[Eug]

DVD2oneX 1.0 is now out. See here.

It's 49 Euros and supposed to have feature parity with 1.1.3 of the Windows version.

I dunno about the X version since I haven't tried it, but I've had a chance to play with one of the earlier Windows versions. It is probably the best DVD-9 to DVD-5 conversion utility available (if you're into that sort of thing).

[Lew]

A friend of mine (whose girlfriend has just got a TiBook) has been asking me about just such a thing recently. I'll let him know about this once I've seen a few User reviews.

[sandsl]

Can you guys explain the purpose of this utility?

The readme says "Process a movie to fit on a single recordable in a matter of 15 to 30 minutes

Currently I get my DVDs and copy them to my hard drive using OSEx.

Will this program let me put my unencrypted DVDs on CDs since DVD2oneX lets you specify the output size?

Thanks in advance.

[Eug]

DVD2one only works with uncrypted DVDs. (For encrypted DVDs you'll need to decrypt it first (OSEx or DVD Backup), and then you can use DVD2one.)

DVD2one allows you to convert the movie (minus all the extras) to a specified file size, and then creates all the necessary supporting files to create a full-fledged DVD. You can burn this DVD with any DVD-compliant burning program, like Toast. The DVD will play normally in any DVD player with DVD-R compatibility.

The DVD has no menus, but depending on what you specify, you can have all the audio tracks and subtitles. If the movie will fit on 1 DVD-R, it does a direct copy of the movie. If it's over 4.4 GB, it removes B-frames or whatever from the video to make it fit. This ultra-fast method (30 mins) looks surprisingly good and indeed is even usually better than if you did a 12 hour reencode.

You can specify a smaller than DVD size but I don't think you can shrink it down to CD size, although I haven't tried it. (Even if it did work, it'd probably look like crap.) If you want that CD size, you'd be better off using a DVD-->Divx or DVD-->VCD converter.

[icruise]

It's made for fitting commercial DVDs (most of which are dual layer discs with up to 8GB or more of data) onto a single DVD-R (which only have 4.7GB of storage space. I don't think it's intended for putting movies on a CD.

I just tried this out, by the way, and it's great! Unfortunately the demo doesn't allow you to do a "whole disc" copy that preserves menus and so forth so I couldn't test that. It also limits you to 30 minutes of video, but the test I did had two soundtracks and two subtitle tracks (English and Japanese), as well as chapter stops preserved perfectly. As far as I know there hasn't been any ripper on the Mac that preserved subtitles, so that in itself is big. There didn't seem to be a huge loss of quality either, although the disc I tried wasn't great quality to begin with. I'm sort of considering buying this...

[sandsl]

Thanks guy, understand now

[G-Force]

Originally posted by Icruise:
It's made for fitting commercial DVDs (most of which are dual layer discs with up to 8GB or more of data) onto a single DVD-R (which only have 4.7GB of storage space. I don't think it's intended for putting movies on a CD.

When will we be able to buy dual layer DVD-R discs and why aren't they available now? Will be be able to use them in the current superdrives once they come out?

I've often wondered about this and have never seen it mentioned before.

[icruise]

I don't think we will be seeing dual-layer dvd-rs any time soon (and in any case, they would necessitate buying new hardware to use them). Dual layer discs need to be made in factories and not "burned" as you might normal DVD-Rs.

[Eug]

Screengrab, stolen from this thread at DVDRHelp.com:



BTW, the thread has some reviews too.

[icruise]

Doesn't actually look like that -- it's brushed metal.

[icruise]

By the way, I just used this X-Files DVD as a test, but in the FAQ it mentions that doing a DVD with several episodes (as opposed to a full movie) is difficult if not impossible in this version. Any idea what that means?

[G-Force]

When ripping with DVD Backup should you uncheck the "Change region control coding" so it keeps the same region? I heard that many DVD players will refuse to play a region-free disc. Thanks

[icruise]

I've never had any problem playing region-free disks. In fact one of the reasons that I have copied some DVDs that I own is because they were region 2 (Japan) and I needed to play them on an american player.

[Lew]

Originally posted by G-Force:
When ripping with DVD Backup should you uncheck the "Change region control coding" so it keeps the same region? I heard that many DVD players will refuse to play a region-free disc. Thanks

The whole point about region 0 or region-free discs is that they are supposed to be playable on any player

[danielb0101]

This program rocks. I just successfully ripped and burned a commercial DVD. The quality looks identical to the original, at least to me.

It takes me about 45 mins to rip to HD and decode via DVDBackup.

