DvD back-up help

[Pitalokie]

So i am new to this scene so forgive my ignorance in advance. I am looking for a simple program to rip my dvd collection to my computer in a usable format that i can strem direclty to my TV and be able to burn back-up if needed that can be played in any stardard DVD player. I would also prefer to be able to compress these movies down to 4G so i can easily burn them without using dual layer dvds and so i can fit more on my HD. and as if thats not asking enough a program that is easy to use without hours of learning how to set the program up to do what i want. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Btw i have dried DvD Shrink and ImgBrn and i just cant get the results i need from these programs unless im doing something wrong. DvD shrink works prety good untill it comes to burning the DVD and leaving it in a usable format. ImgBrn i cant get to do much of anything. Im running windows 7 64bit if that helps any. Thank you

[UncasMS]

first i must say: both tools do an excellent job

the question is: do you want dvd output or maybe convert to avi/mkv?

dvd rebuilder delivers best quality when it comes to dvd => dvd conversion imho
handbrake or avstodvd will also be alternatives worth testing

[Pitalokie]

Well the main problem im having with DvD shrink is when it comes to selecting target if i choose CD it trys to burn with Nero. the conversion goes fine but Nero will not burn the DvD. I guess my better option would be to save as an ISO image file but then i will have to convert the ISO to a usable format to be used in Dvd players. the last option is copy to hard drive in DvD files i am curently runing this option now so i do not yet know what format the files will be copied in. I would assume Avi maybe


To awnser your question about output im not sure AVI would be good because then i can strem the movies directly to my TV from my computer i know my TV will play the AVI because i have some other movies in that format and they play fine. Btw my computer is not hooked up directly to my TV or the format would not matter as much i am using the LAN connection on my TV and setting my computer up as a media server in a diff room. My question is Can Avi be played in a stardard DVD player or would it have to be converted to another format? Also my TV does have a Divx codex built into it so between Divix, AVI, and ISO what would offer the best quality and still be able to be used on a standard dvd player.

[UncasMS]

- i would NO tool let output/burn to dvd directly as i'd like to check the results first so you may consider output to harddrive with whatver program you prefer to use for the job

- an outputted iso should be burned via imgburn and the content (dvd material in this case) should work just fine in your player

[Pitalokie]

Ok when i select to copy to HD it puts it in .VOB which i can not stream to my TV so i will try the ISO option and see if my TV will play that format. thank you for your help btw it is much appreciated

[Pitalokie]

Ok well that worked great. I used DVD shrink copied file to HD as an ISO image and used ImgBrn to burn the DVD and it works fine in both my PS3 and dvd player. Now the only problem is my TV wont recognize the file in ISO format. So my first question is will ImgBrn convert the file as it buns for example can i save the files to my HD in AVI and burn them in ISO?

[UncasMS]

an ISO is nothing but an image file that contains certain structures and data, which will have to burned according to certain specs

you can create an iso out of a strcutre for dvd material or a program or game disc
as they all have diffderent structures the iso "only" stores every detail concerning the content and when burning the iso one will have to make sure that you burn the iso NOT as a data disc so that you dont end up with a cd/dvd disc with a file called ISO on it- it will be worthless

the initial content like video_ts and audio_ts subfolders + content of a dvd will be necessary when burnt so that a dvd player can recognize whats on the disc and play it correctly

so when you use any dvd conversion tool (many of them offer output to iso) you will have to burn the iso file and have it "extracted" when burnt

imgburn should now turn whatever is inside that iso to its original structure and thus make it playable for a regular dvd/bd player

[MilesAhead]

Ok well that worked great. I used DVD shrink copied file to HD as an ISO image and used ImgBrn to burn the DVD and it works fine in both my PS3 and dvd player. Now the only problem is my TV wont recognize the file in ISO format. So my first question is will ImgBrn convert the file as it buns for example can i save the files to my HD in AVI and burn them in ISO?

I think the requirement that's the "fly in the ointment" is "playable on any standard DVD player." If these videos are only for yourself I'd consider getting a stand-alone DVD player that can play .avi/.divx and also plays both NTSC and PAL formats. Also it may be handy to get one with a "region free remote hack" to avoid region code issues on regular DVDs.

You can probably fit more than one movie on a DVD5 if it's .avi. You can stream it to your TV, and you don't have to worry about changing formats. The major drawback is that compressing down takes more time than upsizing. IOW, it may only take 35 minutes to convert a one hour .avi video to DVD format but it may take 3 hours to convert a 2 hour DVD movie down to .avi. That's just the way it goes. But if you don't have to mess with subtitles, AutoGK may be a good choice. It does a good job in 1 pass mode and you can select something like 92% quality and still save lots of space. Depends how much of a stickler you are for quality.

Another nice thing about AutoGK is if you have "letterboxed" 4:3 movies it will usually auto crop them and produce 16:9 .avi output. Your .avi output can actually look better than the original on a 16:9 TV esp. if the TV or player upscales.