DVD DL Copies

DL = Dual Layer

I will only discuss Sony drives here - I have become convinced they are simply the best - but will continue to keep an open mind for competitors, if one gets stellar reviews

First - the Drive

The Bad - everyone was excited when the biggest thing to hit the streets came out, DVD-9 SS, DL (Single-Sided, Dual-Layer) writable DVD Drives and discs !!!  Sony came out with the disastrous DRU-700A.  VERY FEW PLAYERS COULD PLAY THE RESULTING DISCS !!!  Also double layer media is very expensive.  In addition, this player boasts an amazing 16x speed - and no DVD recordable media can handle that.

The Good - Sony fixed a lot of the problems and came out with the DRU-710A, which has received very good reviews.  

HOWEVER - WHAT ABOUT COMPATIBILITY?? - I still can't find much on compatibility with players, though - and that is usually my main issue.

Sony DRU-710A DL DVD Recorder - 8.5 GB Links

Sony Website for the Internal Drive

review by PC Magazine and some User Reviews.

Least Expensive Media (Ritek) at $8 per disc for a 10-pack

Next - the Software

The Sony drive comes with an excellent Nero DVD recorder suite.  But this section will talk about copying DVD's that are encrypted, using DVDdecrypter and DVD Shrink.

*** see http://forum.dvddecrypter.com for a great wealth of knowledge on DL DVD burning

*** see Media FAQ's at http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

• DVDdecryptor now supports writing to DVD±R for single layer DVD-5 discs or DVD+R for dual layer, DVD-9 discs.   

• Yes, you can now copy dual-sided DVD discs !!  This is a major change in DVD copy capability !!!  But read up on this and pay attention to the CAUTION above.

DVD-9 -> DVD-9 (using DVD+R DL, Double layer to Double layer! (1:1)

***using only DVDdecrypter !!

1. Open DVD Decrypter.

2. From the 'Mode' menu, select 'ISO' -> 'Read'.

3. Put DVD-9 disc in drive.

4. Take note of the 'Destination' file name.

5. Click the big 'Decrypt' button.

6. Take the DVD-9 disc out of the drive.

7. From the 'Mode' menu, select 'ISO' -> 'Write'.

8. Put a blank double layer disc in your DVD Writer.

9. Click the little folder icon - 'Browse for source file' - and select the MDS file created for you as part of the steps above.

10. Click the big 'Write' button.

DVD-9 -> DVD-5 (Single Side, Single Layer 4.7 GB DVD±R disc) 

*** this is a more recent explanation of the same process as described on the previous page DVD Copy Utilities - where I describe using DVD Shrink to allow a typical movie, from a DVD-9 DL disk, to fit on a DVD-5 recordable (4.7 GB) disc.  I am including this explanation, downloaded on 12-2004 from the DVDdecrypter forum, just in case the latest versions of these tools are different than they used to be.

***  using only free software
*** copies the "movie" only - removes all menus, chapters, special sections, etc

This method is a bit more complex (based on hembo's guide from DVDdecryptor forum).  

1. DVD Decrypter 3.2.2.3
2. DVD Shink 3.2 (note: if your drive is not NTFS you must use 3.2 or later)

Setting up DVD Shrink:
1. Click on the Edit menu and then on Preferences...
2. In the DVD Shrink Preferences window which opens, click on the File I/O tab
3. As this guide only uses freeware, make sure that the Enable burning with Nero option is UNCHECKED
   
   
   
4. Click the OK button
   
   Ripping:
5. Start DVD Decrypter
6. Ensure you're in 'File' mode by pressing the 'F' key or selecting it via the 'Mode' option in the menu at the top
7. If, for some reason, all files are not selected, press <Ctrl-A> to select ALL the files
8. Make a note of the destination folder, for example 'C:\NAME_OF_DVD\VIDEO_TS'
   
   
   
   
9. Click the [DVD-image] button to start DVD Decrypter, this will take anything from 10 minutes and up, depending on your computer and DVD drive speed
   
   
   
10. When it is finished, close DVD Decrypter
    
    Re-authoring / Shrinking:
11. Start DVD Shrink
12. Click the [OPEN FILES] button on the main toolbar
13. Navigate to C:\NAME_OF_DVD\VIDEO_TS, select VIDEO_TS.IFO and click [OPEN], this will take a few minutes while DVD shrink analyzes the DVD.
    
    
    When the analysis has finished, you will see the entire structure of the decrypted DVD files.
    
    Jump to step 16 to backup the entire DVD, (like an episodic or series DVD like Friends or Simpsons), instead of just the 'main movie', and then adjust the compression for the extras and menus in order to leave more room for the main title.
    
    
14. Click the [RE-AUTHOR] button on the main toolbar and the DVD Browser tab should be active; if not, click on it
15. Click and hold on 'Title 1' and drag it to the left-hand pane, under DVD
    
    
    
16. If your movie is greater than 4.35GB then the movie is automatically compressed as you can see if you click on the 'Compression Settings' tab. Here you can deselect audio tracks and subtitles you don't want in order to minimize the compression of the video.
    
    
    
17. Insert a blank DVD±R(W) into your DVD-burner
18. Click the [BACKUP] button on the main toolbar
19. Select ISO Image file and burn with DVD Decrypter as your target device
    
    
    
20. Select an appropriate target file/folder for DVD Shrink to output to, for example 'C:\NEW_DVD.ISO'
21. If your movie is greater than 4.35GB, then you can CHECK the 'Perform deep analysis' option on the Quality Settings tab to enhance the video quality. If it's not, there's no need to compress and you can't select that option.
    
    
    
22. Click [OK]. If your movie is greater than 4.35GB it will take about 20 - 40 minutes depending on the length of the movie, and the complexity of the mpeg. Otherwise it will only take a few minutes.
23. Once DVD Shrink has finished reauthoring and/or compressing, DVD Decrypter will automatically launch and burn the image to DVD without any user intervention
24. When you have checked and are happy with the new DVD, you can delete the 'C:\NAME_OF_DVD' folder, the 'C:\NEW_DVD' folder (if it exists) and the 'C:\NAME_OF_DVD.ISO' file