Sony Dvd's

[mencan]

I really do not seem to be able to see what all the fuss is about. Since I also have a large amount of other apps on the systems, I have not used any for doing back up except AnyDVD and CloneDVD2. I have not had one single software issue since I purchased them and continue to get the perfect back ups.

I have 1clickDVD, Shrink, I'mIN2DVD2, DVD Decriptor and a few others.

I have always been a firm believer that you get what you pay for. If its free, then you take the chance of getting nothing for nothing.

I also use Nero (ver 6.6), but not as often as before, and only for data backups to cd (yea not dvd).

If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. If it works, keep it and leave it alone.
Why in the world would anyone want to always be the first to get the new thing on the block is beyond me.


Cheer's

 

[mike20021969]

I have always been a firm believer that you get what you pay for. If its free, then you take the chance of getting nothing for nothing.

dvd fab decrypter looks exactly like dvd fab platinum when running-except all 'fab' features are locked apart from ripping the dvd to your hard drive and removing all protections for FREE.
check out the latest free version:
http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm
not only does it remove protection from ordinary dvd's when ripping to hard drive,it now has HD and Blu-Ray support too :clap:

 

[SLaTheR-]

DVD Fab Decrypter is an excellent program and a perfect alternative to AnyDVD where Sony crap is an issue. I just backed up Pursuit Of Happiness without a single issue.

I still use AnyDVD when not dealing with Sony, but with AnyDVD failure to clean these discs well enough for Shrink 3.2, there are other FREE alternatives out there. Without losing any quality at all.

If the gods at slysoft could only find the problem they have with these screwed up structures then the On The Fly abilities of AnyDVD would far outweigh the need for third party decrypters, until then they are going to be losing some of their base to these other programs.

 

[SamuriHL]

If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. If it works, keep it and leave it alone.

Well, see, that's just it. DVD Shrink users feel that it IS broke and want a solution. They USED to be able to use DVD Shrink with AnyDVD on the fly. With the latest Sony crap out there, that's no longer possible. So, ok, fine, ripping it to the hard drive would be acceptable...if it worked. But since AnyDVD doesn't deal with DVD structure problems because of it's on the fly nature, this too does not work for DVD Shrink users unless they're looking for a movie only backup. Many DVD Shrink users feel that the "advice" to buy CloneDVD just to use as a ripper is sort of a slap in the face...especially when there are freeware rippers out there that can do the job for them. All they ask for is a working solution for the AnyDVD and DVD Shrink problem. You can place blame for where the problem lies on either side. I choose to simply look at the problem at hand rather than placing blame. It IS a problem and CAN be solved.

 

[SamuriHL]

If the gods at slysoft could only find the problem they have with these screwed up structures then the On The Fly abilities of AnyDVD would far outweigh the need for third party decrypters, until then they are going to be losing some of their base to these other programs.

That can't and won't happen. The days of on the fly decrypting with DVD Shrink and the latest Sony crap are over. Sony has taken great liberties with the DVD structure. DVD Shrink requires that the DVD structure is 100% ISO compliant. There is no way AnyDVD can fix the structure on the fly. James has said that in order to do so, the DVD would have to be cached on the hard drive and AnyDVD would have to scan every single vob file. IOW, it's no different than ripping. Do you really want AnyDVD to take 20+ minutes to "scan" the disc when you put it in? Probably not. The only solution to the problem is to clean the DVD structure...to do that, you need to rip it. Currently there are 2 working solutions that I know of to do that...rip with CloneDVD in DL mode and run FixVTS for good measure, or rip with VobBlanker beta. Both will produce output that DVD Shrink can then open. The difference, of course, is that one is freeware and the other is not. Personally I now own every single Slysoft product...I feel they are good products and worth the investment. For DVD Shrink owners that bought AnyDVD for the advanced decryption abilities, VobBlanker is a good choice for a free ripping solution. Maybe Slysoft will get around to writing their own ripper for use with AnyDVD. That'd be great. Until then, these two solutions actually WORK.

 

[SamuriHL]

Just a note to let you all know that VobBlanker beta has been updated to beta 10.

Link to Betas

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Just a note to let you all know that VobBlanker beta has been updated to beta 10.

Thanks for the info

 

[SLaTheR-]

I might try VobBlanker, but right now DVDFabDecrypter is updated very frequently and also makes ISO compliant files. Shrink has no problem with them.

