Is DVDFab Decrypter still the DVD Ripper of choice on this forum?

I think so. Its the only one I know thats updated regularly and actually works every time(as long as you get the updates).
For whatever reason sony seems changes their disc encryption pretty frequently but dvdfab always seems to work.

Does DVDFab burn as well, or just rip?

Just rip

I use AutoGK. Its a very basic point and click dvd ripper. Its also free and has a good help file.

http://www.autogk.me.uk/

It can rip and convert directly from the dvd.

Tell it what .ifo file you want to rip, and it will then find all the associated VOB files.

Specify the output directory (where you want the avi file to be created)

Select what size you want the file to be (I always choose 700mb)

Click "Add job" and then "start".

Roughly 2.5 to 3 hours later you have your file.

The last time I installed DVDFab HD Decrypter all it could do was crash, so I went right back to DVD Decrypter and luckily it worked.

There's a thing.

I've just got my pc going again after installing DVDFabDecrypter V4.0.1.2.

This is the first time I've updated this program. My old version didn't have the sickly green colours, and more to the point, didn't need a reboot to install. What the hell does it need a reboot for?

Rightly or wrongly, I'm always suspicious about programs that need a reboot, except for the anti-malware stuff. Seems to me that they're getting their hooks into you more.

After the reboot, I couldn't launch anything. Either from a shortcut, or from the .exe files themselves. Which meant I couldn't launch the uninstaller.

Safe Mode to the rescue again. Uninstalled it, and fingers crossed, all ok now.

Have re-installed V 3.1.2.6, which gave no problems at all, and didn't need a reboot.

That's one program I would hate to be without

Uninstalled OnLine Armor and reverted to Windows Firewall and DVDFabHDDecrypter has installed and is working fine.

i use this dvd ripper to rip my dvd collections to my ipod,it works well for me

I PERSONALLY like DVDFab express it takes ALL copy protection off. Even the very tough Sony movies.

Is DVDFab Express a free or commercial product -- and, is it still available?

It seems that DVDFab Express is now part of DVDFab Gold, which is a commercial product.

Link:

Same with me. I use DVD Shrink primarily, and if that doesn't work, DVD Shrink. So far, no problems.

Is there a freeware which serves every region (Without affecting the region change quota in winxp) ?? which can decrypt, copy and burn as well as erase??

I currenlty use Nero but find it a bit too slow..

Further, would any1 be aware of a good freeware to copy entire movie to the hard drive (not ISO)

many thanks! in anticipation

Here is the link to DVDFab http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm

Otto

anydvdDOTcom

only way to fly -NEVER had a problem, even w/ HD and D/L dvds

I use AnyDVD and CloneDVD for decryption and ripping. Its the most current. The others Ive found no to be up to date with the latest methods studios are using. Basically everyone else copies AnyDVD. Along with Vista, its the only software I'm prepared to pay for.

Lately I've been using solely DVD Shrink after I noticed it decrypts. Since it can decrypt and re-author all in one go it makes things faster.

What's the reason, why you rip DVDs?

There are lots of legitimate reasons to rip dvds.
You may want to put them on your personal media players like ipod video, psp, zune, ect.
You dont want your kids to break the discs so you only let them touch the copies.
When you rip a dvd you can strip out all the commercials, ect and when you put in the movie it just starts,

i use DVD43 and still yes... DVD Decrypter. both work great.

just a thought, if ripping is illegal then why do company's such as Creative, Cowon, Archos, SanDisk, etc. Develop PMPs?

If I'm not mistaken, DVDShrink doesn't burn. So, what do you use for a burner?

ImgBurn does nicely!

DVD Decrypter, and I've never had a failed burn, and you can configure DVD Shrink to use Decrypter, so all you have to do is change disk.

Because not all videos are dvd movies...

OK . . . so I'm not a video guy -- which I'm sure is obvious . Can you help me understand the basic functions of each of the following applications. At this point, I'm particularly interested in (DVD) movies:

DVDShrink
DVD Decrypter
DVDFab HD Decrypter
ImgBurn

Also, will a program like Ashampoo's Burning Studio burn movies/video?

Yes ashampoo burns movies(its what I use).
I rip a movie with dvdfab, then shrink it with shrinkto5(found on filehippo) select main movie and slowest compression, then I burn the outputted video_ts folder with ashampoo.

