What % of DVD Movies can't be ripped?

[patyoda]

Hi guys, I'm building a new computer and trying to decide whether to go with a DVD burner or not. I'll be doing a lot of copying DVDs, and I figure with the increase in video quality, 5.1 sound, faster process, keeping the menus, etc. I would prefer copying them to DVD rather than VCD. However, the only thing that concerns me is that I've seen a lot of complaints about specific DVDs that some people have a lot of trouble ripping, and I wouldn't want to pay the extra money for the DVD burner and DVD-Rs if I'm not even going to be able to rip half my DVDs in the first place. Also, I don't have a DVD drive on my computer now, so I can't test how many of my DVDs will be easy to rip. So I guess I'm just wondering what percentage of DVDs will rip on the first try usually with SmartRipper or DVD Decoder? Also, I have seen some other tips about how to rip DVDs that won't work the normal way. For instance, playing the DVD then trying to start ripping it while it is playing. Also, spraying the DVD off with Windex seems to work for a lot of people . So, another question I have is: With some perseverence and knowledge, is ANY DVD movie rippable?

Thanks!!

With current technology, all movies can be copied. Personally, I do it the easy way usin DVD XCopy which is the only utility that can copy DVDs.

Unless you want to use dvd ripper and it is messy. With DVD Xcopy, you use just one program, configure it and it copies everything including titles.

The hardware has little to do --its the software.

[patyoda]

So how many movies have you copied with DVD XCopy? Have you ever had any problems with it?? Like movies that took several tries to copy or anything like that. If this is the case, I wouldn't think twice about getting a DVD burner.

[J-Excel]

I've had movies that fill a DVD9 (dual layer DVD) that couldn't be split to two DVD5 (single layer DVD-Rs) with DVDxCopy without some work. DVDxCopy splits at a chapter change. Sometimes the chapters are too big causing one of the halves to be too big to fit on a DVD-R. This is pretty rare though. You can get around this by cutting some extras but it does require a little extra work. Bottom line is any DVD can be copied. Some easier than others.

[smurffart]

Also, you can get DVDXCOPY Express, which will copy any sized dvd (including dvd9's) onto one disk...very nice and neat with no noticable quality loss. The two programs (DVDXCOPY and the express version) come as a very affordable bundle.

How many movies?

Well, I copy to DVD+RW disks because I don't keep them for long. When we buy a DVD movie, I copy it first thing to a RW disk and keep the original disk safe.

After everyone has seen the movie, and this includes relatives, and so on, I use the RW disk over again. I have just 8 disks which i try and rotate. When we go to vivit my brother, we take the RW disks with us so they can see the movie too. Because of all this handling, chances of scratching original disks is great so I decided to do this.

The software, DVD XCopy, cost me $40 approx. and they threw in DVD XPress also.

Must have copied at least 25-30 movies so far without a problem.

[patyoda]

So is there anyone else who could comment who does NOT use DVD X Copy? I know there are some free ripping and burning programs out there.

[smurffart]

to be honest....they may be free in dollars, but those programs cost you a whole lot in time. DVDXCOPY can rip and burn a dvd in under fourty minutes...less if you have a second dvd-rom drive that reads at 16x for the ripping process...those free programs involve a lot of work on your end and can take hours.

[Zaida2000]

the short answer to your question is EVERY DVD can be ripped..

the longer answer is, you need to keep track of all the exceptions that need tuning or additional software ex. branching in a DVD..etc.

www.dvd-digest.com is the best place to read about this stuff, and what cant be ripped today will be ripped tomorrow.. the magic of the digital age i guess

[MD1032]

Uhhhhh, I wouldn't be talking about this kind of stuff. It won't be long until that mod GroundZero puts the lock on this sucker.