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Best Way to Copy DVDs?

M

MarkW19

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 13, 2002
1,209
1
Surrey, UK
I want to copy a couple of DVDs (for my own private use!) - the first is one I made in iMovie/iDVD, so has no protection on it etc., and the second is a commercial dual-layer DVD, which I assume will be protected.

What's the easiest/simplest/quickest way to do the copies? :)

Thanks for any help.
 
Thanks, so Mac the Ripper will remove any protection etc., and copy the DVD contents to my HD, which I then just drag onto a new DVD (in the Finder) to copy it?
 
it will remove all protection and create all folder full of all the vob files. You can then drag these files to a blank dvd and burn... it'll be just like new :)

The ripped DVD folder will also show up in front row, with menus and all (if you rip them). i think that's pretty cool... and it's full dvd quality...
 
pianos101 said:
it will remove all protection and create all folder full of all the vob files. You can then drag these files to a blank dvd and burn... it'll be just like new :)

The ripped DVD folder will also show up in front row, with menus and all (if you rip them). i think that's pretty cool... and it's full dvd quality...
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks.

I just Google'd copying DVDs on the Mac, and apparently you can't just drag the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders onto the new blank DVD in the Finder, as it won't be playable in all/most DVD players (though it may still play on your Mac). Apparently you have to do another step, which converts the folders into a UDF image, which can then be burned in Disk Utility.

Is that right?! Or are you saying that last step isn't required?
 
hmm you might be right. I use toast to burn anyway so i can't answer the Finder burning question, but others might know... I know the MacTheRipper copy will definitely play fine, although i haven't tried to burn yet...
 
most people use something like popcorn to burn DVD movies. Toast will burn UDF from what I remember but I never used it to burn DVD movies. The free Mac The Ripper (MTR) 2.6.6 can rip many older DVDs that don't have newer copyright protection. For the newer stuff you'd need to gift the developer for access to the beta which rips most DVDs. I don't burn DVD movies so for that part I'd be mostly guessing. There are commercial programs like DVD2One which you can use also.
 
Right, as I don't have Popcorn/Toast, I wanted something I could do just in the Finder, or with a free utility.

Basically, use Mac the Ripper to extract the DVD to your HD, minus any copy protection, region coding etc.

Then, there's a program called DVD Imager. You drag the VIDEO_TS folder onto that, and it creates a disk image that Disk Utility can then burn to a DVD, which is then playable in DVD players as well as computers.

I also used Handbrake to convert the VIDEO_TS folder/files into an .mp4 that is nice and small (and good quality) for my iPhone.

BUT - Handbrake only does DVDs/VIDEO_TS. I have some standard MPEG2 movies that I'd like to shrink down to put onto my iPhone, with good utilization of space, and good quality (like Handbrake does with DVDs). What's the best way to do that?

Thanks for the help.
 
cohibadad said:
The free Mac The Ripper (MTR) 2.6.6 can rip many older DVDs that don't have newer copyright protection. For the newer stuff you'd need to gift the developer for access to the beta
Click to expand...

"gifting the developer" has become such a laborious process that it really isn't worth it anymore. I'll move toward "gifting" DVD2One, even though I would rather use MTR.
 
Aloha MarkW19,

Actually, Toast is worth the money spent on its purchase. It can not only burn the files created with MTR, but DivX and MPEG2 as well. In addition, you can also burn (Super) Video CDs, so it's like Popcorn, but on steroids. It will "automagically" compress the content to fit on a CD, DVD, DVD DL, BD, or BD DL (the BlueRay Disc option is dependent on your hardware, naturally, so we can't actually burn that type of disc yet :(, but at least the software supports it :D).

As for ripping, I normally use MTR, but I've found that it doesn't rip everything. Sometimes, Handbrake can rip a movie that MTR can't! Explain that one to me, because I don't understand it. If you really wanted, you could probably search on Pirate Bay for the latest MTR - that site may have it.

HawaiiMacAddict
 
OK, well I just used Disk Utility to burn the disk image created my DVD Imager, and the DVD (dual layer) plays fine in my 2 Macs, but on my PS2 and another standalone DVD player, I just get "disc error".

