Encoding errors

[zeretul1]

Hi all,

It has been awhile since I posted here.

I am trying to backup my season 2 set of buffy, but cannot get the last disk to encode. I have ripped it with DVD Decrypter and DVD Defabber, used VOB Blanker on the ripped files, and tried to encode it with DVD Shrink and Nero Recode 6, but I cannot get it to fully encode. Most of the time in Shrink, I get an error message at 99% encoded, which take about 1.5-2 hours because it is a full backup.

After the error, the program crashes. I get something similar in Nero, although it errors randomly.

I have narrowed the problem down to the VOB 5 section, which seems broken or corrupted, but I never get an error ripping it.

Any ideas? I was thinking of trying to generate and burn an ISO, but I don't know if that will work any better.

Any help is appreciated.

[guns1inger]

Have you tried FixVTS ?

[zeretul1]

I tried the FixVTS and RipIt4Me programs, and tried using them on the whole DVD and just the problem VOB file, but no joy

I am still pretty sure that the culprit is VOB 5.

Any other good programs?

[zeretul1]

Bump

[guns1inger]

Can you get the movie out of it with VOB2MPG or ReJig ?

[zeretul1]

Had never tried those programs. By using a combination of the two, I am able to get a few files, but they are without sound and cannot be used to make a backup DVD.

I still find it odd that the other 5 disks in this set backed up without issue, but this one is trouble. The disk doesnt appear damaged, so I am confused.

Any other ideas?

[zeretul1]

bump.

Really want to get this done.

[guns1inger]

It could be as simple as a manufacturing fault, and you aren't going to get the back-up done. It happens, and there is little you can do about it. If it plays, you have little recourse to return it.

[zeretul1]

Well, I have tried everything suggested, and nothing it working, so you may be right.

If that is the case, that sux!

If anyone else has anymore ideas, I'm all ears. If not, I guess this one will slip by.

Thanks for all the replies!

[manono]

What happens when you use PGCDemux on the IFO containing the movie (on the hard drive)? Will it demux everything? Don't forget to check the "Demux Video Stream" box.

[zeretul1]

The DVD is comprised of several prime VOB's, due to it being a TV show DVD.

When I run PGDemux on all the IFO files, I get video files and demuxed audio files.

I do not get the menus, or extra features.

[manono]

Geez, doing it this way, you might actually have to learn to encode.

Demux into different folders all the episodes and extras you want to keep. Encode them. Author them all separately using Muxman. Open the original DVD in VobBlanker and Replace one-by-one the episodes and extras with your reencoded and reauthored ones. Process. That's how you get your reencoded episodes and extras back into the DVD, keeping the menus. And with much better quality, I might add (if you do it right), than anything DVD Shrink will hand back to you.

I realize that doing this sounds kind of daunting, if not impossible. But you're the one having trouble, not I.

If you can demux whatever's in that last Vob that's giving you trouble, then you might be able to use DVD-Rebuilder as the front end for the reencoding.

[zeretul1]

I am a noob, I admit. I have been backing up my movies for awhile now, but have only learned as much as necessary to do it.

This is the most difficult DVD I have ever run across, so I am glad and frustrated for the challenge.

I have the demuxing program PGCDemux you suggested, but it only opens IFO files. The output it produces is incomplete, missing parts of the vob files, the extras and menus.

Is there another good demuxer? Also, when you say "encode them", how would I go about this? I can follow the rest of your post about using the VobBlanker, but this is all new to me.

It does sound like a challenge, but I am happy to play along to achieve the end result.

Any other words of wisdom from the collective experts here?

[manono]

I have the demuxing program PGCDemux you suggested, but it only opens IFO files. The output it produces is incomplete, missing parts of the vob files, the extras and menus.

That's the idea. Demux each episode into its component parts, the M2V, AC3 audio, SUP subtitles (if any), and the Celltimes.txt file which contains the chapters. If you have more than one episode or extra per IFO, then use the drop-down box to get the others. If you don't know where the different episodes and extras are by just looking at or playing the Vobs, then open the DVD in VobBlanker and start previewing stuff. You're not getting the menus. You'll get them back later when replacing the reencoded episodes and extras into the original DVD.

Also, when you say "encode them", how would I go about this?

Depends on which encoder you plan to use. And I use AviSynth to frameserve. HCEnc is free and good. But look around for a guide for whichever MPEG-2 encoder you plan on using.

[zeretul1]

Ok, so an informative reply to all.

I got bogged down with other videos and left this one alone for awhile. I eventualluy re-ripped it from a friends copy and tried to go through the usual process, and got the usual result.

After updating all my ripping programs and trying again, I tried a different transcoder. in this case, it was PowerDVD Copy. It transcoded the DVD pretty fast with no errors and spit out the new disk which played perfectly. This is from the same base ripped folder that DVD Shrinker and Nero Recode 6 could not do without errors that crashed them.

I also ripped another disk that reported as too large in Shrinker and Recode to fit to disk, and it worked without issue in PowerDVD Copy.

Is this program really that good, or are the others I have been using just past there prime?