Anti-copy schemes--DVDRB failure on Shaun of the Dead

[rayvt]

Run-time error "5": Invalid Procedure call or argument

I've been getting this on "Shaun of the Dead", and finally tracked down the reason. Usually, if DVD-RB can't do a movie I just sigh and reluctantly use DVDShrink. But doing Shaun bugged me, this is the first time I've seen error 5, so I did some digging. BTW, Shrink seems to handle Shaun ok, but reportedly fails on other similar movies.

This movie has VTS_01 thru VTS_11. During the rebuild stage, it gets up to VTS_04, and errors out:
- Processing VTS_04
- Rebuilding segment 0 VOBID: 1 CELLID: 1
- Updating NAVPACKS for VOBID_01
- Rebuilding segment 1 VOBID: 2 CELLID: 1
- Updating NAVPACKS for VOBID_02
- Rebuilding segment 2 VOBID: 3 CELLID: 1
- Updating NAVPACKS for VOBID_03
- Rebuilding segment 3 VOBID: 4 CELLID: 1
- Updating NAVPACKS for VOBID_04
- Rebuilding segment 4 VOBID: 5 CELLID: 1
- Updating NAVPACKS for VOBID_05
- Rebuilding segment 5 VOBID: 6 CELLID: 1
[Now comes "Error 5" popup window.]

The problem seems to be errors inserted in the original disk to try to thwart programs like RB. Now, if you wanted to put material on a DVD so that it wouldn't hurt normal playback but would have a good chance to screw up a copier program, where would you put it?
How about-------in unreferenced areas!!

When I opened Shaun in Shrink, I see 50MB of "unreferenced material". Looking at these videos, there are two with a repeated clip of a running boy.

Any errors in this data doesn't effect a DVD player, because it never tries to do anything with it. But a copier program--such as DVD-RB, will look at this data and try to process it.

I've been able to fix it to ways:
1) Use Shrink to copy process the DVD in "uncompressed" mode, but for the unref'ed material replace it with a still picture.
2) Use VobBlanker to process the DVD with no changes. VobBlanker spins thru the PGC's, etc. like a player does, so all the un-referenced material will be removed.

Then use DVD-RB to process the pre-processed DVD.
This is successful.

[mrwhitethc]

Shaun is next on my list, how do you use Vobblanker to spin through and spit out the files without the unrefreneced material? I've used it before but didn't think it did anything unless you specifically asked it to or am I missing something? Mini-guide if possible TIA

[dragongodz]

I've used it before but didn't think it did anything unless you specifically asked it to or am I missing something?
vobblanker 1.6.0.3 automatically removes unreferenced material so no need to tell it to. i assume 1.6.0.4 will do the same.

[wmansir]

Yep it does. I did this last week and didn't even notice the copy protection since I routinly strip out unreferenced material.

For VOBBlanker just open the files, point to an output directory and click "process". No extra steps needed.

[jdobbs]

Hmmm... I did Shaun of the Dead -- and I don't remember having a problem. Great movie, by the way.

[squinty]

How did you decrypt the DVD? Did you use the latest version of dvddecrypter? It rips out 'structure protection' and puts dummy data in. I'm not sure if its considered the same as this though. *shrug*

[jdobbs]

What version are you using. I added a lot of code - including routines to handle the null records inserted by Decrypter in v0.73.

[rayvt]

I ripped with DVDDecrypter 3.5.2.0 in File mode. "Check for Substucture Protection" is "normal". As always, I ripped all the files and did not pre-process anything.
DVD-RB v0.73 & 0.74

wmansir: regarding "routinly strip out unreferenced material"...
How do you determine that there is any unref'ed stuff? Do you always open every movie with Shrink to see it? Or is there another tool that you use? Or do you always just run every one thru Vobblanker?
As I recall, most movies I've checked don't have any unref'ed, just a few do.

squinty: I wish I knew enough to look at the unref'ed material and figure out what's wrong. I've scanned it with PGCedit and don't see anything obviously wrong (to my ignorant eyes, that is.) When I preview that video material (in PGCedit), it looks legit. But stupid--the 50MB menu is just a repeated clip of a running boy in green shorts.
Clearly, the studio is doing *something* that is trying to screw up a copier program.

