DVD Repair Tips.com

What is DVD?

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:26:45 +0000

DVD stands for Digital Versatile (or Video) Disc

DVD R stands for DVD Recordable and

DVD RW for DVD ReWriteable.

A recordable DVD can store up to 2 hours of good quality standard definition DVD-Video, including multiple audio tracks in various formats like stereo, Dolby Digital or DTS. It can also accommodate advanced menu systems, subtitles and still pictures that can be played by many standalone DVD Players and most computer DVD-ROMs.

It is possible to write more than two hours of video to a recordable DVD if you lower the video quality using low bitrates (the amount of data per second being used) or lower the resolution (the number of lines used on the screen to display the image) giving you quality more like VHS, SVHS, SVCD, CVD or VCD.

It is also possible to store up to 4.37Gbs of ordinary data on a recordable DVD disc that can be read by most computer DVD-ROMs.There are three DVD Recording standards or types:

DVD-R/DVD-RW and DVD+R/DVD+RW.

These two have very similar features and are compatible with most standalone DVD Players, computer DVD-ROMs and DVD camcorders.

DVD-RAM is an entirely different system and has less DVD Player, DVD-ROM and DVD camcorder compatibility. The main difference is that it offers the ability to do some minor editing of the DVD while still in the device.

DVD -R and DVD -RW

DVD-R was the first DVD recording format released and is a non-rewriteable format compatible with about 98% of all modern DVD Players, most DVD-ROMs and just about all DVD camcorders.

DVD-RW is a rewriteable format compatible with about 90% of all DVD Players, most DVD-ROMs and many DVD camcorders and DVD recorders.

DVD-R and DVD-RW single sided 4.37Gb DVDs are called DVD-R5 and double sided 8.75Gb DVDs are called DVD-R10.

DVD-R DL is called DVD-R9 and is a Dual Layer writeable DVD-R. The dual layered discs can hold 7.95Gb and dual layered double sided discs holding 15.9Gb are called DVD-R18. DVD +R and DVD +RWDVD+R is a non-rewritable format also compatible with about 98% of all DVD Players, most DVD-ROMs and most DVD camcorders and DVD recorders.

DVD+RW is a rewritable format compatible with about 90% of all DVD Players, most DVD-ROMs, many DVD camcorders and DVD recorders.

DVD+R and DVD+RW single sided 4.37Gb DVDs are called DVD+R5 and double side 8.75Gb DVDs are called DVD+R10.

DVD+R DL is called DVD+R9 and is a Dual Layer writeable DVD+R. The dual layered discs hold 7.95Gb and are called DVD+R9 and the dual layered double sided discs holding 15.9Gb are called DVD+R18.Note: In general, when you are reading about the capabilites of software or reference to DVD discs very often the reference will be to DVD-5 or DVD-9 discs without reference to whether it is + or – as it is assumed the the particular standard of the disc being referred is known.

DVD-RAM

DVD-RAM offers a wider range of recording features but is not compatible with many DVD-ROMs, DVD-Video players and DVD camcorders. It is used more in the field of DVD recorders due to the “onboard” editing features it offers and to some degree behaves more like a removable hard disk.

A sub-product of this standard is the DVD/VR mode of recording that some DVD recorders and DVD camcorders use when recording to +RW or -RW discs. This allows the user to immediately erase scenes from the disc while still in the device and to manipulate DVD menus also from within the device.

DVD File/Folder Structure

If you open up and take a look inside a data DVD you will see the normal file and folder structure you would see on any computer drive or storage medium and the disc should behave exactly like those.

On a video DVD you will at first see two folders.

The first of these is named AUDIO_TS written exactly as I have written it here.

Generally this folder is empty. Occasionally it is supposed to be used for extra features to the main movie or subtitle tracks however this seems to be rarely the case.

Because part of the DVD standard requires the presence of this folder many DVD devices will not recognize a disc as being compliant unless the AUDIO_TS folder is present even though it has nothing in it.

The other folder you will see will be named VIDEO_TS also written exactly as I have. Inside the VIDEO_TS folder you will see three types of files.

Files with the extension .IFO. The IFO files get their designation from the word information because they contain references and information relating to chapters, subtitle tracks and audio tracks.
Files with the extension .BUP. These are backup files of the IFO files.
Files with the extension .VOB. These are called video object files and are like a container that hold the actual video, audio, subtitles and menus. The video files of DVD are always MPEG2.

When you place a DVD into a DVD player or DVD ROM the software of the machine detects that a disc has been inserted.

The disc is then read and the first file looked for is VIDEO_TS.IFO. This begins the dialogue between the disc and the playback software identifying the disc as a DVD and directing the software to the position on the disc where the first item to be played is located.

It will tell the software to go to the VIDEO_TS.VOB at a certain point on the disc and play the contents of that .VOB file. This is usually the logo and intro then finishing with the menu.