35 Mins to compress down to 4.4 GB via DVD2oneX.

59 Mins to burn from Toast.

This is on a 12" Powerbook. Cool.
Times are about the same on my QS/867. Both have 10.2.5/640 MB RAM.

[G-Force]

Thanks for the replies on the region free information. My DVD player plays them without any problem as does Apple's DVD player

This program definitely rocks combined with DVD Backup.

[C.J. Moof]

I just ran the demo, and dang, I'm impressed. So here's the big question on my mind:

How the heck does this do what it does? Like, in geekoid technical terms?

[icruise]

Well I went ahead and registered it. I've only tried one "full disk copy" but it worked like a charm -- all menus, subtitles, audio tracks etc preserved. I think the video quality is a bit worse than the original (as might be expected) but it's certainly bearable. Very impressive. From posts on their forum apparently some discs may not copy perfectly (menus not working properly etc) but so far it has been perfect. My only complain is that it didn't come out sooner -- I could have done a much better job of copying some things...

[Eug]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
I just ran the demo, and dang, I'm impressed. So here's the big question on my mind:

How the heck does this do what it does? Like, in geekoid technical terms?

I'm no expert, but here are my 2 cents.

MPEG-2 is composed of I, P, & B frames. An I frame is a static image. A P frame is info based on a previous frame, whether it'd be an I frame or a previous P frame. A B frame is info based on a previous frame or a frame in front of it.

As I understand it, this program simply throws out B frames, whereas other programs completely re-encode the entire video stream. Thus, the DVD2one method is unbelieveably fast in comparison to a full re-encode. The surprising part is that it usually looks better too.

-----

BTW, what I had tried with the Windows version was taking DVD-9 movies and converting to DVD-5 but did NOT convert the whole disc. I'd usually throw out audio tracks I didn't need and get rid of all the extras. That way, a 7.7 GB disc suddenly became something like 5.5 GB or whatever. DVD2one's conversion to 4.4 GB discs gave spectacular image quality.

OTOH, I just tried the Mac demo to convert a 1.6 GB DVD to 650 MB. First, the result was a 675 MB disc. The original wasn't great to begin with, but the end-result was terrible. I'm not surprised though since the new file was only about 40% of the original data, but at the same resolution. (I used this 1.6 GB disc because it was only 20 mins, and thus the demo would work on the whole thing and not just a piece of it.)

So my take on DVD2one:

If you use DVD2one to extract just the movie (without the extras) off a DVD-9 disc, 99% of the time you'll get awesome results.

If you use DVD2one to convert the entire disc with all the extras off a near full DVD-9 disc, it should be pretty good most of the time but sometimes you may not be as happy as if you'd just done the main feature alone. OTOH, some DVD-9 discs have say only 7 GB of data, and your full-disc conversions of those might be a lot better than a conversion of a full DVD-9.

-----

PS. DVD2oneX is brushed metal, as Icruise said. The other pic must be from someone with a theme installed or something.

[craigthomas]

Originally posted by Icruise:
Well I went ahead and registered it. I've only tried one "full disk copy" but it worked like a charm -- all menus, subtitles, audio tracks etc preserved. I think the video quality is a bit worse than the original (as might be expected) but it's certainly bearable. Very impressive. From posts on their forum apparently some discs may not copy perfectly (menus not working properly etc) but so far it has been perfect. My only complain is that it didn't come out sooner -- I could have done a much better job of copying some things...

Can you tell me what media you are using and where you get them;;;;? I used the Windows version and had success with Apples 2X discs, but failures with a no-brand general DVD-R version I got from dvdr4less. Obviously we want a good price so it's far cheaper than buying a packaged dvd movie, but reliability is also important.

[icruise]

Originally posted by Eug:
OTOH, I just tried the Mac demo to convert a 1.6 GB DVD to 650 MB. First, the result was a 675 MB disc. The original wasn't great to begin with, but the end-result was terrible. I'm not surprised though since the new file was only about 40% of the original data, but at the same resolution. (I used this 1.6 GB disc because it was only 20 mins, and thus the demo would work on the whole thing and not just a piece of it.)

I thought that it wouldn't do anything to a DVD that was under 4GB. In any case I'm wondering if perhaps using such as short disk might have screwed up something.

So my take on DVD2one:

If you use DVD2one to extract just the movie (without the extras) off a DVD-9 disc, 99% of the time you'll get awesome results.

