cool new package DVD2DVDR ... !

@defense
I know that the guides say to make two versions of the video using pulldown. One with drop_frame and the other without. Then you go through Maestro putting the non drop_frame on the time line, import chapter, then remove the drop_frame video, put the non drop_frame on the timeline, import the subtitles, etc.

Boy is that long. Don't need to do it. Just make the video with drop_frame. Trust me and try it. (Here's the secret: the chapters might be off by 2 seconds per hour ... I haven't checked this and is so small I don't care)

@sfxwe
I don't use DVDx V2.1. I'm not real enthusiastic about YET ANOTHER tool. Right now I use three tools
1. DVD2DVD-R version 1.3.4 for most of my encoding.
2. DVD2SVCD when I have some special issue with DVD2DVD-R. I like this program almost as much as DVD2DVD-R. Its easy and even automatically makes the decision on whether to do "force film". It runs pulldown (but without drop_frame; but that's usually ok because I don't need subtitles most of the time... heck I don't read all that fast and then I can't watch the movie )
3. DVD2one when I know there will be no transcoding or at least very little. I haven't decided how much to accept yet but I have an uncomfortable feeling about the quality issue. Don't get me wrong I think DVD2one does a good job ... but I can do better and its not that much trouble.

So now comes along InstantCopy and from what I have read by mb1
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143486&start=40
the quality is excellent and clearly better than DVD2one. However, the processing time is also longer and I certainly do not want to take up valuable real estate on my DVD for menus and extras (give me better quality video). Mb1 said something in one of his posts that it is possible to change the registry to avoid the extras. If that is so, I'm very interested in this product and would buy it if it looks 98% as good as CCE. It could be the solution I have been waiting for. It looks like this product does something akin to vbr (variable bit rate) in CCE to decide where and how much to transcode. Very interesting stuff.

So I don't see that I'm going to have the interest anytime soon to look into DVDx. Hope you understand.

[sfxwe]

@robw......


Hmmmm, never mind I found it and it doesn't offer DTS or more than one sub .......

Dude I totally understand......your world doesn't revolve around us, your just trying to help is all.......all is good

[defense]

I know that the guides say to make two versions of the video using pulldown. One with drop_frame and the other without. Then you go through Maestro putting the non drop_frame on the time line, import chapter, then remove the drop_frame video, put the non drop_frame on the timeline, import the subtitles, etc.

Boy is that long. Don't need to do it. Just make the video with drop_frame. Trust me and try it. (Here's the secret: the chapters might be off by 2 seconds per hour ... I haven't checked this and is so small I don't care)

thanks again for the info, if you get a little time, you should consider a guide, especially if that drop flag method of yours works every time. The other method which you mentioned, is the one I got from the guides, and if it works, it doesn't work consistently. Two other quick questions though. One, so you are essentially saying to just make one pulldown file with the drop frame and use that for everything, chapters AND subtitles, right? I would add my chapters first, with the semicolon in Chapter EXtractor, and then add the subtitles, would that be correct? And second, just out of curiousity, have you ever seen or heard of that asset overlapping error in Maestro? Thanks once again robw!

[Mordant]

Hi there,

I just tried DVD2DVDR version 1.38 and it went well up until the part where IFOedit was to be called for authoring.

For some reason my Control Panel and Add/Remove programs came up and then froze, and DVD2DVDR ended with an error.

Any ideas why this might have happened?

I was able to manually finish the process so no big deal, just wondering why Control Panel and Add/Remove would appear.

@Mordant

not sure why that happened but for me it freezes after CCE has completed. After getting out of DVD2DVD-R using task manager I complete the project by running pulldown and authoring. Problem is that the audio is out of sync. Anyway, I have reverted back to 1.3.4 which works very well.

[sfxwe]

After running DVD2DVDr V1.3.8 and getting to the point where it hangs I took the output file from CCE and checked it in DVD2AVI it of course said it was film and progressive and frame rate was 23. I ran pulldown on the file and got a new m2v with dropframes. When I watch this in DVD2AVI the spot where it shows progressive is flickering from progressive to interlaced really fast, so what gives? Did I do something wrong, the movies seems to play ok.........

The movie was LOTR and I checked all of the options in DVD2DVDr except top filed first as Bitrate viewer said Top Filed first = NO.



Any ideas?

[KungFuCow]

Since questions are being answered about DVD2DVDR and encoding, I might as well toss this out.

I have been attempting to use DVD2DVDR and CCE to backup a couple of movies. I go through the whole process according to the guides I have seen, master the DVD with Maestro and play it back and find the audio is off by a few seconds. This happens to me on EVERY dvd I work with.

Anyone got any idea what I could be doing wrong? I am doing a pulldown on the movie after CCE finishes and Maestro masters the dvd with no errors.

