the existence of the menu. If you do the Main Feature rip to Disc Copy on DVD2oneX, you should maintain the menu while losing all the extra crap. In theory, that should work perfectly, but remember, all DVDs are different. If yours was authored by a monkey, this may not work at all. But, it should, so give it a shot. Its probably the best solution for your particular needs.

[WiseWeasel]

Main Feature mode in MTR will only back up the movie only, and none of the menus or extra features. If you wanted menus, you should have done a Complete Disc extraction, and then done full disc mode in DVD2OneX. If you did Main Feature mode w/ MTR, no matter what you choose with DVD2OneX, you'll get only the main feature, without any menus or extra features.

[Direwolf]

Ahhhhhhh.

Thanks wiseweasel and deadsierra.

I guess I was trying to modify Galactica's method for a movie-only backup (http://webpages.charter.net/ernsta/highquality.htm) but instead of using DVDbackup in step 1-2 of his procedure, I was trying MTR's main-feature option instead.

So if I do a Complete Disc Extraction in MTR, and then continue with Galactica's instructions, this should work?

Sorry to take up so much of your time. I appreciate your prompt responses. The Mac "community" continues to impress me even after 18 years of being a Mac-head. Long live this forum.

[deadsierra]

Main Feature mode in MTR will only back up the movie only, and none of the menus or extra features. If you wanted menus, you should have done a Complete Disc extraction, and then done full disc mode in DVD2OneX. If you did Main Feature mode w/ MTR, no matter what you choose with DVD2OneX, you'll get only the main feature, without any menus or extra features.

Really? I thought Main Feature did the menus as well. Oh well, I guess I've just been giving huge amounts of false information, no harm done.

[galactica]

So if I do a Complete Disc Extraction in MTR, and then continue with Galactica's instructions, this should work?

yep, should work just the same
just using a differnet ripper is all

ill update my site soon to use the new apps on the scene, just no time now....

[Direwolf]

Well, it's done.

I chose Main Feature in MTR.
Then Disc Copy in DVD2one.
And finally Toast 5 for the burn.

I now have a working copy of Spirited Away with the following results:

The movie loads up immediately with no FBI warning and no dvd menu. And now that I think about it, I like this way better for my kid since he won't have to press anything to start watching the movie. Obviously, there's no scene selection since there's no dvd menu, but he doesn't need that. Chapter forwarding/reversing works. Fast/slow forward/reverse works too. Same with the English subtitle I chose in DVD2one. Now I don't have to worry about him scratching up the real dvd.

Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome and quality of the DVDr. There was some pixelation for the first 2 seconds of the movie, but that's about it.

Next, I'll give Galactica's advanced DVD to DVDr method a try using MTR and DVD2one. Great tutorial, Galactica.

Mactheripper ... fantastic program. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the responses, everybody.

Bye

[WiseWeasel]

If you wanted menus, you should have done Complete Disc mode in MTR, and then done Galactica's tutorial.