It is also quite fast.

 

[SamuriHL]

I might try VobBlanker, but right now DVDFabDecrypter is updated very frequently and also makes ISO compliant files. Shrink has no problem with them.

It is also quite fast.

While this is true, there are benefits to using VobBlanker that go beyond merely ripping a full disc to use with Shrink. Once you get the hang of it, you can blank out things like trailers, logos, extras you don't want, etc. By blanking them out during the rip process, you give DVD Shrink more room to work with for compressing. That keeps the quality higher and removes annoyances from your backup.

 

[roachgod]

"Sony" is no proper criteria for a dvd protection.
Shrink hasn't been updated since Aug, 2nd 2004 - there even was no XP SP2 back then (released Aug, 11th). You are all talking about "the latest, best" rippers and using a stone-age backup program. This doesn't fit.

 

[SamuriHL]

"Sony" is no proper criteria for a dvd protection.
Shrink hasn't been updated since Aug, 2nd 2004 - there even was no XP SP2 back then (released Aug, 11th). You are all talking about "the latest, best" rippers and using a stone-age backup program. This doesn't fit.

I've heard this argument before. Hell, I've perpetrated this argument before until I realized something that was pointed out to me many times. DVD Shrink requires a compliant DVD structure. That is its only "fault". So, if its only fault is that it requires a compliant DVD structure, how is it "stone-age"? What needs to be updated in it? It's compression is still by far better than CloneDVD's. (Look, I love CloneDVD, but, there's no denying that DVD Shrink's compression engine is better.) The job of the ripper is to provide DVD Shrink with a compliant DVD structure. Where the confusion lies I think is that people want to believe AnyDVD is a ripper where it is not. There are ways to use AnyDVD and provide DVD Shrink with the compliant DVD structure that it requires. So again, I ask this question...where, exactly, is the problem?

 

[oldjoe]

"Sony" is no proper criteria for a dvd protection.
Shrink hasn't been updated since Aug, 2nd 2004 - there even was no XP SP2 back then (released Aug, 11th). You are all talking about "the latest, best" rippers and using a stone-age backup program. This doesn't fit.

\

You are partially correct. Shrink has not been updated bit it still does what it was designed to do.
As SamuriHL has pointed out, Shrink is a ripper and that is what it does. It still does it with the same quality and efficiency that it always has.

 

[Clams]

I've heard this argument before. Hell, I've perpetrated this argument before until I realized something that was pointed out to me many times. DVD Shrink requires a compliant DVD structure. That is its only "fault". So, if its only fault is that it requires a compliant DVD structure, how is it "stone-age"? What needs to be updated in it? It's compression is still by far better than CloneDVD's. (Look, I love CloneDVD, but, there's no denying that DVD Shrink's compression engine is better.) The job of the ripper is to provide DVD Shrink with a compliant DVD structure. Where the confusion lies I think is that people want to believe AnyDVD is a ripper where it is not. There are ways to use AnyDVD and provide DVD Shrink with the compliant DVD structure that it requires. So again, I ask this question...where, exactly, is the problem?

You'll never get an answer to this. Most updates to Shrink, before it went NLS, were to handle copy protections. Were Shrink to continue to be updated to the present, we wouldn't even need AnyDVD at all! Shrink handes most of the copy protection schemes up to ARCCOS. When Sony introduced ARCCOS, Shrink users went clamoring for AnyDVD - I was one of them. AnyDVD owes it's huge popularity largely to the very fact that Shrink did go NLS in 2004.

So now Sony has introduced a new form of copy protection and Shrink users feel that AnyDVD needs to find a way to step up to the plate and handle it. I don't care if it's "on the fly" or with the aid of an add-on ripper that cleans out the crap. I don't know and I don't care. I'm an end user - I just want it to work.

-W

 

[SamuriHL]

Well, I would argue that the ripper functionality has been out of date for quite some time but the compression functionality is still fine. I mean, it's not like Shrink can RIP the latest titles on its own. What I was saying is that whatever ripper you use should create compliant DVD structures for DVD Shrink to process. AnyDVD is NOT a ripper which is where I think a lot of confusion comes in. It can help programs that rip, certainly, but, in and of itself AnyDVD wasn't designed to be a ripper. I believe the Shrink users have a valid point when they say that Shrink is still useful and not outdated. Outdated would mean there are better transcoding programs out there and many of the Shrink users feel that's not the case. IMO, they have a very good point. The ripper, whatever it ends up being, should indeed clean the structure in such a way that Shrink can open it. Besides, who wants to have remnants of an ugly protection hanging around on their backup? I'd say that's a defective backup.

