What software to make and read DVD ISO files?

[jnaranjo]

I want to store backups of my DVD collection on my copmputer. I want them to be contianed within a single backup file, an ISO file if you will. Is there any software that you guys can recommend for accomplishing this, that will not only create the ISO but be able to read it without having to uncompress or expand the ISO?

[dirchm0628]

I use dvd decrypter to rip DVD's to the hard drive. It will work for what you are trying to accomplish. I also use RatDVD to compress the dvd's on the hard drive to save space. Rat DVD will read the ISO file once it's on the hard drive and then I just delete the ISO. BM will also play rat dvd format.

[Rich A]

I played with RatDVD some time ago. I really liked the amount of compression and the excellent quality. I have a few DVDs on my HTPC storage drive that were "Ratified".

I haven't kept up with it lately. Have they worked out the navigation problems and the long rendering times? I went away from it mostly because it took so long to render.

[jnaranjo]

I hope to find some time to test RatDVD shortly. I will let you know how it works.
thanks

[dirchm0628]

I used ratDVD the other day and it still takes quite a long time. My system is a little older so I can't speake for newer system. I ripped and recompressed Lemony Snickets and it went from 7.90GB to 1.86GB using the default compression ratio.

[AdmA]

dvd shrink is hands down the best... it can compress the file too and it looks amazing...you can let it do a doulbe pass too whereactions scenes arent compressed and sitting scenes are, so there is no artifacting, but the dvd is now 4.5 gb. In the extremely rare case it does not decrypt, dvddecryptor is good. dvdshrink is free.

[Rich A]

Lately I've been using Nero's Re-Code. Lot's of options (what to keep what to get rid of), very fast and excellent quality .. when "Re-coding" from a 9GB DVD to a 5GB DVD. Even when doing a shrunk 1:1 directly to a 4.3 GB DVD, it generally gets the job done in around 10 minutes or less.

But I have to admit that the best quality to size ratio I have found are the RatDVD generated ones.

[Bigbird999]

jn
You don't say wheter you want to have an exact copy of the DVD with all of the extras (like director's comments, other languages, etc ) in your backup copy or if you just want the movie. Also you don't say if you want to compress the backup copy to save space. A full, uncompressed, commercial DVD backup will be up to 9 GB. The main movie will be about half of this, so if you back up just the movie you will be around 4 -6 GB per movie. If disc space is an issue (for most of us it is), you will probably want to compress the backup file to save disc space. For compression there are many options.


Here's a start that will give you the flexibility to do whatever you want.

Rip the DVD with DVD Decrypter. On the Settings/File Mode tab set the file selection to main move and the splitting option to none. This will create a single, large (4 -6 GB) vob file, called something like VTS_03_1.VOB in the VIDEO_TS folder. This file will contain just the main movie. If you run this through Video redo quickstream fix and name the routput file moviename.mpg, it will show up and play in BTV or Link just like a BTV recording. Set up a DVD folder in web admin and store all of your DVD backups there. Then you can access them at anytime from the BTV interface.

If disc space is an issue (if it isn't now, eventually it will be), you will want to compress the files to save space. There are many threads on this forum on how to do this. If you want to keep the AC3 surround sound, my personal favorite is to use avi.net and compress the file to a divx or xvid avi file at about 20 - 25% of the original size. Encoding time will be about 1.5 hrs per hr of video length.

If you want much faster encoding, and you are happy to use MP3 stereo sound, instead of AC3 surround sound (it is a backup after all), you can use the Avivoxcode.exe discussed here to encode the quickstram fixed mpg file to 2000 - 3500 kbps mpeg4 (divx). You will have to experiment to find what bit rate suits you best. The resulting files will be 25 -50% (10 - 25 MB/min) of the original size, depending on the bit rate you choose, and will play perfectly in BTV or VLC. Or you can reencode to lower bitrate mpeg2 and keep the AC# sound at about half the file size.

YMMV, but for me a 2 hr DVD decrypts in about 25 min and the avivo encode takes about 30 min.

