Movies released on DVD5

[The Belgain]

Hello there, a while ago I remember seeing a link to a site that had a list of all DVDs that are released on DVD5 (rather than DVD9). I can't for the life of me find it again though. I think it may have been in someone's sig on these forums.

Can anyone help me out? I seem to remember there was a surprisingly large number of DVD5 releases on there.

[SeeMoreDigital]

I think you will find that more and more 90min and above PAL DVD's are only available in DVD9 (dual layered) format. (To help combat piracy)

Even some of the old DVD5 titles are being released in DVD9.

In fact it's very rare to see dual sided DVD5 PAL disc's now. As the trend has moved to supplying 2 disc sets.

It appears to be a different story with NTSC titles though. As many DVD5's are still being manufactured with 'Standard/Fullframe' on one side of the disc and 'Widescreen' on the other.

I wonder if somebody could provide info about double sided DVD9 disc's, as I've never been able to find one in the UK?

[Doom9]

@SeeMoreDigital: Terminator2 Ultimate Edition R1 is a DVD-18.. I'm not aware of any others.. apparently the production cost is higher than pressing 2 DVD-9s which is quite logical considering the numbers that are pressed.
I don't see any good reason to have a listing of DVD-5s or DVD-9s. It takes one look at the actual disc to know, and as soon as you start DVD decrypter it will tell you if it's single or dual layer.. so even prior to ripping you know if you can just burn the ISO or you'll have to perform further processing (I believe it is that question that makes you wish for such a list.. but as I outlined, that question can be answered easily without such a list).

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hey thanks for that Doom9,

I currently have a PAL copy of T2 Ultimate Edition, which is DVD9. I've also got an NTSC copy of the new T2 Extreme (c/w the Hi-Def WMV9 encode on disc 2).

On the strength of what you've just said. I will order a copy of T2 Ultimate Edition R1 (DVD-18) on Monday - As I like to collect the different types of disc's available!

Thanks again.

[The Belgain]

Ok, thanks for the replies. Doom9, point taken. I guess this thread isn't entirely appropritate on this forum and should be taken elsewhere. Sorry about that.

@SeeMoreDigital: I'm considering buying that T2 Extreme DVD, mainly for the WM9 HD disc. Only problem is, I like in Europe, and it is supposed to play only in the US right? Is there any trouble using a proxy to optain a license to play in the EU?

Basically is it too much hassle to get the DVD and play it over here or not? Secondly, is it possible to rip it and remove the DRM yet or not (which would make it a hell of a lot more convenient, and also the possibility of re-encoding to slightly lower res if my computer can't quite play it back in realtime)?

I'd really like to get this disc as I'll have a CRT Projector which can actually display that res, but I want to maje sure I can actually play it.

Sorry for hijacking my own thread btw...:)

[SeeMoreDigital]

If you buy the T2 Extreme DVD, there are ways to watch disc 2 in the UK. But you will have to look away from the Doom9 forum to obtain answers.

I suppose it's even possible to rip disc 2 as well. But once again you'll have to look elsewhere.

But all is not lost. Even though the T2 Extreme DVD (disc 1) is NTSC only, the new transfer provides better quality looking images than the PAL T2 Ultimate DVD!

Cheers

[The Belgain]

Ok, thanks. Out of interest, why is asking how to watch/backup this DVD any worse than the DVD-backup and region-free guides on doom9?

I'm just asking, feel free to edit my posts if this constitutes a violation, in which case sorry.

[adam]

This site lists R1 DVD-5's.
http://www.afterdawn.com/dvd/dvd_layer_browse.cfm?layer_format=5

I think such a list is useful. Many DVD covers do not list whether the disk is single or dual layered and this is something I like to know before purchasing the disk. If its a long movie and the production studio decided to cut costs by squeezing it onto a DVD-5, then I don't want to buy it.

