What kind of questions would you like to see in the upcoming Newbies FAQ?

[aleksander]

Hi there!

I would like to make this thread a place where everybody can post his/hers ideas or suggestion of what should be included in the upcoming Newbies FAQ (that, by the way, is missing and should be done long time ago - I admit - my fault).
There is already a number of people working on it, but we are all only humans. There are things that might be just straightforward for some of us, but for others will need some explanation. There are things that we may just overlook. There is a lot of reasons...
And you guys are the ones I would like to ask for help.
If you think that something is missing in other FAQs, that something has to be explained in more understandable way - now you've got a place to post your thoughts, remarks, etc.
If you have some questions, that you think that should be included in the FAQ and already know good answers - post it here!
We will look for answers and we will combine it all into one FAQ.
Any help from your side is much anticipated and welcome.

So....

LET'S BEGIN!!!!

aleksander

[bakercool]

Hey, Well I am still kinda a newbie, but check out this link (notice it is a forum)

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=84759

If yall need help making stuff like this, let me know. I will help all I can. I cannot answer hard in-depth questions yet. I haven't tried out GK yet, but I will be doing that tonight. Guides/newbie sections like this one would really make it easy for tons of people. Let me know if I can help. Thanks!

[ammck55]

@aleksander--This will become a large sacrifice of personal time on your part. Thank you!

ammck55

[dani82]

i seen alot of newbies always asking the same question, but for some reason, they never seem to uses the search feature, since they've already been answered.

Here some questions that should be on the Newbies FAQ:


how do i burn an dvd with (s)vcd files?

how do i convert an dat -> mpeg?

how do i convert an rm -> divx or mpeg?

how do i extract the audio from an (s)vcd or dvd?

something about the hotmail banned?

i'm still wondering how do i extract an pcm audio from an dvd, correctly?

and probility the most asked newbie question: audio sync?

[ArdenDag]

Some of those questions are good, the others seem a little on the advanced side for a newbie faq... of course it's all up to aleksander to decide

[Jolard]

As a new member finally graduating from newbyhood, I want to help. Here is a list of newbie questions I had that I would have liked to see in a faq. (Thanks in advance for everyone's help on these in advance!)

- How do I make a backup of a DVD to DVD+-R/+-RW?

This is not as simple as simply running your copy program and making a copy. DVD's are encrypted to hinder copying, and must be decrypted before they can be copied. The other major hurdle is that most DVDs are DVD-9, which means they have two layers. Your blank DVD will only have one layer, half the space, so you will need to either copy to two DVDs or make some decisions on what you want to keep and how you are going to make it fit. The other problem is that in order for the DVD to work in stand-alone players, you have to make sure the files and format are correct. You have some reading ahead of you.

- What is DVD-9 and DVD-5 and why does it matter?

Each layer in a DVD can hold 4.3GB of information. In order to fit more information on a single side of a DVD, studios often glue two layers together, so that it becomes a dual layered disc. That is why you will see the layer change pause half way through the movie. Most new major studio releases are dual layer. Dual layer DVDs are called DVD-9 and single layer DVDs are DVD-5.

The reason it matters is that blank DVD media (+R, +RW, -R, -RW) are all only single layered. So it is not possible to simply recreate the full original DVD on a single recordable DVD, unless the original is a DVD-5. For DVD-9 disks, you can either split the DVD to two disks, remove enough unnecessary data to fit the movie on one disk, or compress the files to make them smaller. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these options.

- How do I decrypt the DVD?

The first step in any backup process is decrypting the files. The studios encrypt the data on the DVDs to make it harder to backup. However we have 2 great tools that can be used to decrypt the movie, DVDDecryptor and SmartRipper. They can both be downloaded from doom9’s download area, and guides are available here: Descrambling Guides

- What is the file structure of a DVD? How should the files look in order to make sure it will work in my stand-alone player?

There should be two main directories on your DVD, AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS. AUDIO_TS is used for DVD Audio disks, and will most likely be empty on your final DVD. VIDEO_TS is where all your other files should go.

Inside VIDEO_TS you should see at least the following:
VIDEO_TS.IFO This is the Video Manager Information file. It is a master file.
VIDEO_TS.BUP Backup of the VIDEO_TS.IFO
VTS_01_0.IFO First Title Manager Information File. Contains details your DVD player needs to know in order to play correctly, e.g. chapter stops, language info etc.
VTS_01_0.BUP Backup of VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_0.VOB This is first video file of the first title. It is a container file that includes an MPEG2 video stream as well as audio and subtitle streams.
VTS_01_1.VOB This is the second video container file for the first Title.

Your DVD will most likely have additional VOB’s, and possibly more Titles as well. Each additional title will have its own set of IFO, BUP and VOBs. A second Title would be named VTS_02_0 etc.



- How do I backup a DVD-5 DVD?


There are a number of ways to do this, but by far the easiest is to use DVDDecryptor in ISO mode. See the DVDDecryptor guide here: DVDDecryptor Guide , and follow the instructions for ISO mode.


- How do I backup a DVD-9 DVD?

The first thing you have to determine is what you want the final DVD to look like.

If you want only the movie, and no special features or menus then you will need to see how large the movie is. Rip just the main title in DVDDecryptor or SmartRipper (see the guides) and then see how large it is. If it is smaller than 4.3GB, then you are in luck. Use IFOEdit (guide here Creating a DVD that contains just the main movie ). IFOEdit and the other tools mentioned can be downloaded in the software area.