If you use DVD2one to convert the entire disc with all the extras off a near full DVD-9 disc, it should be pretty good most of the time but sometimes you may not be as happy as if you'd just done the main feature alone. OTOH, some DVD-9 discs have say only 7 GB of data, and your full-disc conversions of those might be a lot better than a conversion of a full DVD-9.

That's probably true. My test conversion was an X-Files disc that was 7.5Gb. Overall I thought it was good quality, but I did notice a few places where there seemed to be a sort of digitization or banding. Still, very watchable. Actually I am most excited about being able to keep chapter markers and subtitles, moreso than all of the features, since I often really only want the body of the movie iteself anyway.

[icruise]

Originally posted by craigthomas:
Can you tell me what media you are using and where you get them;;;;? I used the Windows version and had success with Apples 2X discs, but failures with a no-brand general DVD-R version I got from dvdr4less. Obviously we want a good price so it's far cheaper than buying a packaged dvd movie, but reliability is also important.

Well, there are quite a number of threads on this, and I know people have different opinions about this, but I use blue Optodisc media. It's about $40 for a spindle of 50 from www.rima.com and elsewhere, and they have been pretty reliable and compatible for me (just realize that some players work better with a particular kind of media than others, and it may be a good idea to do some testing before buying a lot of any particular brand). Also I think it is a good idea to choose a custom size in DVD2One that is slightly smaller than the default, so you aren't burning right up to the edge of the media. I also recommend verifying your burns with Toast since I've had occasional problems with every kind of media i"ve tried (maybe one failed burn in a couple of dozen or more, but you can't tell which burn is bad without watching the whole disk or verifying).

[G-Force]

Originally posted by craigthomas:
Can you tell me what media you are using and where you get them;;;;? I used the Windows version and had success with Apples 2X discs, but failures with a no-brand general DVD-R version I got from dvdr4less. Obviously we want a good price so it's far cheaper than buying a packaged dvd movie, but reliability is also important.

I have had good luck with the Memorex DVD-R discs. You can buy a spindle of 50 for $90 at Best Buy.

The person with the screenshot without the brushed metal was likely using Metallifizer from Unsanity to removed the brushed metal.

[Eug]

Originally posted by Icruise:

I thought that it wouldn't do anything to a DVD that was under 4GB. In any case I'm wondering if perhaps using such as short disk might have screwed up something.

If you specify DVD size, it won't process anything, but will just extract the video, since it's already under 4.4 GB.

However, there is an option to decrease the size if you wish. That is what I tested.

Also I think it is a good idea to choose a custom size in DVD2One that is slightly smaller than the default, so you aren't burning right up to the edge of the media.

Full burns are not a problem if one uses good media.

I don't buy Princo, Ritek 2X, or noname media generally. Apple, TDK, and Mitsui have worked well for me. I buy Apple, because it usually is the cheapest locally. Optodisc was better than the low end stuff, but not as good as the high end stuff when I tested it last year. I haven't test any Optodisc since.

[icruise]

Originally posted by Eug:
Full burns are not a problem if one uses good media.

Maybe, personally, I choose to save money, since I have had just as many failures with "quality" media as with others.

[TheIceMan]

[Sorry, wrong post].

[gthyb]

i have a few questions about this program.

1. after it outputs the files into a VIDEO_TS folder, what exactly do I do? can i use apple's diskcopy?

2. oh, i guess that was my only question. i just don't feel like making a coaster.

thanks guys

[craigthomas]

Originally posted by gthyb:
i have a few questions about this program.

1. after it outputs the files into a VIDEO_TS folder, what exactly do I do? can i use apple's diskcopy?

2. oh, i guess that was my only question. i just don't feel like making a coaster.

thanks guys

Well, I use Toast for the final task. Open Toast, click on the Other tab and choose DVD. Name the DVD the EXACT name as the original dvd you are copying. Then simply drag your VIDEO_TS folder in the Toast field and burn it. I read it may be best to put a folder called AUDIO_TS in there too (even if it is just and empty folder).

I just copied Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets using DVD Backup and DVD2oneX and Toast in about 2 hours. Very cool.

[gthyb]

let me clarify. does the VIDEO_TS folder need to be at the root level of the dvd, or do the contents of that folder need to be at the root level.

will just dragging that folder into a dvd and burning it do everything i need?

[craigthomas]

Originally posted by gthyb:
let me clarify. does the VIDEO_TS folder need to be at the root level of the dvd, or do the contents of that folder need to be at the root level.

will just dragging that folder into a dvd and burning it do everything i need?

