I just got my Dr. Who new series (whoo hoo!!!) Kids like em and so do I. As usual I want to back them up... just in case.

I am admittidly a newb with all of this and i like easy and automatic. I really like the DVD Shrink feature but I do not like the method that Shrink uses even on unshrunk video. Meaning even when only shrinking menus I do notice 'something' off in the unshrunk material.

Here's how I get around it. I still use SL (vs DL but if the prices keep falling...).

I use DVD Fab Decrypter, VOB Blanker, and DVD Shrink.

I'm not going to get into too much detail but it's really easy to keep whatever you wish at max quality on a SL assuming the difference to fit on SL is in video you don't mind shrinking.

Make a full backup using any decrypting SW. I use DVD Fab Decrypter. Then create a 2nd backup using DVD Shrink at max shrink settings. Go ahead and remove any audio you know you'll never use. I perfer to remove video in VOB Blanker.

Use VOB Blanker to open the full quality backup.

Delete everything you don't want. When I did this on Dr Who disc 2 - only keeping the 2 and 3rd episodes I was over a SL by about 110MB. I noticed that I had 2 menu cells totaling 170MB. Preview shows nothing - but that's OK (and wrong). I'm pretty sure they are the opening 'time tunnel' video leading to the main navigation menu.

I save VOB Blanker (so I don't have to repeat any cuts I have made) and close the full quality backup. Then I open the Shrink copy in VOB Blanker. I navigate to the same (shrunk) menu cells. These are only 50MB. I extract them (right click>extract all>one file per cell) to any place you remember. I use Desktop.

Close the VOB Blanker shrink copy and load the full quality copy back into VOB Blanker. I go back to the full quality menu cells I want to edit. Highlight each cell and press replace. Navigate to where you saved the extracts and press open. Make sure you press 'apply' and that's about it.

Afterwards it occured to me that you can do this with end credit cells or any cell you choose, etc.

For me the benefit was that I was not using Shrink to save anything I wanted at full quality. I don't understand why on my TV - regardless of setting - saving unshrunk material with Shrink does look altered from the original but this way fully bypasses the program from touching anything I want at full quality. (Which is another way of saying that VOB Blanker does not 'tweak' any saved full quality material.

There may be an easier newb way but I haven't found it. Anyway... I thought I'd share. Hope it helps someone.