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brand new need buying advise
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 02:39 |
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Hello, I am brand new to forums and copy dvd. What is good link for buying info on hardware and software I am using a dell inspiron 1150 2.4ghz 512 ram thank you for any replys
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kyrainman
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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21. November 2004 @ 03:51 |
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I have used several different programs to backup DVD's. About a year ago started out with DvdXcopy. I had varying degrees of success with it. Then I discovered DVD Decryptor/DVD Shrink. I used it for several months but found problems with it also. For one, if want to split a long movie onto 2 DVD's using Re-author you lose the menu's. If you want to copy a TV series DVD you will get questionable quality due to the amouth of data to be coppied. Many publishers put ove 3 hours of material on each dvd. The same goes for DVD Decryptor/Nero 6. Then I tried DVD Decryptor/TMPGEnc DVD Author for TV series DVD's. It works great but it is labor intensive.
Then I discovered CloneDVD 2/AnyDVD. This is a very elegant piece of software. You can easily copy any DVD and get great quality. I have compared the results with DVD Shrink and I cannot see any difference on my 36 inch Toshiba TV. You can also easily do the following:
1. Copy any DVD
2. Split any DVD onto 2 DVD's
3. Copy a multi-episode(TV series) DVD onto 2 DVD AND retain the menu's on both DVD's.
I have friends and relatives who have gone the DVD Decryptor/DVD Shrink route and have ALL switched to Clone DVD 2.
One thing I always do when burning the DVD is to set the burn speed one click lower than the DVD's rated speed. In other words if the blank DVD is rated at 8X, I burn it at 6X. For 4X I use 2-2.4X. This way I
gaurantee that my DVD will play in any of my three DVD players. I have Sony, JVC and Philips DVD players. They also play in my Xbox.
The choice is yours. If you're looking for ease, simplicity and great quality CloneDVD 2 is the way to go.
Good luck!
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 11:23 |
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Thank you for taking the time to respond. I will look at clone 2. Any advise on hardware?? I was leaning towards a dual layer burner
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Moderator
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21. November 2004 @ 11:40 |
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a dual layer burner wouln't hurt ... this way you can still burn single layer media and when dual layer media becomes cheaper you'll have that option as well.
Plextor makes good drives.
Also, If you can swing it I would add more RAM. At least another 512mb.
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brobear
Suspended permanently
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21. November 2004 @ 11:42 |
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DL is a good choice for a new purchase. It will burn the 4.7s as well as the DL media. When the prices get better you will be in place to use the DL. Currently though, I wouldn't run out and buy a DL to replace an older burner unless the older drive was going out. A good site to browse equipment is at PC World online.
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 11:48 |
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OK DL it is thank you for help. Now to go spend money and see what I can do. I will try to upgrade ram and am buy external hard drive for more memory as well. Any other advise for a total newbie is very much welcome and again thanxs
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 11:52 |
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On software, the best thing I can say is that it boils down to choice. I've tried a lot, and except for some specialized items like RB/CCE, I find a bunch of the top apps good. CloneDVD2 with AnyDVD is a decent setup. AnyDVD is a driver decrypter that works with a lot of recording apps. DVDCopy2, Nero's Recode2, CopyToDVD with Blindwrite, Pinnacle IC8... the list goes on. The ones mentioned are some of the more trusted big names. A bunch of these have decent trial periods. The DVDCopy2 is a short one, but a better program for the newer movies (pixels on the older stuff). The best thing to do would be give them a test drive and decide for yourself.
DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink are good freeware. I seldom use Shrink anymore. Just better choices, retail though. I use the DVD Decrypter all the time. You'd be hard pressed to find a better decrypter of its type at any price; nice that it's free.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. November 2004 @ 11:55
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Moderator
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21. November 2004 @ 11:55 |
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An external HD is ok for storage, but don't burn from the external. If you do the speed will be extremely slow ... around 1x.
Hopefully you got 8-10GB free on your main HD. You can always delete the file when your done burning.
