What software do you use to back up your DVDs?

[Animeniax]

I've been using PQDVD's PocketDVD for a while to encode in Xvid format at NTSC 30fps/128bit stereo. The quality is ok/good with a standard 2 hour movie size of 900MB. The problem is this program only works in WinXP and doesn't have a lot of options for improving quality.

Can anyone recommend a better program in the free to $50 range for DVD back ups?

[Animeniax]

You people sux.

[Buffalobiian]

Ripbot264, if you can get it to work. It can accept .vob files as input source, but not sure how convenient that is for simply backing up DVDs. May require 3rd party DVD decrypters.

[enkoujin]

http://www.avs4you.com/

Should be free; was okay for when I was burning DVD movies, but I haven't used it in a while.

Apparently, you have to buy a $59 unlimited subscription. I think the program's worth it.

For more general cases, I just use Nero v7 or 9.

[poopdeville]

I use Handbrake. Free, open source, uses FFmpeg to encode to XVid, h264, and lots of other options.

[Animeniax]

I use Handbrake. Free, open source, uses FFmpeg to encode to XVid, h264, and lots of other options.

I installed Handbrake 0.96 and VLC, tried to encode some files from a DVD, the program continually crashes. The one time it finished to completion creating an m4v file using h264 encoding, none of my media players would play it (WMP, VLC, QT) saying they can't read the file or it is an unsupported file type. Any help would be appreciated. I searched online but haven't found anything useful.

[poopdeville]

About the crash: I'll need to see your handbrake log files. If you're on a Mac, run /Applications/Utility/Console.app. Click on "Show Log List" if there isn't a gray list on the left side. Look for "CrashReporter", and then a Handbrake entry.

About the encode problem: I'm not sure. Maybe it's related to the crash, or maybe you picked incompatible options. (Some H.264 decoders don't implement "High Profile" features, for example) I guess it's also possible that VLC couldn't open the DVD on Handbrake's behalf. Can you play the DVD in VLC?

Simple guide:
http://systembash.com/content/the-ultimate-guide-to-dvd-encoding-with-handbrake/

More Complete:
https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/HandBrakeGuide

[Animeniax]

I'm running Handbrake on Win7 64-bit. I'll post the log file when I get to my PC (at work right now).

I've read that videos won't play because the encode isn't complete even though Handbrake shows 100% (in my case, it says encode complete, and 100% completion percentage). I tried encodes on the simplest settings using normal profile. I alternated between mp4 and m4v file types, and between h264 and mpeg4. It didn't seem to matter.

I haven't tried watching movies in VLC as I just installed it to work with Handbrake. I'll check that today and see if VLC is working properly as well. I might downgrade to an earlier version of Handbrake to see if that helps.

Thanks for the help, hopefully I can get this to work.

Ok, here are excerpts from the log file which may be pertinent (which is really long):

