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DVD Copying Tutorial

A

anubis

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 7, 2003
937
50
Due to recent questions regarding copying and burning DVDs and an apparent lack of basic knowledge on the subject, I've taken the liberty of creating this tutorial.


Items needed:

Mac with OSX and any DVD Burner (doesn't need to be a "superdrive". Any DVD burner compatible with Toast will work).

DVDBackup (www.versiontracker.com). Free.

DVD2oneX (www.versiontracker.com). Requires purchase of serial number to work with movies longer than 30 minutes.

Toast 6 or higher. Purchase.

Single layer DVD+R or DVD-R discs (without getting into technical details, DVD-R discs are better because a larger number of DVD players [~95%] can play DVD-R vs. DVD+R [~85%]). Either will work the same for burning.

Approximately 25 gigs of free hard drive space.


Step 1: Insert the DVD you want to copy into the DVD drive on your Mac. Allow the disc to mount. Open the DVD player app and allow the DVD to play for a few seconds. This is important as it increases the chances of the disc being decrypted. After a few seconds, quit the DVD player.

Step 2: Open DVDBackup. For the video source, select the "VIDEO_TS" folder on the DVD disc. It is not necessary or possible to select other folders. Make sure the two boxes regarding decruption and protection removal are checked. Uncheck the region removal box unless having region-free copies really means something to you. Having the box checked decreases the odds that a working copy will be made. Allow DVDBackup to process the files (about 10 minutes on my dual 1.8 G5). DVDBackup will copy the contents of the DVD onto the hard drive at the location you specify.

Step 3: Open DVD2oneX. For the source, select the folder on the hard drive that contains the decrypted files produced by DVDBackup. For the destination set the size to "4444" MB. For Copy Mode, select Full Disc. Leave Ratio alone. On the panel at the right, select the languages you want to be copied. Check the box that specifies to create a disc image. Press start, then select a new folder to save the new files to. It takes about 20 minutes to process a full DVD on my dual 1.8.

Step 4: Insert a blank DVD-R and open Toast. In Toast, select "Disc Copy" and then "Image File". Select the disc image file produced by DVD2oneX. Burn disc. Enjoy.
 
Nice - [edit] except it's wrong to pirate software and it's against forum policy to advocate it.

I've found MacTheRipper to be very good, and it allows you to rip the feature presentation only should you desire, which reduces the need for compression. I've never, not once, had a problem ripping with it, and never need to open DVD Player first. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Also, I've been happy with DVDRemaster as a compression tool.

These are just other options - the steps mentioned above are the right route to take.

And I agree - Toast is a necessary final step!
 
you should really edit some of that, backing up a dvd for personal uses is probably fine, but saying that you should get a serial number or download any software is not .
 
Kwyjibo said:
you should really edit some of that, backing up a dvd for personal uses is probably fine, but saying that you should get a serial number or download any software is not .
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I hadn't noticed that, as I was mainly looking for the apps you mentioned. This site does not condone piracy of any type. DVD's scratch and break, and no one here has a problem with backing them up. I back up many of my daughter's Disney DVDs simply because they aren't available any more, and she's not exactly gentle to them. But it is absolutely wrong to advocate the illegal piracy of software via online license keys (or any other means).
 
homerjward said:
is it possible to use disk utility to burn the dvd if one doesn't have toast?
Click to expand...
I've never gotten it to work correctly - it'll read OK on my Mac, but never in a DVD player... which is why I ended up getting Toast. Obviously, Apple knows how to get it to work (iDVD) but for some reason (doesn't want to annoy Hollywood by making it easy to pirate?) doesn't make it part of OS X.
 
jsw said:
I've never gotten it to work correctly - it'll read OK on my Mac, but never in a DVD player... which is why I ended up getting Toast. Obviously, Apple knows how to get it to work (iDVD) but for some reason (doesn't want to annoy Hollywood by making it easy to pirate?) doesn't make it part of OS X.
Click to expand...

Something about the DVD UDF format that Toast supports.
 
I have to say that I tried every step BUT when I got to the part with DVD2oneX and tried to make the disk image it would get to 2% and hang up there. At one point i left it for hours and it didn't advance from 2%. Has anyone encountered this problem? Am I doing something wrong?

Any Help, Thanks!

~e
 
How about simplifying it for people a little.

1. Insert DVD and open MactheRipper - select settings as appropriate and rip to local hard drive. I suggest that you create a folder with the same name as the DVD before you start ripping - this will be your target folder.

2. Launch Roxio Popcorn and select VIDEO_TS mode. Select the target folder from step 1 (Popcorn will find the appropriate VIDEO_TS folder), set settings as desired - this is up to you - then click the big read sphere in lower right. Popcorn shrinks and burns in "one" step - not to mention its cheaper than DVD2OneX.

