MX-7x0HD DVD Backups
From MvixCommunity
There are several methods available to you when choosing to back up your DVD collection (also referred to as 'ripping'). The choice comes down to the following considerations: size, quality & original menu functionality - you cannot have the benefits all of them. There will always be a sacrifice on the part of one or more. If you wish to retain the original menus and extras without loss of image quality then perhaps ISO or VIDEO_TS is the best for you. If you would rather just have the movie launch immediately, or if space is a serious consideration, then a compressed AVI is probably your preferred method. Go through each of the options below and choose which one best suits your requirements.
This Wiki article may be discussed in this MvixCommunity Forum thread.
NOTE - While most of these tutorials assume that one is using a Windows PC, there is a discussion in the Forum for Mac OSX options here.
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ISO backup
The recommended method of backing up your DVD collection, for the purpose of this article, is to use the ISO format. This provides you with what is essentially a duplicate 'image' of your DVD (including the full menu, language choices, bonuses & extras, etc.) on your hard drive, in a single ISO file - in fact, when launching this file from your Mvix menu, it will appear as though you have inserted your original DVD, except that you will never have to handle the disk again. No more scratches, missing disks, mix-up or mess of your prized original DVDs or their covers.
Organisation
This method provides you with possibly the simplest organisation structure of your DVD collection. You end up with a single ISO file for each DVD which you may choose to rename to the respective movie's name. You may place it in a folder bearing it's own name, or a category folder called, for example, 'Action', together with other ISO movies of the same genre.
Naming standard
NOTE - Renaming of an ISO file must adhere to the following naming standard or the file may not play on your Mvix:
- There is a limit to the number of characters in the file name (dependant on formatted file system of your hard drive - generally 255 bytes), so try to keep this name as short as possible;
- Do not use any 'special characters' - stick to basic alpha-numeric text;
- The '.iso' extension must remain at the end of the file name.
Method
Please refer to this MvixUSA Knowledgebase article for a detailed step-by-step guide on how to back up your DVD collection to an ISO using the recommended DVDShrink program (download links below).
There are other products that will provide you with the same result and even provide you with more options and functionality, but this particular product is Freeware.
Using a product such as this also provides you with the ability to edit the resultant structure of your backup ISO, such as compress the video quality, remove parental control, remove unnecessary languages, and a host of other features. Refer to the product tutorials for more details in this respect.
Dual Layer disks
Most original movie and music DVDs are written in a 'dual layer' format or 'DVD9' standard. These dual layer discs have a second physical layer within the disc structure, allowing for increased storage of up to 8.5 gigabytes per side, per standard-sized 12cm disc, compared with the 4.7 gigabytes of a normal single-layer DVD5 disc.
Many of the above-mentioned ripping programs allow one to choose between the DVD5 or DVD9 standards for the resultant backup. Once more - your choice here comes down to the size vs. quality vs. original menu structure argument. The original intention with these choices was to allow one the option to 'downsize' the backup of a DVD9 movie onto a cheaper DVD5 blank disc. Using this choice will of course also result in a DVD5-standard ISO file. If you want the full, original-quality DVD, with all the bells & whistles of menus, extras, subtitles and languages, and hard drive space is not an issue, then choose the DVD9-standard. Remember that you are not actually going to copy your original to another dual-layer DVD, but rather to your hard drive as a DVD9 ISO, so your result is the perfect backup - this is after all the idea behind having the Mvix. At the end of the day, the choice is yours - weigh up the choices, play with the options and see what works for you.
File Size Limitations
NOTE - under the circumstances mentioned above, creating a DVD9 ISO backup could result in a file of up to 8.5 GB in size. If you have chosen NTFS or EXT2 or EXT3 as your hard drive file system, then you shouldn't have any problems. However, FAT or FAT32 file systems have file size limitations of 4 gigabytes. Under these circumstances, the 'VIDEO_TS' method may be more suitable to your purposes unless reformatting the hard drive is an option.
Further discussion in respect of file system pros and cons can be found on the HDD configuration Wiki page.
VIDEO_TS
This backup format involves copying the entire VIDEO_TS folder from the original DVD to your hard drive. You still get the full menu structure, choice of languages, bonuses and extras from the original DVD, but you are left with a more confusing-looking list of files with extensions such as 'IFO', 'VOB' and 'BUP'. Launching the 'VIDEO_TS.IFO' from your Mvix should launch you into the DVD and the appearance from there will be as per the 'ISO' experience detailed above, with full menu, bonuses & extras and languages. This can once more be edited using 'ripping' software as described in the ISO method above. The primary reason for choosing this method over ISO would be due to the file size limitations due to file system constraints discussed above.
Method
This method can be as simple as dragging the VIDEO_TS files off your DVD onto your hard-drive, but in many respects you will find that this will not work - the reason being copy-protection. Certain software, such as DVDFab HD Decrypter or the older, and now-discontinued DVD Decrypter, allows one to overcome the copy-protection of many DVD-labels in order to facilitate the backup process.
DVDShrink, as per the ISO method detailed above, can also be employed in this respect. The difference between this method and the ISO method described above is, at the end, you choose 'Hard Disk Folder' when you come to select your 'backup target'.
TIP - Un-check the 'Create VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS subfolders' to ensure that the resultant files reside in the folder name of your choosing (use movie title for the folder name).
AVI backup
The AVI file format is a popular container for both Divx- and Xvid-encoded compressed movies. One would choose this method if there is a limitation on the amount of hard drive space available and full menu functionality & extras are not requirements. Using this method does require a certain amount of understanding of codecs & video-related topics, a mid-to-high level of PC skill, a fairly well-specced computer and a whole lot of time. So be prepared for an education. If you are not technically-inclined then I'm going to recommend that this backup method is one to be avoided.
One of the benefits of using this media format is in the 'recently viewed' list of the last 6 AVI movies viewed when you turn the Mvix player on - playing any one of these recently viewed AVI files will resume play from where it left off - this does not work for ISO files, they do not show up at all on this 'recently viewed' list.
Method
- How to convert a DVD to an AVI (DivX codec) File;
- How to convert a VOB file to an MPG that will play on a Mvix MX-700-series player;
- How to re-encode popular stubborn AVI/MP4/VOB/etc. files to a consistent DivX format that will play on your Mvix.
- Here is a Dr Divx Guide from Divx Labs (software download links can be found in the Links & Downloads paragraph below);
- Also take a look at Auto GK in respect of an Xvid-codec alternative;
Links & Downloads
- Doom9.net - an excellent resource with detailed tutorials and a well-managed forum for discussion of the methods employed, including a comprehensive DVD Ripping FAQ, and up-to-date software downloads page.
- DVDShrink can be downloaded from here.
- Dr Divx software can be found here - the latest Divx compression software with excellent HD rendering results;
- Auto GK - for Xvid compression of your movies.
- DVDFab HD Decrypter - will decrypt most known DVD copy-protection restrictions of commercial DVD media for backup purposes.
- DVD Decrypter - also useful for overcoming certain copy-protection restrictions - development has been halted, thus certain newer DVD titles may not be decrypted using this software.
- Details on how to access an EXT2 or EXT3 File System on a Windows OS is detailed in this MvixUSA Knowledgebase article.
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