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Why Is It So Difficult to Copy DVDs? (A Guide for Newbies)
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Lumbastio
Junior Member
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10. September 2005 @ 08:32 |
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I started copying DVD's about two weeks ago, when I got my NEC burner. Although I am very good at computers, such as dealing with databases, security, registry, hacking, and cracking, I was unable to do a simple task - copy a DVD. After many hours of research, I am now barely beginning to get hold of it. Why is it that DVD copying is so complicated? Here:
At first I tried using Nero to burn DVDs, but after many wasted hours I found that it does not copy more than 4.7 or so GB's, unless you go through some convoluted steps and add vision express. Then I read in the forums about DVD Shrink. After trying, I noticed that the black parts of the screen had various white pixels - so the quality was not that good. In addition, it took over 3 hours to encode with high quality. Then the people in this forum recommended to get Intervideo DVD Copy 3. I tried to use it and copy a Wagnerian opera: it took about an hour, but when I tried to play it, instead of an opera I got a surrealist work by Dali on the screen - the pixels were large and all over the screen (although the last 15 minutes were absolutely perfect.) I came back to this forum and now was told to stay away from that program since despite the high quality, it has many faults. Luckily, I had obstained the platinum version for free.
After doing more research, I came accross DVD Rebuilder, which uses CCE encoder and is said to be the best. I thought I was finally done, but far from it - I also needed DVD Remaker to completely edit the movies before using Rebuilder. Then I was going to need eclCCE to make the CEE SP Trial work with Rebuilder, but eclCCE was not needed if the version of CCE was 2.70 or more. CCE is $58 or $2000 depending on the version, but the HC encoder that comes with the free Rebuilder is also free and there is no concensus whether CCE is any better than the free HC, besides the fact that CCE is a little faster and $58. After being unable to make CCE work with Rebuilder, I tried HC. After 10 hours of encoding I tried to rebuild and got error 75; changed the output path from the DVD drive to the hard drive, was banged with error 9. Reinstalled Rebuilder, the problem was still there.
Just now, I finally managed to make the CCE SP work with Rebuilder and am hoping that after the encoding is done, I'll be able to rebuild without any errors. If I do, I might have to get the Rebuilder Pro to get some support.
Any sees something wrong here? It is very exhausting to try and copy a DVD. Just the fact that someone needs to do so much research to copy a few DVD's, is enough to prevent the laymen from from copying them. Notice that I haven't even included the copyright protection! Ironically, it seems that the copying complications are more difficult to overcome than the professional protection on the DVD(For starters, you should get AnyDVD for breaking the copyrights.)
I personally think that this forum needs a guide for newbies that cuts right through all this crap and clearly recommends that all one needs for the best DVD quality is something like this combo:
1. DVD Rebuilder
2. CCE Encoder
3. DVD Remaker
4. AnyDVD
I hope a time comes when copying DVD becomes as easy as making a backup onto your CD, but that time doesn't seem to be on the horizon. Of course, all the issues will be resolved once the prices for the Double Layer DVD's come down so that no encoding and transcoding will be necessary (though this is also unlikely to happen since with our Great Destroyer, the Bush, the prices are only going to go uphill.) As soon as DL media comes down in price, those annoying transcoders like the InterVideo will be left without a job. So be it, can't wait.
XP SP2
512MB RAM
Pentium IV CPU 1.80GHz
NEC 3540A
BEST QUALITY DVD BURNING (in order of function):
1) AnyDVD 5.4
2) DVD Decrypter
3) DVD Rebuilder 1.00RC60Pro
4) CCE SP
5) Nero 6.6 Ultra
[InterVideo DVD Copy 4]
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 10. September 2005 @ 08:42
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 08:55 |
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Sorry for all the pain you seem to have suffered in this learning process. Up until the beginning of this year I just used the old 1 click Xcopy for all my backups, but that stopped working on the newer encryptions. So I discovered this forum and downloaded the freebie DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter and had no problems. Then moved on to AnyDVD and CloneDVD because it re-authored better. I agree that RB/CCE gives the best quality but I am also impatient because of the time factor so only do it occassionally. Yes DVD backups are not as easy as CD's but once you learn the basics the rest is not so hard. Also, the problem with Intervideo is that it burns to fast, you really need to use another program to burn the files.