Plus there are so many different ways and programs to do this with. A couple of guides to read up on.

Afterdawn
about halfway down



Scuba Pete
this is how I learned "back in the day"





Don't start out trying to back up one of your Disney movies either. I find that they are a bit tougher sometimes. Get the latest software and try out one of your older movies first to learn the basics!

dvdshrink wont work with a whole bunch of copy protection methods. Its years old and is no longer developed.

DVD43 and DVDDecrypter are better, but are not updated as regularly as AnyDVD which is the most current fair use enforcement tool available.

I use ImgBurn to burn, which I find more stable than ashampoo and not as bloated as nero.

Anyone have any experience with Ashampoo's "Movie Shrink & Burn 3" (not freeware)? However, now available for $24.99)

Is there a freeware version of AnyDVD? By the way, is this a ripper or decrypter -- or both?

It is a decrypter and you can get a 30-day trial. It's probably the easiest method, but the freeware route will work just as well. DVDFab is updated frequently and can do your decrypting for you. Then use DVD Shrink or Shrink to 5.

The last time I used Ashampoo's Burning Studio it made an unusable DVD Video disc, that and the very first version that was offered for free had less issues than the newest one. Doesn't matter though because I've stopped using it.

What I like about ImgBurn is that it will warn if something is wrong, and in many cases can fix it with just one click of a button, whereas with many other burning apps they'll let you burn a non-functional DVD Video disc.

Do ImgBurn and DVD Decrypter essentially do the same thing?

No. ImgBurn doesn't decrypt movies whereas DVD Decrypter does.

If you're only burning pre-compiled .ISO image files either will work the same, although I prefer ImgBurn.

What I've preferred doing lately is using DVD Shrink to do all the decrypting and re-authoring in one go, and it has made DVD Decrypter obsolete for me lately, although I'll hang onto DVD Decrypter in case it's needed.

Here comes another dumb question . . . just exactly, what is re-authoring?

Re-authoring means cutting out the adverts, trailers for up and coming movies, long lists of credits, special bonus features etc.

In other words you tell the program just to copy the movie only.

Yup! Also to remove foreign languages, director's comments, etc., that consume disc space. In many instances the actual movie is within the disc capacity of a single layer 4.7 GB DVD, so in that case no compression has to be done for it to fit.

What I've found lately after really delving into DVD Shrink is that it's good for editing home DVD recordings of favourite TV shows/movies. You have to finalize your re-writtable DVD RW discs that by the way have to be recorded in Video mode, then use DVD Shrink to edit out all the commercials, and finally burn the re-authored version without the commercials to a DVD R.

Tom, the home made tutorial I sent you a while back explained how to use DVD Decrypter and Shrink 3.2, and explained exactly what re-authoring is and how to do it with Shrink 3.2.

In case you lost it, it's available here:

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?act=fi...=&pid=59745

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Dennis. I've read and still have the article -- it was very helpful. I guess I was looking for a comprehensive definition of the term "re-authoring." From the article, it appears that re-authoring is limited to "shrinking." Is that it -- or can there be other things involved with the re-authoring process as well?

Tom, just think of re-authoring as a fancy name for cutting out all of the things you usually fast forward over when watching a dvd.

Hi Tom, re-authoring just means change things to the way you want them.

That may be stripping everything out to make the compression as little as possible for best quality, or leaving stuff in that you want to keep in, such as subtitles, or directors commentary. Whatever.

It's a term that sounds more complicated than it is.

You can substitute DVD Decrypter with DVD FabHDDecrypter, which you can configure to rip the "Main Movie" only, with relevant sound track, as opposed to DVDDecrypter ripping everything.

This means there will no reauthoring neccessary. All you would do with Shrink is compress whatever the file size is to fit onto a single layer DVD.

I've backed up a lot of DVD's that didn't need any compression at all, but usually there's some compression needed. And you can't configure Shrink to burn automatically with DVD Fab as you can with the original Decrypter.

Try the process with a rewritable DVD if you're not too sure, to save wasting disks, but bear in mind that writing to a rewritable disk is much slower than writing to a DVD-/+ R.

Give it a try, and if there's anything in particular that isn't working, or still puzzles you, just pm me, and we'll get it sorted.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Dennis, this does help!