CSS Protection - How to deflect?

[beto666]

Probably this has been a recurring subject - for which I apologise - but here I go: I tried to back up audio from a DVD I own, before it gets too scratchy because of use. It's all clips and I like the songs very much. I use ImTOO DVD Audio Ripper, and if there is something better please somebody tell me. I've been using it for quite some time and I just like the mother! Doubt is: for the first time in DVD info it says the disc is "CSS Protected", and I can't see the chapters to rip. What should I use to avoid this? I suppose DVD Decrypter does the job. Just installed it (v. 3.5.1.0). Is that all right? And else: Decrypter says in the log that my drives (I have two HDs, 7200 80GB), do not support single files 4GB. What does that mean? I assume it is no hindrance.
Thank you guys.

[SimonSez07]

is this an audio dvd or a regular dvd? i dont know anything about ImTOO but you could try using a product called dvd43 which should work in the backround and eliminate css and region codes and locked drives and all that. (http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/dvd_rippers/dvd43.cfm) personally i would just use smartripper and use stream selection to rip only ac3 files from selected clips. then i would use headac3he to convert them to whatever you like.

your 4gb limit is most likely because your filesystem is fat32 on your hard disks and you would want to convert to ntfs to overcome that limitation. go to command prompt and type convert c: /fs:ntfs

[beto666]

It's a regular DVD. ImTOO is OK for it's easy to use. I will try this DVD43. Is it freeware? And I've never used smartripper. Think I should try that one too. As to the 4GB limit, I'd rather keep FAT32. Does that make any difference if I don't use NTFS? And what about DVD Region Free which I'm using? Doesn't it eliminate the CSS protection stuff? And last but not least: does DVD43 save into MP3?
Thanx for your time.

[beto666]

SimonSez07 I installed DVD43 and got SmartRipper but none is capable of doing what I want, i.e., rip the audio from the DVD, which, as I said before, is a normal DVD with video clips I want to backup. DVD43 has only a tray icon which stands in the background and, as far as I went, does not show any settings menus for configuration. SnartRipper (correct me if I'm wrong), does a similar job like DVDDecrypetr does. All I want is to have the audio files from the DVD in Mp3. Any tips (anybody)?
Thanx

[castellanos]

beto666: Well, I was not necessary to install DVD43 if you already had DVD Region+CSS Free... anyway DVD Decrypter can handle CSS protection as well, so at the end, it is not necesary to use any of those backgrounds programs, unless, your DVD is from another region.
I would also not recomend to use SmartRipper if you have already DVD Decrypter.
You have to enabled the stream processing in DVD Decrypter to get, your probably ac3 audio file, I would not recomend to convert it directly to wave, just keep it like that, and then use BeSweet to convert the ac3 to any audio format you like.
If the stream processing doesn't work, you can try another process... a little longer, rip the DVD with DVD Decrypter in File Mode, select the main movie files (I think there is the audio you want) after the job is done, use DVD2AVI or DGMPGDec to get the audio from the VOB files and then use BeSweet. That sholud work!
Greetings! :)

[beto666]

I tried to make a DVD image with DVDShrink in order to use Audio Ripper to rip the clips into mp3 but didn't have success whatsoever. Audio Ripper can't "see" the chapters, thus, I don't have anything to rip into mp3. More suggestions are greatly welcomed.
Thanx everybody for the help.

[SimonSez07]

im sorry i wasnt more clear. dvd43 DOES NOT supplement smartripper or dvddecryptor but may help you use that ImTOO program you like if it does not decrypt css by itself. dvd43 runs in the background and allows you to copy files directly off the disc using whatever program you want (ie windows explorer). this will not do any stream processing (which allows you to rip only an audio track without the video)

smartripper + headac3he or dvddecrypter + besweet is a matter of personal preference. they ultimately do the same task: (1) rip the audio and (2) convert it to (for example) mp3.

i like smartripper because it is easy to use and works on every dvd i have ever tried. i also like headac3he because it is fairly simple and is easy to enable volume normalizing (make the overall audio louder), downmixing (6 channel surround sound to 2ch stereo), dynamic range compression (make the volumes less extreme), and easily converts to any of a number of formats (ogg, mp3, mp2, ...)

i havent used dvddecryptor in a long time and have not tried besweet.

the procedure to do what you want in smartripper would be as follows:

(in settings i use splitting: max-filesize, max-filesize: 9000, options: demacro and fast-error-skip only)

you select the desired clip in the first tree-like box, you select the desired chapters in the next box and choose the directory to save files in at the bottom.

then you must go to stream processing tab and enable stream processing. then uncheck all streams except the audio you want and select demux to extra file. then click start.

after the (ac3) files are successfully saved on your computer use headac3he to convert them to mp3. open headac3he (i use the older version 0.22b) and select your source file first. then change your destination format to mp3. (i then select 2-pass normalization and set it to dumb which takes longer but requires less disk space) you can then mess with the downmix or mp3 options if you like by pressing options, but this shouldnt be necessary. you can just click start and you will have mp3 files just like you want.