[jdobbs]

I just ripped it with DVD Decrypter 3.5.2 - no special settings -- into an ISO, mounted it with Daemon Tools and ran DVD-RB against it.

[wmansir]

wmansir: regarding "routinly strip out unreferenced material"...
How do you determine that there is any unref'ed stuff? Do you always open every movie with Shrink to see it? Or is there another tool that you use? Or do you always just run every one thru Vobblanker?
As I recall, most movies I've checked don't have any unref'ed, just a few do.
I usually strip junk like previews, logos, and other junk so I check out each VTS to see what's in it. If I notice junk or duplicate material I will run it thru DVD-Shrink to see if it's unrefed.

The VIDEO_TS.VOB file is a common place for unrefed material. If it's over 20MB or so in size there's about a 50/50 chance it contains some, especially with new releases. Older discs will sometimes put extras or trailers there.

[dragongodz]

a repeated clip of a running boy in green shorts.
running and jumping ? i have seen it mentioned before(somewhere) that several of these protected dvds have the billy elliot clip in these unreferenced parts.

How do you determine that there is any unref'ed stuff? Do you always open every movie with Shrink to see it?
well doing that would only take you a minute or so anyway so why not ?

[mpennel]

I ran into this with Resident Evil-Apocalypse. I Decrypted, mounted in Daemon tools, and DVD-RB'd (0.75). When it got to rebuilding VTS 7, DVD-RB crashed with an error 6. I looked at the working directory, and sure enough, there was an .m2v file and a .vaf file that were both 0 bytes! I tried manually creating that .m2v file, but got the same 0 byte file. I looked at the disc in DVDShrink, and VTS 7 was some tiny 350k file under unreferenced material. I ran the disc through VOBBlanker, and guess what? That unreferenced material went away, and the disc DVD-RB'd just fine....

I agree that VOBblanker may be the extra step needed (at least for now) until jdobbs gets this problem licked.

[jdobbs]

Actually Resident Evil Apocalypse is one of the test discs I did -- I assure you that the NTSC R1 version works correctly. I ran it through several times.

[mpennel]

Ok, now I'm REALLY confused, because that disc is what I tried yesterday, just to be trying it because so many people have had problems with it. NTSC R1 ripped with decrypter in ISO mode, mounted with daemon tools, and ran through DVD-RB 0.75 with CCE 2.50SP. Rebuilding crashed with error 6... :confused: :confused: :confused:

I didn't remove any audio or anything, and I left both the widescreen and the fullscreen versions of the movie. It was really rip, mount, and DVD-RB. Anyone else have any luck either good or bad with RE: Apocalypse?

[jdobbs]

The main reason I bought that DVD was because it was reported as being one of the troublesome ones (by someone here in the forum).

Did you read the "Decoder Version" thread? Lots of problems caused by premature upgrading. Have you recently upgraded DECODER.DLL?

[mpennel]

Well, I missed that thread about Decoder problems. I'll read through it pretty thoroughly. That may very well be where my problem(s) lie, I'm not sure. I upgraded to DBDecode.dll at the time you said that DVD-RB needed it (around version 0.63 or so?). Is it ok then to go back and try the old MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL file with DVD-RB 0.75 that I originally used in the early versions of DVD-RB? If so, I'll do that IMMEDIATELY! :)

EDIT: I just checked, and my DGDecode.dll was dated from 6/7/2004, so I downloaded the one you recommend as stable in the Decoder thread, and I'll try it.

[rayvt]

Shaun works with DVD-RB 0.76. The crash is gone. I verified by running Shaun thru 0.75 & 0.76 with the same rebuilder.ini file. 75 crashed and 76 didn't.

Jdobbs, was this truly due to a bug in DVD-RB, or was it root-caused to some sort of anti-copy attempt on the DVD?

[jdobbs]

The copy protection would have caused 0.72 to fail. But 0.73 fixed it. I personally copied Shaun with v0.73 (from my best recollection)... so I'm really not sure what happened in your case.