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Senior Member
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10. September 2005 @ 09:15 |
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backing up dvd is easy if you have AnyDVD and clonedvd
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 09:17 |
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Like most of us here we all had to learn a few new tricks. I prefer movie only using Nero Recode2 and AnyDVD. It takes me approximately 35 minutes to do a movie only backup with advanced enabled. When using quality media, you will have ZERO problems!
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MovieDud
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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10. September 2005 @ 09:18 |
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I'm with arniebear, once you know the basics I have found that backing up dvds is easier than cds. I prefer Copy 3 and clonedvd2 when I'm impatient with the Rebuidler/CCE Basic combo (which is simply the best for high compression). Yet, I once I discovered AD and the great help that comes from knowledgable people such as arniebear this has become a great hobby and I like many find helping others brings just as much joy as doing my own backups. welcome aboard lumbastio.
MovieDud
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MovieDud
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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10. September 2005 @ 09:22 |
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@scubabud, I like recode 2 as well, arniebear said to give it a shot I did and Iprefer it over shrink. The quality on my 55 inch 16X9 looks awe-some, even when compression is in the 65% range. There are some great programs that have made backing up easy and fun. Clonedvd2 and AnyDVD is a great combo, but I like AnyDVD with any of my programs (even works with my x copy plat....I no longer use it, but it did function well with AnyDVD in the back ground.
MovieDud
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 09:28 |
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@MovieDud
I got to agree on the Xcopy Platinum been beta testing the ver.5 and it leaves a lot to be desired. No re-authoring, cannot split a TV series disk correctly. Ended up using my dependable CloneDVD to split the series disk. The only thing Xcopy does is that it is fast when you use Xpress in the main movie mode, it give excellent quality but you will still need AnyDVD because it cannot do newer protections. That is if you can get AnyDVD to work with it, sometimes it does not. As for Recode2 it really is excellent for encoding and compressing.
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MovieDud
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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10. September 2005 @ 09:33 |
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I agree friend, I was really impressed with Recode 2, made 30 backups so far just using that prog. very impressed with the quality. For those quickies...that clonedvd2/anydvd is pretty fast. I become frustrated with x copy when I would place files on HD and then try to retrieve to burn the browse botton was not able to be used. I lihe the quality, but the when others are as good or better it didn't take long to change. Quick ? arniebear, have you heard if copy 4 from intervideo has fixed the re-authoring issues?
Thanx
MovieDud
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 09:38 |
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@MovieDud
I am not sure on that, all I looked at was the comparison chart at the site and all they keep listing is better quality, not sure what they mean by that. But have not seen/heard anything much on the new version yet. Guess we will have to wait until more people purchase it, or I read about it on another forum. Right now am saving my bucks to buy the new Nero coming in October so I just do not want to invest in anything else right now.
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Senior Member
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10. September 2005 @ 13:39 |
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Let us know how you like the new version of Nero. I won't upgrade to version 7 until 6 is no longer supported and gives me probs...
I use Recode2 98% of the time as well. I have DVD Copy3 as well and it does burn fast, but when you use TY media, it's no prob... I normally burn at 8X, but 12X scans on YUDEN000T02 are just as good!
TY scans here (12X, 8th post):
http://www.bitburners.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,42/func,v...
Dropbox: http://db.tt/p5P9bH1d
System 1: Core2Quad Q6600 O/Ced @ 3.15 GHz, Gigabyte GA EP35 DS4 mobo, Zalman 9700, 4GB PC6400 RAM, Sapphire Radeon 2600HD Pro, Samsung 920BW 19" Widescreen LCD, Hauppauge! PVR-350.
System 2: Core2Duo E6400 O/Ced @ 3.2 GHz, Gigabyte GA 965P S3 mobo, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, 2GB PC6400 RAM, PNY GeForce 6600, Hyundai B70A 17" LCD.This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 10. September 2005 @ 14:37
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Lumbastio
Junior Member
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10. September 2005 @ 17:12 |
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Well, I use TY media too. I have also checked the codes and made sure that it is genuine (this also took a lot of research.) So the problems had nothing to do with the media.
I guess what you are saying is that if the DVD is around 5.00 GBs, it wouldn't really matter to use either Shrink or RB since they would give the quality due to low compression.
