What's the best DVD Disc To Buy and Program To Use?

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dmcgibbo · #1 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 10:54 pm

I have a T42p with the Multiburner and had a few questions...

It says it's 9.4GB and is double sided - do they make double sided discs or what b/c I didn't think the Multiburner was dual layer?

What format disc do I use? They have DVD-R and DVD+R and the Multiburner does both right. Is there a good brand to stick with?

What's the best program to use? I have CloneCD, Alcohol120 but those are for CD burning, I also have IBM Record Now which came with my PC. But I've heard of CloneDVD, DVD X Copy, and Nero, etc. I want the best program for making direct copies of DVD's I own and also taking mpg/avi/divx/xvid movie files and making them a DVD playable in my home stereo DVD player.

Any DVD burning and movie encoding/decoding or disc advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Leon · #2 Post by **Leon** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 11:14 pm

not sure what it means by "double sided", but it is most definitely not dual layer.....you MUST buy DVD-Rs for writing, but you can read +R as well

I haven't had any problems with any brand I've used, even bargain....

see this thread... http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ght=#18419

MadeInJaban gives excellent guidance here... he is THE expert in this area, and a great guy as well.. he will likely update this thread with his latest comments and advice...

hershey · #3 Post by **hershey** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:42 am

I'm also clueless on what double sided means.

As far as programs are concerned, for your basic ISO/Data needs, use Nero.

Shrink DVD is a good program to make backups of movies (easy to use).
Although - If you want to make higher quality backups, you will actually have to re-encode the entire disc and the movie using guides from http://www.videohelp.com/ . That's a good place to start.

Making mpgs/avi/divx/xvid playable in your home dvd player will require re-encoding the files [which will take quite long].

rjm1135 · #4 Post by **rjm1135** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:55 am

I think "double-sided" means just that - you can write on both sides.

Write on one side, eject dvd, turn it over,put it back in, write on the other side.

I have a home DVD recorder that works like this.

Rob.

nsuperman86 · #5 Post by **nsuperman86** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:31 am

Some of the best DVD-R out there IMO are the Ritek Ritdata brand. I have had no coasters, only program errors, no disc errors. This is a pretty hot deal I have stumbled upon.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 369&depa=0

If you plan on burning DVD movies, which seems to be your intention, get your hands on DVD Shrink. It is pretty easy to use, and works very well coupled with Nero Burning Rom.

http://www.dvdshrink.org/what.html

Make sure you use DVD-R to burn your discs, the drive does not write DVD+R as stated above.

dmcgibbo · #6 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:47 am

Well I now have AnyDVD and CloneDVD and CloneCD so I'll try those and then try DVDShrink and Nero if the first ones don't work well. Thanks for everyone's help!

MichaelMeier · #7 Post by **MichaelMeier** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:06 am

ZPrime · #8 Post by **ZPrime** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:54 am

re: double sided - the IBM multiburner can burn DVD-RAM, which is a format that most people don't use and is fairly dead in the US. Supposedly it's still popular in Japan though. DoubleSided DVD-RAM is common.

Doublesided DVD-R do exist, but they're expensive. In either case, yes, you just flip the disc over to burn the other side. Has the downside of having no "safe side" to set it down on and not worry about scratches.

IMHO, DVD+R is far better - it has the enhancements to data storage tech that came in -RAM, and the better compatibility that came with -R (in some cases, +R can actually be more compatible than -R).

The multiburner from IBM sucks [censored]. It only burns -R at 2x, and only does CDs at 16x. Most DVD burners these days do 4x at a bare minimum, and many are doing 8, 12, or even 16x dvd writes, with dual-layer starting to show up as well.

hershey · #9 Post by **hershey** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:57 am

there's a lack of a market for dual-layered discs. Most people just use normal DVD+R (I Do) or DVD-R. DVD-R has better compatability with DVD Players, something like 86%.

Leon · #10 Post by **Leon** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:05 pm

MadeInJapan- waiting for you to comment on the above posts and add your opinions!

lvlolvlo · #11 Post by **lvlolvlo** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:04 pm

I choose the following...

Media: Anything from this site http://store.yahoo.com/cdrdvdrmedia/ that isn't Grade B

Program: DVD Shrink

As far as the Duel/Double Layer is concerned, it just means that you can make a 1:1 copy of those movies you have, meaning no compression. The regular DVD+-R/RW that yo upurchase in the store are single sided meaning they have a max capacity of 4.xGB hence you need a 1:2 ratio of compression.

Hope that clears the air...

