Checking DVD for playback issues

[eXistenZ_69]

Hello,

often I don't have the time to watch a dvd I buy right away. This is especially the case with TV series box sets. What I would like to do is test the dvd's for playback issues, to be able to exchange them in time.
The approach I used until now is ripping them on my pc using DVDDecrypter. I've a few questions regarding this:

1) What about dvd's with copy-protection? Will they result in read errors? How can I distinguish between copy-protected and faulty discs?

2) Is there a faster or more reliable approach? (using another program maybe?)

3) Is there a way to skip the actual writing to harddisk? I'd like to be able to check dvd's without having enough free disk space.


Thanks in advance for any input,

eXistenZ_69

[Geekman]

RipIt4Me "knows" which sectors are good by reading the DVD's information files (IFOs) and compares that data after ripping with DVDDecrypter's dummy sectors that were added during the rip. You'll notice, especially with ArCCos protected DVDs like "The DaVinci Code", that DVDDecrypter will pause while ripping and display a message that dummy sectors were added. RipIt4Me will compare these actual bad reads with the IFO data and determine if a bad read should've be good. It will then eject the DVD and prompt you to clean the DVD. After cleaning, RipIt4Me will only re-rip the vob file (not the entire DVD) that had the suspect bad read.

Way cool and works. It has flagged a couple of DVDs for me. I try to tell everyone using my DVDs to keep their fingers off the DVD surface... But kids, ya know...

Possibly I addressed 1 & 2 above, but I don't think you can skip writing to the hard disk with the RipIt4Me "suite".

[blutach]

You could try playing it in a software player afterwards. But you say you don't have the time to watch them all anyway.

Maybe check the size of the target rip folder is as large as RipIt4Me said it would be in Step 1.

Regards

[eXistenZ_69]

Thanks both for the input! I will start using RipIt4Me from now on...

Cheers,

eXistenZ_69

[Mug Funky]

"playback issues" as i understand them would be they don't play correctly in a standalone player. in which case, the simplest solution is to just watch it, unfortunately (it'd really be good if there were players out there that send logging information out via usb or something similar... because sometimes a glitch can be missed easily).

if you want a quick way to check for possible playback issues, use a program like DVDinfoPro or Kprobe in conjunction with a DVD burner and perform error scanning. any PIF spikes that are above 280 will be suspect. especially if there's high rates in the spike's immediate vicinity. if it's a very thin spike you're probably okay - Axiom discs for instance usually have a PIF spike in layer 0 of about 208, and one in the corresponding physical spot on layer 1 that's lower - must be where the machinery picks the disc up or something, because all their discs have it but it's harmless.

error scans aside, the only way to find playback problems is to watch the disc. Pioneer players are more sensitive than others (though they're still very good on a properly compliant disc).

[eXistenZ_69]

Yes, I know proper playback on my pc won't guarantee proper playback on my dvd-player, and vice versa. But read errors on the dvd-writer will be a good indication something's wrong with the disc.
Watching the dvd is the best and most enjoyable approach of course ;) . But for example when you get a TV series box set or multiple dvd's you just haven't found the time yet for watching, it could be that one is defective, but you notice it one month after purchase or so. Returning it will be problematic, no? Therefore checking them early is beneficial I think...

Concerning error scanning with a dvd-writer, that's not something every model supports I think. I don't think my LG GSA-4163B can do it. Will have to check it...

Cheers,

eXistenZ_69

[kumi]

If you have ImgBurn and DVDInfoPro installed, you can have ImgBurn output a graph of several interesting variables. It records some events that could indicate a _possible_ suboptimal burn.

For example, here's a suspicious burn. Note the CPU spike and the RPM speed dipping below 4X:
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8461/baddvdinfoprographqg6.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=baddvdinfoprographqg6.jpg)

Here is the same disc, reburnt. All parameters look normal now (for my particular drive/media combination):
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3157/gooddvdinfoprographof5.th.jpg (http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gooddvdinfoprographof5.jpg)

[setarip_old]

@eXistenZ_69

Hi!

I strongly suggest that you follow the "RipIt4Me" process offered by "Geekman":RipIt4Me will compare these actual bad reads with the IFO data and determine if a bad read should've be good.This should take less than 1/2 hour per disc...