XP SP2
512MB RAM
Pentium IV CPU 1.80GHz
NEC 3540A
BEST QUALITY DVD BURNING (in order of function):
1) AnyDVD 5.4
2) DVD Decrypter
3) DVD Rebuilder 1.00RC60Pro
4) CCE SP
5) Nero 6.6 Ultra
[InterVideo DVD Copy 4]
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 17:57 |
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Quality is in the eye of the beholder, it is subjective. What one person likes another might not. If you really want to have an exact copy of a movie then you use dual layer.
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2005 @ 20:13 |
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There are over 300,000 members here and most copy DVD's every day without major problems. Most of these members are novices or were.
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/183136
Try this link above for most of the guides that you might require.
Quote:
Why Is It So Difficult to Copy DVDs?
It's not!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 10. September 2005 @ 20:16
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Lumbastio
Junior Member
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11. September 2005 @ 08:48 |
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ScubaBud, in your thread you recommend meritline.com as one of the retailers for TY media. I bought mine from there too, but after doing some research on google I found out that they have been selling a lot of fake TY's. Some say that supermediastore is one of their branches. I checked the codes of my TY DVD's (TG001159) and it turns out that this is genuine. Nevertheless, I read that meritline can also fake these codes. Additionally, I bought some TY CD's from them and the code is "80 PG1207" and "5A0880D" on the inner clear plastic rim. I am not sure that "PG" is a TY media code and I have left a detailed message at TY for them to check out whether the CD's are genuine. If you are experienced with codes and meritline, do you think the CD's are TY?
DVD copying is complicated at first, but once you learn it, it becomes easy. But then again, you can say the same thing about calculus based physics. I finally was able to make my first DVD copy using RB. At first, I thought the quality was not so perfect, but when I popped in the original DVD, the quality was the same. What a perfect copy! The DVD was 7.26 GBs but I am amazed at the ideal copy. I used Nero to burn the rebuilt files.
I have a question: do you think that the best editing tool to use before using RB is DVD Remake? Is there anything better than Remake?
Also, I was able to obtain a free copy of CCE SP 2.70.02 Trial. I only have the .exe file and it is 2.64 MBs. Is this the one that costs $2000.00? I know the file is too small compared to the complete package, but maybe this is the most basic protion needed for CCE to do it's job. The quality should be that of SP instead of Basic I assume.
XP SP2
512MB RAM
Pentium IV CPU 1.80GHz
NEC 3540A
BEST QUALITY DVD BURNING (in order of function):
1) AnyDVD 5.4
2) DVD Decrypter
3) DVD Rebuilder 1.00RC60Pro
4) CCE SP
5) Nero 6.6 Ultra
[InterVideo DVD Copy 4]
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. September 2005 @ 08:51
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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11. September 2005 @ 09:35 |
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Quote:
ScubaBud, in your thread you recommend meritline.com as one of the retailers for TY media.
I have never said that and if you are referring to the link I showed in my previous post, it is just that, a link to a thread with information for you to use.
There are two very well know individuals here on aD that have written many a guide to DVD burning. One is BBmayo and the other is ScubaPete. Please read their guides and see that, in just a few minutes of reading their easy 1,2,3 guides, ANYONE can burn a DVD.
Thanks.
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diverj
Member
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11. September 2005 @ 19:05 |
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and JUST when you figure out the magic combination (for me its AnyDVD and clone dvd.....almost a one click solution with NO HASSLES) and you finally get that burned dvd to play on your computer's dvd Rom player, you find out that is will NOT play on that expensive brand name DVD player you purchased two to three years ago. Oh, it will start playing, then the picture will pixelate, audio will get out of sync, and the worst, it plays fairly well until the video skips forward about 5 minutes. You go back, try playing it again and again transported 5 minutes into the future.
What you NEED is the cheapest DVD player on the market to play your backed up DVDs and forget about those expensive, great looking DVD players with all of those neat features. Actually, my favorite is the cyberhome from amazon.com. Solved all of the above problems I had (when I thought my backups were all crap). In the end, it was my expensive DVD player all along.