Opening E:\...
[18:52:29] hb_scan: path=E:\, title_index=0
libbluray/bdnav/index_parse.c:157: indx_parse(): error opening E:\/BDMV/index.bdmv
libbluray/bluray.c:1471: nav_get_title_list(E:\) failed (000000000031D230)
[18:52:29] bd: not a bd - trying as a stream/file instead
libdvdnav: Using dvdnav version 4.1.3
libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
libdvdread: Could not open input: Permission denied
libdvdread: Can't open E: for reading
libdvdread: Device (null) inaccessible, CSS authentication not available.
NAME OPEN FAILED
libdvdnav: Unable to find home directorylibdvdnav: DVD disk reports itself with Region mask 0x00fe0000. Regions: 1
libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
libdvdread: Could not open input: Permission denied
libdvdread: Can't open E: for reading
libdvdread: Device (null) inaccessible, CSS authentication not available.
[18:52:30] scan: DVD has 9 title(s)
[18:52:30] scan: scanning title 1
[18:52:30] scan: opening IFO for VTS 4
[18:52:30] scan: duration is 01:45:09 (6309066 ms)
[18:52:30] pgc_id: 1, pgn: 1: pgc: 0000000000321610
[18:52:30] scan: vts=4, ttn=1, cells=0->28, blocks=0->2682123, 2682124 blocks
.
.
.
[18:52:55] scan: 10 previews, 720x480, 23.976 fps, autocrop = 48/16/0/0, aspect 4:3, PAR 8:9
[18:52:55] Title is likely interlaced or telecined (10 out of 10 previews). You should do something about that.
[18:52:55] scan: decoding previews for title 8
libdvdnav: DVD disk reports itself with Region mask 0x00fe0000. Regions: 1
libdvdnav: Suspected RCE Region Protection!!!
Scanning title 8 of 9...
[18:52:55] scan: title angle(s) 1
[18:52:55] scan: audio 0x80bd: AC-3, rate=48000Hz, bitrate=192000 English (AC3) (Dolby Surround)
[18:52:55] scan: 10 previews, 720x480, 23.976 fps, autocrop = 48/16/0/0, aspect 4:3, PAR 8:9
[18:52:55] Title is likely interlaced or telecined (10 out of 10 previews). You should do something about that.
[18:52:55] scan: title (0) job->width:720, job->height:400
[18:52:55] scan: title (1) job->width:640, job->height:480
[18:52:55] scan: title (2) job->width:640, job->height:480
[18:52:55] scan: title (3) job->width:640, job->height:480
[18:52:55] scan: title (4) job->width:640, job->height:480
[18:52:55] scan: title (5) job->width:640, job->height:432
[18:52:55] scan: title (6) job->width:640, job->height:416
[18:52:55] scan: title (7) job->width:640, job->height:416
[18:52:55] libhb: scan thread found 8 valid title(s)
+ title 1:
+ Main Feature
+ vts 4, ttn 1, cells 0->28 (2682124 blocks)
+ duration: 01:45:09
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 32/27, display aspect: 1.78, 23.976 fps
+ autocrop: 0/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->4, 99753 blocks, duration 00:03:38
+ 2: cells 5->6, 273270 blocks, duration 00:10:11
+ 3: cells 7->7, 200659 blocks, duration 00:07:56
+ 4: cells 8->8, 166940 blocks, duration 00:07:06
+ 5: cells 9->10, 164213 blocks, duration 00:06:31
+ 6: cells 11->12, 190015 blocks, duration 00:07:39
+ 7: cells 13->13, 164737 blocks, duration 00:07:05
+ 8: cells 14->15, 209644 blocks, duration 00:08:59
+ 9: cells 16->16, 128491 blocks, duration 00:05:07
+ 10: cells 17->18, 159454 blocks, duration 00:05:23
+ 11: cells 19->20, 247291 blocks, duration 00:09:07
+ 12: cells 21->22, 184010 blocks, duration 00:06:54
+ 13: cells 23->23, 174601 blocks, duration 00:06:38
+ 14: cells 24->24, 186911 blocks, duration 00:07:12
+ 15: cells 25->28, 132135 blocks, duration 00:05:43
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (5.1 ch) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 448000bps
+ 2, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ 3, Francais (AC3) (5.1 ch) (iso639-2: fra), 48000Hz, 448000bps
+ 4, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ 1, English (iso639-2: eng) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 2, Francais (iso639-2: fra) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 3, Closed Captions (iso639-2: eng) (Text)(CC)
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 2:
+ vts 3, ttn 1, cells 0->2 (248537 blocks)
+ duration: 00:12:56
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 29.970 fps
+ autocrop: 0/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 161815 blocks, duration 00:08:25
+ 2: cells 1->1, 86717 blocks, duration 00:04:31
+ 3: cells 2->2, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ 1, English (iso639-2: eng) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 2, Francais (iso639-2: fra) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 3, Closed Captions (iso639-2: eng) (Text)(CC)
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 3:
+ vts 6, ttn 1, cells 0->2 (255409 blocks)
+ duration: 00:13:20
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 29.970 fps
+ autocrop: 0/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 123816 blocks, duration 00:06:28
+ 2: cells 1->1, 131588 blocks, duration 00:06:52
+ 3: cells 2->2, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ 1, English (iso639-2: eng) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 2, Francais (iso639-2: fra) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 3, Closed Captions (iso639-2: eng) (Text)(CC)
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 4:
+ vts 6, ttn 2, cells 0->3 (378057 blocks)
+ duration: 00:19:24
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 29.970 fps
+ autocrop: 0/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 159162 blocks, duration 00:08:21
+ 2: cells 1->1, 168159 blocks, duration 00:08:42
+ 3: cells 2->2, 50731 blocks, duration 00:02:21
+ 4: cells 3->3, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ 1, English (iso639-2: eng) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 2, Francais (iso639-2: fra) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 3, Closed Captions (iso639-2: eng) (Text)(CC)
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 5:
+ vts 6, ttn 3, cells 0->1 (179874 blocks)
+ duration: 00:09:50
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 29.970 fps
+ autocrop: 0/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 179869 blocks, duration 00:09:50
+ 2: cells 1->1, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ 1, English (iso639-2: eng) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 2, Francais (iso639-2: fra) (Bitmap)(VOBSUB)
+ 3, Closed Captions (iso639-2: eng) (Text)(CC)
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 6:
+ vts 5, ttn 1, cells 0->1 (54226 blocks)
+ duration: 00:02:33
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 23.976 fps
+ autocrop: 48/0/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 54221 blocks, duration 00:02:33
+ 2: cells 1->1, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (5.1 ch) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 448000bps
+ 2, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 7:
+ vts 2, ttn 1, cells 0->5 (234103 blocks)
+ duration: 00:12:18
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 23.976 fps
+ autocrop: 48/16/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 55079 blocks, duration 00:02:51
+ 2: cells 1->1, 48511 blocks, duration 00:02:31
+ 3: cells 2->2, 37141 blocks, duration 00:01:56
+ 4: cells 3->3, 45473 blocks, duration 00:02:24
+ 5: cells 4->4, 47894 blocks, duration 00:02:35
+ 6: cells 5->5, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
+ title 8:
+ vts 2, ttn 2, cells 0->5 (234103 blocks)
+ duration: 00:12:18
+ size: 720x480, pixel aspect: 8/9, display aspect: 1.33, 23.976 fps
+ autocrop: 48/16/0/0
+ chapters:
+ 1: cells 0->0, 55079 blocks, duration 00:02:51
+ 2: cells 1->1, 48511 blocks, duration 00:02:31
+ 3: cells 2->2, 37141 blocks, duration 00:01:56
+ 4: cells 3->3, 45473 blocks, duration 00:02:24
+ 5: cells 4->4, 47894 blocks, duration 00:02:35
+ 6: cells 5->5, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
+ audio tracks:
+ 1, English (AC3) (Dolby Surround) (iso639-2: eng), 48000Hz, 192000bps
+ subtitle tracks:
+ combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
HandBrake has exited.



