i'm just getting started on burning dvd's and i need to know where can i find DVDShrink, and how to use it. just got a Toshiba laptop w/ a double-layer dvd drive.
http://home.comcast.net/~bbmayo/software.htm. There you can find DVD Shrink at the top of the page. Also tutorials you can follow. Be advised for newer dvds that you own DVD Shrink might not be able to handle the latest encryptions. I would suggest using dvdfab decrypter as it is also free.
DVDFabDEcrypter for decrypting and rippig to the hard drive.
FixVTS for cleaning up DVD navigation problems and messy and empty cells.
DVD Shrink for compressing files and reauthoring.
DVD Decrypter for burning a project to DVD.
All of these programs can be used individually or are linked by another program, ripit4me, that somewhat automates the process.
Another approach is to use a commercial program, AnyDVD, to do on the fly decryption and copy protection removal in the background along with DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter.
adderall
my totally free combo is as follows
rip to HD with dvdfab
run through vobblanker (to remove unwanted junk, bad cells)
compress (if Needed) with DVD Shrink burn with dvddecrypter (or Nero)
this combo will never let you down!
here is alkohols guide.
I would suggest all newbies get Slysoft AnyDVD even though it isn't freeware. It is worth the investment, and does most of the work for you. It pretty much runs in the background, so all you really do is pop your DVD into the drive, and drag/copy the VIDEO_TS folder over to your hard drive for burning. Of course, if you need to do extras like splitting the DVD onto 2 single-layer DVDs or extracting just the movie only, then DVD Shrink is very handy. The only reason I say get AnyDVD is that there are quite a few new copy protections out there including blank cell refs and other ways to thwart you, that unless you are somewhat advanced and know what to look for, you'll be spending alot of time trying to figure out why you can't rip your DVDs.
Update: LOL! I just saw a thread on the bottom of the forum telling people to stop suggesting people get AnyDVD. :) When I started ripping a few years ago, there weren't all these new copy protection schemes, so DVD Decrypter and/or DVD Shrink worked perfectly. So if you're ripping pre-2004 DVDs, you should be okay. Any new releases that you buy and want to backup, you're going to have a hard time (esp. Sony releases). Most likely, Shrink won't work because it hasn't been updated in years.
thnaxs for your help guys!!! one other thing, a friend of mine was suppose to send me a copy of Nero, but he only sent me a free 7 day trial offer. does anybody know where i can get a free version of it?
The only "free" versions of Nero out are the OEM ones that ship with some DVD burners. Nero really isn't necessary to burn though, you can use either DVDDecrypter referenced earlier or ImgBurn (http://www.imgburn.com).
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