AtmosMan · #12 Post by **AtmosMan** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:21 pm

lvlolvlo pretty much got the dual layered thing. Commercial DVD's are dual layered discs. They allow for uncompressed video. That's why if you burn a copy of a commercial movie (which I'm sure no one here does...cause it's illegal

) you have to compress it. Now dual layered media is coming out, and people can store a full length movie on one disc with the highest quality possible. But I guess that once the blu-ray discs come out that will change everything again. Hi-Def movies on DVD's...Oooooh....Ahhhhh....

.

MadeInJapan · #13 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:05 pm

I did this the other night...spent 15 minutes typing my long entry and then when I clicked to submit, I was off line and somehow my IE just crashed. It really sucked. Same thing happened tonight here on this thread, and I don't know if I have the energy to type all of what I did. I will therefore, cut and paste from my tutorial file (some modifications to protect the inocent....hehehe). Below is a list of Programs I constantly use and how to use them. If you want more information, then PM me. I can send you a disc with stuff on it if you want to make DVD's. By the way, it is not illegal to "back up" your owned discs...just illegal to "copy" them.

1. DVD Decryptor: Just open the folder and run it. You can choose in setup if you want for it to check for updates…that’s up to you. One nice thing about this program is that it allows burning as well. If the total DVD you want to copy is 4.5gigs or under, you can do it with this…does a nice job. I just use this program to see how large the DVD is before I use other programs to extract and burn a new DVD. Click on “File” and you’ll see the option of viewing full disc or “main movie files.” This will help you determine what you want to do.

2. AnyDVD. Run this program in the background as you are running DVD2One. This keeps you from having to copy the DVD files onto your HD first. Make sure to “unload” or exit from it (it will reside on your system tray) before you burn your DVD after DVD2One completes.

3. DVD2One. In DVD2One, you’ll have many choices. Movie only or whole disc, or “join.” Whatever you do, keep the compression mode to “Variable.” This seems to work best, as it will compress the darker scenes with less movement more this way and leave the more active scenes alone. When using this program, make a folder (anywhere) labeled DVD and in that folder make 2 more folders called VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS. Now, when you copy a disc, make other folders within the DVD folder with the name of the movie and copy the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS into these folders. Always make your destination folder when using DVD2One the VIDEO_TS folder within the name of movie folder you’re using. Another note: always use capital letters in the DVD making process with underscore (“_”) between the names. This has something to do with compatibility. I have made a file called “4472 is Default” in the DVD2One setup folder. The reason for this is once you change the default size for disc making, you’ll have to change it back to its original size. Sometimes I use 699 when I’m burning a short clip onto a CD (not DVD) with DVD file structure (some DVD players will play these so called “mini DVD’s,” and some won’t). Nice thing is ThinkPads will!

4. RecordNow: (comes on ThinkPads and it the best burning software, in my opinion...we're lucky to get it). When you run RecordNow, exit the wizard and then click on “Data” on the top bar and then “add files and folders,” and add the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders you want to burn. Do not add the whole folder that the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders are in. RecordNow automatically figures out that you want to make a DVD and configures the disc correctly. If you give the DVD a title in RecordNow, use only Captial letters and underscores between the words in the title. Also, notable is that CD copying, etc. with this program is superb! Play around with the Global image file making. Use this to make PlayStation2 "backups"…though you have to have a chipped PS2 for them to work.

5. Finally, of notable programs is the PowerDVD. PowerDVD is by far the best DVD viewing software. Uninstall the crap that came with your ThinkPad and install this program instead.

6. Adaptec ASPI Layer files: Use this file only if your computer has trouble recognizing your drive. You probably won’t need to install this. If you decide to install this, once you double click on the exe file, it will set up a folder on your HD called “Adaptec.” You’ll have to navigate into that folder and use your Win2000/XP “Command Prompt” to set it up. It’s a bit hard to explain here…there is a file to explain the process in the “Adaptec” folder once you install the files with the exe here. If it doesn't work...look on the web and download "forceASPI." It works every time.

A point to note:
If you come across disc made with other programs like DVD_X_Copy, which supposedly you can’t copy, just use the entire process above, from AnyDVD?DVD2One?RecordNow and you’ll be able to copy them. You can’t copy a “+” disc straight to a “-“ disc without also going through this process, but in the end, it call all be done.

Now, a note about Blue laser, dual layered and parallel layered DVD's. Leave them alone for now. Both the media and the hardware is still too expensive. I buy TDK, Maxell, and lately I"ve been buying "e-gear" discs at Target with great results. I hate to pay more than a bit more than a buck a piece for blank DVD's.

sugo · #14 Post by **sugo** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:20 am

Last time I tried powerdvd was version 3.0. It was pretty bad at media error handling. New powerdvd might be great but the thinkpad windvd 5 works well here. At least to me, it's not a crap.

