Just a quick question about menus and the main movie

[SprkFade]

Ok, the DVD i'm working with is Gundam W - Endless Waltz, incase someone has done this before, but i've run into a few problems backing it up. All I want to backup is the Menus and the Main Movie. Is there anyway I can do this? I've tried DVD Shrink but I can't seem to find a way to remove the extras in the "normal" mode and you can only include the main movie in the Re-Author mode. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can do this with DVD Shrink or any other program it would be greatly appreciated.

-Jameson

[jel]

hi and welcome to the forum,
i will try to help you the best i can...
you are right in saying that re-author mode of shrink will not allow you to keep the menu (dvd menu structure is a very sensitive beast indeed and by stripping titles you can remove necessary navigational commands etc ).
the only option (that i know of) in keeping the menu and movie with dvdshrink is to compress all the extras to still frames, although they will still take up space (though not much). you can also remove any audio/subtitles you dont need.
you could also try neros' recode which lets you substitute the extras you dont want with a still frame 'this title has been removed' picture.
doom9 has excellent guides for both of these programs and you can find helpful advice in the 'one click back-up' forum.
(note: there are many other programs out there that may do what you want but i am not familiar with these...and arent freeware;))
the advantage of these programs is that, if your project is still too big to fit onto a dvd-r disk after removing the unwanted titles it will 'compress' the movie so that it is of correct size.
if you want to take a more challenging route (and still use freeware) you could try IfoEdit. try reading some of 2cools guides (link here) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43142) , and use one of the movie/menu cheatsheets - you will have to adapt the process to suit your movie though.
anyways, good luck with your project
j

[SprkFade]

Thanks for all the great info. I had already tried the still pictures but that still makes the DVD size over DVD-5 standards. All i'm looking to do is keep the menus intact but remove everything else besides the main movie. Basically I just want the original menu for chapter selection.

-Jameson

[jawzforlife]

After you make the extras still pictures, than strip out (uncheck) the unwanted subtitle and audio, that will dave you some space. If it is still bigger than a DVD-5, use the compression in DVD shrink. MAke sure you use the "deep anylize" feaure with DVD shink 3.0 to make the movie look as close to the orig as possible.

[SprkFade]

The thing is I don't wanna use ANY compression on the movie or the menus, because it is not needed since both will fit on 1 disk. All I need to do is find a way to just rip the menus and main movie.

-Jameson

[jel]

did you try the link to 2cools guides?
they will give you examples of how to use ifoedit to do what you want.
read, learn, and try. and if you get stuck, try searching the forum for any problems you have and if you still dont find an answer, post your question in the appropriate forum. there are MANY talented people on this forum who will help you out if your willing to try.
good luck with it all.
j

[SprkFade]

I've gone through all of the guides and yes I can do it that way. I guess what it comes down to is I don't have a lot of spare time to go through 40+ steps just to get menus and the movie. So I guess I should re-ask my original question in a different way. Is there any FAST way to just rip the menus and main movie? (And just incase what I just said makes me sound like an ass, I am in no way ungrateful to or discrediting those guides. They are great, but I am just looking for a faster way to achieve my goal.)

BTW - Thanks Jaws and Jel for helping me out!

-Jameson

[jel]

hey jameson,
you could also try menuedit, avaliable (here) (http://menuedit.dimad.net/home.html) .
from what i understand it allows you to remove unwanted button controls in your menu so you can safely remove the extras you dont want. i haven't tried it yet but i have heard excellent things about it.
you could also try some of the commercial tools avaliable (obviously not free), search around the other dvd back-up forums and see what works for others.
although i seriously reccomend you try the ifoedit methods. though not easy to grasp initilly they will give you an insight into the 'magic' and complexity of what dvds are all about.
if all else fails try neros 'recode' to turn all your extras into still pictures, deselect your unwanted audio/subtitles and you might not require any compression on your main movie at all. IMHO it would be the fastest/easiest way to go.
hope that helps
j
also check out this (thread) (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64485)
and the whole one click backup dvd forum (http://forum.doom9.org/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=65)

[mudda_t]

The fastest (free) way to achieve your goal is to do what jawzforlife told you to do. However, dvdxcopy might do what you want. Something about "the movie will fit on one disk if you leave out extras". Its been awhile since I've used it so im not sure if the newer versions of it still do that.