If you want only the movie, but the ripped main title only is larger than 4.3GB, then you will either need to split the movie over two disks while keeping the original bit rate (and therefore quality), or strip out unwanted audio and subtitle streams to save space, or you will need to compress the movie file to a lower bit rate so that it will fit on one disk, but your quality will decrease somewhat. All the guides you will need are here: DVD and miniDVD Guides , pay special attention to the following guides:
Basic Guide
Creating a DVD that contains just the main movie
Copying a DVD-9 to 2 DVD±Rs
DVD Authoring in IfoEdit

- I want to back up a DVD-9 and I want easy newby tools that I can pay for and will do nearly everything I want easily and simply. What should I buy?

While we cannot recommend specific commercial products over others, there are a few good tools that will do most of the work for you, and that you can buy for a reasonable price. DVDxCopy and DVD2One are two good examples, although there are others.

DVDxCopy is the simplest, you only need that one tool and it will do everything you need. It will copy the movie file without compression, so that means you will need two blank DVDs for most movies. It will also copy all the menus and special features you need.

DVD2One does what it needs to do well and quickly, for a reasonable price. For a newby, you will still need to learn a little DVDDecryptor or SmartRipper to get the movie decoded and on your hard drive, but other than that it will work simply and easily. It will compress the movie so that it will fit on one blank DVD faster than anything else out there. The drawback is that you lose all special features and menus. However if you just want to back up the movie, this is a good easy newby friendly tool.




Ok, some other questions that would be good to have answered that I haven’t had time to write yet:

My burned DVD won’t play in my stand-alone, what is wrong?

I don’t have a DVD burner, how can I backup my DVDs?

My DVD media says it is 4.7GB, how come I can only get 4.3GB of data on it?


Hope this helps. Wanted to do my part, since I have learned so much from this site. Keep up the good work!

[aleksander]

Wow.
Jorald - thank you so much - we will make use of it for sure. The DVD->DVD-R part was the hardest one for us, since none of us has a DVD-Recorder neither an access to one.
So - once again - thank you so much for it. Maybe we will ask some of the DVD mods to help us out with this part of the FAQ, but what you have written is really helpful.

take care and keep up good work

aleksander

[themancubb]

One question i would like answered:

I can convert Mpeg1 just fines; I get audio sync problems when trying to join mpeg2 files from an SVCD to make then all a DVD. Why is that? Is it a codec or what is the best way?

[Jolard]

No problem Aleksander. These were all questions I had that bugged me as a complete newbie. Thought they would be a good start for someone just barely breaking into DVD backup. I will work on some more and submit them as well.

[hakko504]

Maybe we should link to this thread by markrb as well as the pie thread. They are very well written threads about how to behave when you are a newbie (or quite experienced too for that matter), but since they are 'hidden' (sticky in fact) in the DVD2SVCD-basic forum it's not necessarily the first place a newbie would go look.

[ArdenDag]

markb's thread will DEFINITELY have to be in the FAQ/Stickies

I still think that there should be a FAQ with Questions & Answers, and a 'Read this before posting' or something more appropriate thread, the one manono and a few others (me included) have been working on.

[ammck55]

@aleksander->I'm sure this one is on your list, but I remember how much of a life saver it was at the time. It only took me three hair-pulling days to find it, and it is still the method I use for getting my files to the burner. I'm not going to link this as these notes will all be compiled at a later time, but maybe someone will stumble across it in the meantime. It feels like Christmas when it all comes together for the very first time! Was this DDogg's baby?

A search on "Foolproof Method" will come up with this too.

DVD2SVCD Basic Topics>DVD2SVCD Official Q&A>Q.61

ammck55

[mudda_t]

I don't know if it's too late but maybe something that addresses the bizarre ripping speeds many have gotten. Ripping speeds 1x to 12x even with 16x drives. (maybe for decrypting section)

I know that when I was very newbie it was driving me crazy as to why I was getting a 2x rip speed with a 16x read dvd-rw drive. It took forever to rip. Finally went out and bought a dvd 12x solely for ripping to get faster rips.

Some recent threads that addresses this:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45529

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43758

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46711

[mnibond]

I want to convert some DVD and store it in my hard drive. Would anyone tell me
Which format are best video quality so close to dvd and use lowest hard drive room.
DIVX, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2.

[killingspree]

@mnibond: is this a question you need to be answered right now or do you recommend it for the FAQ?
if it is the former this is not the appropriate place to ask...

[rpa1121]

Well being a newbie how bout just an expanded glossary with maybe some examples other than that I think u guys have done a great job with comments and ideas.

[hakko504]

This post by DDogg is also a very good reading for anyone who don't know how to handle rule #9

[royalb]

I have several suggestions. I found that there is all the information that anyone could want on the subject, but placing it into a coherent order is a real challenge. Therefore, I'd like to see:

1- A glossary of terms
2- A compilation of articles with their URL's presented in some logical order. Basically, you want the newbie (me) to read a set of articles in some order.
3- A set of cookbook recipes to accomplish simple tasks. These might not end up with the best quality, but it walks you through the process so that once you've digested it, you can then strike out on your own.

royalb

[killingspree]

this post by doom9 in the general discussion forum should be included in some way too (either shortened version or link - or perhaps both

3- A set of cookbook recipes to accomplish simple tasks

what kind of tasks are you thinking about? things like cutting joining etc or how to easily do divx/SVCD etc?
if it is the latter i guess links to the appropriate doom9 guides should be sufficient. (and perhaps a short note about Xmpeg... like if you want a really fast solution, go for xmpeg, if you want to invest a bit more time use gknot, or another one of the encoding tools out there)

what i would also recommend to include is a list of the most commonly used dvd one click backup tools and what their advantages/disadvantages are... perhaps also make a list of programs that are somehow not recommended at all (e.g. commercial rip-offs of freeware programs)

steVe

[commando57]

What I would like to see is a thorough file extension glossary.
I would also like to see what extension a program makes and what extensions are combined together for an output.
This would have greatly helped me climb the steepest part of this curve.