To each their own, but I have found this process the most simple and easy to follow.
 
kingjr3 said:
How about simplifying it for people a little.

1. Insert DVD and open MactheRipper - select settings as appropriate and rip to local hard drive. I suggest that you create a folder with the same name as the DVD before you start ripping - this will be your target folder.

2. Launch Roxio Popcorn and select VIDEO_TS mode. Select the target folder from step 1 (Popcorn will find the appropriate VIDEO_TS folder), set settings as desired - this is up to you - then click the big read sphere in lower right. Popcorn shrinks and burns in "one" step - not to mention its cheaper than DVD2OneX.

To each their own, but I have found this process the most simple and easy to follow.
Click to expand...

I use this way and I have never had a problem or made a bad disc. Popcorn rules, and is especially good for those of us without Toast (and with no good reason to get it).
 
I concur with above. I have tried alot and the mac the ripper and popcorn seem to have made me great burns as well.
 
How about a DVD-to-DivX tutorial for people who only have combo drives (can read but not burn DVDs) and a DivX-certified DVD player (such as the Philiphs DVP-642)?

This would also be nice with a Mac mini connected to a TV (and a big external 120-200GB HD) to make a video library (a-la-iPod).
 
homerjward said:
is it possible to use disk utility to burn the dvd if one doesn't have toast?
Click to expand...
You have to generate an UDF/ISO image first, then burn it. I've done it a number of times without problems. You can use the 'mkisofs' open source utility to make the image. DVD2oneX will use 'mkisofs' to build the image for you, if you follow the instructions they provide.
 
jsw said:
Nice - [edit] except it's wrong to pirate software and it's against forum policy to advocate it.

I've found MacTheRipper to be very good, and it allows you to rip the feature presentation only should you desire, which reduces the need for compression. I've never, not once, had a problem ripping with it, and never need to open DVD Player first. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Also, I've been happy with DVDRemaster as a compression tool.

These are just other options - the steps mentioned above are the right route to take.

And I agree - Toast is a necessary final step!
Click to expand...
MacTheRipper is much more actively maintained than DVDbackup and has never failed to rip a DVD for me.
 
eclipse525 said:
Do I need Popcorn? I already have Toast Titanium. Can I use that?


~e
Click to expand...
When Popcorn first came out, they had a $29 special if you already owned Toast. I don't know if that is still the case. Popcorn is the way to go, I think. I rip the entire movie with MacTheRipper, then burn the movie only with Popcorn.
 
kingjr3 said:
How about simplifying it for people a little.

1. Insert DVD and open MactheRipper - select settings as appropriate and rip to local hard drive. I suggest that you create a folder with the same name as the DVD before you start ripping - this will be your target folder.

2. Launch Roxio Popcorn and select VIDEO_TS mode. Select the target folder from step 1 (Popcorn will find the appropriate VIDEO_TS folder), set settings as desired - this is up to you - then click the big read sphere in lower right. Popcorn shrinks and burns in "one" step - not to mention its cheaper than DVD2OneX.

To each their own, but I have found this process the most simple and easy to follow.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I do, works every time. :cool:
 
Good Tutorial

I travel quite a bit, and on the plane, I like to have a small library.

Problem is, I hate to take my originals. I usually make backups, and put the originals up in the media cabinet. When I can, I copy the backups to my HD to make the battery in the iBook last longer too.

This is a good tutorial.

Thx.

Max
 
Might I aslo suggest using Handbrake to rip Mpegs of your DVDs and Toast to burn them into video CDs. This is a good solution for those without DVD burners who still want to watch their backup on a normal DVD player.
 
daveL said:
When Popcorn first came out, they had a $29 special if you already owned Toast. I don't know if that is still the case. Popcorn is the way to go, I think. I rip the entire movie with MacTheRipper, then burn the movie only with Popcorn.
Click to expand...

They actually do have that running special BUT I'm not able to purchase it as the moment, so is it possible to accomplish this with just Toast Titanium until i get Popcorn? Thanks, any help or tips are appreciated.

~e
 
eclipse525 said:
They actually do have that running special BUT I'm not able to purchase it as the moment, so is it possible to accomplish this with just Toast Titanium until i get Popcorn? Thanks, any help or tips are appreciated.

~e
Click to expand...

You don't have to create an image file with DVD2One. Instead you will have to "build" you disc manually with Toast, making sure you chose UDF DVD. Then drop your VIDEO_TS folder onto the disc, give it a title, and burn away. This is how I used to do it before getting Popcorn, but I will tell you its the best $50 you can spend if you are archiving lots of DVDs.
 
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