DVDs: love/hate relationship
- Thread starter racketboy
- Start date
Exactly, thank you Mal
[/b][/quote]Hello? is this mic on?
Copies suck! I'd rather copy onto a VHS than watch a re-encoded compressed copied DVD. . . with probably missing features and other goodies. :blah
Ugh so many uninformed people. Where to begin.
When you make a copy of a DVD movie you make a digital copy. In other words you rip the video out with one of the many tools out there, then you take the mpeg2 files and reauthor them with the appropriate program onto another disc. No reencoding takes place. The only problem is that you can't burn a movie that's on a dual layered disc without removing the menus, special features and possibly one or more audio tracks.
To the Simpsons guy. I feel your pain. Be glad to know that the season 3 DVD's (which came out like a week ago) have the option to play all. For the first two you can always program into your DVD player which "titles" to play. All you have to do is figure out which titles on the disc are which episodes.
For image quality if you properly tune your tv to the CORRECT settings (many dvd's come with a little step by step thingy for this) then you will not notice any artifacts on the movie....unless of course you sit like 2 feet away from the screen. I watch alot of DVD's on my PC and I notice artifacts on maybe one or two of my 50 movies. Of course if you buy cheap bargain DVD's of movies you never heard of or from outside north america....don't expect the best encoding quality.
As for skipping there are three main reasons for it.
1. Scratches on the disc. While DVD's are quite fragile (when compared to CD's) they are still quite durable if handled properly. Remember scratches that go from the inside hole to the outside are not really that bad and generally don't cause problems unless they are very severe. Radial scratches (the ones that go in a circle around the disc) are the killers and are generally more likely to cause problems.
2. HEAT. Alot of cheaper (and better) DVD players have a problem with heat. Too much heat causes the laser to loose accuracy and as such it has a harder time reading the disc. Make sure your player is properly ventilated and isn't cooped up in some closed off space. My PC DVD drive has problems with heat as the skipping gets pretty bad once I'm well into one of my 6 hour simpsons marathons.
3. Laser calibration. Over time the laser in the player changes and as such must be recalibrated. Many dvd players have a hidden service menu (search on the net for instructions on how to get to yours). The service menu has a calibration feature that will let you calibrate the player for each media type (CD, DVD single layer and DVD dual layer). This can also improve the realiability of the player and may help it deal with bad discs better.
Oh and as for recordable DVD players (standalone units) they are now in the $500-800 price range. Give it another couple months (and Xmas) and they'll go lower still.
When you make a copy of a DVD movie you make a digital copy. In other words you rip the video out with one of the many tools out there, then you take the mpeg2 files and reauthor them with the appropriate program onto another disc. No reencoding takes place. The only problem is that you can't burn a movie that's on a dual layered disc without removing the menus, special features and possibly one or more audio tracks.
To the Simpsons guy. I feel your pain. Be glad to know that the season 3 DVD's (which came out like a week ago) have the option to play all. For the first two you can always program into your DVD player which "titles" to play. All you have to do is figure out which titles on the disc are which episodes.
For image quality if you properly tune your tv to the CORRECT settings (many dvd's come with a little step by step thingy for this) then you will not notice any artifacts on the movie....unless of course you sit like 2 feet away from the screen. I watch alot of DVD's on my PC and I notice artifacts on maybe one or two of my 50 movies. Of course if you buy cheap bargain DVD's of movies you never heard of or from outside north america....don't expect the best encoding quality.
As for skipping there are three main reasons for it.
1. Scratches on the disc. While DVD's are quite fragile (when compared to CD's) they are still quite durable if handled properly. Remember scratches that go from the inside hole to the outside are not really that bad and generally don't cause problems unless they are very severe. Radial scratches (the ones that go in a circle around the disc) are the killers and are generally more likely to cause problems.
2. HEAT. Alot of cheaper (and better) DVD players have a problem with heat. Too much heat causes the laser to loose accuracy and as such it has a harder time reading the disc. Make sure your player is properly ventilated and isn't cooped up in some closed off space. My PC DVD drive has problems with heat as the skipping gets pretty bad once I'm well into one of my 6 hour simpsons marathons.
3. Laser calibration. Over time the laser in the player changes and as such must be recalibrated. Many dvd players have a hidden service menu (search on the net for instructions on how to get to yours). The service menu has a calibration feature that will let you calibrate the player for each media type (CD, DVD single layer and DVD dual layer). This can also improve the realiability of the player and may help it deal with bad discs better.
Oh and as for recordable DVD players (standalone units) they are now in the $500-800 price range. Give it another couple months (and Xmas) and they'll go lower still.
:wanker
We hardly ever agree do we? . . . and you aren't so dumb.
I admit I'm not a DVD geek and I never watch movies.
However, I do know that unlike CDs you can lose quality and not just content in copied DVDs. Not everyone uses your geeky dvd ripping programs. Most of the "easy to use" commercial DVD copiers do re-encode the file.
Try $300 at bestbuy.
:wanker
We hardly ever agree do we? . . . and you aren't so dumb.
I admit I'm not a DVD geek and I never watch movies.