I go through the whole process according to the guides I have seen, master the DVD with Maestro and play it back and find the audio is off by a few seconds. This happens to me on EVERY dvd I work with.

I found the same error when using version 1.3.8. I also had problems with hanging after CCE was finished but the program would not proceed on to the next stage. I have not had problems with audio using v 1.3.4 and very seldom had problems with hanging. Until these issues get resolved I will stick with 1.3.4

By the way, starting with 1.3.6 the program began using MPEGDecoder by Nic which is faster and replaces DVD2AVI and mpeg2dec.dll; however, seems to not be working yet for NTSC (not sure about PAL).

[KungFuCow]

Hmm.. I have 1.3.5, that's the oldest version I have. I can roll back to that one and give it a go, I suppose. Do you have a link for 1.3.4? I looked back in this thread a few pages and didn't see one.

version 1.3.5 gave correct video sync for me, the only issue I had with that release was that it usually hung after CCE was finished. At least for me 1.3.4 was more reliable in completing the job. The only time 1.3.4 every hung was when I was simultaneously using my computer and running DVD2DVD-R - which is specifically mentioned as a thing not to do.

[defense]

The movie was LOTR and I checked all of the options in DVD2DVDr except top filed first as Bitrate viewer said Top Filed first = NO.

@sfxwe, it is known that bitrateviewer does not always give accurate results. It is also said to "always" check upper field first whendoing NTSC films.

This will be true for over 99% of NTSC theatrical films.
The same is also true for LOTR. You should have checked "upper field first." If you don't see any play back issues, then I guess you can consider yourself lucky, but keep in mind, that I never used bitrateviewer and only used the options chat walker said to set for Progressive films, and have not had a problem yet.

If you hit the "help" tab within DVD2DVDR you can scroll down and you will see that it tells you to have ALL options set to TRUE, EXCEPT Linear Quantizer Scale. So basically, you should check four boxes. Upper Field First, Progressive Frames, and Zig Zag Scanning Order, followed by "force film."

Out of all of these options, I think the only one you could get away with checking or not checking is "linear quantizer scale." If you read some of my last posts with robw's responses, then you will see why. I don't check this option at all now, but the few times that I did, I had no playback issues or quality issues. Changing any of the other options from true to false and vice versa, such as with "upper field first", you can expect to encounter problems. Hope this helps

[defense]

@robw, or anyone that may know the answer to this. I just got a message from DVD2DVDR that said "does not find a valid key." It gave me a box that looked similiar to a keygen program, and it asked me to select a key. This error came up for the movie "The Firm" NTSC. This has never happened to me before, and I have never read about this problem on this thread or any others. I noticed that on Mission Impossible, when it started to rip the movie I paid attention to what the key said and it read: C0 05 4E 6B 50.

Again, this JUST occurred for the first time, and I tried it several times with the FIRM and it still won't work. I am going to try to leave all "0" and hit "OK" and see if I can get this to work. My question is, does ANYONE know why this error occurred, it must be something interesting, but it's only happened on this one movie, at least so far. Also, should I use another number or just leave all "0?" Thanks in advance

under the Settings Tab go to the General Settings section and click on the option: "Keysearch Every Cell-ID"

Hope that works for you, let us know.

[defense]

robw, I just tried that and this time I got the same error message but worded just a little different. Instead of getting the error saying DVD2DVDR does not find a valid key...it said DVD2DVDR does not find a valid key for "cell 1." It added the "cell 1" on there and this time I didn't get a "key" box to be able and choose from. When I test try it the other way, without "Keysearch every cell ID" I get the first message followed by a key ID box where I can choose my own key. I tested that method and left it at all 0's and DVD2DVDR begin to rip the DVD, but I'm not sure if allowing it to do it's thing with all 0's will cause any kind of other problems. What do you think?

[dhluke]

You should rip the DVD with DVD Decrypter in ISO mode and mount the image with D-Tools. That way the keys will be removed and there shouldn't be any problem with DVD2DVDr...

Hope that helps....


dhluke

[arcorob]

Okay, I found this and tried yesterday, version 1.38

First, it installed fine.

Ran for a time but when it got to CCE 2.50 (which I did not have) it bombed.

So I got CCE 2.50 on the web. Started again.

This time it bombed with a known bug, CRC error. SO I applied a known patch to TURN off CRC check.

tried again. Ran to completion after 6 hours and 5 minutes start to finish on a 2 hour and 34 minute movie with AC3 and subs (Gladiator)

It left behind a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS file which I will burn today with Nero and try. I HOPE it did not create a PAL or I will be ticked after all that effort....LOL

[KungFuCow]

If you used IFOEdit to master it then you will probably have problems. IFOEdit has some sort of bug when it comes to mastering NTSC movies. I use DVD2DVDR to rip and encode then DVD Maestro to master.