This is the complete list of possible files and their basic functions:

VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB The first video play .VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO Title 01, IFO, usually the main movie.
VTS_01_0.VOB Title 01, VOB 0, the menu for this title
VTS_01_1.VOB Title 01, VOB 1, the video for this title
VTS_01_2.VOB Title 01, VOB 2, any .VOB larger than 1 GB will be split into multiple .VOBs.
VTS_01_3.VOB Title 01, VOB 3
VTS_01_4.VOB Title 01, VOB 4, up to 10(0-9) VOB files if needed.
VTS_02_0.BUP
VTS_02_0.IFO Title 02, IFO, usually movie extras.
VTS_02_0.VOB Title 02, VOB 0, the menu for this title.
VTS_02_1.VOB Title 02, VOB 1, the video for this title.
VTS_02_0.BUP
And so on up to 99 titles with a maximum of 10(0-9) VOB files each.

Just as an added note here, DVD video discs MUST be “closed” or “finalized” This means they cannot be written to, left open until a later date then written to again.

This is ok for data DVDs but not video DVDs.

The reason for this is that the whole .IFO, .BUP and VOB structure is written as part of the finalization process and is necessary to create all the reference points contained within those files.

DVD-Video

It is also important to note that the actual video files of any standard DVD are MPEG2 files.

MPEG2 does not denote a particular codec for the encoding or decoding of MPEG2 files although in common language this is how the term is used.

From the information below you can see that there are many different parameters that can be applied to an MPEG2 video files and still be compliant with the DVD standard.

MPEG2 is a set of guidelines of how the video files are created and what the parameters are. There can be wide variation in what denotes and MPEG2 and even wider variation in the codecs used to either encode to decode them.

PAL DVD Video Standards

Video portion:
Allowed bitrate: Up to 9800 kbps MPEG2 video.

Frame size:
720 x 576 pixels MPEG2 (the most common occurrence).
704 x 576 pixels MPEG2.(Common with DVD camcorders and DVD recorders.)

Uncommon but still within the defined specification:
352 x 576 pixels MPEG2 (Called Half-D1).
352 x 288 pixels MPEG2.
352 x 288 pixels MPEG1 (Same as the VCD Standard).

25 Frames per second. (fps).
16:9 aspect ratio only supported by 720×576.

Audio:
48000 Hz
32 – 1536 kbps
Up to 8 audio tracks containing Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM(uncompressed audio), MPEG-1 Layer2. One audio track must have MPEG-1, DD or PCM Audio.

Extras:
Motion menus, still pictures, up to 32 selectable subtitles, seamless branching for multiple storylines, 9 camera angles. And also additional DVD data files that only can be read by computer DVD drives.

Total bitrate including video, audio and subtitles:
max. 10,080 kbps.

NTSC DVD Video Standards

Video portion:
Allowed bitrate up to 9800 kbps MPEG2 video

Frame size:
720 x 480 pixels MPEG2 (the most common occurrence).
704 x 480 pixels MPEG2 (common with DVD camcorders and DVD recorders).

Uncommon but still within the defined specification:
352 x 480 pixels MPEG2 (Called Half-D1).
352 x 240 pixels MPEG2.
352 x 240 pixels MPEG1 (Same as the VCD Standard).

29.97 Frames per second. (fps).
23.976 fps with 3:2 pulldown = 29.97 playback fps (NTSC Film, this is only supported by MPEG2 video)
16:9 aspect ration only supported by 720×480).

Audio:
48000 Hz
32 – 1536 kbps
Up to 8 audio tracks containing DD (Dolby Digital/AC3), DTS, PCM(uncompressed audio), MPEG-1 Layer2. One audio track must have DD or PCM Audio.

Total bitrate including video, audio and subtitles:
max 10,080 kbps.

Unfinalized DVDs

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:25:54 +0000

On this page you will find some tips and techniques for handling unfinalized DVDs.

In handling unfinalized DVDs there two scenarios, the disc has not been finalized or the DVD has been unsuccessfully finalized due to some glitch in the process. In either case the cause is not relevant.

Information on Unfinalized Video DVDs and Unfinalized Data DVDs

DVD finalization is done in two ways depending on the contents of the DVD. If the DVD only contains data then finalization simply means to “close” the disc so that no further recording can be done.

This action finishes off the contents of the disc and makes it readable to other DVD playback devices such as the DVD ROM in your computer. An unfinalized data DVD can generally only be read and added to by the software that was creating it in the first place.

Unfinalized video DVDs are more complex and the DVD MUST be finalized for it to be playable. In this case the software is not just closing the DVD so that it can be read by other software and devices.

The DVD finalization process is also writing a very complex set of files and instructions that tell the DVD player exactly what is on the disc and where it is. What you see of this is are simply the menus and their functionality.