At first I found RecordNow great but very soon I went back to Nero. I found RecordNow that came with thinkpad to be too simple and too "implicit".

The thinkpad multi-burner (UJ-812) surely is slow. But it's probably not fair to compare a 9.5mm drive with a desktop burner.

UJ-812 does not play well with region free software at all.

DVD-+RW have practical limits on number of re-write cycles. I view them as unreliable backup media. DVD-RAM is truely re-writable. It can be re-written more than 100,000 times. Formatting it to UDF takes less than 10 seconds. I use it as a big floppy - just drag and drop files onto it. No need to worry about all the multi-session stuff.

DVD-RAM is not "portable" though. Most dvd drives won't read them. They are also fairly slow. I do incremental non-permanent backups all the time. DVD-RAM fits my needs perfectly. If the IBM dvd-burner has no DVD-RAM support, I am not sure if I will even get a thinkpad T.

MadeInJapan · #15 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:11 pm

I'm not going to get into arguments here because like I said before there are as many different opinions on this topic as there are owners of DVD burners. I was just giving you my preferences from my experience.

I'd say that WinDVD has improved as has PowerDVD. I don't know because I uninstalled the copy of WinDVD on my Thinkpad before I even tried it (from previous experience).

I like the simplicity of RecordNow and it works great for "backing up" DVD's. I think we are talking apples to oranges here because you are talking about backing up data on your ThinkPad and I'm not.

Anyway, I'd like to learn more about using DVD-RAM...I've never used it and it sounds like a good idea, and our ThinkPads can burn them! You mention DVD+RW but I don't think that these burners can burn them, can they? My understanding is only "-" format discs.

I agree with you that most Matshita UJ series burners (including ours...I also have the UJ-812) don't handle region free software at all. I've been told that they have a chip in them that protects software from reading their firmware...something that software has to do in order to counter act the region setting feature of the burner.

Anyone who wants to know about this can look it up at www.rpc1.com Click on the "download firmware" section on the left and then go to the Matshita section. You want to be able to make your drive RPC1 in order for it to be Region Free to begin with. With that done, region free veiwing is much simpler. Even if your burner stays as RPC1 no matter what efforts people have made, the site will tell you what programs if any will work to get your player to play other region disks. Unfortunately, most of the UJ and UJD series is helplessly incompatible with any software so there is no listing for such software, such as what I mentioned above (AnyDVD) as well as DVD Region Free (probably the most popular).

sugo · #16 Post by **sugo** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:37 pm

Yup same here, just offering different opinions. No expert here and I enjoyed reading your post

Yes, UJ-812 cannot write + discs. I was just talking media in general. Also, I don't copy video dvds at all indeed.

MadeInJapan · #17 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:35 pm

Thanks for your post...main thing here is that we all help each other. Hopefully I'm being helpful to someone who is interested in "backing up" their video DVD's, and you are helping those who want to burn DVD's to back things up....

I'm very interested in your process of backing up things on your computer via DVD-RAM. Since this post is getting long, would love to see you do a thread with a tutorial on that!

nsuperman86 · #18 Post by **nsuperman86** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:27 am

Me too MadeInJapan.

I have been looking into this whole DVD-RAM thing and frankly I want to make some use of it with my multiburner. I second that for the tutorial. I need to find an efficient way to back up my files.

nikemen · #19 Post by **nikemen** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 4:14 pm

[quote="MadeInJapan"]I did this the other night...spent 15 minutes typing my long entry and then when I clicked to submit, I was off line and somehow my IE just crashed. It really sucked. Same thing happened tonight here on this thread, and I don't know if I have the energy to type all of what I did. I will therefore, cut and paste from my tutorial file (some modifications to protect the inocent....hehehe). Below is a list of Programs I constantly use and how to use them. If you want more information, then PM me. I can send you a disc with stuff on it if you want to make DVD's. By the way, it is not illegal to "back up" your owned discs...just illegal to "copy" them.

This last point, semantics about "copy" and "back-up" Regardless of what one considers either to be, the law says it is illiegal to circumvent the encryption that is on the disc. Doesn't really say copy or back-up at all.

So, it is the act of breaking their security protection, on protected material which is illegal, regardless of the purpose.

Hopefully, a new ruling will change this.

I must say, with kids, YOUNG kids I am prone to "back-up" even the raw data I have purchased and display only in the confines of my house.

MadeInJapan · #20 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:43 pm

Although my last point was questionable as you suggested, I completely agree with your last point.

