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naughty9s · Apr 28, 2005, 12:30 PM

Can anyone suggest which I would be better off buying, to use for backing up my dvd collection? I've tried the demo of dvd3onex and it seems pretty good, being able to remove unwanted menus etc. Any thoughts would be great, thanks

stevesnj · Apr 28, 2005, 02:57 PM

i use MacThe Ripper and Popcorn. Popcorn can remove the menus

k_munic · Apr 29, 2005, 01:25 AM

I do use dvd2one and I'm very happy with that product; it has ONE specific advantage compared to Popcorn: you're able to define your own "final file size".
normally, you'll try to fit the result on a 4,4 DVD-r.
in case you compress with vbr, sometime the final file size is just a little (few MB) over that� some users of Popecorn experienced that, Toast didn't accept to burn the VIDEO_TS�*too big.

summary: dvd2one more flexible.

my 5�cent......

Spoffo · Apr 30, 2005, 12:01 AM

I agree DVD2xOne is *MUCH* more flexible. Sometimes I like to keep menus and certain extras, but throw away some of the useless stuff (like trailers) to make room for a less-compressed feature. It takes some math with file sizes, but DVD2xOne will let you set an oddball size for the compressed VIDEO_TS, like say 5162MB, so that when you throw out the unwanted elements (actually you replace them with little 1k dummy .VOBs so you don't crash the directory) you wind up with a 4444MB folder.

Can't do that with Popcorn.

naughty9s · Apr 30, 2005, 08:35 AM

Thanks for the information guys, I think I'll go for DVD2onex.

badtz · May 7, 2005, 04:16 AM

is all of the cons mentioned here still the same with the new version of popcorn 1.0.2 ?

k_munic · May 7, 2005, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by badtz

is all of the cons mentioned here still the same with the new version of popcorn 1.0.2 ?

yepp, the actual updates don't add features but "just" tiger compatibility�

Kenneth · May 7, 2005, 05:43 PM

On the day, Roxio released the 1.0.2 updater, I bought a copy from COMPUSA. I used to ask my friend to get the job done since he had the v1.0, but the quality wasn't that good for some DVDs. The retail box even came with a $10 mail-in rebate coupon for Toast 6, DVD Studio Pro, iLife, Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3, or 10.4 owners.

By reading the update log on MacUpdate.com

What's New:
Version 1.0.2:

- Resolves an issue where adding a VIDEO_TS folder or disc image would fail on Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).
- Resolves an issue where the Setup Assistant would rerun on Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).
- Resolves cosmetic issues to the Copy Options sheet on Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).
- Correctly records to DVD-R DL (dual layer) media for data disc formats.
- Close Captions now correctly preserved on discs where both subtitles and close captions exist.
- Resolves an issue with stuttering playback on some set-top DVD players.
- Resolves an issue of when performing a copy from a DVD-RW disc resulted in an incorrect CSS error message.
- Resolves an issue where renaming the source VIDEO_TS would result in an invalid copy.
- Can now correctly pass a VIDEO_TS folder directly to Popcorn via AppleScript.

It looks like 1.0.2 is more than just making it Tiger friendly.

badtz · May 8, 2005, 05:14 AM

does it still take popcorn much longer to shrink than dvd2onex?

CIA · May 8, 2005, 05:00 PM

I prefer DVD2OneX over popcorn, because every DVD I've compressed and burned in Popcorn seems dark during playback, and pixelated as well. The ones processed with DVD2OneX seem much better. I hate the author of DVD2OneX though, (long story listed in another thread somewhere in this forum) and I encourage everyone to steal the program. For the record I initially purchased DVD2OneX at $60 or whatever the exchange rate was, but will never buy it again. Also be aware when you buy it your license is only good for 6 months.

k_munic · May 9, 2005, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by CIA

I prefer DVD2OneX over popcorn, because every DVD I've compressed and burned in Popcorn seems dark during playback, and pixelated as well. The ones processed with DVD2OneX seem much better. I hate the author of DVD2OneX though, (long story listed in another thread somewhere in this forum) and I encourage everyone to steal the program. For the record I initially purchased DVD2OneX at $60 or whatever the exchange rate was, but will never buy it again. Also be aware when you buy it your license is only good for 6 months.

Hi CIA (never talked to the Men In Black!

)

�*hmm, I would be interested in the "long story", give us a hint, please where to search.