If it is at all possible with any unfinalized DVD try to get the original device used to create the disc to finalize it. If this is not possible or the original device is failing to successfully finalize the disc then read on.

There is no software available that is going to be able to tell you whether you have an unfinalized DVD or a DVD that has suffered an error in being finalized.

It is a “Catch 22″ in that the software will always be stumped because DVD finalization is the key to the software working out what is on the disc. Most software will report the DVD as being either full and unreadable or empty but unable to be written to!

So, regardless of the situation it is STRONGLY advisable that you create a back up of the disc BEFORE you begin any heroic attempt at the recovery of an unfinalized DVD.

Unfinalized DVDs

So now we come to the “good news / bad news” section of the page!

In order to recover from unfinalized DVDs you are going to need software. The good news is that there are two software products that can be used and they will give you two bites at the cherry. The bad news is that you are going to have to work out for yourself whether you are willing to pay for it!

The question you have to ask yourself is whether the contents of the unfinalized DVD are worth the investment in the software. I can’t decide that for you.

The software you will need for the recovery from an unfinalized DVD is Nero 10.

Nero 10 also has a function that will perform a DVD finalization on just about any disc. Failing that it has one more function that will allow extraction of all the data on the disc regardless of whether it is finalized or not. In about 90% of cases Nero 10 will be the only software you need.

You can Click Here to Take a Look at the Features of Nero 10 for Yourself

Now a word of warning here!

In handling damaged, errored or unfinalized DVDs there will be long lags where it appears that the computer has frozen or that the software is doing nothing. BE PATIENT! Take a walk, stay calm…relax! Some of the techniques here may take a long time to complete.

Finalize DVDs

Place the unfinalized DVD into the computer DVD tray and open “Nero StartSmart.”

Click “Create and Edit” at the top of the screen.
Click “Author, edit and capture video.”
“NeroVision” will open.
Click on the “Disc Tools” drop down menu then click “Finalize Disc.”

In the option box that appears you can choose No Menus or Preserve Menus it is relatively unimportant as there are most likely no menus anyway. Let it run and hopefully you will now have a fully finalized disc that is readable.

Second (half) bite!

If the above procedure fails for any reason, usually because the disc has been partially finalized, we come to your second bite at the cherry!

Now higher on the page I told you that you had two bites at the cherry. Truthfully you have one full bite as outlined above and two “half bites!” Your first “half bite” is again using Nero 10 only this time we are not going to salvage the disc itself.

We are going to use a little known function of Nero to at least pull all the data off the disc and on to your hard drive.

So, again from within Nero 10:

Open “Nero Recode.”
Select “Recode an entire DVD to DVD.” Make sure the “DVD Video Files” or “Data Files” button is selected correctly for your DVD and the “Fit to Target” button is checked and showing 4.7gig.
Select “Import DVD.” Recode will now read the contents of the disc and, if it can, write the contents to a folder it will automatically create in My Documents called “Recode.”
Navigate to your “My Documents” folder and you will find the newly created folder called “Recode.” Inside that folder you will find the normal ifo, bup and vob files normally seen in a DVD video folder or your DVD data files.
Rename the “Recode” folder to VIDEO_TS exactly as I have typed it if the original unfinalized DVD was a video DVD.

From here you can open your video editing program and use the import or insert DVD files function to navigate to the newly created VIDEO_TS folder and import your files from there.

Alternately the VIDEO_TS folder can also be used to burn a new copy of your DVD.

Third (half) bite! (last chance cafe)

Isobuster

Go to www.isobuster.com and download a copy of the software.

Using the free functions first make sure that Isobuster can read the disc and can report at least the presence of a file structure.

If it can then it is time for you to make the decision as to whether the data on the disc is worth the purchase price.

At this point the best you can hope for is the extraction of the MPEG video files or data files on the disc. You MAY lose any video menu information and you may lose some of the video or data.

It is most likely, at this point, that there is damage to the file structure on the disc or even the disc itself and you are not dealing with a straight unfinalized DVD situation.

Start Isobuster then load the disc.
When Isobuster has detected the files on the disc run the Find Missing Files and Folders option under the File menu.
You will now have an entry on the left hand column of Files and folders found by their signature.
Select that, then go to File, Files found via their signature then Extract files found via their signature. Choose a location and let it run.
You will now have all the files where you selected them to go.

In the case of a video DVD the ones with the extension .VOB are the MPEG files from your disc wrapped in the VOB container. They can then be imported into a video editing program using the “Import DVD/VR” function or can be read by most DVD burning software. ( )

Well hopefully somewhere on this page you found how to fix unfinalized DVDs! If not feel free to hit the “contact” button and I will try to help you in any way I can.

Repair Scratched CDs – DVDs – Game Discs p. 2

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:20:47 +0000

This is a sequence of CD DVD and Game Disc scratch repair solutions to try in order, depending on how bad the DVD scratching is.