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MovieDud
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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11. September 2005 @ 19:49 |
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@diverj, I agree partially. At first it seemed that all my backups would only play on the cheaper players (Both are Sony's), but after becoming a part of the team at AD I learned about the right media. I use Taiyo Yuden (Genuine), Verbatims and Maxell (Japan) and they all play flawlessly in my more expensive Denon 2200. I gain a tremendous amount of more quality from the Denon as I did from the Sony. I'm comparing the quality on a 55 inch 16X9 HDTV. I learned to buy great media, burn slow and no problems.
MovieDud
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Lumbastio
Junior Member
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11. September 2005 @ 20:08 |
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The sony DVD I have is a very good one but it is about three years old. I am using TY media and when I used InterVideo I used to have a lot of problems with the DVDs. Nevertheless, I was told that it was the software that cause the problems. Since I have switched to RB Pro with CCE SP, I have burned only one DVD and haven't watched it yet. I think that if I get any errors when I watch it, then it would be safe to say that the problem is with the old DVD. I am also using only the DVD+R media, which many people agree is better and more stable than DVD-R. Additionally, I don't think that cheaper DVD Players are better than the expensive ones. If you really want to make a controlled experiment, use new ORIGINAL DVDs instead of burned ones. Then you'll be able to objectively decide which one is better.
XP SP2
512MB RAM
Pentium IV CPU 1.80GHz
NEC 3540A
BEST QUALITY DVD BURNING (in order of function):
1) AnyDVD 5.4
2) DVD Decrypter
3) DVD Rebuilder 1.00RC60Pro
4) CCE SP
5) Nero 6.6 Ultra
[InterVideo DVD Copy 4]
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. September 2005 @ 20:08
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. September 2005 @ 22:13 |
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Quote:
and JUST when you figure out the magic combination (for me its AnyDVD and clone dvd.....almost a one click solution with NO HASSLES) and you finally get that burned dvd to play on your computer's dvd Rom player, you find out that is will NOT play on that expensive brand name DVD player you purchased two to three years ago. Oh, it will start playing, then the picture will pixelate, audio will get out of sync, and the worst, it plays fairly well until the video skips forward about 5 minutes. You go back, try playing it again and again transported 5 minutes into the future.
What you NEED is the cheapest DVD player on the market to play your backed up DVDs and forget about those expensive, great looking DVD players with all of those neat features. Actually, my favorite is the cyberhome from amazon.com. Solved all of the above problems I had (when I thought my backups were all crap). In the end, it was my expensive DVD player all along.
@diverj,
Actually you still need to know 2 more steps -- these 2 steps are the most critical and most important of all. Once you mastered the 2 below steps as well as backing up, then you're all set to go.
01) media (high quality media is the main factor when it comes to dvd burning).
02) book typing (if you're backing up on a DVD+R disc, you need to set the "book type" or "bitsetting" into a DVD-ROM format, so it will be compatible with all functional stand alone dvd players).
NOTE: keep in mind to always use high quality media such the famous Taiyo Yuden (real authentic Yuden can be found on the FUJI & SONY "Made In Japan"), Verbatim (manufactured code: MCC003 & MCC004), and the Maxell "Made In Japan" manufactured code: Maxell-002-00, which was made by Hitachi (this is one of the top high grade media from Maxell) for your future dvd backups and you shouldn't have to worry much about getting "coasters" or "pixelation, distorted, choppy" pictures.
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diverj
Member
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14. September 2005 @ 19:25 |
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I admit, in the beginning, I hadn't a clue about media. I purchased just about any DVD blanks on sale at Wal-Mart. I had problems as stated. I used about 5 different "recommend" burning programs with those disks, and had the same problems............(pretty much eliminated burning programs as me AND a friend had same problems). Then Scubapete enlightend me on high quality media. I settled on Ridata branded media which I could print on. Suppose to be darn good. I still had problems. Actually SAME problems. Now, I had eliminated burning programs, and the media from the equation. Only thing left was the player. That solved my problem.
Now, I am not saying the player was my only problem. I understand purchasing the best quality media one can afford, HOWEVER, burning programs, one can change, media.....one can change. What one can NOT afford to change out over and over again until you find the correct one is expensive DVD players.
