Guide from RavenscroftArt - How to Back Up Newer DVDs

How to Back Up Your DVDs

After you read this article, and if you decide to try it, I strongly recommend you print it out!

This process works for me under Windows XP with SP2. I have tried lots of different ways to do this and I finally put it all together into a working procedure! This process even works for the new release DVDs, which have some kind of goofy structure late in their files that causes Read and/or Positioning errors (?).

You will need a 'puter running Windows XP, Service Pack 2; a DVD reader/writer; a blank DVD; about 10 Gb of free hard disk space (for temporary use during this process); and the software listed below.

For the complete newbie, the two DVD file types we'll be working with are:
.AVI, which you see a lot on the web because they're smaller file sizes BUT vary in quality depending on what software was used to create them, and they may contain freezes and/or skips;
and .VOB files, which you see on commercially produced DVDs. In order to keep the best quality, I work with the .VOB files - get them all decrypted and shrunk, and THEN convert them to .AVIs.

A word about codecs: I use the DivX package. It gives great quality and anybody can find the codec on the web if they don't have it. For the newbies, a codec is a COder/DECoder. It's necessary to use standardized file encoding or nobody else can view the movie! There are other codecs out there, lots of them, but I prefer DivX. You can certainly use other codecs, I'll tell you how later.

OK, here we go:

The first thing you have to do is get the right software. Download from the the addresses below:

1. DOWNLOAD and install DivX Pro v.5.2.1 for Windows Xp/SP2. You'll use this to help encode and then preview your newly-shrunken movie files. Install this and forget about it - until you're ready to preview your shrunken files:

DivX Pro

2. DOWNLOAD and install the trial version of AnyDVD v.4.6.1.2. This program will vastly improve your decrypting capabilities:

AnyDVD

3. DOWNLOAD and install DVD Decrypter. It does just what it says. It's freeware (free to use):

DVD Decrypter

4. DOWNLOAD and install DVD Shrink. It, too, does just what it says. It's necessary to shrink the files in order to get the movie onto one DVD. It's also freeware:

DVD Shrink

5. If you want to publish .AVI movies to the web, or just want to have smaller movie files, DOWNLOAD and install the trial version of AVS Video Converter. This easily converts .VOB files to .AVI files. This is the best and fastest video conversion program I have found. For you experts, it converts lots of file types to each other, including .WMVs and MPEGs.

 AVS Video ConverterDownload.com

6. DOWNLOAD and install DVDFab Platinum. You'll use this to burn your DVDs to disk. If you have the Nero Suite, you can use that if you like.

DVDFab Platinum


OK, now that you have all the necessary software, let's back up a DVD!

1. Reboot the computer. Close all open programs, especially anti-virus.

2. Run AnyDVD. You should see a little red fox in your system tray next to the clock. This runs in the background; start it and forget about it until you're ready to burn.

3. Create a folder on your hard drive and call it [movie name]. Then create a folder under [movie name] called [shrunk]. That way you don't overwrite the decrypted files in case something goes wrong with DVD Shrink.

4. Run DVD Decrypter to decrypt the commercially produced DVD files. Note: Because of the goofy structure problems, decrypting will take a long time. You can do other things while it's running but it may slow things down. I'm an impatient person so I run DVD Decrypter at night.

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a. WHEN YOU RUN DVD DECRYPTER FOR THE FIRST TIME: (otherwise skip to b. below)

Make sure the program settings are right:

- Click on "Mode" and make sure "File" is checked.
- Click on "Edit", then click on "Select Main Movie Files + IFOs".
- Click on "Tools", then "Settings," then the "General" tab. Make sure "Check for Structure Protection" is set to "aggressive." You can check "Minimize to System Tray" if you like. Make sure "Remove Macrovision Protection" is checked, and "1" shows in the the "RCE Protection Region" drop-down. Make sure all the boxes are checked in the "Other" part. "Default Destination" should be "none." Leave the rest of the settings on this tab alone.
-Under the "File Mode" tab, in the On Startup/Select Files drop-down, make sure "Select Main Movie Files + IFOs" is selected. In "File Splitting" the "by file" option should be checked. Leave the rest of the settings on this tab alone.
- Under the "I/O" tab, set "Software Read Error Retries" to 5 and check "Ignore Read Errors." Leave the rest of the settings on this tab alone.
- Under the "Events" tab, make sure "On Startup", "Set Program Mode" is set to "Most Recently Used," and "Check for Program Update" is checked. Under "On Cancel" you can uncheck "Ask" but make sure "Delete Incomplete Files" is set to "Yes." Leave the rest of the settings on this tab alone.
- Click on "OK" to close the settings window.

YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO CHANGE THE PROGRAM SETTINGS AGAIN UNLESS YOU REINSTALL THE SOFTWARE OR UPGRADE IT.
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b. You should see a list of files in the right-hand window, with all the .VOB files and all the .IFO files highlighted. If you don't, did you put the DVD in? :D If so, make sure the correct DVD drive is selected under the "Source" box. It should be the one that reads DVDs.

c. Click on the yellow file folder under "Destination" and browse to your [movie name] folder. Look at the "Free Space" number; make sure you have about 10 GB free. If you don't, you can't back up your DVD!

d. Click on the picture of the DVD/green arrow/DVD player located in the middle of the left-hand side. When you put the cursor over it it will pop up "Decrypt." Let it run. Don't worry about the number of read errors you get unless it's really big, say, 200+. If you get that many, start all over again. (Windows is a DRAG!).

5. Now that you have decrypted the DVD files, you must run DVD Shrink to shrink them to manageable size. Open DVDShrink and click on "Re-Author".

a. On the right side click on the "DVD Browser" tab. Navigate to your [movie name] folder. You will see "Title 1" and possibly some other files like "Subpictures" and "Sound" (? I think it's called Sound). Anyway, uncheck everything except Ch-1, English Dolby 5.1, and Ch-2 English under Sound. IF Ch-2 SAYS "DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY", UNCHECK IT!" You might see different languages; uncheck all of them you don't want.

b. Click on the "DVD Compression" tab. This tells you the percentage by which your movie will be compressed in order to fit on one DVD. The higher the number, the better. You can change this by selecting or deselecting portions of the movie.

c. Then double-click on "Title 1". A box will pop up and show that the movie is being analyzed. If you want to watch the movie in high-speed fast-forward, check "Enable Video Preview." When it has finished analyzing, click on "Backup!".

d. A box will pop up:
- Under the "Target Device" tab, make sure "Hard Disk Folder" is selected. Under "Select Target Folder for DVD Files" browse to your [movie name][shrunk] folder. Look at "Space Required" vs. "Space Available in Folder" to make sure you have enough room. Make sure "Create VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders" is checked.
- Under the "Quality Settings" tab, under "Backup Quality Settings" make sure the "Perform Deep Analysis..." box is checked, if that's available; then make sure "Compress Video with High Quality Adaptive Error Compensation" is checked. "Sharp-default" is what you want. (If everything's greyed out, don't worry about it.)
- Select the items you want to use under the "Options" tab. They're self-explanatory.
- Click OK to close the window.

e. DVD Shrink will now get to work. Like DVD Decrypter, you can click "Enable Video Preview" if you want to watch.

6. Once the movie is shrunk, open DivX Player and start the movie from the [movie name][shrunk] folder. If you're really worried about it you can watch the whole movie; I just make sure I have good video and sound. Close DivX player when you're done.

7. Close AnyDVD from the system tray by the clock.

8. Now you're ready to actually burn your DVD! Put a blank disk in your DVD writer. Open DVDFab Platinum in "Gold Mode".

a. Click on "Main Movie". Then click on "Disk Folder." Click on the button with the three little dots and navigate to the [movie name] [shrunk][VIDEO_TS] folder. Then click "Next." NOTE: look through the "Settings" if you like, you may see something you want (or need) to change. For me, the defaults are fine.

b. Below the "Set Program" box there's a little box that says "DVDs". Make sure that says 1! Under "Select changegraphic" select "Black Screen." Leave the rest of the settings in this window alone.

c. In the next window make sure "DVD Writer" is checked and that your DVD write drive is selected.

d. Accept the default "Temporary Directory" although if you're low on disk space and have another hard drive you can use it for the temp files. Make sure "Delete temporary files after writing" is checked.

e. Click "Go!"

9. When DVDFab Platinum (Gold Mode) is done, you have a new DVD! Check it by playing it in your DVD player.

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If you want to convert to .AVIs for the web, open AVS Video Converter. You will have to convert your .VOB files one at a time. If you select more than one file to input, AVSVC will merge them and they will be too large for others to download easily. Of course, if you want to burn .AVI files to a DVD, it doesn't matter how big the files are...

- Click "To AVI".

FOR EACH FILE YOU WISH TO CONVERT:
- Under "Input file name" navigate to your [movie name][shrunk][VIDEO_TS] folder.
- Under "Output File Name" browse to the folder where you want to store the .AVI files. Before you click "open", rename the file to something like [movie name].[1 of (however many .AVI files you'll end up with)].DivX.avi
- Click "open".
- Make sure "AVI Profile" says "Video: DivX (MPEG 4); Audio: MP3 - 192 kbps" If not, click on "Edit Profile" and find it. OR, if you don't want to use DivX to encode, here's the place to select the codec you want.
- There's nothing under the "Advanced" settings that you need to change.
- Click on "Convert Now"

That's it! You now have a backup of your DVD in .AVI format!