Whats the best one click back up program?

[Commander XJL]

Whats the best one click backup program?

[Dimad]

Forum rules:


12) How NOT to post on this forum:

5 minutes after your initial post you reply to your own post writing something like "Why is nobody helping me? I'm sure you know the answer". Once somebody replies to your thread but doesn't give you exactly the answer you've been expecting you insult them.

Do not ask "what's best" because this question cannot be answered objectively. Each and everyone has their own view about what's best in a certain area. The best is what works best for you!


@Commander XJL@
May be a good time to kill the thread :)

[Commander XJL]

Thats exactly what I want, to hear other peoples opinions on whats the best one click program and why. What good is a forum without opinions? If someone wants to offer an opinion let them!

[daddy_fizz]

every person you ask will probably have a different answer, try them out and you can form your own opinion

or do a search, this has been discussed/posted/talked about many many times before, look around first before you post

~Fizz

[Doom9]

the problem with multiple opinions is: If you ask what's best, that's an absolute for people and many are incapable of accepting that another person's absolute might be different. If you ask, which do you prefer, that's something else. Most people are able to accept that other people have other preferences, but if person A thinks tool X is best, and person B thinks tool Y is best, they'll get into a fight over it because everybody wants to be right, that's just human nature. There are demos around so you can try them out on your own.. in the end your own opinion is all that matters.

[Kedirekin]

Say, I'm curious...

It's certainly okay to ask what tools are available, right? [I know it's already in a sticky, and everyone is supposed to read the stickies, so no one will ever ask - just making a point].

Is it okay to ask for pros and cons of each tool? In separate threads, one for each tool? How about asking the pros and cons for all tools collectively in one post?

I'm not about to ask mind you - I've been lurking here long enough that I already know the answer for most tools. I'm just curious if asking pros and cons breaks the 'don't ask what's best' rule.

[ddlooping]

Hi all. :)

Well, there is one thing that can be said without argument (famous last words):

DVD Shrink is the best free all-in-one tool! :D

[mrbass]

Originally posted by Kedirekin
Say, I'm curious...
How about asking the pros and cons for all tools collectively in one post?


I'm seen where someone takes the time to do that. Those threads don't last as long as the flame wars. Start a thread about that Kedirekin and just list like you say and let each person draw their own conclusions.

[Commander XJL]

What does it have that InstantCopy doesn't? I'm real impressed with DVD Shrink, but was wondering about InstantCopy

[echooff]

A $0.00 price tag.

[ddlooping]

What does it have that InstantCopy doesn't?
First, let me tell you about my experience with IC7. ;)
I bought it a while ago, at full price, not being untitled to the rebate.
I used it twice, both times with the registry-tweaker-thingy.
The first time, before installing the update available at that time, I got an oversized backup.
The second time, after having installed the update, the backup ended-up being 2.4GB (or thereabout); laughable.
At more than 2.30 hours + for each trial I decided to call it quit.
I reverted to using DVD Shrink v2.3 for backups that needed only a small amount of compression, and DVD2DVDR/CCE for the rest.
I'm very much aware that quite a few IC7/8 users are satisfied with this program, but it doesn't enter into the equation as far as I'm concerned; if I'm not satisfied with a program, I don't use it.

I'm not sure what the IC features are, so I can only list some of DVD Shrink v3.0 beta5:

- Ability to apply various levels of compression to various parts of one (or more) titles, including "Still Pictures".
I use this everytime a movie-only backup needs compression, applying "Still Pictures" to the end-credits.
It takes me about 20 seconds to do it.

- Ability to "crop" any title.
I use this when removing the start-credits will save a fair amount of space.

- Ability to make compilations.
Ex: I used it to put 6 episodes of "Friends" on one DVD-R.

- Ability to "split" to two (or more) DVD-Rs.
I've never used this feature, but it can be useful for those who do not want to go the CCE, DVDFab or DVDXCopy way.

- "Deep Analysis" which result in a better quality backup in comparison to previous versions.
This is more or less noticeable depending on multiple factors (amount of compression required, viewing equipment, ...).
Between the use of "Deep Analysis", the use of multple levels of compresion/title(s), the abi;ity to crop titles, imho, quality is better than when using DVD2One.

- DVD Shrink removes all copy/region protections, and does not need the use of an external decrypter.
This feature is fairly reliable, but sometimes using DVD Decrypter or another ripper is neccessary.