Ah, we must be posting at the same time. See my post above. It's important to name the DVD the EXACT name as the one you copied. Then just drag the whole VIDEO_TS folder with its contents. Yes, there shoud be a folder called VIDEO_TS in the Toast DVD directory.

[Eug]

Originally posted by craigthomas:
It's important to name the DVD the EXACT name as the one you copied.

AFAIK, the name doesn't matter.

[G-Force]

I recently purchased a DVD player (mostly as a result of DVD2one) and the salesperson I talked to talked very highly of component video connection cables. Will these cables really provide better results if your DVD is created with DVD2one?

[Lew]

They will give good results no matter what created your DVD. Component video sends the picture as separate red, green and blue signals resulting in a clearer picture than the standard composite signal (which, IIRC, merely splits the picture into colour information and brightness/darkness information). Those of us in Europe can simply use a SCART/Peritel cable which handles composite, RGB and SVHS signals along with audio (and some other information) in the one cable

[gthyb]

has anyone had luck burning without toast? i don't have it. should i use diskcopy or just drag the folder on or what?

[G-Force]

Originally posted by gthyb:
has anyone had luck burning without toast? i don't have it. should i use diskcopy or just drag the folder on or what?

I've had no problem burning with Toast. They play fine on my sony DVD player. Is toast giving you error messages? Make sure your VIDEO_TS folder is within the root directory of the DVD and select DVD from the "other" menu.

[gthyb]

no, i'm saying i don't own toast.

[HiDDeN]

I Used DVD backup on a DVD and then used DVD2oneX to compress it. I've chosen the movie and AC3 6CH English with Dutch subtitles; The thing is, the movie is English spoken but there are no Dutch subtitles when I play it with DVD player. Any ideas?

[Eug]

DVD2OneX 1.0.1 now out at Version Tracker.

Originally posted by HiDDeN:
I Used DVD backup on a DVD and then used DVD2oneX to compress it. I've chosen the movie and AC3 6CH English with Dutch subtitles; The thing is, the movie is English spoken but there are no Dutch subtitles when I play it with DVD player. Any ideas?

Did you try cycling thru the subtitles? Works for me.

[G-Force]

Originally posted by gthyb:
no, i'm saying i don't own toast.

Whoops, I guess I should read more closely. I saw "without" and my brain changed it to "with". I myself have not tried other burning programs.

[gthyb]

how can i use it without toast? i created a coaster using the finder (gg, me). how can i create an iso that i can use diskcopy to burn? i saw someone on some other messageboard said it worked. if i can get this to work, i will buy the program. i just don't feel the need to buy toast as well.

[icruise]

Have you tried using Disc Copy to make a blank image and putting the DVD folders there? You can create a blank image the size of a DVD-r in disc copy. You should then be able to burn it with Disc Copy. Haven't tried this, but I would think it would work.

Toast is a good program, though, and worth having IMO.

[gthyb]

does it matter what file type the disk image is?

[gthyb]

format, rather. what format should i create the disk image (mac os extended, unix, etc)? i had this idea, but didn't have the time to try it out yet.

thanks

[icruise]

Well, I'd probably try MS-DOS. Just guessing here.

[gthyb]

hmm, i got a type 1 error midway through the creation of the image both times...very odd.

anyone else had any luck with using diskcopy? or is there another freeware/shareware program that will make an iso that diskcopy can burn?

i don't think i would use enough of toast's features to justify "burning" almost 100 dollars on it.

[TheMosco]

Try MissingMediaBurner and click on the video button. then from the select "Make iso image for DVD" and drop your Video_TS folder in there. I don't think you need the Audio_TS folder. It will make the ISO image and you should be able to burn that image with the same program. This is all untested though.

[gthyb]

ok, trying it right now. i made the iso with a video_ts and audio_ts folder in it. the audio was empty, but i read some dvd players look for it anyway. i hope this works.

thanks for the recommendation. i don't think dvd burning is implimented in missingmediaburner yet, so i'm burning the iso in diskcopy.

--ryan

[gthyb]

it worked! you don't need toast, everyone!

[nsxpower]

Great application. I made a test DVD and it works fine on my PowerBook, but refuses to play in my PS2 (PAL). The test disk I made does not have an AUDIO_TS folder and a table of contents ... can somebody try to play a DVD made via DVD2OneX in their PS2 (PAL and/or NTSC).

[MacFan]

This program rocks! 20-30 minutes to rip DVD files to Hard Drive, another 45-50 to recode and another 30 to burn using Toast. To be able to do this all around 2 hours on an 800MHZ eMac is a blast! Definately worth the price IMO!