DVD X Copy XPRESS® released [Archive]

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 04:14

I hope it kicks so much ass I can ditch InstantCopy and DVD2One but sadly I know it won't. If this product has half as many bugs as DVDXCOPY orginally did, I don't want anything to do with it. I don't have a problem being a tester of products that have been tested somewhat in house but DVDXCOPY was released with so many bugs it was unreal.

I do think it is awesome that the consumer is getting so many choices.

Besides that, I don't want to spend any more money on these types of products until there is something much better than InstantCopy when it comes to quality. Instantcopy has been a pain in the ass sometimes but I want the best quality possible.

JonRead

29th April 2003, 04:36

What makes this any different to all the others though ? DVD Shrink is free. DVD2One is great, as is DVD95Copy, as is Instant Copy. I think there is now saturation in this market. I guess it is great to have a choice, but makes it even harder to choose what to buy and which is likely to last the course. I think the more "commerical" users will buy DVD X Copy Express as a lot of them don't know anything about Shrink, 2One, and 95Copy, and perhaps even IC.

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 04:40

I personally don't think people concerned with quality can get away with one of these utilities yet. None are good enough to manage along. DVD95Copy is probably the closest since the author keeps everything updated.

I just happened to buy DVD2one before DVD95Copy came out. I just couldn't pick DVD95Copy over InstantCopy simply because InstantCopy has the better compression method(except for a few issues).

I haven't used DVD2one in a while though. Most of the time I am using DVDShrink and InstantCopy to get the results I want.

JonRead

29th April 2003, 04:50

I bet it also has an annoying advert at the start of every DVD like its other software.

Allistah

29th April 2003, 04:53

Just bought this software on the condition that I can get my money back.

First impressions:

MOVIE ONLY BACKUP! NO MENUS OR EXTRAS

Quality seemed good, but has MINIMAL options. I'm going to get my money back since I wasn't at all interested in a movie only backup.

-Allistah

JonRead

29th April 2003, 04:55

Seriously, it is MOVIE ONLY ? They don't seem to advertise that fact, talk about crafty. To me, the way it is worded, I would have assumed it was full disk. From what I can see they charge even more then the competition.

mpucoder

29th April 2003, 04:59

I say, the more, the merrier. More Malox moments for Jack Valenti.

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 04:59

Originally posted by Allistah
Just bought this software on the condition that I can get my money back.

First impressions:

MOVIE ONLY BACKUP! NO MENUS OR EXTRAS

Quality seemed good, but has MINIMAL options. I'm going to get my money back since I wasn't at all interested in a movie only backup.

-Allistah

LAME!!!!!

Make high quality 1:1 backup copies of all your DVD movies
Fit your entire DVD movie on to just one disc (No need for 2 discs)

They say 1:1 copies and ENTIRE dvd. False advertising at worse and misrepresentation at the best.

MackemX

29th April 2003, 05:00

hmmmmmmmmmmm
very misleading and I quote

Make high quality 1:1 backup copies of all your DVD movies
Fit your entire DVD movie on to just one disc (No need for 2 discs)
Copies virtually any DVD - including copy-protected DVDs
Highest Possible Video & Audio Quality
Restore Scratched or Defective DVD movies
Supports both NTSC and PAL DVD movies
Built-in Anti-Piracy Protection
FREE Live Technical Support
Unconditional Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee (See Details) *

notice the fit the entire DVD movie bit? but also reading it again it says 1:1 of your DVD movies not DVD's :confused:

is this clever marketing trick by giving the impression its a complete 1:1 of the whole DVD when in fact its just the movie only backup or an actual mistake?

mpucoder

29th April 2003, 05:05

Robert Moore (the head of 321Studios) is a marketing person, not a programmer.

Now, could someone define 1:1?
To me that means everything, no stripping of tracks, no cutting extras, and no transcoding. The only 1:1 I've done started out as DVD-5. Even loosely defined, removing extras and recompressing isn't 1:1

JonRead

29th April 2003, 05:09

Yeah, I think it is marketing speech, them adding in the "movie" basically covers them if anyone complains. The thing is though, DVD2One adds the option for both Movie Only and Full Disc, surely it can't be hard for them to also create this feature ?