These are what I'd consider the most important features. ;)

P.S: I guess DVD Shrink might not be considered a all-in-one solution as it doesn't include a burning feature (even though AutoShrinkISO users could argue about this point).

[Kedirekin]

DVDShrink (based on personal experience) -

Pro: free (as already mentioned)
Pro: very good size predictability
Pro: good user interface
Con: compressed movies exhibit a kind of 'phasing' where the picture gets progressively smoothed then snaps back to sharpness about twice a second (this typically is only significant in footage with lots of grain).

Instant Copy (based on messages posted here, so take with a grain of salt) -

Pro: good compression quality
Con: very poor size predictability (as already mentioned)

Anyone want to add anything?

[Commander XJL]

I honestly can't tell the difference in quality between Shrink and Instant Copy, except that IC costs money, doesn't do as much, can't get file sizes right, and you have to rip to your hard drive first. I can hardly tell the difference between CCE, IC, and Shrink, it makes me wonder why I would go on using CCE and Maestro when that process takes 10 times longer

[Kedirekin]

I think it's quite possible for a person to not see difference. It's dependant on the movie (or TV show, or whatever) processed, the viewing equipment, and the person viewing the end result. Even when all other things are equal, one person might think the results are worlds apart and another might not be able to see the difference.

The human animal is amazingly adaptable. Over time you can become both more observant (intentionally or accidentally) and more tolerant of 'artifacts'. When I first started doing SVCDs ages ago, I used to find the slightest macroblock noise completely intolerable, and I could barely discern differences between, say, bicubic resize versus bilinear. Now, after a couple of years of playing with this stuff, I have to concentrate to even notice macroblock noise, and I can easily see things like the difference between bilinear and bicubic (though I have to be conciously trying - I again don't even notice in casual viewing).

I remember watching broadcast television out in the country when I was a kid (anyone remember rabit ears). A little snow or ghosting barely bothered us. Our perceptions were 'trained' to ignore the noise. If I were to see the same level of quality in reception on a TV show today, I'd probably shut it off.

Yep, I find human perception facinating.

[Commander XJL]

Does anyone know more about this picture switching from blurry to sharp about every second when you use DVD Shrink and is there any way to fix this problem? Also, does this problem exist with InstantCopy?

[spiderman2k1]

what is the best it all comes down to what you like. Almost all these tool's have demo so you can try them out. And some are even free. Best for picture if you do not care about time DVD2DVD.org or dvd2dvd-r.de and IC8. For transcoder's DVD2one is the best for speed. DVDshrink is great and it's free clonedvd is also very good dvdfab is great for splitting to two dvd-r's. There is no real winner. You have to see what you like.

[Richk50]

DVD2DVDR for quality. I use my 2nd computer turn off the monitor and come back the next day for the excellent results.

[k2]

Spiderman has the right idea, try them.

IC uses a difference method that shrink so has different Pros and cons.
I use dvd2one for movie only, it is not perfect either.

All of the input you were given was far better than you would have to choose from a year ago.



Commander XJL if you have questions about Dvdshrink you should start a new post. You have gotten input on what's the best (pros and cons).

[monomer]

Originally posted by Commander XJL
Does anyone know more about this picture switching from blurry to sharp about every second when you use DVD Shrink and is there any way to fix this problem? Also, does this problem exist with InstantCopy?

I've seen this also with DVD21. I has been mentioned many times in the past. It seems to only occur with certain movies (Grey Zone for example). There are several theories and explanations bouncing around. I don't know which are valid but the one I go with is this... the movies that exhibit this type of compression artifact already have this flaw in the original encoding. But it's so subtle that its just barely noticable if at all. The compression techniques used by some transcoders (DVD2One, DVDShrink) accentuate or exaggerate this flaw. The greater the compression, the more exaggerated this blur/focus cycling thing becomes. Anyway, that's my take on it. I don't know of any magical 'fixes' for this and I've not read about any.

However, this problem never affects me anymore because I don't use any transcoders for compressions greater than ~90%. I simply re-encode with CCE.

I've not ever seen this with IC but then again, I rarely use IC because of its unpredictable files sizes.

[snidely]

Rather than repeat myself, please read my posts here:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63191

In that thread 3 of us (two friends and I) compared the quality of the original DVD to movie only versions produced using DVD2DVD/CCE, DVDShrink 3 beta 5, and IC7, all done on extremely high level, high resolution equipment. Take it for what it is worth. :)

[The_Flash]

DVD95Copy consistently impresses me.