Doom9, there are several other DVD-18's out there as well. The Stand was the first to use this format, and recently both Gods and Generals and Gettysburg were released as DVD-18's as well. Superman is also a DVD-18. I've come across a couple of others as well but I can't recall their names.

[The Belgain]

Is there a similar list for R2 discs. It sure is nice to be able to avoid getting poor quality transfers...

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by The Belgain
Ok, thanks. Out of interest, why is asking how to watch/backup this DVD any worse than the DVD-backup and region-free guides on doom9?

I'm just asking, feel free to edit my posts if this constitutes a violation, in which case sorry.

This forums principal aim is discussing the backing up and playing of DVD's and the software required to do it - ie discs that incorporate Mpeg2 video and AC3 audio data streams.

Although even this practice is not entirely legal in some countries (and soon to be totally outlawed within the EU) it is currently accepted that you are able to 'back up' your 'own' DVD's.

We don't discuss hacking (WinMedia or any other copy protected audio / video streams) because this practice is illegal / a grey area!

Discussing info about proxy servers may be ok here. Doom9 help me out here. But it does'nt really have anything to do with Mpeg2 DVD's.

Cheers

[adam]

Originally posted by The Belgain
Is there a similar list for R2 discs. It sure is nice to be able to avoid getting poor quality transfers...

You can use that same site to search for R2 disks but the list doesn't seem to be as comprehensive.

http://www.afterdawn.com/dvd/dvd_layer.cfm

[ppera2]

Ben-Hur R2 is dual layer, double sided. Size is about 12 GB.

[Doom9]

actually, if you care about quality.. many online retailers indicate what type of disc it is... they don't use the technical term, but if it says dual layer, it's a DVD-9, if it doesn't say anythhing, chances are it's a DVD-5. And if you buy in a store, dual layer discs usually have a small notice on the back sleeve, mentioning that there might be a small pause in the playback at some point.. that is a definitive indicator that you're dealing with a DVD-9.

About those WMV9 titles... using a proxy is certainly nothing illegal... if it were, 50% of all internet users would be in prison because their ISP encourages or even forces the use of a proxy (there are also many hidden proxies about which you can't do anything). As for unlocking protected WMV9 content... it is very much the same as ripping a DVD. Fair use laws apply as long as you keep the content for yourself... DVDs are protected as well, are they not? Of course, the same rules apply here.. if you bought a VOD license that allows you to only watch the movie during a certain time, "extending" such a license would be illegal. If you have a license to keep the content, removing the protection is very much the same as removing CSS from a DVD.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Well Doom9. You've certainly just thrown me a hook!

Originally posted by Doom9
... As for unlocking protected WMV9 content... it is very much the same as ripping a DVD. Fair use laws apply as long as you keep the content for yourself... DVDs are protected as well, are they not? Of course, the same rules apply here.. if you bought a VOD license that allows you to only watch the movie during a certain time, "extending" such a license would be illegal. If you have a license to keep the content, removing the protection is very much the same as removing CSS from a DVD.

Assuming I have a licence to keep the content. How does one go about removing the protection of a WMV9 DVD?

Cheers

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by The Belgain
T2 Extreme WMV9 DVD... is it possible to rip it and remove the DRM yet or not (which would make it a hell of a lot more convenient, and also the possibility of re-encoding to slightly lower res if my computer can't quite play it back in realtime)?
I'd really like to get this disc as I'll have a CRT Projector which can actually display that res, but I want to maje sure I can actually play it.
Shame Doom9 has not been able to reply. But it's early days yet and we live in hope!

Have you by any chance downloaded the Terminator trailer from off M$'s web site? Although it's a large download (90MB) it's well worth the effort.