I was able to encode a movie without HB crashing on the first run today using default normal settings, but the finished 7GB m4v file won't play on any of my media players. Maybe VLC, QT, and WMP don't play h264 video without additional codecs?

edit2: I installed k-lite codec packs with Media Player Classic, no dice. Says it cannot render the file.

[poopdeville]

Don't worry about codecs -- that's definitely not the problem.

I think the trouble is that the DVD is copy protected. From doing some Google-fu, it seems that Handbrake on Windows just cannot deal with copy protected DVDs anymore. I don't know the specifics of why that changed. In fact, that's what installing VLC alongside HB is supposed to be for. (Out of curiosity, did HB tell you to get VLC explicitly? The Mac version does, but I've never used the Windows version)

There is supposedly a way to get Windows HB to decrypt dvds. Read the last message, and possibly the messages in the next page, at:
https://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16670#p78021

[Animeniax]

Most of the sites I checked said you have to use VLC in order for Handbrake to be able to record copy-protected disks, supposedly because HB runs the movie through VLC and records the stream. Maybe the newest version of HB had to conform to DMCA or some Windows update defeats its ability to record copyrighted discs.

I got it to work using the forum post you linked. Downgrade to 0.95, copy the dll file, and run in WinXP SP2 compatibility mode. Not sure if all three are necessary but it works. I might try different compatibility modes to see if it matters. The video quality on normal looks about the same as with the program I used before, PQDVD, which recorded in xVID avi format. The h264 mp4 file is about twice as large though. I'll change the settings for maximum quality to size ratio.

Thanks for all the help!

[poopdeville]

Yeah, play around with the X264 settings and some of the filters, and remember that you can save your own profiles to use as a starting point later. A lot of guides try to use the settings to target specific players, but I did the opposite. I picked settings to get the highest possible quality out of the source material. For example, I have SD and HD versions of profiles for "live TV", "animated TV", "live film", "animated film", and even some with default subtitle support. Some settings work great for animation but are totally inappropriate for live action video. Experiment and save your settings. Deinterlacing or decombing (or detelecining) is appropriate for television, but will hurt most movies.

https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/CLIGuide is a good resource.