I have Ripit4me, Imgburn, DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter. I was wondering if I did a "full dvd backup" (movie, menus, extra features, etc.) if any of these programs will allow me to split the movie (for example: 6.5 gb) up so I can put the movie, menus, etc. on 2 single layer discs instead of 1 double layer disc like DvdXCopy does. I don't like to shrink my movies due to a loss of video quality, but in the rare occasion that I do shrink a movie, I don't like to go lower than 85-90% compression.
Also, I have noticed that most people use the higher priced blank dvd's (Sony, Verbatim, TDK, etc.) to burn with. I have not had good luck with these brands. Does anyone use the GQ brand from Fry's Electronics? I have had great success with this brand of cd's and dvd's over the past 7 years. You can get them in packs of 100 for about $18.00 all day long there for the dvd's. Any comments?
orion250,
Welcome to the forum. None of those programs will do what you want. There are programs that will do what you want but they are not free programs. If you like DVDXCopy you can still use it if you do the rip using Ripit4Me.
The reason we recommend Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim blank media is they are proven Quality blank media. Sony might be OK is made in Japan but the rest is usually lower quality. What usually will happen in a couple of years is the lower quality DVD's will start flaking and you will not be able to view the backup copy. I mainly use Ty but you can buy 100 Verbatim Disks when they are on sale for about $26.00. If you are happy w/ the GQ's then by all means use them as if they go bad you can just re-burn the original DVD.
DvdXcopy automatically tells me if the movie, menus, etc. will fit on one or two discs before it starts the rip process. It does not compress the movie at all. DvdXcopy Xpress will compress to allow the entire movie, menus, etc. to fit on one SL disc. If it takes 2 discs, it automatically splits the movie up into disc 1 and disc 2 before you start to rip it. You cannot rip with any other software beforehand and use DvdXcopy to burn with. It will not acknowledge a backup copy when trying to make a copy of a backup, it only acknowledges an original store bought dvd. It only sees dvd drives and dvd burning drives, not hard drives. It will rip dvd #1 first to the hard drive then allow you to burn it. Then request you to put the original back in to process disc #2. When DvdXcopy rips the disc to the hard drive, it automatically creates a small text file within the directory of the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders that contains your softwares serial #. After I rip and before I burn it, I go into the directory where that text file is located and delete it and then replace it with a bogus text file with the same name minus the serial #. It will not burn the disc without that text file there. I was just hoping that Ripit, Shrink or Decrypter would allow me to split up a large movie into 2 SL discs. Thanks for your response.
Look into DVDFab Platinum. It has the option of splitting a DVD-9 into two DVD-5 discs (along with a few other options). It isn't free, but is a great piece of software. It will decrypt almost anything without the need of an external program (just a note, all additional programs to properly decrypt are free), and DVDFab will load from original DVD, back-up DVD, image file, or VIDEO_TS folder.
The easiest method in my opinion would be to use CloneDVD2 you can get a fully functional trial version for 21 days to see if it works for you. Here is a guide that will show you how to split the movie to two disks 1:1 Backup with CloneDVD2. Another option would be to use VobBlanker which is free, but a little more dificult for the average user. You can split the DVD in Shrink however you will loose the use of your menus/navigation.
AS far as the discs go use what ever works best for you don't worry about anything else to much if you have found some discs that work fine in all of your players and will hold up over time then I say burn away!
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Thanks everyone for your responses. BBMAYO, I do have VobBlanker, but have not installed or used it yet. I have used DVD Decrypter and Shrink to backup many episodic dvd's. They are mainly DL discs. I have used Shrink to put half of the episodes and the disabled menu on each disc. Do you know if I did a full dvd backup of one of the episodic discs, and used Vob Blanker, if I could blank out half of the vob's (episodes)to split up into 2 SL discs, could I still have fully functional menus?
DVDFAB is a older program that works great.Its free and has many features including spliting the disc in two.Our it can remove subtitles and audio,and other junk.
Its not DVDFAb decrypter,Its just DVDFAB.Its not a ripper,its a free program that will split your disc in two with out loosing qulity.
Thanks for the advice about VobBlanker. It works great with the episodic dvd's! Haven't tried to split a large movie yet into two dvd's. It was not that tough to figure out. I did find out while using Imgburn that the GQ brand dvd's I've been using are actually made by Sony.
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