BB

[Bigbird999]

delete double post

[ClamsTheCat]

I just started playing with RatDVD today. Looks pretty neat and it is pretty much what I am looking for. I am trying to preserve the menus and everything from the DVDs and then put the discs into a box inside a closet or something. Then I want to link to them inside BM using the DVD plugin. Does all this sound do-able?

If I want the best quality/diskspace ratio, is RatDVD the best option? My desktop is left unused for the better part of each work day (3GHz P4, 2GB RAM) so would that be enough time to compress a movie with RatDVD?

Thanks!

[Mamba]

I wasn't impressed with RatDVD. Great concept but poor execution....pretty much requires a dedicated machine due to high CPU usage and extremely long encoding times (most of the night on average hardware). Their main site has been "under construction" for months and the last version update is 12.06.05, which makes one wonder if it's a dead product.

[Bigbird999]

clams
DVD Shrink will allow you to rip a dual layer DVD (9GB) to a single layer (4.5 GB) preserving all menus etc (or just the movie if you want). If you choose a custom compression (lower quality) you can squeeze the size down to about 3 GB with pretty good quality.

I just shrunk Grease (25th anniversary) @3600kbps to 3.1 GB (took less than 1 hr) and I can't see any difference from the original DVD.

BB

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by Mamba

I wasn't impressed with RatDVD. Great concept but poor execution....pretty much requires a dedicated machine due to high CPU usage and extremely long encoding times (most of the night on average hardware). Their main site has been "under construction" for months and the last version update is 12.06.05, which makes one wonder if it's a dead product.

I got involved with RatDVD from the beginning. It's original concept was to have a "vessel" to be used to transfer entire DVDs over the web quickly. The fact that RatDVD has a "player" is an added bonus. Keep in mind the RatDVD application works both ways. You can use it to make a full (every feature) compressed RatDVD file that is VERY small and easier to transport via the web. It is a Loss LESS compression. AND because it works bi-directional, once you receive the file via the web, it can be put back in RatDVD and turned back into the full normal DVD Title set.

It's sort of a loss less super zip for DVD Disks. This is one reason why it takes so long to compress. It's using special compression that can be un-compressed without ANY loss of data. I'm not exactly sure about Divx and other compressions as if they are loss less or not. BUT they can't compare at all with the amount of compression or the quality of the RatDVD compressed DVD. Plus RatDVD is really more like an exact image of the original DVD .. all the features, subtitles etc. can be included.

All that compression and quality come at a cost .. TIME ..

[Rich A]

Something to add to the discussion. I've been using various ways to create playable TS folders on my HTPC. Lately I've been having some trouble with more and more rips. Sometimes when trying to play them, I will get an error screen that says, "This disk is not formatted for this region".

There seems to be a lot of discussion on the various forums about this. But like most things there also seems to be a ka-zillion different fixes for it, none of which seems to work for everyone.

Here's my take on it. I believe the studios are trying to stop ripping of disks that are "Region Free". Note, usually there are firmware upgrades and such to make your stand alone or PC based PLAYER region free. So you can buy any region disk and play it in your player.

But I think the commercial people are trying to stop the production of region free DVD DISKS. Probably so they can't be pirated and sold to any region.

It seems that most ripping software will by default ?? make a disk region free. I think this new? code that is embedded onto the original disk checks it's own region against that of the player. If they match then it plays. If not, you get that error and it doesn't play. In other words they added DISK-BASED region checking to the current PLAYER BASED region checking.

Now the ripped DVDs that are burned to an actual DVD disk DO play fine everywhere. This new problem only seems to affect a hard drive based DVD TS file that you are trying to play.

So I'm thinking that this disk based region checking has problems working with a Title Set that is hard drive based. I haven't checked this yet, but I'm hoping that the "region free" setting in my ripping software can be turned OFF. I'm not interested in making it play in any region. Just the one I live in. Which is the original region the disk was sold in.

Could this be the simple answer that everyone seems to be over-looking? Any comments?

[cat6man]

rich,
sounds interesting....please let us know how it progresses