(This is a repost of a message I wrote to the old thread. That thread died off on me.) I've had a similar problem. Can't rip Butterfly Effect due to read errors. Shrink can't complete the initial analysis due to read errors. DVD Decrypter finds read errors in key files. I've tried 3 different copies--all do the same thing. I can watch the movie, but can't rip it. The best I've been able to do is use DVD Decrypter to rip 4 of the 5 .VOB files that make up the theatrical version. The fifth .vob file has nothing but credits, so I don't really need it. All 3 disks that I've tried were 2 sided rather than the 2 disk set. I need to find an easy way to make a DVD out of them that will play on a set-top DVD player. I have Nero 6, Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD Version 8, DVD Shrink 3.2, and DVD Decrypter 3.2.3.0 installed as well as other DVD copying/authoring titles that are not installed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
It's a store-bought disk (I guess in this context it would be called an original) from a rental place. When I tell one of the underpaid drones that works in the place that the disk didn't work to my satisfaction they give me another one and tell me that exchanging it is my only option. That's why I've tried this 3 times.
I agree about the mastering errors. The problem is that I'm dealing with a rental place. After 3 attempts I'm getting the impression that all of their Butterfly Effect disks have mastering errors--at least all of the 2-sided ones. At this point I don't really want to continue to exchange the 2-sided ones. When I return this one I'll look for the 2-disk set version; if they have one I'll try it, if not I'll just have to work with what I have (the 4 .vob theatrical version files that I was able to rip from the first disk that I tried). I'd like to have the directors cut version, but it's starting to become more trouble than it's worth. Also, the manager is a relatively young Asian guy who is probably computer literate to the point where he knows or will eventually figure out what I'm trying to do. I'm on his radar because I raised a stink about their exchange-only policy. After I found out that the second disk had the same kind of problem as the first I asked about other options (credit my account, exchange for another title, etc.) and found out that exchanging for the same title is my only option (I'm in California and the name of the rental place is Blockbuster). That's why I made a third attempt using a third disk from the same place. That brings me to my other question: What's a good way to make the .vob files into a DVD] that will play on most any set-top (read: stand-alone not PC-based) DVD player? I don't have a lot of experience with DVD authoring software. I fiddled around with the "Expression" part of the Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD software. It wasn't intuitive at all and it didn't "instantly" (as the name of the soft- ware package implies) do what I want, so I decided to do some 'net based research to see if others have had the same problem and if so what they did about it. That's what brings me here. There was an old thread about this that popped up at the top of a Google search. The solution in that thread was that the guy asking the question found someone with an error-free version that he could copy. Unless the rental place has a 2-disk set version (assuming their copies of that version don't have mastering errors), that solution won't work for me (per Blockbuster's policy my rental fee is not refundable, so starting the process over at another place means more money out- of-pocket--which in my opinion will definitely put this into the "not worth it" catagory). I tried Nero as well. It acted like it was going to do what I wanted, but the resulting DVD was merely a file dump (a copy of the .vob files without the necessary accessory files) that obviously wouldn't play in a set-top DVD player. This may sound stupid and selfish, but I'm surprised that these software packages don't have simple programs that will create the basic accessory files needed to turn .vob or .mpg files into a set-top box readable DVD intuitively. I'm also surprised that there isn't a small freeware or shareware program available that will do it. On the other hand I'm not an expert at this so I'm hoping I'm wrong and that someone who reads this will suggest a software title or process using the software I have installed that will work. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and thanks to all who read this for taking the time to do so.
Most of desktop comptibilty issues are related to the brand of blank media being used. I have tried several different media brands, Khypermedia,generic no name, verbatum, memorex,fuji and last but not least Ridata. For the buck Ridata wins hands down. It's compatible with the majority of dvd players and has excellent good vs bad media ratio. I mean that I've purchase over 1000 Ridata and have had 1 bad disk out of that 1000. My dvd burner immediatly recognized that the disk was bad. I use Liteon 451-s with hacked firmware updraging the liteon to a 851s. ANd a NEC 2500a with hacked firmware ver 1.07 making my NEC a DL burner and with the riplock removed. Liteons dont have ripping limitations as most other drives do. My point being, changing media brands should resolve your playback issues.
playback problems due to bad media i can understand...but can you have problems burning to media that your burner just doesn't agree with??
