Created new DVD backup utility RPMs - lxdvdrip

[Void Main]

I grabbed a copy of lxdvdrip last night and was very impressed with it. It's a command line utility to make backup copies of your favorite movie DVDs. There was no RPM for it and it appears to be an infant but it does seem to be the nicest thing out there that I have seen for Linux. It would be trivial to create a GUI around it if some GUI developer were so inclined. At any rate, I have created an RPM of it as well as several other utilities that it depends on and added them to my FC2 repository:

1) lxdvdrip (also includes "vamp" and "mpgtx"):
binary:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 6.rpm.html
RPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 1.i386.rpm
source:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... c.rpm.html
SRPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... m1.src.rpm

2) dvdbackup:
binary:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 6.rpm.html
RPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 1.i386.rpm
source:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... c.rpm.html
SRPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... m1.src.rpm

3) streamdvd (also includes "streamanalyze")
binary:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 6.rpm.html
RPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 1.i386.rpm
source:
index:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... c.rpm.html
SRPM:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... m1.src.rpm

There are several other prerequisite RPMs that need to be installed but if you are connected up to my repository and the Dag Wieer repositories then everything needed should get installed with a single command:

Code: Select all

# apt-get install lxdvdrip


Don't forget to do an "apt-get update" first to update the repo lists.

I had a copy of one of my DVDs on disk as an ISO (8GB+) and I first tried to use lxdvdrip to rip the main track and it failed. It seemed it could only rip directly from a DVD drive. Well, I hacked the source to remove a check (see my patch in the lxdvdrip SRPM) which allows you to also rip from an ISO image. I just changed a couple of paths in my /etc/lxdvdrip.conf file to point to places where I had plenty of disk space and then you simply type "lxdvdrip" and away it goes working it's magic. It also now has the ability to split a DVD-9 disk (8GB+) into two DVD-5 (normal 4GB disk). I haven't tried this yet but you can get more information at the main site and the developer site as well as in the included documented. It also has a good list of options if you type "lxdvdrip --help".

Here's the sites:
http://lxdvdrip.berlios.de/
English version README:
http://openfacts.berlios.de/index-en.ph ... e=lxdvdrip
Home and Developer site:
http://developer.berlios.de/projects/lxdvdrip/

Also, there is a Perl based GUI for the StreamDVD program but I did not include it in the RPM I built and listed above. If you want that it is included in the SRPM or from the StreamDVD package from it's home site:

http://www.badabum.de/streamdvd.html

If you have any information on a GUI for lxdvdrip or are interested in writing one let me know. I would be interested, and possibly even have time to help (if I can be of any help).

Enjoy!

[Tux]

Does it shrink DVD-9 to DVD-5, or just split them?

[Void Main]

If you mean shrink as in using higher level compression to get all of the content of a DVD-9 to a DVD-5 then I think the answer is no. By default it automatically selects the title track from the DVD-9 and burns this to the DVD-5. So basically you just get the movie with no menus on the resulting DVD at full quality. On all DVDs I have ever done this on the title track is small enough to fit on a DVD-5. All of the rest of the space is used for the special features, trailers, etc.

If you select copy mode I think it will take the title track from the DVD-9 and put it on a DVD-5 and then take the rest of the DVD-9 and put on a second DVD-5. I have not tried this yet and I don't believe that you will get the menus with this method either. In fact I don't think you will get the menus on any method using this tool but I don't believe there is a Linux utility out there yet that can copy the menus automatically.

There is some information about this in the forums:
http://developer.berlios.de/forum/forum ... um_id=4163

I am no expert in this area though. I have only made 3 or 4 backups, all using different methods. I have only made one backup using lxdvdrip.

[Tux]

Oh right. When I have made a DVD backup I have actually used the windows (ick) uitlity DVDShrink, what that does is cut out all the alternative features, but retain the menu. Depending on the movie it sometimes applies a little (unnoticable) bit of compression.

This looks like it may solve my problem of having to use one of the windows boxes I don't particularly care for menus anyway.

[Void Main]

Well you can still create DVDs with menus, just not automatically (yet). At least not that I am aware of, maybe there is...

[Void Main]

New lxdvdrip and libdvdread RPMs for FC3 are available:

http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPMS/libdvdread/
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPMS/lxdvdrip/

Installing with apt is the easiest way. Install Dag's apt package, add my voidmain repository to your sources.list and then:

# apt-get update
# apt-get install lxdvdrip

Or files:
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 6.rpm.html
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... m.i386.rpm

http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... 6.rpm.html
http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/files/RPM ... m.i386.rpm

After installing you'll probably want to change "/dev/scd0" to "/dev/dvd". I should have included a patch to do that (note to self: do this on next release).