Anyone any ideas?
 
does mac os x (leopard) offer a way to copy dvds directly or do i need to use other software like toast?

i.e. to just make a direct copy. like put in the disc i want to copy, click copy, it'll read it and when it's done it spits it out and asks for the disc i want to write onto.

something like that, that's how i copy discs on nero on my windows machine. it'd be awesome if i didn't have to use software like toast and if leopard can do that already.
 
soccerjoe5 said:
does mac os x (leopard) offer a way to copy dvds directly or do i need to use other software like toast?

i.e. to just make a direct copy. like put in the disc i want to copy, click copy, it'll read it and when it's done it spits it out and asks for the disc i want to write onto.

something like that, that's how i copy discs on nero on my windows machine. it'd be awesome if i didn't have to use software like toast and if leopard can do that already.
Click to expand...

Well, what kind of DVD's? Non-commercial ones, i think so, but I always use toast. You might have to copy files to the hard drive then burn. Commercials ones? definitely not.

And you say that you just insert a disc in your windows box and nero automatically takes over. Nero is 3rd party software, like toast. So how is using toast different than using nero on xp?
 
pianos101 said:
Well, what kind of DVD's? Non-commercial ones, i think so, but I always use toast. You might have to copy files to the hard drive then burn. Commercials ones? definitely not.

And you say that you just insert a disc in your windows box and nero automatically takes over. Nero is 3rd party software, like toast. So how is using toast different than using nero on xp?
Click to expand...

yup i know it's 3rd party, but i was hoping i wouldn't have to use 3rd party and that leopard had it built-in :)

so, how's your experience using toast? pleasant, easy to use and reliable? worth the purchase?
 
soccerjoe5 said:
so, how's your experience using toast? pleasant, easy to use and reliable? worth the purchase?
Click to expand...
I purchased Toast 8 and find it very easy to use. I ripped a DVD with MTR and then under DVD you just point it to the Video File. I did by habit create an empty audio directory just in case and it was a piece of cake. There are a lot of new features in the latest version and have not explored them all. I bought mine at Amazon with a $20 Rebate from Roxio;
http://www.amazon.com/Roxio-Toast-8...sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1204732664&sr=8-1

But there maybe cheaper places to buy it.

Bill.......:apple:
 
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Another vote for Mac The Ripper. If you don't want to lose resolution, use it. Then use Handbrake to convert for Apple TV and iTunes library play, and Toast for the occasional DVD creation.

I pitched my entire DVD collection once they were ripped with MTR. Optical discs are so bulky and so 20th century.
 
merc669 said:
I purchased Toast 8 and find it very easy to use. I ripped a DVD with MTR and then under DVD you just point it to the Video File. I did by habit create an empty audio directory just in case and it was a piece of cake. There are a lot of new features in the latest version and have not explored them all. I bought mine at Amazon with a $20 Rebate from Roxio;
http://www.amazon.com/Roxio-Toast-8...sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1204732664&sr=8-1

But there maybe cheaper places to buy it.

Bill.......:apple:
Click to expand...

thanks. i'll try toast out once i get my MBP :)
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
What do I need?...

ok. so let me get this straight. for decrypting, ripping, compressing, and burning onto a blank dvd, i need MTR and Toast? also, what's the difference in Handbrake and MTR?
 
One difference is that Handbreak is designed to rip your DVDs to the format that looks the best when played back on iPods/iPhones/AppleTVs, etc.
 
dvd file size

I have usd mac the ripper to rip a dvd, but when i use toast to burn it to cd it says the size is over the 4.7gb of the blank dvd? can i get larger dvds, or can i compress the size?
 
zazenmac said:
I have usd mac the ripper to rip a dvd, but when i use toast to burn it to cd it says the size is over the 4.7gb of the blank dvd? can i get larger dvds, or can i compress the size?
Click to expand...

Commercial DVDs are usually dual layer, up to roughly twice the size of a standard 4.7GB DVD.

You can use DVD2oneX to remove some of the extras and menus etc. to save some space, and/or use it to compress the data to fit it onto one DVD. But it can effect quality.

The best thing to do is to burn to a dual layer DVD. If you have a relatively new Mac, it has a dual-layer Superdrive in it anyway - so just burn to a DL disc.
 
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