I would like to make a top quality backup of a DVD
What do i mean by 'top quality'?
Well - I don't want to squeeze it small enough to fit a full length feature on my mobile phone (seems to be current trend) - I'm not a total videophile but i expect the copy to look as good as the original on my 42" plasma HD
With so many video formats available now - i haven't a clue -but I assume i need to make .iso file - what software would i need - or am i miles away?
I am not really sure what you want, but the only way you get away with no compression, you burn onto a DL disc.
If you just want the main movie, no extras/menus and other "stuff", you might be okay on a single layer disc, with minimum compression...If you do compress, with DVD Shrink or Nero Recode for example, use quality settings.
People that "sqeeze" the movie to fit onto a phone, they actually re-encode it, they compress it to a different format than DVD-Video, using a codec. It is not the same "shrinking" process that it is used when making a DVD9 fit onto a DVD5. Different process, different purpose, different quality.
I tried DVDShrink which builds an .iso file - very fast too - well impressed
unfortunately it can't burn it????????
it suggests you burn it with Nero which has it's own rip software - neither of which i'm gonna buy (Nero 7 is bigger than Windows Vista i think :o) - sorta made itself redundant basically
I was a bit suprised that Windows DVD Maker didn't know what an .iso file was either :o)
LOL!
You really should read some guides!
After DVD Shrink is done, that ISO can be burned with DVD Decrypter or Imgburn, both are free. DVD Shrinkwill not burn your DVD, not if you implore it, curse it, bribe it. It just can't, as it does not have a burning engine. It can however use third party applications like Nero or DVD Decrypter/ImgBurn to start the burn automatically.
You can also have DVD Shrink save to a DVD folder instead of ISO.
About Windows DVD Maker and ISO...there are not many video editing-authoring/converting applications that accept as input an ISO.