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 12:00 |
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MY hard drive is 30gb and filling quick so I was going to put files on external drive and use internal for proccessing stuff like burning and media. I have decided on 1click software and Iomega external dl burner. plus I found a 160gb external hd for 120 new so cant pass that up. If you feel I should look at other product before purchase let me know. I very much appreciate any advise good or bad Thanxs for help
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 12:07 |
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Oh yes, forgot. On burning, always use good media, I use Ricohjpn +R at 4X. That is a manufacturer code, several brands sell it; Ricoh, Maxell, Imation, Ritek, and Fuji are just a few. Ritek in 4X -R is a forum favorite (the G04). Burning video over 4X increases the possibility of errors. A lot of people with 8X burners use 4X to control their burn speeds and the 4X is less expensive in most cases, especially in the same brand. I just purchased a batch of Fuji 4X +R at 41 cents US per disk. It was less than that initially, but I included the shipping and taxes.
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 12:09 |
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brobear where did you get that deal???
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 12:14 |
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1 click software? What would that be? Almost all the good programs I know of are a bit more involved. Using a driver decrypter such as AnyDVD simplifies things, but unless someone slipped one by me, most of the good apps take more than the old 1 button programs. Even CloneDVD2, one of the more simple apps, requires more than clicking one control.
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 12:17 |
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BestBuy.com has the 100 spindle on sale. If Fujifilm hasn't changed their supplier recently, they should be RICOHJPN +R. I think the sale goes till 11/30/04, unless they sell out.
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 12:17 |
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Moderator
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21. November 2004 @ 12:28 |
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Quote:
Is purchasing 1 click a mistake?
Yes
Quote:
I found 1 click dvd on http://www.dvd-copy-software-review.com/ it was rated the second best.
They also rate DVD Cloner II #1
For free you can get DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter
If you must buy something buy AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 (bought together is $65)
If you have the time, and the HD space get CCE Basic($58) and DVD Rebuilder(free)
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 12:57 |
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RB/CCE is about as good as you can get for high quality under high compression (big movies). It does take about 2.5 to 3 hrs to encode a movie, but I find it worth it. It has a batch process and I run it while I'm out or asleep. Vurbal did a good setup guide and the help threads are good here at AD. With RB/CCE you use the free DVD Decrypter to decrypt the files, once transcoded the files have to be burned/recorded. Nero is an excellent recording suite, unlimited 30 day trials until you buy it. I have the 6.6 Platinum version (all the bells and whistles).
Flip's advice is good, I wouldn't trust anyone who gave the ripoff DVDCloner a #1 (for anything other than theft).
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 13:05 |
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I forgot to mention, RB/CCE needs about 20 to 24 GB of free HD space to operate properly. 8GB for a big movie, another 8 for the completed files, and of course one needs space for temp files and enough room for the apps to run. Not good for small systems. You're left with a file to record that is less than 4.37GB; however, the rest of the space is needed until the file is produced. Then the extra files can be deleted. With limited space, Shrink 3.2 would be a better choice for big movies.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. November 2004 @ 13:08
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 13:19 |
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Thank you bigbear for you guidance, now to look VHS video capturing equp for a laptop... any advise there?
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 13:30 |
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You're welcome. You'd best have good graphics and audio cards. Check out the Pinnacle Movie Box setup. Note that the VCR setup requires a firewire connection. I hate to say it, but laptops aren't the typical setup for highend DVD recording and authoring.
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shane434
Newbie
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21. November 2004 @ 13:36 |
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Brobear I know laptops are not ideal but if I get the external hard drive free up my internal, and have external dvd burner and internal dvd player, am I wasting alot of $$$ or can I achieve good resluts? honesty is always appreciated
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brobear
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21. November 2004 @ 13:56 |
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Long processing times and high level CPU usage generate a lot of heat which a laptop doesn't dissipate well. Besides using peripherals, it is more difficult and expensive to upgrade laptops. If you had bought the top end dell, you would have been better off than trying to upgrade what you have. If it had been a desk top, it would have been no problem to install high end ATI Radeon graphics and capture cards (my favorite brand). And while the case was open it's just another screw or 2 to add the better audio cards. And those RAM chips are just a plug in item on the desktop motherboard. An extra 512MB to 1GB RAM on a dell desktop is a snap. You won't find it a snap upgrading a laptop. Plus the internal drives are much faster than the external ones.
It's a judgment you have to make. I would have opted for a low end laptop for portability with the least options I could live with and go for a well equipped desktop for the heavy work. If you have to have a laptop for work or studies, then I can see working with one if you can't afford 2 PCs. Check and see what the difference in price is between upgrading the laptop and getting a desktop and upgrading it. Hard drives are no longer that expensive, so I wouldn't let the cost of one of those be the deciding factor.
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