I would love to see their comparison chart for DXC Xpress with DVD2One, DVD95Copy, DVD Shrink and IC7, I wonder what features they will try and make up to make theirs look better. Hmmmm, "False Advertising - Tick", "More expensive then the rest - Tick", etc etc. Okay, so that doesn't make it look better but I think they will be stumped on such a chart.

Have you seen their comparison chart for the original DXC ? Quite how they came out on top against IC7 is anyones guess. Also notice how the other software is the usual re-packaged stuff ?

Comparison chart : http://www.dvdxcopy.com/compare.htm

Allistah

29th April 2003, 05:12

Yeah, I wasn't impressed at all. Those guys better not jack me around when I call tomorrow to get my money back.

In my opinion theres no way this is worth $50. I wouldn't even say $30. I'd pay maybe $15 for it.

Grrrr!! I guess I saved many of you the hassle and time! So I guess thats the good thing that came of it.

-Allistah

MackemX

29th April 2003, 05:12

it's the Platinum version that's gonna have the menu/extras option

DVD X COPY Express will be released first. DXC Express is a new product from 321 Studios that will fit a DVD9 onto one DVD5.

In addition, all customers in good standing on release date, will receive a FREE download copy of the Express product while we continue to develop and improve the Platinum technology.

DXC Express will NOT include menus or special features, but will provide the ability to "squeeze" a DVD9 movie onto ONE DVD5 with superb video quality and lightning fast encoding times.

Platinum Features:
Super Fast, Patent Pending Encoding to Fit ALL DVD-9 contents including menu, special features and movie to ONE DVDR(-+) with virtually no perceptible quality loss in video!

The above is user optional only. DXC Platinum will still continue to provide true 1:1 backups to retain FULL video quality.

Better Episodic Handling! I just remembered this from poyda69

notice the 'true' 1:1 backups bit :D

JonRead

29th April 2003, 05:13

Allistah, what was the interface like and is there a chance you could have missed the option of full disk ? Or was it so simple that there is no chance of missing anything ? Any re-authoring ? Or was it purely like the original version of DVD2One ?

EDIT : Posted this before I saw above post.

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 05:16

Originally posted by JonRead
Yeah, I think it is marketing speech, them adding in the "movie" basically covers them if anyone complains. The thing is though, DVD2One adds the option for both Movie Only and Full Disc, surely it can't be hard for them to also create this feature ?

I would love to see their comparison chart for DXC Xpress with DVD2One, DVD95Copy, DVD Shrink and IC7, I wonder what features they will try and make up to make theirs look better. Hmmmm, "False Advertising - Tick", "More expensive then the rest - Tick", etc etc. Okay, so that doesn't make it look better but I think they will be stumped on such a chart.

Have you seen their comparison chart for the original DXC ? Quite how they came out on top against IC7 is anyones guess. Also notice how the other software is the usual re-packaged stuff ?

Comparison chart : http://www.dvdxcopy.com/compare.htm

That comparison is a bunch of BS. They say InstantCopy can't backup episode disks. That is funny because I have all my band of brother dvds backed up with it.

JonRead

29th April 2003, 05:22

Excactly, how it won against IC7 is anyones guess. It also says "no other software needed" but doesn't tick IC7, well if you are copying legal DVDs then you don't need other software, so technically that should also be ticked. Also they didn't tick "NTSC/PAL" support, I don't know about anyone else, but I have often copied both NTSC and PAL DVDs no problem.

mrbass

29th April 2003, 05:33

sadly a more than a few suckers will plop down $50 for this #%@^$^. Save your cash.

mpucoder

29th April 2003, 05:40

I think they gave too much credit to Pinnacle (and themselves) for "Rapid on-going improvements".

