ok, well ive been doing SVCD encoding for quite some time now, and its fine, but I want a true 1 to 1 copy of my dvds, im tired of having to split my movies and lose the menus, etc. ive been poking around the internet lately, and dvdclone claims to be able to do this. so can it? otherwise, is it really all that much better to use dv? on a side note, the new lite-on dvd writers at <shivers> wal-mart worth wipin my butt with, cuz they are down to 140.00 bucks. thanks
Products such as CloneDVD, DVDShrink, and DVD2One all allow you to make 1:1 copies of your DVDs. As most DVDs are DVD9 and DVD-R blanks are DVD5, the programs accomplish the backup by compressing the original data to fit the smaller disc capacity. The reason why most people get rid of menues and extra features is that this compression process causes quality deterioration. The more extra content outside of the main movie, the higher the compression, and the lower the quality. CloneDVD is nice because it allows you to retain the menu and the main movie, while cutting out all of the extras like trailers, special features, extra audio tracks, and subtitles. It is the only compression software that allows you to actually remove the extra video completely and maintain the menues. DVDShrink has the virtue of being free, and will allow you to maintain the menues and the main movie, while compressing extras to still pictures (meaning they take up little space, but unlike CloneDVD they still take up some space). Finally, DVD2One allows you to copy either the movie only (no menues or extra features) or the entire disc (main movie, menues, all special features, all language options, etc). Many debate the relative quality of the compressed video produced by these three programs. Remember, it depends on how much you want to leave on the disc, how big your TV is, and how picky you are. The general consensus in terms of quality (judging from opinions expressed on these forums) seems to be 1) DVD2One, 2) DVDShrink, and 3) CloneDVD. It doesn't seem like many forum members use Clone DVD, but you should download the trial and test it yourself. My final word of advice would be to lose the menues and special features. When I think of 1:1 backups, I am thinking more about 1:1 quality rather than 1:1 content. After all, its the main movie that counts.
If you have a dvd burner use dvd2one , you can either select just the movie or select everything , it's up to you!! The 1.3 version lets you combine 2 files as one.
gsuscrazy, before you spend you hard-earned cash on an "all-in-one" software, do yourself a favor and try DVD Shrink v3.0 beta 5. Not only can you do full-disk backups, but also: - movie-only. - compilations. - split to two discs (no menus). - use different level of compressions (including "No Compression", "Still Pictures") on any part of any title (no menus). - use "Deep Analysis" which, even though will add about 40 minutes to the process, will definately yeld better quality than other "All-in-ones" when higher compression is needed. And all this for free, no strings attached. If you want to get a feel for it, I'd suggest you view the DVD Shrink guides at: http://www.dvdshrink.info/guides.php But what you should actually do is also download the trial versions of DVD2One and CloneDVD and compare the result with DVD Shrink.
