Frustrated by inability to clone non-commercial DVD

[Mike333]

I'm using a 20-inch Intel desktop Imac and OS 10.4.9:

 

 

One of the main reasons I upgraded to Toast 8 was to be able, or so I hoped (!!!!), to make simple copies of instructional DVD videos and other non-Hollywood DVDs.

 

As I only have one DVD burner aboard this Mac, I have to try the route of creating a disk image of the DVD to be copied; ejecting the DVD after imaging it; and then burning a copy of the image to a blank DVD in the same drive.

 

But after repeated attempts I can only get about 70% through the process of reading the DVD and creating the disk image when the Toast program either hangs up completely - just simply freezes and has to be force-quit, or else I get an error message that an input-output error has occurred.

 

Surely there must be a workaround or other techniques I can try to bypass this particular method ?

 

Or is Toast 8 simply unreliable for this kind of exercise ? I have no reason to think the original DVD is copy protected.

 

Sure would appreciate suggestions !

[tsantee]

I believe there is a problem reading the disc. When playing a DVD there is error correction that allows bad sectors to be ignored, but that can't be done when trying to make an identical copy.

 

You are doing this correctly. You also could insert the source DVD and click the burn button in the Copy window. Toast will make a temporary disc image, eject the disc, ask you to insert a blank disc, burn the copy and delete the temporary image file. But I prefer the Save as Disc Image method.

 

You could try dragging the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD to the hard drive. Then select that folder using the DVD video from VIDEO_TS option in the Video window and clicking the burn button.

 

Yet another approach is to choose DVD video as the format in the Video window and use the Media Browser to select the titles from the source DVD. Toast then extracts the MPEGs from the disc and will author a new VIDEO_TS folder using Toast's menus when you burn your new DVD.

 

I'd try those other methods to see if I could get past what is hanging up the drive from reading the disc. I'm sure you've checked that the disc's surface is clean.

[Mike333]

I believe there is a problem reading the disc.

 

I'd try those other methods to see if I could get past what is hanging up the drive from reading the disc. I'm sure you've checked that the disc's surface is clean.

 

 

THANKS A MILLION for these excellent suggestions. I'll try em all !

[Mike333]

THANKS A MILLION for these excellent suggestions. I'll try em all !

 

 

21 March 0831 EDT

 

When I try the media browser method and choose the Video_TS file Toast attempts to import (copy?) the files from the troublesome DVD but then reports that 21 files are in an unsupported format and can't be imported. Strange/ I thought this version (8) of Toast was a pretty good one as far as supporting multiple formats goes.

[tsantee]

21 March 0831 EDT

 

When I try the media browser method and choose the Video_TS file Toast attempts to import (copy?) the files from the troublesome DVD but then reports that 21 files are in an unsupported format and can't be imported. Strange/ I thought this version (8) of Toast was a pretty good one as far as supporting multiple formats goes.

It sounds like you tried to drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the video window with DVD video selected as the format. You either choose DVD video from VIDEO_TS as the format and drag in the VIDEO_TS, or you choose DVD video as the format and access the content of the VIDEO_TS by using the DVD setting in the media browser. If you have the VIDEO_TS on the hard drive, you must have it on your desktop in order for the Media Browser to see it when you choose the DVD button.