JonRead

29th April 2003, 05:41

The other thing that gets me is the DVD X Copy forum, the mods, who supposedly don't have anything to do with 123Studios, try their best to put people off the other software. The main one is the "you are commiting a crime by using DVD Decrypter, so you shouldn't use it". They seem to go on about this all the time when someone suggests DVD2One or the such like. Supposedly their way is the legal way, yeah right. Over a year ago I posted on there, before DVD2One came out, asking for a 1:1 DVD9 to DVD5 copier. They said "no way will we ever create such an item of software as it degrades quality and there isn't enough people who want it", hmmmm, what have they just released ?

MackemX

29th April 2003, 05:42

Rapid improvements from Pinnacle :D

hmmmmmmm again I'm suspicious cos look at what I posted before

DXC Express will NOT include menus or special features, but will provide the ability to "squeeze" a DVD9 movie onto ONE DVD5 with superb video quality and lightning fast encoding times.

Super Fast, Patent Pending Encoding to Fit ALL DVD-9 contents including menu, special features and movie to ONE DVDR(-+) with virtually no perceptible quality loss in video!

supposedly it's encoding yet Allistah told me it took 25 mins, the quality is good he reckons but really we need a comparision to see what it's really like

JonRead

29th April 2003, 06:15

Check out their DVD Copy Plus http://www.dvdxcopy.com/products_dcp.htm which we all know is the crap rip off stuff of them putting freeware in to one package. Now, I remember reading of the staff/mods telling people not to use Decrypter or Smart Ripper because it is illigal, now correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't DVD Copy Plus include one of these rippers ???? Talk about hypocrites. Also notice on the page "OUR software", yeah right, like they wrote it, or even asked permission to use it. I reckon all freeware writers should include a splash page saying their software is free and not for resale or bundled.

gvallen

29th April 2003, 11:14

I have been using DVDXcopy for quite a while and must say that although in comparison to other products it is now expensive, it does an excellent job. Remember, this was the first 'one-click' app and is the only one (AFAIK) that splits the movie and retains original quality. Since the emergence of IC, dvd2one, dvdshrink etc they have obviously realised that people want transcoding and have responded with xpress and soon platinum. xpress is rather like the original version of dvd2one except it also rips and burns making it a snap for beginners. It is VERY fast since it rips and transcodes at the same time. It is certainly MUCH faster than IC (although of course it doesn't do the whole disk). Quality looks great but I am no expert so can't say how it compares to the others. I would love to hear from the experts.

Platinum is promising to become a killer app but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Is it worth the money? Difficult to judge since it depends on your needs and skill. If you want movie only on one disk, xpress would seem to be the best option since it is complete and quick with good quality.

Glenn

conrad

29th April 2003, 16:00

I have tried this program on about 10 movies so far and for a 'Movie only' application it is the best, IMHO, out there for 3 reasons. (1) The quality that I see is the same or better than the other programs and I have most of them. (2) Simplicity - If you have a separate reader and writer, just put the movie in the reader and the recordable in the writer and click start. Even if a DVD RW has previous info on it it will automatically (without prompting) erase it before writing. (3) Speed - The whole process, ripping, compressing and writing has run me between 21 and 38 minutes without me touching anything else except the 'Start' button.

MackemX

29th April 2003, 16:14

any chance of a comparision?

I'm not so sure if it's worth the $50 just for slighty better quality and even then DVDShrink allows you to chop the beginning/ending so therefore giving more space to the movie resulting in better quality

the good thing they have done is to actually split the tool, one for movie only and one for 1:1, very clever cos if people want both they would have to buy both, so more money for them, but at least they are geared to do one specific job

and for simplicity, all in one tools that require a few clicks, that's irrelavent to me cos it only takes 5 secs to use DVDDecrypter to rip though does Xpress work with files from a HD, cos I'm sure Allistah said it didn't :(

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 17:34

Originally posted by gvallen
I have been using DVDXcopy for quite a while and must say that although in comparison to other products it is now expensive, it does an excellent job. Remember, this was the first 'one-click' app and is the only one (AFAIK) that splits the movie and retains original quality. Since the emergence of IC, dvd2one, dvdshrink etc they have obviously realised that people want transcoding and have responded with xpress and soon platinum. xpress is rather like the original version of dvd2one except it also rips and burns making it a snap for beginners. It is VERY fast since it rips and transcodes at the same time. It is certainly MUCH faster than IC (although of course it doesn't do the whole disk). Quality looks great but I am no expert so can't say how it compares to the others. I would love to hear from the experts.