What I can tell you is that if and when you purchase the T2 Extreme DVD. You will find that the files contained on disc 2 are as follows: -
T2_Part1.wmv = 1,013.450KB
T2_Part2.wmv = 1,038,770KB
T2_Part3.wmv = 1,008,484KB
T2_Part4.wmv = 992,296KB
T2_Part5.wmv = 884,117KB
T2_Part6.wmv = 1,007,785KB
T2_Part7.wmv = 876,006KB
Now, quite what the logic is behind splitting the files in this way is beyond me. Even so the total file size is a massive 6,820,908KB (6661MB). Which won't unfortunately fit onto a 4464MB DVD R/RW.

So some serious re-encoding is indeed necessary.

That said it is possible. I found that by using the trailer as a guide. If you re-encode the audio to 6Ch 128kbps @ 48kHz and re-encode the video to 3868kbps. It should be possible to fit the entire movie onto a single sided, single layered DVD R/RW.

But here's the thing. At approx 4fps for the first pass and 0.5fps for the second pass - it will take for ever!

The trailer still looks nice, even though it's now just 50,990KB (49.8MB) - Not bad from 90MB!

Cheers

[The Belgain]

Yeah, I have downloaded the trailer (as well as all the other HD stuff from MS's site). It plays smoothly in Zoomplayer, but in WMP9 I get a lot of dropped frames.

Now I've heard that it currently isn't possible to play it in anything other than WMP9. Is this correct?

Yeah, I do realise the encode would take ages, but what are you gonna do....?


I still haven't got round to overclocking my system yet though, so maybe with a little overclocking all will be well.

Current specs: Athlon XP 2000+ @ 166x10, 512MB DDR RAM, Radeon 9000Pro GFX card.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by The Belgain
Now I've heard that it currently isn't possible to play it in anything other than WMP9. Is this correct?
Actually this is not strictly true. In order to play disc 2 you are forced to install the 'InterActual' player. This is also the application that's used to obtain your license.

I think you will find that a lot of people are moaning because they 'can't' play back the WMV9 files, using the WM9 player!

[Doom9]

Assuming I have a licence to keep the content. How does one go about removing the protection of a WMV9 DVD?
Since I have no such content I don't really know. I'd go about finding out how the movie is being played once it's unlocked. If it's directshow based it should be possible to dump the content to a file rather than display it.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thanks Doom9

I would like to start a thread about the subject but am a little worried that fellow members could get carried away and get striked.

How should one go about starting such a thread without upsetting you and the moderators?

Could you perhaps start the thread?

Thanks

[The Belgain]

Yeah, that's what i'd have thought, but then you'd have an uncompressed video, right? At this res it would be absolutely huge (1440 x 816 x 24 fps x 3 Bytes per pixel = 80 Megabytes per second).

You'd then have to VERY slowly re-encode it to something usable (XviD, ...). You couldn't even watch it straight from Hard disc unless it was on a RAID array! And the total size would be about 500 Gig for a 2 hour movie...

[SeeMoreDigital]

Yes, that's very true with an audio and video file.

There are some members on the forum who already capture from High-Def (1920x1080) sources such as satellite.

As I don't have access to such transmissions I can't generate any capture test's. However some of the screen shots are amazing!

Maybe it's time to read up on which codecs some of our members are using!

Removing the protection from an WM audio (.wma) file could be useful in it's own right though.

[The Belgain]

Those captures from sattelite are digital captures which capture the MPEG2 stream directly. So the filesizes are reasonable (still very large, but nothing like the sizes of the uncompressed video).

For recompressing, i think most people seem to use either XviD or WM9 (which is apparently very well tuned for HD stuff).

If you want some sources of HD satellite caps, go here:

http://206.159.116.24/public.htm

I don't know if these count as copyright infringement: they are all short (1 minute or so) clips and mostly just interviews etc. and quite clearly used for educational purposes of HD on that site. If posting these links is a problem though, please remove them, and sorry about that.

[Sgt_Strider]

What I hate about the list of DVD-5 movies on afterdawn is that there is no search feature! Going down all the way to the "T" section is extremely long and tedious :(. Anyone here know any other sites with a list of DVD-5 movies? Thx