There are so many senarios however....for instance, I've run across discs that are copy writed that have absolutely no Macrovision (copy guard incryption) on them and they are small enough that you could actually put it in one DVD-rom and do "exact copy" with RecordNow and burn it onto a blank disk in another drive. Since there is no incryption, would this be illegal too....just making a "backup."

It seems that I read somewhere about someone in exactly that predicament who was taken to court over "backing up" his own discs because he had young kids, and he was viewing the "backed up" discs in the privacy of his own home. He won the case. By the way, the FBI warning says "no duplication....etc."

I wonder how Microsoft treats "ghosting" a drive and having complete windows on 2 drives at once. You are only suppose to have one licensed Windows OS installed on your computer at once, but there is that 15-20 minutes when both hard drives are in your computer when you are doing the "ghosting." So in reality you have the one licensed copy of Windows in your computer twice at once. Is that illegal too? Now, I could understand if you ghosted the same licenced copy of windows and put it in more than one laptop, how that would be illegal....

hhy2k · #21 Post by **hhy2k** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:54 am

If someone still interested in the double sided DVD here it goes:

DVD-5 single sided DVD 4.7 GB
DVD-9 Dual layer/single sided DVD 8.5 GB
DVD-10 Double sided DVD 9.3 GB
DVD-18 Dual layer/double sided DVD 17 GB

These are NOT DVD-RAM but regular DVDs. The dual layer discs cost about $10 each, however the double sided DVD-R cost $1 and holds 9GB of data. I use these for my DIVX movies and they proove to be very space efficient and cheap. You can not find these discs is the local store however they are common on ebay or in net stores. I think the double sided single layer discs are the way to go... sure there is just a small place for labeling in the middle but if you want you can find core labels for that purpose at neato for example. The 17GB discs are very expensive to produce so I never seen those for sale!

Once again dual layer is not double sided! If you want to know more type "DVD-10" into your search engine!

my dime

MadeInJapan · #22 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:08 pm

Cool...I like your dime! We're all gettin us an ejucasion.

dmcgibbo · #23 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:26 pm

well darn, i just went out and bought TDK 4x DVD-R to use but they aren't double sided - I couldn't find double sided anywhere.

However, that site link that someone posted where they say they buy from seems expensive - they have 2x TDK DVD-R for $3.50 a disc and I bought mine for $1 something a disc.

BTW, I started this thread and choice notify me by email when replies are posted, but I haven't received any replies lately even though I used to. Is there a user control panel to subscribe to threads and see what your subscriptions are like most other forums have? Why would it stop sending me emails of posts?

hhy2k · #24 Post by **hhy2k** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:15 pm

Well, there is a very nice guy in CT who sells every kind of DVD media. I just bought my 4x DVD-R (9GB double sided) stock from him.... it cost about $1.20 per piece or so...

www.GenesysDTP.com

This is his site address, he sends stuff fast and very responsive.

his e-mail is

secondsOUT@aol.com

You also find his stuff on ebay just look for "double sided DVD"

MrBeta · #25 Post by **MrBeta** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 12:12 pm

AtmosMan wrote:That's why if you burn a copy of a commercial movie (which I'm sure no one here does...cause it's illegal )

It is?? In which country? It is ***NOT*** illegal to copy commercial DVDs. What is illegal is distributing such copies, selling them, posting them on the net, etc. You are perfectly able and allowed to make what is called backup discs for personal use. Don't let DMCA act fool you - you will only ever get in trouble if you give away or sell such commercial content, but for your own personal use - copy all you want!

MadeInJapan · #26 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:45 pm

MrBeta...you are exactly right...that's the reason for my cynical humor on this thread, but no one caught it.

So, okay....I've got me some RAM Discs now but can't figure out how to back up my T30. Would like to span the backup over several discs...and with bootable capability so I can restore everything. Does anyone know how to do this?

MrBeta · #27 Post by **MrBeta** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 8:57 pm

Norton Ghost allows you to span disks - whether CD-R, CD-RW, floppies (iiick!!), and I'm guessing DVD+/-RW and maybe even DVD-RAM...

MadeInJapan · #28 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Sat Sep 18, 2004 9:12 pm

I only have the floppy disc version....believe it's DOS based. Will that span DVD discs?

Actually, that was a dumb question because the only way I could copy anything from floppy Ghost is the whole drive or by sectors. I actually use this program to Ghost my entire HHD with the same size HHD to back up my system once a week...just in case I have a complete HD crash, but I would like one other backup method in the event that the Ghosted drive somehow fails too.

What's the best DVD Disc To Buy and Program To Use?

What's the best DVD Disc To Buy and Program To Use?

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