 

[SamuriHL]

So now Sony has introduced a new form of copy protection and Shrink users feel that AnyDVD needs to find a way to step up to the plate and handle it. I don't care if it's "on the fly" or with the aid of an add-on ripper that cleans out the crap. I don't know and I don't care. I'm an end user - I just want it to work.

-W

And I would agree with you completely on this point. Hence why I've spent such a great deal of time trying to find a way to make that happen. I can tell you it's not easy to change people's minds on this issue. My mind HAS been changed by the Shrink camp and I'm adamantly defending them because I think they're right. I was one of those that felt Shrink had outlived its usefulness but they made me understand that only the ripper portion of the program is outdated which is why they went to AnyDVD, as you said. Now that I understand that concept I agree completely that Shrink users need a way to rip clean. As an end user myself the best I can offer is the VobBlanker method I've outlined. Note that I do NOT take credit for that idea...I'm merely passing it on. Someone on CDF gave me the idea and I helped refine it a little bit but it's most definitely not my idea. It just happens to be a good one that works. Now, hopefully Slysoft is working on a stand alone ripper that'll give us a clean DVD structure when used with AnyDVD. They've been rather quiet as of late so I really have NO idea what they're working on. Maybe they'll surprise us one day.

 

[Clams]

Well, I would argue that the ripper functionality has been out of date for quite some time but the compression functionality is still fine. I mean, it's not like Shrink can RIP the latest titles on its own.

And I would ague that even the ripper portion of Shrink is still fine as long as it's presented with a compliant DVD. DVD not complient? Then it's somehow encrypted or copy-protected. Now let's see.... who do I pay to handle that part...Shrink or AnyDVD?? Hmmmmmmmm.......

-W

 

[SamuriHL]

And I would ague that even the ripper portion of Shrink is still fine as long as it's presented with a compliant DVD. DVD not complient? Then it's somehow encrypted or copy-protected. Now let's see.... who do I pay to handle that part...Shrink or AnyDVD?? Hmmmmmmmm.......

-W

I understand what you're saying. I also understand the technical reason why it will never be an "on the fly" solution anymore. It's going to be a case where it HAS to be ripped to the hard drive first...it's the only way to deal with these new (stupid, useless) protections that Sony feels compelled to give us. Slysoft should indeed provide you with a solution to this issue. I just don't know where they stand on that right now.

 

[Clams]

They stand that they are going to adress this. That was thier last word. I'm just waiting for the results.

-W

 

[SamuriHL]

They stand that they are going to adress this. That was thier last word. I'm just waiting for the results.

-W

Well, yes, I realize that. I meant I don't know how far along they are with that. James had said he didn't want to release a half assed solution that only dealt with the Sony protections. He wanted it to deal with all types of protections and that it would take some creative thinking as to how to implement it. That would be sweet indeed.

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

<snip>
AnyDVD is NOT a ripper which is where I think a lot of confusion comes in. It can help programs that rip, certainly, but, in and of itself AnyDVD wasn't designed to be a ripper.
<snip>
The ripper, whatever it ends up being, should indeed clean the structure in such a way that Shrink can open it.
<snip>

I fully agree and I've noted more than once that I think it's CloneDVD that should be fixing the problem here. I love CloneDVD but it's the ripper, not AnyDVD, and it doesn't clean up the output.

And, as you, SamuriHL have mentioned before... don't want to pay for CloneDVD? Then use VobBlanker for ripping and DVD Shrink for compressing for the cost of a King's ransom... zero dollars.

I get people wanting to use DVD Shrink with AnyDVD but what I don't get is the fact that people seem to essentially ignore solutions. It'd be nice if AnyDVD could still be directly used with Shrink without using another ripper first... but right now it can't do so all of the time. Maybe people never will.

Ways to use DVD Shrink and get a compliant result:

1. AnyDVD + VobBlanker (freeware) + DVD Shrink (freeware) + ImgBurn (freeware)
2. AnyDVD + CloneDVD2 + FixVTS (freeware) + DVD Shrink (freeware) + ImgBurn (freeware)