how do i go about backing up a DVD to near original quality

[JethroUK]

I have DVD writer (dual layer) on my new machine (+ another DVD reader) -
i'm wondering how i go about backing up a DVD to near original quality

I ripped one of my DVD's using DVDShrink to .iso file
I just burned it to blank DVD using Windows DVD maker but it didn't work

Is there anyway to do the whole job within Vista H/Premium (no 3rd party
software)?
Should the original be ripped to .iso (near original) or another file type?

 

[Chad Harris]

Hi Jethro--

Exactly what DVD did you have in mind to copy?

"In order to copy a disc, you need to copy all the files on that disc to
your computer, and then choose those files for burning. In general, you can
only copy personal data discs, because they are not copy protected."

I get from this you want to copy a DVD. Not burn files. And what exactly do
you want to copy? Do you want for example to copy data?

Nero or Roxio are but two programs that can copy a DVD if it's not write
protected. "Copy a DVD" is a pretty non-specific term that you threw out.
Magic Iso is a handy program that can burn a lot of formats including the
irrationally crazily conceived ".UIF" format, and there is a free version
but it's limited to file sizes of 300MB.

http://www.magiciso.com/

http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/tutorials.htm

Most CD/DVD programs can deal with a .iso -- again it really depends on what
your task is going to be.

A .ISO is a disk image of a file format to store data on a CD or DVD and is
often used as a loose term to refer to any optical image. As is typical for
disc images, in addition to the data files that are contained in the ISO
image, it also contains all the filesystem metadata, including boot code,
structures, and attributes. All of this information is contained in a single
file.

Some of the common uses include the distribution of operating systems, such
as Linux or BSD systems, and LiveCDs. The ease of Internet transmission also
makes the .iso format a common format for distributing pirated copies of
video games over peer-to-peer networks, such as BitTorrent or DirectConnect.

Vista's software is made to burn or copy files to a writable disc. You can
use Windows to burn a data disc, which is useful for storing, archiving, and
sharing files among different computers. If you want to make a disc that
will play in a music or video player, you should burn the disc using a music
or video program.

See (Show all):

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/b47eb51a-ea6d-4d97-97b0-2d07a59316981033.mspx

Vista Disk Burning FAQs
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/2fa35b0d-b280-4589-9805-55e753888f5c1033.mspx

If you want to copy a DVD there are scores of programs you can use. Just
google "copy a dvd."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=copy+a+dvd

Good luck,

CH

 

[Grinder]

I have DVD writer (dual layer) on my new machine (+ another DVD reader)
- i'm wondering how i go about backing up a DVD to near original quality

I ripped one of my DVD's using DVDShrink to .iso file
I just burned it to blank DVD using Windows DVD maker but it didn't work

There are some DVDs that have mangled indexing information to thwart DVD
backup software, such as DVDShrink. RipIt4Me is a small application
that relies upon DVDDecrypter and DVDShrink to sort out those glitches
such that the disc can be backed up. I cannot say, though, if it works
on every scheme that has come down the pike.

Also, if you have autorun turned on, it's possible that some executable
code, intended to protect copyright, has been executed on your machine
from a DVD. One weekend I watched a couple of DVDs (one of them was
Boiler room) and my DVD failed (multiple times) to burn a home video
disc that I had previously prepared. Restoring the system to just
before the weekend, permitted the discs to burn. I don't know if there
was something on those rentals, but it's certainly been tried before
with audio discs.

Is there anyway to do the whole job within Vista H/Premium
(no 3rd party software)?

Sorry--no experience there. It's taken years for Microsoft to get XP
shaken out (mostly,) so I'm not interested in joining them in another
consumer experiment.

Should the original be ripped to .iso (near original) or another file type?

It shouldn't really matter. All image formats endeavor to exactly
capture the file system to be written to the disc. The relative
strengths and weaknesses of those formats, as far as I can tell, come
only in the portability from application to application.

Good luck.

 

[cwdjrxyz]

I have DVD writer (dual layer) on my new machine (+ another DVD reader) -
i'm wondering how i go about backing up a DVD to near original quality

You can burn to original quality since you have a dual layer writer.

I ripped one of my DVD's using DVDShrink to .iso file
I just burned it to blank DVD using Windows DVD maker but it didn't work

Shrink is outmoded and too much trouble to use. It will decrease the
file size for a dual layer DVD small enough to burn to a single layer
disc. Shrink also would decrypt some commercial DVDs and may still do
so. However it has not been updated in a long time and can not decrypt
many of the newer protected movies, as the movie companies change the
details of their encryption often. In some countries, mere use of a
movie decryption program is illegal. In others sale or even giving
away free DVD encryption programs is illegal. In a few countries, it
is not illegal to sell, give away, or use decryption programs for
DVDs. A company on an island off central America apparently sells
decryption programs for DVDs, and for more money they also sell
programs to decrypt the new HD-DVD and BluRay high definition formats.
There are no laws on their island state to prevent this and thus they
are beyond the reach of the Hollywood lawyers. But if you buy from
them and live in a country where such programs are illegal to use, you
will be the one who gets in trouble if you get caught.

A few commercial DVDs are not encrypted. These mostly are older ones
and art house types. Let us assume you have such a movie. Then I would
suggest that you use CloneDVD. This program will not copy encrypted
disks. Among other places, you can buy it from http://www.slysoft.com
.. I think it costs about $US 39 (perhaps in the 20 range in UK
pounds). You can download a trial version for 21 days for free from
the url I gave above. It is very simple to use. You just put the DVD
to be copied in a drive and start CloneDVD. You can choose to keep it
the original file size for DL burning or shrink to file size for
single layer burning. You set up a destination directory for the
ripped DVD and a few other things. These settings are remembered for
the most part, so after you burn a disk or two, there are just a few
keystrokes required to burn another DVD. After ripping is completed,
you insert a DL or SL disk in the DVD drive and enter the ripped DVD
folder as input. The DVD is then burned. You can even set the program
to turn off the computer when finished and leave once burning is
started. I made a lot of bad disks in earlier years using combinations
of several programs, some free and some not. If I first can rip the
disc completely to the HD with CloneDVD without an error stop and then
burn it with this program I seldom get bad disks anymore. I have more
than enough DVD coasters .

I doubt if there is any OS including Vista that will do what you wish
without additional programs. A company would have to pay usage rights
to various places to do so, and this would increase the price of the
OS. And not everyone would be happy for paying more for a feature that
they do not use.