[arcorob]

It used IFOEDIT and I have used IFOEDIT with REMPEG2 process with complete success...Will let you know in about 1/2 hour.

[KungFuCow]

Cool.. let me know how it turns out. I have done 1 movie using DVD2DVDR and let IFO master it and it turned out fine but after reading here, apparently that is a big no-no. Of course, I also didn't do a pulldown on that movie either and I guess that's where things get dicey.

FWIW, I rolled back to 1.3.5 and ripped About A Boy, did a pulldown and remastered with DVD Maestro and it turned out fine, no audio sync issues whatsoever so I guess the audio problem I have been having was introduced post 1.3.5.

[arcorob]

The disk is burning as we speak.

Normally, I use the STEP by step method of
SMARTRIPPER , ripping the streams
REMPEG
IFOEDIT

found here
http://www.dvd2dvdr.com/IfoEdit.htm

It works 100% every time, beautiful But I use single pass CBR instead of two pass VBR. I really could not tell you how VBR is better , but thats what this defaulted too.

Actually , last time I used 2 pass VBR was with TMPG a while ago on specs found here and it did not work well. Then I went to basics and beautiful. sometimes simple is better.

If this works , I will post the links to DVD2DVD-R 1.3.8, the CCE 2.50 and the patch. 5 minutes to go...LOL

[arcorob]

Well, the good news and the bad news

The good news

The picture is perfect , beautiful, no motion blur or jitter, no blockiness.

The bad news

I have a Cinema Craft Encoder banner in the lower right corner UGGHHH.

Okay, so here is the deal. I need the key. I can't buy a key for 2.50 from CCE because it is old release. I can't upgrade because the DVD2DVD-r 1.3.8 won't work with it.

Experiment....Total waste. I will stick to the freeware that is just as good even if a few more steps. Time is the same. Sigh...

[defense]

You should rip the DVD with DVD Decrypter in ISO mode and mount the image with D-Tools. That way the keys will be removed and there shouldn't be any problem with DVD2DVDr...

Hope that helps....


dhluke

Thanks for the info, but that won't work for me because I am still using version 1.3.2. The reason for using the older version is because I have NEVER had any problems with it, and the newer versions seem to have numerous bugs. The newer versions are also able to retrieve info from the HD as opposed to just the DVD drive, as v.1.3.2 is, but I will stick with what has been working for me. Thanks again for the info. I decided to brush the cob webs off good ole' DVD2SVCD and use that to rip this movie, and it worked perfectly. Seems like whenever I get stuck on something, regardless of what it is, good ole' DVD2SVCD is there to bail me out. Anyway, thanks again for the info. I"m still wondering what "caused" this error to occur in the first place, and why ONLY with this particular movie. I haven't heard about this error from anyone before, so it seems interesting and i'm wondering why it occurred.

[sfxwe]

@defense

sfxwe, it is known that bitrateviewer does not always give accurate results. It is also said to "always" check upper field first whendoing NTSC films.

I thought I read in this thread or in the DVD2SVCD thread to always use the biterate viewer findings , so this is not true?

Out of all of these options, I think the only one you could get away with checking or not checking is "linear quantizer scale."

I thought the RobShot method @ Doom9 said to always use this ....... So when you use it, you get problems? I can't seem to find your post with robw response ......

Out of all of these options, I think the only one you could get away with checking or not checking is "linear quantizer scale." If you read some of my last posts with robw's responses, then you will see why

Also, what program are you using to make sure it is truly progressive? Or interlaced? Man, here I thought I was getting the hang of this, lol...... the learning never ends. I guess I will be doing some more reading in the forums tonight again.........

[Chatwalker]

@defense

You have to go to the Settings-Tab and increase the value for 'CSS Detection Search Size'. This is the number of blocks DVD2DVD-R will search for a key.

If DVD2DVD-R did'nt find a key you can enter a known key (maybe from DVDDecrypter) in the window you told from (Keygen )))))).

Regards
Chatwalker

[ArrogantBastard]

Chatwalker:

Your package is down right incredible. I have been reading this thread since it started, but I didn't have a burner until last week. I installed v1.3.8 ran two backups (Mallrats and Unfaithful) that did not require CCE and both have run perfectly.

I have also ran one through using CCE and it ran successfully through DVD2DVDR, but I have not authored it yet so I am unsure of its final status.

But overall I have not had a single lockup or hang. I am backing up NTSC sources and have read that their may be a problem with audio sync, but your product is looking pretty strong.

Thank you for all your hard work. I will post updates on my progress with v1.3.8. If the audo sync is a know problem, let me know. I don't want to double post.

AB

[KungFuCow]

Are you letting IFOEdit master the DVD or are you doing it by hand?