Start conservatively then go to the more abrasive solutions as you go until good DVD reading software with correction abilities can get your data back for you.

1. “How many times have I told you guys not to get your greasy fingers on my DVDs!”

At this level all you really need to do is take a weak solution of any dishwashing detergent and give the disc a bath. Try to polish it off after air drying with some optical cloth and you should be good to go.

2. “Good grief! What did you kids get on this disc? What IS that stuff?”

Use Isopropyl alcohol 99%. Clean with a soft cloth, air dry and test. For very light marks or scuffs you can also use toothpaste (not gel). Rub gently with a soft cloth, finish by buffing with straight strokes from center to outside edge. Rinse, air dry and test.

3. “Dude! What did you do to my disc? What are all those little scratches?”

Furniture polish such as Pledge. Rub gently with a soft cloth, buff to finish with straight strokes from center to outside edge. Do a final clean and polish with isopropyl alcohol 99%, air dry and test.

4. “Honest to God! All I did was put it in the player and it started making this kind of grinding noise!”

Car polish or Brasso. Rub gently with a soft cloth, buff to finish with straight strokes from center to outside edge. Do a final clean with isopropyl alcohol 99%, air dry and test.

5. “I’m looking at this disc and wondering what I did to you that would prompt you to drive over it with your car!”

Finally the big guns for gouges and heavy scratching!

Your chances of success here are limited to your understanding of the fact that you are re-surfacing a piece of polycarbonate.

Keep that in mind. However, considering the condition of the disc you have nothing to lose!

Start with superfine, 3000 grade grit abrasive paper. This is available at hardware stores and is the product used for cutting back and finishing car paint after spraying.

Use it GENTLY to evenly score the entire surface of the disc. The direction of rubbing here is unimportant and it is easier to go in circles to maintain a consistent application to all areas.

Keep gently rubbing until the entire disc is evenly surfaced and looks totally sanded all over.

Take a deep breath and relax!

Now go back to the car polish or Brasso and work over the entire surface again until the shine begins to return to the disc. Clean off the disc with your cloth and re-apply the Brasso or car polish and continue the process until you have restored the full shine back to the disc.

Clean it off with isopropyl alcohol and let it air dry for a few minutes. Place in it the DVD drive of your computer and see how Nero 10, DVDFab or 1click DVD Copy go with it. If successful import it to the computer immediately then make new copies.

Breathe a sigh of relief!

When you reach the point of a successful test immediately create two back-up copies using either Nero 10 or DVDFab.

One to be used as “master” that you will keep for archiving so you never have to do this again and one for daily use.

The reason it is important to use one of these programs is that they have error correction capabilities built in to the software. They will automatically be correcting any glitches in the DVD structure itself or still coming from the surface so that the copy on the computer will, most likely, be better than what you have on the DVD.

Using that corrected data is vital for when you burn a new copy for archiving and daily use.

If you have attempted to repair a scratched DVD and you are still having problems check out the CD DVD Repair Machine page and see if that may be how you want to go or even go to the DVD Disc repair page and try Isobuster to see if the data can be recovered.

Repair Scratched DVDs CDs and Game Discs

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:17:03 +0000

How to Repair Scratched DVDs – CDs – Game Discs

The procedures here are to repair scratched DVDs, scratched Cds, scratched game discs or for cleaning up dirty, scuffed or marked DVDs.

There are three general schools of thought on how to approach CD or DVD scratch repair and this includes game disc scratch repair as well.

The first method of CD DVD scratch repair does not involve repairing the disc in the first place and is by far the safest route to take.

The method I use and the software recommended is further down this page.

The other two methods involve physically repairing the damaged disc surface itself. One involves “home remedies” to fix scratched DVDs and the other uses scratch repair machines designed for the job.

You can check out the “home remedies” here Repair Scratched Cds DVDs

And you can take a look here for the page on CD DVD Disc Repair Machines.

This is generally how I approach the problem… Your mileage may vary!

If the problem disc you have is failing to play in a standard DVD player then absolutely the first thing you need to do is try the same disc in the DVD reader of a computer.

Computer DVD ROMs are purpose built to read and write DVDs or CDs ONLY. They have no other purpose and because of that they are much better than the average DVD player in their ability to read through errors on problem discs.

There is more information provided on this page at DVD Disc Repair.

Additionally, the DVD reading software on a computer will also be much better in its ability to handle DVD disc surface errors.

So I always try the software below first and if the disc can be read successfully I immediately make a copy of the disc.

DVD Repair Software

The software I try is either Nero 10, DVDFab or Isobuster to check to see if the disc will copy before I do anything else.

*Also, if I have used one of the scratch repair methods on the other pages I check to see the results first using such software before going to the next, heavier repair method.

The average “run of the mill” DVD software is designed to simply read from and/or write to DVDs whereas the software above has been developed with automatic correction in mind.