Platinum is promising to become a killer app but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Is it worth the money? Difficult to judge since it depends on your needs and skill. If you want movie only on one disk, xpress would seem to be the best option since it is complete and quick with good quality.

Glenn

If I am not mistaken DVDToolBox can split a dvd onto 2 dvd-r medias. AND it is free

Allistah

29th April 2003, 17:35

You are not mistaken. It does do this and yes it is free. :-)

Codewiz

29th April 2003, 17:38

Originally posted by MackemX
any chance of a comparision?

I'm not so sure if it's worth the $50 just for slighty better quality and even then DVDShrink allows you to chop the beginning/ending so therefore giving more space to the movie resulting in better quality

the good thing they have done is to actually split the tool, one for movie only and one for 1:1, very clever cos if people want both they would have to buy both, so more money for them, but at least they are geared to do one specific job

and for simplicity, all in one tools that require a few clicks, that's irrelavent to me cos it only takes 5 secs to use DVDDecrypter to rip though does Xpress work with files from a HD, cos I'm sure Allistah said it didn't :(

I can't say for certain but I doubt it works from the hard drive. I am sure you can mount an ISO and use it though.

The reason I say that is because 321 Studios has stated many times that DVDDecrypter is illegal. Somehow they think their method of decrypting is legal. It is all BS. They implement their own copy protection so that they can say that they don't want to support piracy. If they implemented encoding from the hard drive they would be supporting illegal actions by their own words. Of course they change their mind so much that anything is possible.

Allistah

29th April 2003, 17:44

Just called up 321 Studios and got a refund with little pain. I used Paypal to pay and it showed the funds back in my account before I even hung up the phone.

DVDXCopy Express didn't read from the hard drive - it looked for a drive with a dvd in it. I'm sure thought that Daemon Tools will take care of that.

Next time though when the Platinum version comes out I'm going to let someone else buy it and see how it is. heh

atreides93

30th April 2003, 06:04

Did it do a better job than DVD2one in terms of quality?? if so then it might be worth it.

Anyway I got it free since I had a legal license for DVDxcopy. I'll try it out sometime on a long movie (say 2 1/2 hours) and see how the quality looks.
By the way don't get so hung up over "marketing" words...they don't outright lie to you, if you read the fine print it does say it only copies the movie only. Plus they gave you your money back, so why are you complaining??

Allistah

30th April 2003, 07:15

Who said I was complaining after I got my money back? I'll just wait till the Platinum version comes out.

MackemX

30th April 2003, 10:27

Originally posted by atreides93 By the way don't get so hung up over "marketing" words...they don't outright lie to you, if you read the fine print it does say it only copies the movie only. I missed the small print, where is it? :)

p.s. DVDToolbox splits a DVD movie-only but not a complete DVD and I think that's what gvallen meant :)

MackemX

30th April 2003, 10:36

Originally posted by MackemX DXC Express will NOT include menus or special features, but will provide the ability to "squeeze" a DVD9 movie onto ONE DVD5 with superb video quality and lightning fast encoding times.

Super Fast, Patent Pending Encoding to Fit ALL DVD-9 contents including menu, special features and movie to ONE DVDR(-+) with virtually no perceptible quality loss in video!
Originally posted by gvallen Since the emergence of IC, dvd2one, dvdshrink etc they have obviously realised that people want transcoding and have responded with xpress and soon platinum. xpress is rather like the original version of dvd2one except it also rips and burns making it a snap for beginners. It is VERY fast since it rips and transcodes at the same time.

so is it a Transcoder or Encoder or is that a stupid question seeing as it's so fast?

atreides93

1st May 2003, 19:05

I'm giving dvdXcopy xpress a big THUMS DOWN :)

It crashes 45% of the way through...
I'm not going to waste any more time with it.