[defense]

@Chatwalker, thank you for your response and help. I will try that method on this movie, or any other that this problem may occur with in the future. We haven't heard from you for awhile, so i'm glad you dropped a line. Even though many others have seeminlgly abandoned this program for the other two programs which require less effort, this program is still the ABSOLUTE BEST, and is incomparable by any other. Thanks once again for this outstanding program.



@sfxwe, I know it seems a little confusing because certain guides do say certain things, but they aren't always accurate. This is the case here.

I thought the RobShot method @ Doom9 said to always use this ....... So when you use it, you get problems? I can't seem to find your post with robw response ......

Yep, the RobShot method does say to use linear Quantizer Scale all the time to get the most out of CCE. But there are also threads/guides at doom9 which have factual information to prove that method is not always correct.

robw can give you the more complex side of this, but in more general terms, that "robshot" method has contradictions. There are threads on the doom9 forum which basically say that it is NOT always accurate to use Linear Quantizer Scale, and there are very complex forumals as to why not. Also, as far as bitrateviewer goes, there really is no need to use it. I personally think it makes things more complicated then they need to be. For example, I always use "Chatwalker's" formula for progressive NTSC films. It has worked FLAWLESSLY each and every time. Basically, what bitrateviewer is doing, is showing you what the BEST settings are for the "ORIGINAL" film.

The problem with that is that you are heavily compressing the film's bitrate, and therefore, what settings may of been appropriate for the original, are not precise for the .m2v. For example, the Linear Quantizer Scale. From the research robw did, that function is used mainly for higher bitrate movies. Because we are lowering the bitrate considerably, there is no reason to use that option. As I said, I've done numerous projects with DVD2DVDR and leaving Linear Quantizer Scale unchecked works perfectly. Being that is the case, I think your best bet is to just check the "four" options I mentioned, and DON'T check Linear Quantizer Scale. You should not have any problems using those options. I think robw and myself, as well as anyone else who only use those options, will be glad to verify those are the best options for NTSC films. Hope this helps.

[ArrogantBastard]

KungFuCow:

I manually author using DVDMaestro because IFOEdit has a problem with pulldown. I have let DVD2DVDR author with IFOEdit twice just to see if the process would complete and it did without a hitch.

AB

[sfxwe]

this program is still the ABSOLUTE BEST, and is incomparable by any other. Thanks once again for this outstanding program.

I second that, as I still just use this one single program.

@defense

yes sir, yours and robs info is ALWAYS welcome and it really helps me out, so thank you for your response.......man i just hope this thread doesnt die .......

Ok, defense I will use your method, but would still like to ask a couple of more questions if I may.

1. Again, how can I tell if the DVD is progressive or interlaced so I can make the correct settings in DVD2DVDr. Do I just set it to what the window says at time when it pops up when u load a DVD. Example, DVD2DVDr has detected that this may contain progressive frames......blah blah blah. If this pops up then check off all boxes EXCEPT for linear Quantizer Scale . If that window never pops up then it would be interlaced?

2. If it is interlaced then what do we choose for use for us NTSC guys?

3. In guides I have read regarding force film, drop frame and pull down. Most of the guides show me how to do the pulldown, but I came across one guide I think at DVD2DVDr.com that adds a second line to add the drop frames. It was in the CCE guide. What is your take on this? After running pulldown do I run this then if it is progressive? If not progressive then what line do I run. I want to keeps subs . I also use the pulldown GUI, is there a setting in there I should check for the drop frame option.

Pulldown inputfile.m2v output_progressive.m2v –prog_frames p



For subtitles synchronization, we need a video file that has a drop frame flag. Type this on the command line:

Pulldown inputfile.m2v output_dropfile.m2v –prog_frames p –drop_frame true

Correction, the guide was the DHLuke site........



Again, sorry for so many questions, I hope you don't mind......

Hi all

If it is interlaced I believe bitrate viewer will correctly detect this. Please correct me if you know differently. I run into interlace seldom because its pretty uncommon for movies other then those produced for television. If you really suspect you have interlaced go to DVD2AVI and look at a frame, one that is not too dark around the edges. If it is interlaced you should see something that people call combed. It has edges that look frazzled. Basically you can see the different scan lines on your monitor.

Here is an even better way to do this and it also tells you whether it is upper frame first or lower frame first. By the way, for Region 1 it is usually lower frame first. But part of the problem is also that the terminology of upper frame/ lower frame as well as odd/even are not universal .... argh!!! Anyway, here is a fool proof way to determine if your film is interlaced and what the field order is. To do this you need a copy of TMPGEnc ... you're not going to encode only use a small part of that program. See the details in this link:

http://hilljack.vampirez.com/fieldorder.htm

Good luck