They are fully featured in all other aspects of DVD manipulation and you can see the full array of their features here. DVD Copying Software.

So, I always take the lazy route first and see if I can simply make a new copy rather than interfere with the surface of the DVD disc itself.

Similarly I only try the physical correction techniques if the software copying method fails and only continue until I can get one of either Nero 9, DVDFab or Isobuster to successfully read the disc.

DVD / CD Scratch Recovery Methods

If software copying techniques to recover from the scratched disc have failed then we are down to repairing the disc surface and then trying to copying.

Before you start you may feel better about some of these more drastic solutions to scratched DVDs if you have a better understanding of exactly what it is that you are doing.

The main thing to keep in mind is that you are not actually undertaking some highly technical DVD scratch repair operation requiring a college degree.

A DVD is just a burning surface made of a special dye that is sandwiched in between two pieces of clear polycarbonate plastic. The label sits on the outside of one side.

A CD is made from the same polycarbonate plastic and is, in fact, more delicate than a DVD because the burning surface is the underside of the label.

If you have a scratched DVD where the scratch is on the label then this does not affect the DVD’s playability in any way. The same problem on a CD is fatal and almost always non-recoverable.

So, these techniques are nothing more than instructions on how to clean, polish or re-surface a piece of clear polycarbonate plastic…pure and simple!

The points to remember are that it is a piece of plastic and it is easy to scratch (if you are reading this you probably know that already!) so the key is to be conservative in your approach.

Always use a VERY soft cotton or optical grade cloth so that you are not adding to the problem.

Always clean or work the disc over the entire surface, not just the affected area and finish off with straight strokes from inside hole to the outer edge of the disc or vice versa.

Do not rub hard! Gentle persistence always wins out.

If you don’t feel confident about any of this then maybe you might want to use a CD DVD Repair Machine.

If you are feeling confident lets get started! Just click on the link below to the next page and we can start messing around with some DVD scratch repairs!

Fix Scratched DVDs, Cds and Game Discs

Nero CD DVD Blu-ray Software Review

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:14:19 +0000

Nero CD DVD Blu-ray Software Review

Ok so let’s take a look at the full inventory of what Nero Multimedia Suite 10 offers and more importantly what you get!

Nero Burning ROM.

By the way, it’s called the Burning ROM because it is a little play on words. Ready? Nero Burning Rome – Nero Burning ROM!! Get it ROM? Rome? Nero?

Anyway, silly naming aside this is the CD DVD and now Blu-rasy disc burning engine part of of Nero.

This is one of the original burning engines and to this day has been developed to remain one of the best.

From this module you can exercise full control over every aspect of burning any type of disc with a whole range of pro controls. Personally I never use it because I have no idea what most of the commands and choices are!

I much prefer to point and click my way to success and that’s why they have:

Nero Express

Nero Express is a simple windowed interface that makes burning, copying or whatever totally simple.

Nero Express and Nero Burning ROM cover all the functions you could possibly want in handling CDs and DVDs as well as being fully functional for BluRay discs.

All aspects of disc manipulation are covered here and Nero does them all very well. You can burn, rip, copy, convert, author and combine in any which way you like.

NeroVision

This is a fully featured video editing module that will allow you to import and edit video files in a very wide range of formats. It can be used with all sorts of camcorders and recording devices to import as well as video files from any other source.

It comes loaded with transitions and lots of features so in reality is quite a good little video editing module. It will also allow you to author DVDs and Blu-ray discs, create your own menus and produce video slideshows from still images. It also outputs to a wide range of standard and portable video formats including those needed for good quality online sharing.

Nero WaveEditor

This is an excellent audio editing and manipulation module. You can import sound files, use a range of filters on them and output to whatever format you want.

Nero SoundTrax. This is a further addition to the WaveEditor audio functionality and allows you to manipulate all sorts of audio in all sorts of ways. It has the ability to handle all types of Dolby sound formats and allows you total control over your audio files.

Nero Recode

Personally I just love this piece of the Nero suite. The actual purpose of Recode is so that you can take a DVD or DVDs and re-compress the contents down to a smaller size. Many types of software will do this but recode truly excels at it and gives you great control over what you want to re-compress and how.

Re-compression of DVD files will usually result in a loss of quality but with Recode any loss can be minimized and because it is purpose built for this task it does it very, very well.

It is a great utility for when you want to compile a series of DVDs in to fewer discs for archiving or even if you have produced a video file that is just a little too big to fit on a disc.

One of it’s best uses is not actually part of it’s stated purpose! Because it is a separate module and was developed separately it turns out Recode “reads” DVDs differently. Because of this it ignores whether the DVD is finalized or not and just treats unfinalized discs as though they were finalized.

