Anyone using a dvd burner?

[Swish]

I bought mine months ago and use it more for cds than dvds, mostly because I couldn't find a decent dupe product so I could, er, back up my favorite dvds. Well, that all changed recently when I got one called DVD Cloner Pro. Let's just say it's sweeeeeeeeeeet. I tried DVD Shrink and it worked well, but it can't split your copy onto 2 discs, so you either compress the crap out of it or give up content. DVD Cloner Pro is prolly the best one out there and rates very highly based on this site; http://dvd-copy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/?ttreng=2&ttrkey=dvd+clone&OVRAW=clone%2520dvd&OVKEY=dvd%2520clone&OVMTC=standard

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else was into this sort of thing.

Swish

[ForeverAutumn]

My computer came with a CD/DVD burner. The only time that I've ever burned a DVD was to create my back-up disk when I first set up the computer.

If I ever get around to organizing my digital photos I'll use the DVD burner to create photo albums.

[Slosh]

I use DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter. I strip out everything not necessary like the special features, alternative language soundtrack, menus, etc. so for most DVDs it requires little to no compression. The only exception I splurge on is if there's a DTS track I'll always select that even though it takes up more room than Dolby Digital (it's the video that eats up the space so the difference between DTS vs. DD is almost nothing as far as over all compression is concerned).

I've had my burner for a couple of years and at the time dual-layer writers did not yet exist. My friend has a newer dual-layer burner but hasn't taken advantage of it yet because the dual-layer blanks are so much more expensive.

I probably wouldn't bother to split a film into two discs unless it was really long but I guess it wouldn't hurt to look into that software. Thanks for the tip.

NP: Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

[Jim Clark]

I tried getting you on the bandwagon a long time ago but as I recall you said you didn't watch movies a second time and were waiting on a true high def format. I still use DVD Xcopy but recent changes in copyright schemes make creating a backup (uh, yes I said back up and I stand by that) with that software occasionally problematic.

I've also used DVD shrink, Clone DVD, DVD Decryptor, Nero, Nerovision, and AnyDVD. I agree with your conclusion that being able to create a bit for bit copy split over two discs is invaluable. Very sweet to be able to do this. I'll check out your link since this is a feature I'm very interested in.

jc

[richmon]

Thanks for the link and opinion. I just bought a laptop with a DVD burner. Trying to figure out what to do with the contraption, mostly I bought it for access to my workplace while on the the road.

[jasn]

DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter works very well for me. I was trying to back-up a Big Head Todd Concert DVD yesterday, though, and could not get it small enough to fit on a DVD without cutting the 5.1 soundtrack.

It's a pretty good DVD too, BTW (Live at the Fillmore)

[Mike]

I use Shrink to do all the preparation and Nero to burn and more than pleased with the results. I also try to avoid too much compression but to be honest if you stay above 70% IMO I don't think I would be able to tell the original from the copy. I usually re-author and strip out all the menus/extras etc and just burn the film. You still retain chapter selection so you can still go to your fave part of a film.

To be honest I'm quite happy to lose all that 'extra' stuff, with me it's watch once never again. I did think about buying some dual layer discs for one off films and they are coming down in price all the time, but I haven't tried them yet.

As for DVD's it still amazes me how they have just taken off and killed video over the last few years. I was never a big fan of video and I suppose it helps with films and players now available so cheaply but they just seemed to be everywhere so quickly and just dominate the market.

I'll check out the link you mention.

Cheers
Mike

[Dusty Chalk]

I prefer using a shredder -- then you don't have to worry about the toxic fumes.