I don't like the call "to steal" apps�*

And:
I do use DVD2One for more then a year, got all updates etc. for the same single paid prize� The app is still the best, it offers much more feature then Popcorn (selecting a master audio track, selecting parts, joining parts etc)�

CIA · 01:46 PM

Been using DVD2OneX for about 2 years, my gripe with the publisher started in Oct 2003.
Skip to the bottom of this thread from Jan 2004 for the quick summary.
Also note at the time when I bought my serial, it was only good for 6 months. I see now it's been raised to a year.

k_munic · May 10, 2005, 05:02 AM

Hi CIA,

thanx for publishing the "roots" of your conflict.-

so, you recommend to steal the app, because the developer wasn't able to send you a serial to your AOL account�?

you had to use it to proof you're legit, ok, but why don't you both guys use another email adress, just for sending the serial a second time�?

strange, very strange�

not my way to behave� ok, I'm an old man�

badtz · May 10, 2005, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Spoffo

I agree DVD2xOne is *MUCH* more flexible. Sometimes I like to keep menus and certain extras, but throw away some of the useless stuff (like trailers) to make room for a less-compressed feature. It takes some math with file sizes, but DVD2xOne will let you set an oddball size for the compressed VIDEO_TS, like say 5162MB, so that when you throw out the unwanted elements (actually you replace them with little 1k dummy .VOBs so you don't crash the directory) you wind up with a 4444MB folder.

Can't do that with Popcorn.

Do you have to open every .vob file individually to find out which ones are trailers/etc/etc?

or is there a way in dtox [dvd2onex] to view which vobs are of no use for the dvd?

CIA · May 11, 2005, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by k_munic

Hi CIA,

thanx for publishing the "roots" of your conflict.-

so, you recommend to steal the app, because the developer wasn't able to send you a serial to your AOL account�?

you had to use it to proof you're legit, ok, but why don't you both guys use another email adress, just for sending the serial a second time�?

strange, very strange�

not my way to behave� ok, I'm an old man�

The point was, clearly email was working ok, as I had been sending my requests to him via the same email address. And he personally would reply to this email address and it would go through. So if he wanted to manually send me my serial # that would have worked. The automatic serial # sender on his website would not send me one though, although it should have been sending it to the address he and I were using to contact each other. He said complain to AOL. I did, and even sent him copies of my emails to AOL tech support. But he would still not manually send me my serial.

k_munic · May 12, 2005, 02:24 AM

hahaha - this is INDEED a very strange behavior to a paying customer (you!)…

Now, I understand your … grim (<<english?)…

ingeniero · May 17, 2005, 09:45 AM

so it appears that DVD2xOne is a better product than Popcorn..I was hoping there was a faster solution. I'm running a G4 1Ghz 12" powerbook 256MB RAM (yes i know, i'll be getting more ram soon) and the burning of a DVD is about a 2 to 2.5hr process. About 40min to start through DVDBackup, about 60 min to go through DVDX2One, including having it create the image file, then about 30min for Disk Utility to burn the image file to the DVD-R (using 8x Memorex DVD-r) and another 20min for Disk Utility to "verify" the disc after writing the files.

So granted, i'm looking to speed up the process. Any shortcuts? will more Ram increase the process dramatically? thanks.

CIA · May 17, 2005, 01:27 PM

New G5, 16x DVD burner?

Shouldn't take 30 min to burn at 8x, more like 9min or less. (not counting verify). Use toast, it will speed up the process.
Other than that, if you are going to go that route, thats the fastest you can go with that hardware....

ingeniero · May 17, 2005, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by CIA

New G5, 16x DVD burner?

Shouldn't take 30 min to burn at 8x, more like 9min or less. (not counting verify). Use toast, it will speed up the process.
Other than that, if you are going to go that route, thats the fastest you can go with that hardware....

hmm, that's not good...9min sounds good. Is there a way to measure the speed to see if it's using the full 8x?

CIA · May 17, 2005, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by ingeniero

hmm, that's not good...9min sounds good. Is there a way to measure the speed to see if it's using the full 8x?

Well what burner are you using? Look under system profiler...

ingeniero · May 17, 2005, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by CIA

Well what burner are you using? Look under system profiler...

hello - I'm using the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-816. I was under the impression that the the 1Ghz 12 came with 8x...Is this not correct?

Spoffo · May 18, 2005, 09:41 PM

Do you have to open every .vob file individually to find out which ones are trailers/etc/etc

Almost, but it's pretty quick. You don't have to look at every .VOB, just every title set. They are designated by the numbering system e.g. 2_1, 2_2, 2_3 are all one title set, and you only have to check one file in each to see what it is. It's easy to tell what the feature is. it always has 4 or more 1024 mb .VOB files numbered sequentially, so you don't have to check that one at all. I've got my prefs set up so that double-clicking a .vob opens it up in VLC, so I can work through all the smaller title sets in a few minutes, sorting out the trailers and such from any extras worth keeping. Honestly, doing the math to figure a target shrink size takes longer.