So if you take a look at the DVD Disc Repair page on this site you will see that it is one of the tools I use for recovering unfinalized discs or extracting data from damaged discs. VERY handy to have in the toolbox.

Nero RescueAgent

This is just a great tool that has been introduced in this version. As I said on the DVD Software page, last year I had 7 separate types of DVD software on my computer and now I have Nero 10 and two others.

Many, if not all of the DVD repair and recovery functions those 7 types of software covered are now totally under control from within Nero either through the Burning ROM, Nero Recode or Nero RescueAgent.

Nero Showtime

This is not only a DVD player for you computer but a player for many, many types of common and not so common media file formats.

Ok, well there is a lot, lot more including a full back up program for you computer, a media control center you can run your entertainment system from, a whole range of CD and DVD disc tools and well it goes on and on.

If you are looking for the best DVD software that pretty well does it all then you cannot go past Nero 10

Click Here to Take a Look at the Full Features of Nero Multimedia Suite 10

Merge DVDs – Combine DVDs

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:03:22 +0000

The subject of this page is specifically for merging or combining two, three or more mini 8cm DVDs into one regular sized DVD retaining the full data and menu structure of the originals with no loss of quality.

This procedure can also be used to merge DVDs or combine full DVDs into one but it is important to note that doing so will require third party software to re-compress the files down to the size of one DVD. This MAY result in a loss of quality.

Alternately if you are combining full sized DVDs you can burn to a double layer DVD but again you will need DVD Burning Software to do so.

If you have no need to retain the original menus and file structure of the DVDs or wish to compile one DVD from the parts of various DVDs then just go to the DVD Copying Software page and the software there will do that for you.

If you are using -/+RW (re-writable) mini 8cm DVD discs in your DVD camcorder or device and want to archive the contents before erasing and re-using the disc then this page is for you.

Also, you may be using -/+R mini 8cm DVD discs and would like to backup to larger discs to save on space then similarly this is for you.

Merge DVDs with DVDReMake Pro

Although it may seem incredible, given the huge popularity of the current camcorders and devices using mini 8cm DVDs, there appears to be only one product on the market that will merge DVDs in this way.

DVDReMake Pro is a very specialized piece of software. Quite simply what it will do for you is combine two (DVDRemake) or up to four (DVDRemake Pro) mini DVDs into one full sized DVD.

You can find the full DVDRemake Pro Tutorial HERE. If you need more data…read on!

Click Here to See DVDRemake Pro for Yourself

In doing this DVDReMake Pro creates a new top level menu that will show an icon for the two or three mini DVDs you have placed on to the full sized DVD. When you click on one of the icons you go to the original menu of the original mini DVD and can navigate to individual scenes from there.

The importance of keeping the original menus simply cannot be overestimated.

If you were to just pull the video files off three mini DVDs in the form of MPEG2 files and burn them to a data disc you would end up with hundreds of little video clips with meaningless names in a sea of files.

Imagine two years later trying to find that one clip where aunt Bessie fell into the birthday cake (priceless!) in a morass of MPEG2 files!

The menus on your mini DVDs not only have the indexing data of where the file is on the disc but also the thumbnail picture of what the scene looks like as well as the recording date and all are vital for archiving.

Ugly warning!

DVDReMake Pro does exactly what it promises to do. It will copy two or three mini DVDs onto one full sized DVD with a “point and click” procedure. It will retain the original menus and it will do a straight data copy so that no quality is lost from the video files at all.

BUT!

It will create a new top level disc menu that will be arguably one of the ugliest pieces of graphic design you have seen in your life!

The company that produces the software is called DimadSoft and although they have a great programming department they have a lousy graphic design department.

There are instructions on the site as to how you can use your own graphics to create a more pleasing menu but I have never bothered. My use for the software is as an archiving tool so aesthetics are not a priority for me.

Quality.

There is absolutely no loss of quality using this software to combine or merge DVDs. It reads the structure of the DVDs in full and creates it’s own higher level structure around that then directly copies “bit for bit” the exact data on the original discs.

Click Here to See DVDRemake Pro for Yourself

For the technically minded or curious.

DVDReMake Pro is a rather deceptive piece of work. Although you can simply use it to point and click your way to two or three mini DVDs on to one there is a whole range of tools and controls lying beneath that simple surface.

For most people who are not either technically minded or technically curious these features will be of no interest. But if you are interested in this then DVDReMake Pro is an incredibly powerful DVD manipulation tool.

Be warned though, these aspects of the software are not simple to use and require at least some degree of knowledge of both DVD structure and the willingness to overcome a bit of a learning curve. Go here for easier DVD Disc Repair ( http://www.dvdrepairtips.com/dvd-disc-repair2.html ) alternatives.

The DimadSoft website has a wealth of information on the software and its capabilities as well as many user guides and an active forum to get you going. Below is a list of some of the functions within DVDReMake Pro.

