I've read about the subject in a forum which posted its'only question and answer in 2005. LoNeR was able to help by directing the newbie to use RAR to unzip the file. However, I am not quite sure I understand how to do that. I downloaded a DVDRip and have the following files in the folder:
-a sample file which will playback on windows media
-a subs file (subtitles I assume)
-an lrc info file
-a file containing the WinZIP graphic and numbered rOO
-a file containing the windows media player graphic numbered r001
-lrc files numbered r002 to r048
-the remaing 2 files are .rar and .sfv respectively.
Which files must I use and are they to be unzipped one at a time or what?
DVDRips are usually distributed in a number of RAR-archives (compressed files). This has been done to facilitate the actual download of the release. You only need to extract the first file in the sequence (usually named video.rar or video.r001/.001) and the rest of the files will be uncompressed automatically.
In other words, typically, videos are split into several compressed files. These files are usually found in RAR format and usually suffixed with .rar/.r00#/.00# file extensions. When these files are extracted (uncompressed), they 'come together' and produce video file(s).
Extracting RAR files w/ WinRAR (http://www.rarlab.com)
1. Right-click on first file in the sequence (ie. video.rar, video.part01.rar, video.r00, or video.001). From the right-click context menu, select WinRAR->Extract OR Extract to video\.
NOTE: If the file has an extension of video.001 you will need to add it to WinRAR's user defined archive extensions so you can extract the files via the right-click context menu. To do this, open WinRAR->Options->Settings->Integration->Add .001 to the 'User defined archive extensions' box.
Often times, you will find an .NFO and a .SFV file with releases. The .NFO file is a text file with information about the release. The files are designed by ASCII artists and can be read with Damn NFO Viewer or simply with any text editor such as notepad. SFV stands for Simple File Validator and is used to check files if they became corrupt after transfer. It does this by doing a CRC (cyclic redundancy check). After the check it displays which files contain CRC-errors and therefore are corrupt. You can use a program like hkSFV (http://www.download.com/HkSFV/3000-2248_4-10157350.html) to check your files (after installing hkSFV, simply double-click on the .SFV file and it will verify the files).
The sample file, is exactly that, a sample of the video which someone could download to view the quality of the video prior to downloading the entire release.
The subtitle files are textfiles which can be loaded onto the movie, make sure they retain the same filename as the video file and are located in the same directory. If you don't see the subtitles make sure you have the the necessary codecs and filters, http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm and use a video player like VLC player or Media Player Classic.
I just downloaded two DVD rips, which appear to have the form described here (lots of RAR files and a bunch of files with extension .001, etc.), however, neither WINRAR nor WINZIP likes them. When I try to extract any one of them they say that they are either not in RAR form or that they are damaged. Since they're two independent downloads, I'm a bit suspicious. Is there any way that I can check them more thoroughly?