None of my other programs crash like that...and I have used IC 7, DVD2one, dvd2avi etc...

ardo

2nd May 2003, 20:29

What a programm!!
You don't need dvd decrypter, it's by far the best programm.
Very quick!!
I've done now about 25 copies, all perfect!!

thop

4th May 2003, 01:47

I just tried it, it is AWFUL. How can any self respecting programmer code such a thing.

Allistah

4th May 2003, 04:12

ahahah, yeah pretty much. Like I said, I'd maybe pay $15 for it if it were a shareware app.

flanman

13th May 2003, 18:21

I have use DVD xpress and have been happy with it. I have Dvd Decrypter,dvd2one, IfO edit, and Nero which when combined do the same thing. I believe it was written for ease of use, just click and go, which does work. I got mine free, since I did purchase DVD x Copy, which I thought was a nice perk from them. Just my opinion.

papillon

14th May 2003, 12:12

I just tried it, it is AWFUL. How can any self respecting programmer code such a thing.
I have to agree, it's a good thing it was for free for me.
Along with that, both DXC and DVDXpress programs have nothing going for them but problem's. DVDXpress has crashed on me 50% of the time, and DXC for me, has had missing extras and/or freezing issues.

No other dvd backup or burning program has ever given me the problem's I have had, than with DVDXCopy-DVDXpress.

Digi

17th May 2003, 22:28

I have just tried it tonight with Disney's Tarzan.And am pretty impressed with speed it took 37 Mins to do that includes reading,transcoding and Burning.

If i had used a 4 speed this would drop to sat 24 Mins.
From Start to Finnish.

a lot faster than DVD2ONE.

But not quite IC quality in my Opinion.

Digi:)

mrbass

18th May 2003, 10:29

Not terribly impressed with this DVD Xpress. Nice looking and all and keeps it simple for the masses that's about it. Oh yea it's pretty fast like dvd2one. Allows only ONE audio track and only ONE subtitle. Well subtitles don't work, etc. Tons of macroblocks. I prefer a few others over this (won't mention names) but this is most definitely a no go for me.

muralin

18th May 2003, 17:19

very diverse comments in deed - from best thing since slice of bread to it is a crap.

dont know how much is because of strong views about the company 321studios (for or against).

wish someone would post a real comparison (mr. bass's comments were valuable) not focusing on issues about the company.

thop

18th May 2003, 17:51

the program is a bugfest. it will crash all over the place.
if you ever get it to work you wish you didn't because it doesn't deliever what the advertising promises.
that happens when marketing makes decisions that actually programmers should do :rolleyes:

mpucoder

18th May 2003, 17:57

Actually Robert Moore (head of 321) demanded the product as a direct response to DVD2One, and he wanted it damn quick.

mrbass

19th May 2003, 04:34

I'm tired of posting screenshots and wasting 10 - 15GB of bandwidth to show differences between programs. Doesn't matter because some people still can't see any difference. Just cuz I don't like it and think it's inferior to a few other transcoders quality wise and won't use it doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and buy it. Form your own opinion. By all means be my guest and enjoy backing up your movies with DVD Express.:D

Richk50

20th May 2003, 21:07

"I'm tired of posting screenshots and wasting 10 - 15GB of bandwidth to show differences between programs. Doesn't matter because some people still can't see any difference. Just cuz I don't like it and think it's inferior to a few other transcoders quality wise and won't use it doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and buy it. Form your own opinion. By all means be my guest and enjoy backing up your movies with DVD Express."

Actually your screenshots are really good.
I think what happens to a lot of people they encode a movie, it looks fine on their computer or TV and they're happy with whatever product they bought. They then view it on a plasma tv or a 50 inch HDTV and see what they thought was good is actually unwatchable.
I believe you have to always go for the best quality, because bigger, better and sharper is the future for video hardware.

