I finally got my DVD burner and now I can store all the fights and other stuff I've d'l to make way for the new stuff I'm about to get!

My question is what is the best program (no spyware a must) to copy DVD's so I can back them up? What do you guys use. Also, how much does it cost if anything? Appreciate any responses.
Grass E Ass

dvd shrink works great.

dvd xcopy. use it all of the time and haven't encountered any problems so far. :boxing:

-dvd shrink is quick and easy, so-so quality
-dvdxcopy is good.
-dvdrebuilder is slow, but has given me the best encoding quality so far.

really up to you what you prefer. I use dvdshrink if I don't have to compress and it's a straight copy. I use dvdrebuilder if I have to really compress and want excellent quality. I don't mind waiting so I usually run the backup and leave it overnight.
visit www.videohelp.com and checkout their section for dvd backup. I believe someone even did a comparison of the most common encoders/backup softwares out there.

Thanks for your replies. You guys rock.

dvd shrink is perfectly fine quality. You do need Nero also, which I mean you can get free easily enough. EcksCopy isn't going to be updated ever again, so I'd steer clear of it. Think about the future.

Kepsy, if you don't have to compress, why even bother with DVD Shrink? Just straight burn with Nero or anything if you're not having to compress. You'd cut burning time in half.


Oh do you have fights on VHS? If so, buy yourself a TV Capture card (can get a decent one for like $100 now) and capture the files to your computer, edit them into separate fights, burn them to DVD that way. Don't waste your time with a stand alone DVD recorder, those things are just a major pain in the ass and I've only had trouble with them. Each time they mess up, you lose a DVD. If anything messes up with a TV capture card, you just lose the data you tried to put in, so it's no big deal.

And I've yet to have a capture card mess up. Only time that'd happen is if your capture program froze (from say running too much stuff on the computer at a time).

How big is your burned DVD collections?

I'm at around 500 right now. Actually have more DVDs than that, but I only count a series as one (like Trigun is 8 discs, Seinfeld 4 discs, etc).

Oh do you have fights on VHS?

Nope. I just have what I have been able to pull of the web in the past year or so.

Don't waste your time with a stand alone DVD recorder, those things are just a major pain in the ass and I've only had trouble with them. Each time they mess up, you lose a DVD.

My roomate bought one. They are pretty cool but you are right that they do create coasters every once in a while. A capture card is a good alternative.

Thanks for the info. I looked up the quality tests from Video help and when there is compression DVD Shrink didn't do so well. They did a comparison with several back up programs and DVD Shrink came out towards the bottom. This test was done a year ago though so things may have changed.


As for my burned collection it is probably 8 strong right now. But I bought a 50 DVD-R spindle :D So I know that I'll get through that. What do people use for discs? Does it really matter that much? There are a lot of bargain basement names out there I've never heard of.

dvd shrink is perfectly fine quality. You do need Nero also, which I mean you can get free easily enough. EcksCopy isn't going to be updated ever again, so I'd steer clear of it. Think about the future.

Kepsy, if you don't have to compress, why even bother with DVD Shrink? Just straight burn with Nero or anything if you're not having to compress. You'd cut burning time in half.

Oh do you have fights on VHS? If so, buy yourself a TV Capture card (can get a decent one for like $100 now) and capture the files to your computer, edit them into separate fights, burn them to DVD that way. Don't waste your time with a stand alone DVD recorder, those things are just a major pain in the ass and I've only had trouble with them. Each time they mess up, you lose a DVD. If anything messes up with a TV capture card, you just lose the data you tried to put in, so it's no big deal.

And I've yet to have a capture card mess up. Only time that'd happen is if your capture program froze (from say running too much stuff on the computer at a time).
Sorry, that should have said "if I don't have to compress much and it's a straight copy". Straight copy meaning I'm not taking off the sneak peeks and some other language audio to make the whole thing smaller. I still like some of the special features to remain. Anything below 65% compression for me I use rebuilder as I see pixelation on shrink. Always thought shrink did a great job until I saw the difference with rebuilder. Just my preference.

Nope. I just have what I have been able to pull of the web in the past year or so.



My roomate bought one. They are pretty cool but you are right that they do create coasters every once in a while. A capture card is a good alternative.

Thanks for the info. I looked up the quality tests from Video help and when there is compression DVD Shrink didn't do so well. They did a comparison with several back up programs and DVD Shrink came out towards the bottom. This test was done a year ago though so things may have changed.


As for my burned collection it is probably 8 strong right now. But I bought a 50 DVD-R spindle :D So I know that I'll get through that. What do people use for discs? Does it really matter that much? There are a lot of bargain basement names out there I've never heard of.
I use the generic ones for mine. As long as my standalone player plays it, i'm good. Some dvd players don't play dvd-r, some don't play dvd+r, some play both. some players stutter when your burn speed is more than 4x. it's really an ongoing testing process. checkout the dvd players section on that website as well. it will give you more info on your player.

dvd shrink to start out with DVD rebuilder if you care about quality and are willing to spend a few hours on it

I gotta say from my experience, it has been the quality of discs I've used that's made the biggest difference. When I used a name brand I'd heard of, I had much better results. I bought these cheap ass 4x speed discs back when 4x wasn't too bad (like in July)...They were cheap as hell at the time...and its like that saying goes, you get what you pay for.

I have about 90 movies on those cheap ass white 4x dvds. I cringe at the thought of replacing them, even though I know I'll have to.

Yeah how long does this DVD rebuilder take? How hard is it to use?

Where does everyone rent movies from? I get them from Netflix and my video store that I work at. Actually have 13 movies from my store at home right now. We're only supposed to get 3, but hey I should be able to rent what I want for free, so I swiped 10 extras. Its not stealing cause I'm returning them all. No need to steal if you got a burner.