You should look here (this is just an outline of the process):

http://www.doom9.org     info on backing up DVD to other formats

http://www.dvdrhelp.com   info on creating VCD and DVD

Backup your DVD movies to DVD-R (Not too tough!)

NEW!  Even easier method:  Use the freeware program "DVD Shrink 2.3" available from doom9.org.  This program gives a simple method to backup a DVD to a single DVD-R disk with minimal loss of quality.  Works on tough titles like "Die Another Day" too, where IFOEDIT fails...  You will still need DVD Decrypter or something to burn the output to a DVD-R disk, but otherwise this is an all-in-one solution.  To spit a DVD to 2 DVD-R disks (with no loss of quality), I still use the method below:

You need the following (free) software:

IFOEDIT and the IFOEDIT image making tool

DVD Decrypter

These are the steps:

Run DVD Decrypter.  Select file mode.  Highlight all files and hit the button to copy the entire DVD to your hard drive.  (Unless the DVD is only single layer, then things are even easier!  Select ISO read mode and save the ISO file [should be small enough to fit onto one DVD-R].  Then select ISO write mode and burn the DVD.  That's it!)

Now, most movies are too big for a single DVD-R disk.  So, we have to split the DVD in two using IFOEDIT.  See www.doom9.org for details. Basically open the IFO file for the main movie, push the "VOB tools" button and "Split to 2 DVD".

Now, copy the other files (besides the main movie files that IFOEDIT creates) onto both movie folders.  You must at least have all the files whose name ends with "_0.BUP", "_0.IFO", and "_0.VOB".  The rest you can leave off, if you want.  Make sure the total size of each folder is less than about 4.5GB (as reported by explorer) or it might not fit on the DVD-R.

Next, run IFOEDIT, open the video_ts.ifo file, change the number of chapters to the correct value, push the "region free" and "remove p-ups" buttons, save, open it again, push the "get vts sectors" button.  (Tip:  If you look on the doom9 site you will find a way to make the second disk [or any disk?] play immediately upon insertion.  [Need to jump to title 1 in the first pre-command for the MVGM_MAT First Play PGC])

Now, use the IFOEDIT image tool to create disk images.

Finally, use DVD Decrypter to burn the disk images.

If this process fails, use DvdShrink (mentioned above) to reauthor the movie and then split the reauthored movie.

Backup your DVD movies to CD (in 1 easy and 2 difficult steps)!

Step 1 (easy):  Copy/Backup your DVD disk to your hard drive.  You can play movies from the hard drive, but they take up 4 to 7 GB and you need special hardware to see the movie on a TV.  See above for how to do this.

Step 2 (difficult):  Compress the movie using DivX.  After this step the movie will fit on 2 (or 3) CD's with a quality near to the original.  FlaskMPEG is a good program for this.

Step 3 (difficult):  Convert the DivX CD's into XVCD's (XVCD = eXtended VideoCD).  These will play in many (but not all) DVD players with a quality somewhere between DVD and VHS tape!  Thus, a reasonable backup copy of your DVD is complete.  TMPGenc is a good program for this.  Good Luck, these last 2 steps are difficult.

 

 

Last updated:

Saturday, February 21, 2004