I'm ready to join the world of DVD+RW

[Shelly21]

I'm going to one of the B&M stores this sunday and pick up a 8X DVD+RW drive. I was wondering, what kind of softwares do you guys use?

I just want to back up some of my DVDs (for example, my treasured collector's edition of Basic Instinct, and convert some of my SuperVHS home videos to DVDs.

 

[FrustratedUser]

DVD Shrink

 

[Anubis]

i use Roxio 6 to just burn data and such to DVDs because it came with the drive and because Nero6 didnt like my burner,

now it works with nero but i dont back up movies, but most peopel use DVD shrink + nero 6 to do that kinda stuff

 

[nodoubts2k]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
DVD Shrink

 

[Wingznut]

Roxio to burn data... DVD Shrink and either Roxio or Nero to burn movies. (I have most of my kids' collection done, and it works better than I imagined.)

 

[Shelly21]

What is DVD shrink for? Wouldn't Nero work by backing it up one to one?

EDIT: Nevermind, I found my answer on their website... thanks to all.

 

[rh71]

You should read up about backing up your DVDs at http://www.dvdrhelp.com ... basically commercial DVDs are larger than 4.7GB (the capacity of your DVDRs). So it's not as simple as 1-to-1 copying. What DVD Shrink does is allow you control to compress the data just enough to fit onto a 4.7GB disc.

This will no longer be a problem when dual-layer burners become available.

Some commercial DVDs actually are less than 4.7GB so you can get away with burning it without compression, but it's still not burnable via 1-to-1 because of DVD encryption.

DVD Shrink is the best [free] tool out there.

 

[Shelly21]

Originally posted by: rh71
You should read up about backing up your DVDs at http://www.dvdrhelp.com ... basically commercial DVDs are larger than 4.7GB (the capacity of your DVDRs). So it's not as simple as 1-to-1 copying. What DVD Shrink does is allow you control to compress the data just enough to fit onto a 4.7GB disc.

This will no longer be a problem when dual-layer burners become available.

Some commercial DVDs actually are less than 4.7GB so you can get away with burning it without compression, but it's still not burnable via 1-to-1 because of DVD encryption.

DVD Shrink is the best [free] tool out there.

Thanks for the link....

Quick question then, what is the best [commercial] tool out there? and is it better than DVD shrink?

 

[CraigRT]

DVDShrink is sweet.
I use CopytoDVD to write it to DVD. I just like it.

 

[rh71]

DVD Shrink tutorial - can't get easier than that unless you can find DVDXCopy (was best commercial till it was banned)

 

[Shelly21]

Oh oh, what is a good price range for blank DVD's?

 

[rh71]

If you want to deal with rebates, you can find them for a little under $1 each. I think I saw a deal for $79 for 100 discs. That'd be too many for me, but it's the best value. When 4x first came out, $1 per disc (25 of them) was good.

Make sure your standalone DVD player plays DVD+R or DVD-R (check dvdrhelp.com compatibility list).

 

[Wingznut]

Personally, I hate dealing with rebates... So, if I can find some quality discs for $1 each, I'm happy.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: Shelly21
I'm going to one of the B&M stores this sunday and pick up a 8X DVD+RW drive. I was wondering, what kind of softwares do you guys use?

I just want to back up some of my DVDs (for example, my treasured collector's edition of Basic Instinct, and convert some of my SuperVHS home videos to DVDs.

I use Nero for basic data creation, ghost for image backups (ROCKS!), and Studio 8 for video creations......

 

[Shelly21]

Originally posted by: rh71

Make sure your standalone DVD player plays DVD+R or DVD-R (check dvdrhelp.com compatibility list).

Er, I have a PS2, and two Apex DVD players, don't remember the model, but they do play VCD's.

 

[Pepsei]

Do you guys know if you can change the region code on the dvd when you make a backup?

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Pepsei
Do you guys know if you can change the region code on the dvd when you make a backup?

Yes you can. Either region free or your region of choice.

 

[MustISO]

Don't just get +R. Get a dual format drive. NewEgg has one onsale this week for $88.
Ritek G04 at newegg is usually $46 for $50 good media at a good price.

If the DVD is a single layer, use DVDDecrypter to ISO and then burn with same.
DVDShrink works well if you don't need much compression on larger films. Intervideo Copy DVD 2.0 is supposed to be better quality than shrink.

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Personally, I hate dealing with rebates... So, if I can find some quality discs for $1 each, I'm happy.

Always can, Newegg carries 4X riteks 50 pack for under $50 shipped.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Dulanic

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Personally, I hate dealing with rebates... So, if I can find some quality discs for $1 each, I'm happy.

Always can, Newegg carries 4X riteks 50 pack for under $50 shipped.

True, but they can be bad. I got a whole spindle with bad media.

 

[dman]

Don't spend too much on one, keep in mind that the dual-layer writers are (soon) available so the existing ones should drop in price further / quicker than they had.