However, I do know that unlike CDs you can lose quality and not just content in copied DVDs. Not everyone uses your geeky dvd ripping programs. Most of the "easy to use" commercial DVD copiers do re-encode the file.
Try $300 at bestbuy. [/b][/quote]
Well yes if you use one of those "COPY YOUR DVD TO A CD" shit programs then yes you will lose quality. But then again you would too if you taped your DVD on a VCR. Point is if you know what you're doing and actually do some research (which seems to be a big problem with the majority of people) you can get a perfect copy of the movie (minus the extras of course) with little effort.
And $300 at Best Buy? Dang they got cheap quick then. Might get one soon.
no no no. I never mentioned CDRs. When I said "DVD copiers" I meant DVD X Copy exactly. By default it re-encodes the file into "Fullscreen."
Scared0o0Rabbit
Established Member
I have a vcr... but it lives at my friends house. I'm really anal about my dvd's I don't let anyone touch them except myself. I've noticed that just because you think you have a good player (read I have a sony, and thought I had a good player) doesn't make it true. In fact, sony is one of the worst players. Sony's skip on any little tiny smudge or scratch on the disc. To test this I tried the same disc on my parents dvd player with no problems, also in my pc's dvd-rom drive with no problems.
On the plus side, I love dvd's. They take up so little room compared to vhs (I've got over 200 dvds). Also, when you've got good sound setup and video setup the quality differences are VERY apparent. Also, I can record anything I want onto dvd... and it didn't cost me $3000. Just get a dvd-r for your pc and you too can record for MUCH less than $3000, and have the discs work in just about everything that will read a normal dvd.
On the plus side, I love dvd's. They take up so little room compared to vhs (I've got over 200 dvds). Also, when you've got good sound setup and video setup the quality differences are VERY apparent. Also, I can record anything I want onto dvd... and it didn't cost me $3000. Just get a dvd-r for your pc and you too can record for MUCH less than $3000, and have the discs work in just about everything that will read a normal dvd.
I love DVDs as a whole, I just wish the movie studios would spend a little extra cash to make them a little more durable. (although I'm sure they'd love you for you to have to go out and buy and extra copy). Look at those TDK Armor DVDRs. Make something like that. Paying $15 to $25 for a DVD should get you a piece of durable media.
Scared0o0Rabbit
Established Member
Yeah, or even more when most of your stuff is anime and costs more ^_^... especially when you buy from suncoast (which is where I got my first 100 dvd's or so >.<
Originally posted by Tindo@heart+Sep 2, 2003 @ 05:01 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tindo@heart @ Sep 2, 2003 @ 05:01 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'>
Exactly, thank you Mal
Hello? is this mic on?
Copies suck! I'd rather copy onto a VHS than watch a re-encoded compressed copied DVD. . . with probably missing features and other goodies. :blah [/b][/quote]
Who gives 2 shits about features and extra goodies... Half the time the extras are nothing but shit on a DVD...
And if they ARE actually good well fine, go get the dvd and have a good time with the extras.
You can play with the clicker on a stupid extra game or some trivia or making of the film, while I sit back and watch the actual reason the dvd was made for... THE MOVIE
:wanker
Jaded beelzebub :slap
If I pay $20 for a DVD, $200 for the burner, and $1-2 for the blank DVD . . I wanna exact copy. I hate how DVDs are not as simple to copy as CDs .. or VHS. Though I never use "Enhanced features" on some CDs, I like to know that it's copied when I burn it to CDR.
BTW, Eminem's CD was detected by NAV as being infected with the Eminem.vbs . . Or somthin' viruse. :lol: Something on the enhanced files.
I think the DVD medium is flawed, fragile, and still non-standard. I hate how I my geek-less friends hound me with questions about their DVD-Rs. I hate explaining once again the difference between DVD- and DVD+. I really don't like how you need a class in VideoGames101 just to start the damn movie.
One thing I really do like though, . . . is this damn smilie :wanker
If I pay $20 for a DVD, $200 for the burner, and $1-2 for the blank DVD . . I wanna exact copy. I hate how DVDs are not as simple to copy as CDs .. or VHS. Though I never use "Enhanced features" on some CDs, I like to know that it's copied when I burn it to CDR.
BTW, Eminem's CD was detected by NAV as being infected with the Eminem.vbs . . Or somthin' viruse. :lol: Something on the enhanced files.
I think the DVD medium is flawed, fragile, and still non-standard. I hate how I my geek-less friends hound me with questions about their DVD-Rs. I hate explaining once again the difference between DVD- and DVD+. I really don't like how you need a class in VideoGames101 just to start the damn movie.
One thing I really do like though, . . . is this damn smilie :wanker
Yes I also coudlnt wait for the Back to the Future Trilogy.. Its one of my favorite movies!
Yes, and I agree with you there...
As I said, if the Extras are actually good, EX: Back To The Future... Then that's cool
I support you 100 % But most movies that aren't nostalgic in anyway I am talking about stuff like the Wedding Singer or Joe Dirt.... A few songs or interviews just isn't worth it for those.