I will also contend, that my problem could have been a combination of media AND player, but all of my backups from cheap media AND Ridata media that would not play on my expensive player played on my 38 dollar player.......I still use Ridata discs, but when one finds the combination that works, you stick with it. There is a LOT of advise on these forums, but lets face it, advice only carries so far. This forum eventually LEAD me to a solution, but everyones advice lead to different directions, and what works for one, may not work for another. When you have 15 different points of view, each telling you different things, it can get over whelming.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. September 2005 @ 19:28
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AfterDawn Addict
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15. September 2005 @ 02:12 |
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@diverj,
Yes.... I totally agree with you that even with the most expensive stand alone dvd player on the market now-a-days will somtimes failed to play certain kind of DVD+Rs. Please keep in mind that not all new (top set) expensive dvd player can play all DVD-Rs/+Rs, it certainly will read/play the majority, but not all of the DVD+Rs due to the rapid changes of the media codes. However, it is recommend to always stick with high quality media because it'll last longer in the long run - not only that but it probably will save you more money as well.
Again, no doubt, I have to agree with you that it all depends on the individual's experiences in regards to media because of his/her stand alone dvd players prefer certain kind of DVD-Rs/+Rs only. What works for you may be an issue for me, so it's best to stick with the combination you deemed to have the most compatibility.
I don't have any expensive dvd players -- in fact, both of my Philips and Samsung dvd players are under $70 and whatever I throw it in there, it's flawless according to my knowledge and experiences. Why...?? Simply because I only use Taiyo Yuden (also the Fuji "Made In Japan"), Maxell "Made In Japan" and Verbatim media for all of my backups. Furthermore, I always "book type" all of my DVD+Rs into a DVD-ROM format. Therefore, none of my players ever experienced any sort of issues whatsoever. You're right if you're asking 20 people with the same question, you'll definitely have 20 different answered in return. However, what I'm trying to say is that if your dvd burner is capable of "bitsetting" or "book typing" then you can easily change the book type from a DVD+R into a DVD-ROM format. This is one of the safest and or perhaps the best way to go. As a matter of fact, all commercial (original) dvd movies are pressed as DVD-ROM only. Thus, all functional stand alone dvd player are capable of playing them.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. September 2005 @ 02:12
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diverj
Member
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15. September 2005 @ 03:50 |
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Well, alkohol, I am the first to admit I know nothing about DVD+R format. Before I burned my first DVD, I settled on using DVD-R because of its being the more widely accepted formatat the time. So, I certainly am no expert in booksetting. Perhaps you would like to explain this to me. One never knows if the knowledge will come in handy in the future.
Diverj
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AfterDawn Addict
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15. September 2005 @ 20:19 |
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What kind of dvd burner do you have? What programs do you ususally use to do your backups? According to my understanding, both Nero and DVD Decrypter can change the "book type" or "bitsetting" from any DVD+R/DVD+R DL into a DVD-ROM format. However, you have to have the right burner i.e. Sony, Lite-On, LG, NEC, Plextor, Nu Tech, BenQ, and RICOH etc.
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2005 @ 03:51 |
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AfterDawn Addict
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16. September 2005 @ 09:32 |
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Nicely done there on that link arniebear.
@diverj,
Or you can easily change the book type using Nero as well.
((Here's how to book type using Nero Burning Rom))
01) open up Nero StartSmart, then click on Nero Burning Rom
02) EXIT out the "New Compilation" when it pops up
03) click on "Chooses A Recorder" (it's a small burner icon next to (I) and the arrow down)
04) click on "Options", then on "Book Type Settings", set to "Automatic" and click "OK" - that's it... easy as smoking. Now every burning using a DVD+R disc your Nero will automatically change the booktype into a DVD-ROM format.
((Here's how to book type using Nero Express))
01) open up Nero StartSmart, then Nero Express
02) now click on "Copy Entire Disc"
03) click on "Options", then onb "Book Type Settings", set to "Automatic" and click "OK", then "Exit" out. That's it... easy as sipping on some Corona. Again, now every time when you burn, Nero will automatically change your DVD+R into a DVD-ROM in prior to the actual burning process.
Basically, you only need to set the "book type setting" on Nero once. So, if you book type it with Nero Burning Rom already then you don't need to do it again on Nero Express or vice versa.
Hope this will somehow help you out.
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