Merge/combine multiple DVDs preserving the original quality and menu structure.
Analyse and correct disc navigation using the debugger.
Replace a menu background with a still image of your own.
Move and insert chapters on an existing DVD.
Edit VM commands.
Edit and create new title sets, titles, chapters, program chains and programs.
Delete title sets, titles, chapters, program chains or programs.
Move title sets, program chains or commands within the disc or between different DVDs.
Find DVD navigation errors.
Change the order of menu buttons.
Change the properties of the video, audio and subpicture (subtitle) tracks.
Modify the color schemes of buttons in either still or motion menus.
Fix incorrectly authored or edited discs including mismatching between ifo and vob files.

All in all DVDReMake Pro is an incredibly powerful piece of software whether you simply want it to merge two or more DVDs into one or engage in more advanced DVD manipulation.

Click Here to See DVDRemake Pro for Yourself

Fix VTS Tutorial cont’d…

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:02:21 +0000

Navigate to where you downloaded and saved the Fix VTS file and open Fix VTS. As you can see it is a pretty simple set up. I will get into its operation later but first notice the three checkboxes. By default they will be as you see them here and you should leave them as is.

The first two boxes “Remove unref and blank cells” and “Fix wrong PGC LBA pointers” are the functions you want. Simply stated they refer to incorrect references to other things on the DVD or to things that are there but shouldn’t be.

The third checkbox is really up to you but I always leave it unchecked. If you check it then Fix VTS will correct the copy you have made on the computer.

There is no possibility that Fix VTS will do any harm, however I always choose to make a new corrected copy.

The reasoning for this is that if Fix VTS fails to correct the problem I still have the original and if I want to try some other software for correction I don’t have to go through the process of importing the entire DVD again

The next step is to get the DVD files into Fix VTS. There are two ways to do it. You can click on the “Open” button and navigate to the folder containing the DVD files or you can open the folder yourself and simply drag and drop the right file on to the Fix VTS window.

The file you are looking for is the “VIDEO_TS.VOB” file.

Either select it through the “Open” button and dialogue box or simply hightlight it then drag and drop on to the Fix VTS window.

You will be able to tell that you have linked successfully because the “Cleanup!” and “Full DVD” buttons in the Fix VTS window will become active as you can see in the screenshot below.

The difference between the “Cleanup” function and the “Full DVD” is quite simple.

The Cleanup button will only correct the particular .VOB file that you have chosen. This option is really only for those who have an advanced knowledge of DVD files and structure and would know that a particular .VOB file has a problem. You don’t need that one!

So, click the “Full DVD” button because that one is going to start with the file you chose but then it is going to process the entire contents of the DVD. You want that one so go ahead and give it a click!

Let the program run until you get the message shown in the screenshot below, “Done… End of Full DVD process.”

You will now notice there is a newly created folder in your original folder called “Fix VTSBackup.”

Open the FixVTSBackup folder and there are your newly created and (hopefully) corrected DVD files.

The entire FixVTSBackup folder can be moved and renamed VIDEO_TS of you want then that folder can be burned on to a new blank DVD. Alternately you can use you favourite DVD Burning Software to create a new DVD.

Pop it in your player and see how it goes!

Fix VTS Tutorial

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:01:27 +0000

This tutorial is specific to using a very small, free but incredibly powerful utility called “fix VTS” to automatically correct internal errors on a DVD.

These errors may cause any number of error messages to appear, all of which are quite meaningless. You may get “invalid DVD navigation,” “disc error,” invalid DVD menu structure,” invalid DVD file structure” or a host of others.

If you are getting the “No Disc” error then it is more likely you have a DVD finalization problem in which case you may be better off going back to the home page of this site and going through the topics there.

Generally speaking the type of DVD error that Fix VTS will handle will be as a result of the reference files in the DVD (the IFO and BUP files), pointing to parts of the video files (VOB files) that are either in the wrong place or do not exist.

This can also cause jumpy or stuttering playback of the DVD or complete freezes while the player is desperately searching around for things that either don’t exist or have been marked as being in the wrong place.

Preparation

The first step in the process is to click here and download Fix VTS. It is a stand alone utility so there is no need to do any installation step. Just save it to a place on you computer and when you are ready double click the icon and Fix VTS will open.

Before getting started it is a good idea to create the working folder for the program first. How and where you do this depends on your computer set-up but for the purposes of this demonstration I created a folder on my C drive called “test” as you can see below.

I will be importing/copying an entire DVD to be corrected into this folder.

Place the problem DVD into the DVD tray of your computer and select to “Open” the disc.

Depending on where the DVD came from you will now have a window open that shows the VIDEO_TS folder of the DVD. Some DVDs may also have an AUDIO_TS folder as well but in 99% of cases there will be nothing in the folder. If you do see an AUDIO_TS folder, open it to check it is empty.