boolseye

26th May 2003, 19:03

I have tried the DVD Decrypter/Mount a ISO to a drive using Daemon tools/use instant Copy to write it method. I have also purchased DVD Xcopy and used it. I also have DVDXcopy Xpress and I have used it. Probably the best way I have used is DVD Decrypter then I mount the ISO and then I use DVDXcopy to copy. However I save the VOB's, & IFO's etc. to a file on my hard drive (You do this by stopping Xcopy before it writes the DVD and either moving or copying the files to another directory because DVDXcopy deletes them from the default directory after the write.) and I am able to use Nero to make my DVD movie. This way yields excellent results all Menu Items, subtitles etc....HOWEVER it is time consuming. VERY time consuming. I have checked out quality on HDTV and DVDXcopy Xpress is pretty amazing IMHO. I have not had any crashes using it. I have burned at least 30 movies. The longest it took was 47 minutes. The only real shortcoming I noticed was backing up my Babylon5 Disks, since they have 4 episodes each on them it seems to only do the 1st one. This in my honest opinion is a very minor shortcoming since I have other (More Time Consuming) methods of accomplishing this. It seems to me that some people may just be very picky. That's allright too. I do not know about the lockups some people seem to have but I am a Computer Tech/Computer store owner and I recommend that a good spyware eliminator (Spybot S&D or Adaware) and a good AntiVirus (Norton AV or AVG) (AVG is free by the way) be installed, maintained and kept up to date. I have had no crashes at all. I run Windows XP Pro on an Abit AT7Max2 Motherboard with a Athlon XP2600+ Processor, 1.5 Gig of Micron PC2700 333 DDR Ram, I have a total of 760 Gig of Hard Drive Space (all Maxtor Drives). I have 2 DVD Writers, I use a Sony DRU-500A (With Firmware Upgrade) and a Plextor PX-504A. I almost never use the -R-RW disks although I have on occasion with no problems. I have used Verbatim, Fuji, & Optimum disks with no problems. The length of time from beginning to end product using DVDXcopy Xpress is far shorter than any other method I have used. The Quality is very good even when viewed on HDTV. As with most Video Tapes you get no Menu's etc. I usually just want to watch the movie. There are exceptions, and those disks will be backed up using the appropriate software so that the special features and menu's are included. However for MOST people DVDXcopy Xpress would be the easiest (Not everybody wants to take the time to learn DVD Decrypter, IFO edit etc.) and least time consuming way to accomplish this. This is just my 2 cents worth. I hope it helps someone with their decision as this is a very difficult process for a lot of people to master.

Thanks, Boolseye.

I don't know what I don't know, but, I know EVERYTHING else!

mpucoder

26th May 2003, 21:11

Originally posted by boolseye
You do this by stopping Xcopy before it writes the DVD ...

You gotta love that, no post-mortem processing. Do you just click on "X" (or Alt-F4)?

boolseye

27th May 2003, 01:43

Yes, When it gives you the prompt to write the DVD You either Use the MOVE command or copy it to a different directory. If you use the MOVE command on the same drive the files are on it will do it almost instantly. I use a utility for moving and copying called PCOpus it is shareware and 2.61D is the latest version I think. It is a great program. I think you can download it from Tucows. After you have moved or copied it to a different directory you can use Nero to write it as a DVD movie. Choose UDF/ISO then you can label it. Depending on the version of Nero you use you might have to tell it to finalize the session or the DVD won't work. I hope this helps. Boolseye...

I don't know what I don't know, but, I know EVERYTHING else!

mpucoder

27th May 2003, 05:58

You can also use Windows Explorer to move/copy files. Moving on the same drive moves only the directory entries, the file data stays where it is, which is why it is so fast.

boolseye

27th May 2003, 06:17

I am aware you can use windows explorer, however PCOpus is a much better product, in my honest opinion. I use it almost as a second O/S. It is quite simply the best file utility I know of, and I've seen quite a few. I have been doing Computer repair to the component level for over 30 years. For those of you who might have been using the Amiga computer at one time or another, PCOpus is very similar to Directory Opus which is an Amiga program That was written by Jonathon Potter(No relation to Harry). I personally find it indispensable. It does a whole lot more than just copy or move files.
The URL is as follows.

http://galway.informatik.uni-kl.de/staff/mandola/download.html

Check it out, It is really a good program.

Boolseye

I don't know what I don't know, but, I know EVERYTHING else!