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Hey guys! This topic is a great one to discuss. I am new to this and have never done it before. Therefore I request no bashing or insults if I ask obvious questions. If they are so obvious, then please answer them for me! Anyway, I managed to rip the DVD onto my computer and it plays successfuly in my computer without the actual DVD. It is now 7.29 GB, therefore it needs compression. DVD2OneX requires $99 if you want to compress more than 30 minutes worth of files. DVDRemaster also requires a purchase. The demo of DVDRemaster will "cripple" my video for 5 seconds every minute. I do not want that either. I tried to look up DVDRequatisizer which seamuskrat suggested. I could not find it! So, does anyone know anyone program that could be used for compression?

Another question: Is step 4a in seamuskrat's step-by-step guide needed when burning my DVD? I assume it isnt, but then again I am new. So point me in the right direction. I dont quite understand it...

Thank you!
 
BLINK said:
Another question: Is step 4a in seamuskrat's step-by-step guide needed when burning my DVD? I assume it isnt, but then again I am new. So point me in the right direction. I dont quite understand it...

Thank you!

I think that 4a is an alternative to 4. Note that you can find DVDImager here
 
BLINK said:
What did you use to compress your DVD with, jsw?

I used DVDRemaster, since I couldn't see any real reason to spend the money on DVD2OneX - as far as I can tell, the only real plus is that it's (possibly) faster, and that it creates the disk image automatically.

I couldn't find anything free, so I went with the cheapest one I could find - DVDRemaster - and it works fine for me. I'm sure there is something free/cheaper out there; I just couldn't find one and my brother had recommended DVDRemaster, so I bought it.
 
BLINK:

FWIW, I've tried all the steps above, but to no avail. I have burned a DVD-R which looks to my Mac just like the original DVD - i.e., I insert it into the tray, and DVD Player comes up and begins playing the disk. However, neither of my Sony DVD players, nor my Panasonic DVD Recorder, can read the disk. Perhaps I'm using bad media - I've got Memorex 4X DVD-R media, which seems fine (the Panasonic is fine with burning DVDs with it).

Here's what I did:

  • Copied the DVD content into a folder on my Mac.
  • Used DVDBackup to decrypt the DVD (but MacTheRipper looks interesting - I'll try that next).
  • Used DVD Remaster to reduce it (BTW, I was thinking that DVD2one was a lot more expensive; it isn't - 50 Euros, so not much more)
  • Used DVD Imager to create a disk image
  • Used Disk Utility to burn the image.

The resulting DVD looks fine to my Mac but won't play elsewhere.

Perhaps I need to use Toast. Looking into that now.
 
jsw said:
BLINK:

FWIW, I've tried all the steps above, but to no avail. I have burned a DVD-R which looks to my Mac just like the original DVD - i.e., I insert it into the tray, and DVD Player comes up and begins playing the disk. However, neither of my Sony DVD players, nor my Panasonic DVD Recorder, can read the disk. Perhaps I'm using bad media - I've got Memorex 4X DVD-R media, which seems fine (the Panasonic is fine with burning DVDs with it).

Here's what I did:

  • Copied the DVD content into a folder on my Mac.
  • Used DVDBackup to decrypt the DVD (but MacTheRipper looks interesting - I'll try that next).
  • Used DVD Remaster to reduce it (BTW, I was thinking that DVD2one was a lot more expensive; it isn't - 50 Euros, so not much more)
  • Used DVD Imager to create a disk image
  • Used Disk Utility to burn the image.

The resulting DVD looks fine to my Mac but won't play elsewhere.

Perhaps I need to use Toast. Looking into that now.

Silly question, how old are the Sony's and Panasonic DVD players? Not all players can read the DVD-R disks. There was a website that had a compatibility list.
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
Silly question, how old are the Sony's and Panasonic DVD players? Not all players can read the DVD-R disks. There was a website that had a compatibility list.

The Panasonic isn't even a year old, and actually writes to the same DVD-R's I've burned on (it's a DVR). But, when I insert the DVD burned as noted above, it says "incompatible media" or some such. I have to assume something minor is amiss - I just don't know what. I'm going to try the Toast route and see if it makes a difference. I know I'm missing one tiny thing, and it's driving me nuts!
 
Yup, the key to making a playable / compatible disc is selecting the "Copy" tab in Toast, selecting the "UDF DVD-ROM" format option and then dragging in your disk image.
 
Rod Rod said:
Yup, the key to making a playable / compatible disc is selecting the "Copy" tab in Toast, selecting the "UDF DVD-ROM" format option and then dragging in your disk image.

Is there a way to do this without toast??
 
Rod Rod said:
jsw explained it in post#31. I haven't used that method though, and I suppose "disk imager" is freeware or shareware.

Well, the method I posted didn't work - the disk wasn't readable outside the Mac. Guess I need to use Toast?
 
jsw said:
Well, the method I posted didn't work - the disk wasn't readable outside the Mac. Guess I need to use Toast?

My July 22 post wasn't completely accurate, so I'll retract and correct it:

Once you're finished re-sizing your DVD-9 source to fit on a (burnable) DVD-5, you'll have a VIDEO_TS folder.

1. Launch Toast.
2. Select the Data tab.
3. Under the "Advanced" tab in the drawer, select "DVD-ROM (UDF)."
4. Click "New Disc" (bottom left corner).
5. Rename "My Disc" to whatever you like.
6. Inside this new disc, create a new folder. Click "New Folder" (bottom left corner) and name the new folder "AUDIO_TS." Leave that folder empty.
7. Drag your VIDEO_TS folder into your new disc.

At this point you should have two folders, AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS, right beside each other. Hopefully this won't be too tricky. One of my friends couldn't understand what this meant, and I think he was placing his VIDEO_TS folder inside his AUDIO_TS folder. You don't want that. You want the two folders to be on the same level, beside each other, and not one inside the other.

If you have any .dsstore, desktop.ds, desktop.db or other random files, remove them.

Now you're ready to burn.

The resulting disc work work on any DVD-R capable set-top player.
 
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