Simply click and drag the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD across to the folder you created earlier. In this picture you can see I have dragged the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD to the “Test” folder I created earlier.

Once the copying process is complete you will have a VIDEO_TS folder on your hard drive. If you open that it will look as below.

Click Here to go to Part Two of the FixVTS Tutorial

DVD Remake Pro Tutorial cont’d

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:00:48 +0000

DVDRemake Pro will take a couple of minutes to read the data from the file and “voila!” The first DVD has been imported. DVDRemake will assign this as “Project 1.”

When you import the next DVD that will become “project 2.” These projects will appear as tabs at the bottom of the screen.

I repeated the same procedure for the “Taoyuan” DVD and the screenshot below shows that we now have Project 1 and Project 2 tabs at the bottom of the screen.

Go to “Tools” and select “merge DVDs.”

The dialogue box shown below will now appear. For DVDRemake you can select two projects and for DVDRemake Pro you can select up to four projects. Hit the “Merge ” button and it will only take DVDRemake Pro a few seconds to compile the new DVD project.

Just remember that if you are using mini DVDs you will fit three mini DVDs filled to capacity on a standard DVD without any further processing. If you go for four filled mini DVDs at the later burning stage you will need DVD Burning Software that has the capability of re-compressing the files down to the size of a full sized DVD. That may result in loss of quality. Or, go to a dual layer DVD.

As you can see in the screenshot below DVDRemake Pro has merged the two orginal DVDs into one and that has now appeared as “Project 3.”

With the “project 3″ tab selected go to “File” and select “Export DVD.”

DVDRemake Pro will confirm the selection you made earlier for the location of the final exported DVD files. Click “select” and it will take from 15 to 20 mins to create your new DVD files.

When DVDRemake Pro has finished creating all the new DVD files simply select them all and drag them into a folder called VIDEO_TS exactly as I have written it. This folder can now be used by your DVD Burning Software to burn a new DVD with your favorite DVD burning software. That’s it!

Click Here to See DVDRemake Pro

Back to Merge Combine DVDs

Merge DVDs with DVD Remake Pro Tutorial

dvdadmin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 06:59:53 +0000

This tutorial is specific to the action of merging or combining two or more mini 8cm DVDs into one regular sized DVD retaining the full data and menu structure of the originals with no loss of quality using either DVDRemake or DVDRemake Pro.

The merge dvds procedure is exactly the same if you are merging or combining full sized DVDs however you will need other software to either re-compress the files to the single layer DVD size or use DVD Burning Software that will allow you to burn to a dual layer DVD disc.

Although the procedure for using DVDRemake or DVDRemake Pro to do this is quite simple I have laid out the steps in detail with lots of images so if the page is slow to load be patient. Theoretically each image is worth a thousand words!

Before you start to merge DVDs you will first need to download either DVDRemake for two mini DVDs into one or DVDRemake Pro for three or four DVDs into one. If you want to know why only this software then go here to Merge Combine DVDs for the full story.

Click Here to Download DVDRemake or DVDRemake Pro

Preparation

Before we even get started it is a good idea to create the working folders for the program. How and where you do this will depend on your computer set-up but for the purposes of this demonstration I created a folder on my C drive called “Remake” with the intention of using that one to store my imported DVDs. I then created a folder called “Remake export” on my E drive for when I export my newly merged DVD.

Now all you have to do is open DVDRemake Pro and go to “tools” “options” and you get the following dialogue box. Use the “select” buttons to navigate to your previously created folders, click “Ok” and you are set up and ready to go.

Ripping / Importing

Now that you have DVDRemake Pro set up the next few steps do not require that the program is open so you can shut it down at this point.

What you need to do now is to get the contents of the DVDs you want to merge on to your hard drive. For this demo I will be merging two of my own homemade videos. The procedure is the same for three or four DVDs into one.

The two DVDs I will be merging are one of my kid fooling around in the bath, called “Bathtime.” The other is one of a school excursion to a place outside Taipei where we live called “Taoyuan.” So before I begin to merge DVDs I create two folders in the “Remake ” folder on my C drive called “Bathtime” and “Taoyuan.”

I placed the “Bathtime” DVD in my computer DVD drive and selected “Open.” That reveals the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders in the DVD. From there it it is simple matter of dragging those two folders across to the “Bathtime” folder. Rinse and repeat for the next DVD which in this case is the “Taoyuan” DVD contents to the “Taoyuan” folder.

Now re-open DVDRemake Pro if you shut it down before and go to “file” “import DVD.”

You will get this dialogue box and using that I navigated to the “Remake” folder on my C drive.

Then to the “Bathtime” folder.

And finally to the VIDEO_TS folder of the “Bathtime” DVD. Make sure when you do this it looks exactly like the screeshot below with the BUP, IFO and VOB files showing.

Click here to continue to part two of the DVDRemake Pro Tutorial