Liteons will burn to just about anything, but the quality of the media can most definately play a part in the success of that burn. Download dvdinfo pro and scan your burnt disk with this tool. Its a valuable info tool.
Thanks for the info. However, my problem isn't a hardware or blank media problem. It's a ripping problem. The original can't be ripped due to read errors in key files. The other problem/question is how to easily make .vob files into a DVD that will play in a set-top DVD player. Again, it's not a question of hardware or blank media, but a question (or request for suggestions/opinions) about authoring software. Thanks again.
I had a similar problem w/ the Director's Cut side of the disk. DVDShrink would get errors. I even tried DVD Decrypter but that didn't work either. HOWEVER... I had NO PROBLEMS with Theatrical Version side. Copied it and watched the copy so I know it worked. I only do basic DVD ripping and am not a pro like some of the people on this forum, but I don't think it's a mastering issue or an intentional thing on the part of the video company. Is it possible (although unlikely) that these programs are getting redundancy errors because some of the menus on the movie link to the other side of the disc (ie "please flip disc now to see...")??? Perhaps the decrypter is almost reading it like a broken link, if you will, and just doesn't know where to go from there???
There is software out there that does a pretty decent job of reading that which doesn't want to be read - DVD X Rescue is one such proggy. It is part of DVD XCopy Platinum or can be had separately. a bit "O" "Googling" should result in a decent price - cheers, Pete
That's twice in 15 minutes that Pete has helped this newbie. Thanks Pete! I don't know why I didn't think to try that myself. Random question: Anyone notice that when they rip DVDs from certain companys (20th Century Fox being one of them) there are screens or snippets which you never see. I think Universal always shows Billy Elliot jumping in front of the Universal logo and I just found on The Abyss: Special Edition a few secs of footage of flowers that have nothing to do with the menus or movie. Almost as if these are little fraud detections, almost like watermarks. Any ideas?? Just curious.
I agree that the reason for what is going on is likely to be something like what you are describing. This is by far the most elaborate DVD I've run into. All of this last one plays perfectly on a set-top DVD player but doesn't work worth a s**t in a PC. The theatrical version side nearly locks the system as soon as it is inserted. On the directors cut side I can rip all but the forth (of 5) .vob files that make up the main movie. To have a complete version of the directors cut I need the forth .vob file. If I use the InterActual viewer software that is included on the original, the directors cut side will play on the PC (including the forth .vob file that every other piece of software says has un- recoverable read errors). If an engineer was able to analyze and harness this problem, it could be the makings of the next generation of DVD copyright protection schemes. I've basically given up on trying to rip it and am now concentrating on turning the theatrical version .vob files that I managed to rip from an earlier attempt into a set-top box capable DVD. So far that's turning out to be a pain in the ass too. I don't know whether a discussion of that is appropriate for this forum or is better taken to the advanced forum.
I'll tell you exactly what I did. I use AnyDVD along w/ DVDShrink to rip the DVD and Nero to burn it. Again, no problem with the theatrical version. The Director's Cut would lock up at near the end of the process. I don't think I've tried to watch the movie for more than a few seconds in my PC, but I know it works on a set top player. As an aside... I've run into a few DVDs that might have had minor scratches and DVDShrink would get 'cycle redundancy error' but when I used DVD Decrypt and copied it to my HD before shriking it, it would solve the problem.
Thanks for the suggestion. With the first original I went through the phase of thinking that the disk itself was damaged because it has some issues when playing on a set top box. I polished it to the point where that wasn't an issue, yet it acted exactly the same when trying to rip it. DVD Decrypter will attempt to re-read a sector as many times as you're willing to press the "retry" button. I went through that (hundreds or re-read attempts) as well as letting it skip read errors. Skipping read errors results in corrupted .vob files that hang the player. I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe that the type of software you suggest would act similarly to DVD Decrypter.
I'm not absolutely sure, but I think I've seen things like that. To minimize compression and even with DVD-5 disks I use settings that minimize the pre-movie scenes. If you're using DVD Shrink and have the "remove prohibited user operations" box checked, that might be a reason why some of those items are missing.
