[bonoc]

Are DVD burners at the point that I can copy my current DVDs (back them up) the same way that we used to do VHS tapes back in the day? I have had some people tell me "Yep, just buy some software at Best/Comp/City" and other people tell me "No, cant copy a mastered DVD".


Any insight would greatly be appreciated as my CD-RW just went out and I am having to make the decision to buy another CD-RW or a DVD-R. If the DVD burners are at the point that I can back my current DVDs up then I will go that route.


TIA

 

[Geff33]

Are you talking about copying pressed dvds via a standalone or a PC/MAC burner? With the PC burner there are several software nowadays that can copy an entire DVD. To name a few that I have used and impress are : DVDSHrink, DVDXCopy and Instacopy. These are one click recording softwares but the quality results are pretty good. DVDShrink is my favorite at the moment. And best of all it is a freeware. Check www.dvdrhelp.com and www.doom9.org . Both sites offer a wealth of info and very good forum when it comes to copying or creating DVDs.

 

[bonoc]

Thanks for the info

 

[newsposter]

 http://www.dvd-copy-software-review.com/


is one other page that may help but I don't know the source of the testing. I hestitate to use it independently because of one program on there, dvd wizard pro and its review. I searched through google newsgroups and found may people on there say it was a scam. I have no idea who to believe but just wanted you to be somewhat informed. The other sites mentioned above are very good and I have turned to them for more research.

 

[videonut]

Copying video tapes always meant dealing with a generation loss.


This is not necessarily the case with DVDs. The latest version of DVD Shrink is a wonderful program for backing up your library. One can even adjust bit rates at various parts of a movie to achieve the best possible results.


There are also wonderful animated tutorials available, and of course--it's all FREE!


Peter M

 

[Mr. Hookup]

In order to go from DVD >> DVD, you would have to overcome macrovision on many discs. There are macrobusters out there, but they are few & far between. Send me a PM and I would elaborate.

 

[SergeantD]

DVDshrink IS BY FAR THE BEST and I have tried them all. It is FREE and the easiest to use with the most features. What the hell else can you ask for?

 

[gwlbe]

Yep, you got it Serg - shrink is the way to go.

 

[Big Picture]

I am using DVDXcopy Express with success. Is DVDshrink any more complicated to use than DVDXcopy?


Is DVDshrink very complicated to setup before you make your first copies? DVDPlatinum was no fun to get it working.


Will DVDshrink work with DVDXcopy Express installed on the same PC and vice versa?


Can anyone tell me where to find DVDshrink animated tutorials?


Thank you.

 

[Geff33]

DVDShrink is not hard to use at all. Go to www.doom9.org forum under one click dvdrecording software. Look for MrBass. He has a website that has a good illustration on how to make copies with DVDs. Also I think www.dvdrhelp.com posted on how to copy with DVDShrink.


I agree that DVDShrink is a wonderful sw and FREE!. Since getting the latest, I have ceased using DVDXcopy. I can't believe I paid $99 for DVDXcopy when it first came out. I have both DVDXcopy platinum and DVDshrink in my machine. Both will co-exist just fine.

 

[SergeantD]

go to the www.doom9 forum to get tutorials. DVDshrink is extremely easy and won't be a problem if you have it with DVDXexpress or any other.

 

[Big Picture]

A couple of questions:


I looked at a DVDShrink tutorial and it indicates that it uses NERO to do the actual burning, so am I to understand that NERO is what you actually use to do the burning?


I use a DVD ROM drive now to rip and a Plextor 708A that burns at 8X using DVDXcopy Express, rip and burn times are generally under 25 minutes total. Would using DVDShrink rip and burn in similar or better time frames?


Once a DVD is ripped using Shrink can it be off loaded permanently to a hard drive rather than or in addition to coping to a DVD blank?


Does Shrink do +R copies without issues?


You cannot make a copy of a copy using DVDXcopy. Can copies of copies be made using DVDShrink?


Can all opening screens, FBI warning etc. be eliminated so the movie starts at the actual beginning when you insert it in the player?


Thank you.

 

[goony]

Check out this DVD Shrink tutorial - it has lotsa pictures that may answer many questions about "what can it do?": http://www.mrbass.org/dvdshrink/

 

[gigaguy]

Can you set clickable chapters and menus with DVD shrink? If not what programs could be used with it to do this? thanks.

 

[innit]

Can DVD shrink copy a DVD onto 1 disk ?

 

[Meritocracy]

Yes it can.

 

[innit]

can it do the 5.1 ch audio?

 

[Meritocracy]

Yes, you can easily retain 5.1 audio if you so desire.

 

[innit]

meritocracy - what kind of dvd writer do you use / recommend with DVDshrink?

 

[Meritocracy]

Innit, you shouldn't have any issues using any readily available DVD burner with DVDshrink. I personally use the Pioneer DVR-107. If you'd like, I recommend visiting DVDRhelp.com as they have quite a bit of information concerning this topic which you may find helpful.