With the bad economy and all I figured I would show everyone how to make a back up copy of their DVD’s, there is nothing worse than having to shell out $20 on a DVD you already bought that got scratched or cracked. Please note, you need to be logged in to be able to download the two freeware programs used to do this, dvd shrink & dvd decrypter (you won’t see them unless you login)

.

First, you need to create a folder for your DVD work before hand. This is a place on your HD where DVD Decrypter can put its work after it decrypts your DVD (rids it of that encryption thingie) and where DVD Shrink can work on the movie files just prior to burning it to your blank DVD. Try to put it someplace where you won't forget it. I made a folder on my Desktop, - i.e. Desktop, ALL DVD WORK..

CLICK READ MORE TO SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

.

The second folder will also be named for the movie, i.e., " Star Wars", FINISHED". This is the folder that DVD Shrink will use to put the completed DVD files or the ISO image prior to burning to disc.

.

Once files are in the "FINISHED" folder, if you are pressed for free hard drive space, you can delete the "RIPPED" folder without a worry about your project. As you see, there are "safe" spots to stop should you wish, not so with most $$$$ programs.

.

Let's go get one of your favorite DVD's to make a copy of, so should something unforeseen happen, like a waterspout hitting the Mojave Desert and destroying the original you'll have a backup of it. Place your original DVD in your DVD-ROM drive and a DVD blank in your burner's drive. (Of course, if you only have a single drive, place your original in that drive.) When using DVD Decrypter, after you hear the "finished" tune, remove the original disc and replace with your blank media.

.

Now open up DVD Decrypter - and under "Mode", select "File." In the main window, under "Source", Browse to your DVD-ROM for your DVD. Select for your "Destination" your "RIPPED / VIDEO_TS" folder. Remember to select the VIDEO_TS folder, if the files aren't there, DVD Shrink can't pick them up. There, all set. - Let's "Click" on the Disc to HD icon and allow DVD Decrypter to do it's decrypting thing while you continue with DVD Shrink. We'll wait until we hear DVD Decrypter play it's, "I'm finished now." tune, to know when it's done.

.

Let’s go now to the "File I/O" tab.

.

The top box, "Enable overlapped I/O", is fine as long as you stick with a good quality media for your DVD backup work. When using poor quality discs OR experiencing burn errors, you may have to un-check this box. This "Box" controls your burning speed and, by un-checking it, you'll then be able to access a drop-down window in the "Backup" section of Shrink, where you can lower your burning speed. This will help reduce the chance of errors while burning.

.

Now click, "OK"

.

Now let's burn a DVD...

.

Alright then, let's open DVD Shrink and click "Open File "and "Browse" on your Desktop to, ALL DVD WORK, Star Wars, "RIPPED" then your VIDEO_TS folder with our DVD files there and "Click", "OK". You'll have to wait anywhere from 30-seconds to a minute for DVD Shrink to analyze your DVD then you'll be ready to proceed . . . .

.

If you wish, you can edit your movie (clean it up a bit :)

.

To trim some unnecessary items from your movie, under audio, you can "un-tick" some extra audio you don't want, like the foreign audio streams, i.e. Klingon, Solarian Cluster Mush OR Eastern Himalayan Yak language selections or the Director's comments (also known as Outer Mongolian). This will result in your DVD requiring less compression and therefore providing you with a better quality picture. Also, some DVD's have "sub-pictures" - NO, they aren't pictures of submarines. and NO, subpicture streams aren't something I'll get into here . . . Enough to say that subpictures generally contain sub-titles in different languages and such. They'll give you more space for your main feature. This will result in your DVD requiring less compression and therefore providing you with a better quality picture.

.

It's now time to select Backup". Take just a second and under the "Target Device tab," go to "Select backup target" once there, select "ISO Image File and burn with DVD Decrypter". Where it says "Select target image file", "Browse" until you find your created folder for your DVD Shrink files. LQQk on your Desktop for ALL DVD WORK, Star Wars, "FINISHED" and click, "OK".

.

Now, under "Quality Settings" tab, if it's SPEED you're after, "Un-tick" the box which says, "Perform deep analysis" and "Un-tick" the box for "Compress the video with high quality adaptive error compensation". This will give you a fairly acceptable DVD backup. If it's QUALITY you're after and have some extra time to spend, "tick" Perform deep analysis before backup to improve quality" AND "tick""Compress video with high quality adaptive error compensation."

.

That's it! ! Click "OK" and enjoy a peaceful cup of tea. DVD Shrink will work it's little heart out, obeying your commands and putting a copy of your work on your HD while instructing DVD Decrypter to toast your DVD image to your waiting disc to a rich, golden "Done".