Most reliable method for 50GB Blu-ray to 25GB Blu-ray?

ccris

I am still trying to learn the art of BD to BD backup.
I have quickly learned that it is not as easy as DVD to DVD.
Reading a large number of posts I now realize that savvy users have developed a methodology for good quality, reliable backups.

For 50GB to 25 GB, what causes less problems:
Full Disc mode or Main Movie mode?
Here's what I have tried:

BD Movie: The Professional
FULL DISC MODE
1. From BD50 to HardDrive 50GB (full disc, no compression).
2. From HardDrive 50GB full disc, compress down to 25GB on HardDrive
3. Use ImgBurn to make BD. Burn verified perfect.
RESULT: Perfectly good BD

Same move (The Professional)
MAIN MOVIE MODE
1. From BD50 to HardDrive 50GB (main movie only, no compression).
2. From HardDrive 50GB main movie selected, compress down to 25GB on HardDrive
3. Use ImgBurn to make BD. Burn verified perfect.
RESULT: Coaster (the BD loads in player, image plays for about 1 second, then screen becomes black, no more image).

The same exact movie, two very different results.
The burner is Pioneer BDR-205BKS, latest firmware. 100% of all the BD media I burn with this unit are verified as perfect. I have not experienced one failed burn due to writer or BD media yet.

I'd like to use the best method that will avoid coasters. That's why I am asking for help from the more experienced users.

- Is "Full Disc" mode more reliable?
- Is there a better way for "Main Movie" mode? (perhaps instead of reading from BD to HD Main Movie only, read "Full Disc", then switch to "Main Movie" when compressing?
- Any other (better) ways of doing this?

Thanks and best wishes to all.

Bendit

What is your player? Make and model please.

Regardless of that info. make sure you update it to the latest firmware.

ccris

Player is OPPO BDP-83.
Firmware: EXCELLENT question, Bendit!
This morning: factory firmware. "Full Disc" plays. "Main Movie" does not.
Just finished upgrading firmware to latest download from OPPO site.
Now: "Full Disc" plays. "Main Movie" plays.

Dilemma solved!

Now, if there are other suggestions for "Most reliable method for 50GB Blu-ray to 25GB Blu-ray" from power usere, please let us know.

To save all some time and coasters, perhaps this topic should be a "sticky".

Thanks.

AGJ

Well I can add that if you want to save on coasters then buy some BD RE(Rewritable) Media that way you can test the burn to make sure it worked before you use the permanent media. If it did not work then you can just erase the disc and try again unlike the permanent media

ccris

Using BD RE is an excellent suggestion, thanks AGJ!

Another tip I'd add to this list (I discovered this one today):
When setting your temporary Hard Drive file (as Temp files in DVDFab, or as your intermediate files to compress to or burn from) if you have more than one Hard Drive, DO NOT use your system drive. (The system drive is subject to more "Windows housekeeping" activity than a non-system drive).

sailermon

[QUOTE=ccris;42164]I am still trying to learn the art of BD to BD backup.
I have quickly learned that it is not as easy as DVD to DVD.
Reading a large number of posts I now realize that savvy users have developed a methodology for good quality, reliable backups.

For 50GB to 25 GB, what causes less problems:
Full Disc mode or Main Movie mode?
Here's what I have tried:

BD Movie: The Professional
FULL DISC MODE
1. From BD50 to HardDrive 50GB (full disc, no compression).
2. From HardDrive 50GB full disc, compress down to 25GB on HardDrive
3. Use ImgBurn to make BD. Burn verified perfect.
RESULT: Perfectly good BD

Same move (The Professional)
MAIN MOVIE MODE
1. From BD50 to HardDrive 50GB (main movie only, no compression).
2. From HardDrive 50GB main movie selected, compress down to 25GB on HardDrive
3. Use ImgBurn to make BD. Burn verified perfect.
RESULT: Coaster (the BD loads in player, image plays for about 1 second, then screen becomes black, no more image).

The same exact movie, two very different results.
The burner is Pioneer BDR-205BKS, latest firmware. 100% of all the BD media I burn with this unit are verified as perfect. I have not experienced one failed burn due to writer or BD media yet.

I'd like to use the best method that will avoid coasters. That's why I am asking for help from the more experienced users.

- Is "Full Disc" mode more reliable?
- Is there a better way for "Main Movie" mode? (perhaps instead of reading from BD to HD Main Movie only, read "Full Disc", then switch to "Main Movie" when compressing?
- Any other (better) ways of doing this?

Thanks and best wishes to all.[/QUOTE]

Seems to me that you are taking one too many steps. Here is what I do:

1. Main Movie Only compressed to fit on BD25 to .iso file on HDD (Should be little or no compressiion required).
2. Play .iso file to be sure it is a good copy before burning.
3. Burn to BD25 using ImgBurn.

GregiBoy

I disagree slightly. See my reasons below:-

1. Main Movie Only to BD50 on HDD. I say this because this puts no undue strain on the optical drive and is quite quick.
2. Main Movie to BD 25 from HDD folder to ISO on HDD. Sometimes this is not even required if the original folder size is below the BD25 size but if it is, it is far quicker than compressing from original BR Disk.
2. Play the .ISO to be sure it is a good copy before burning.
3. Burn to BD25 using ImgBurn.

benito

[LEFT][QUOTE=ccris;42164]Same move (The Professional)
MAIN MOVIE MODE
1. From BD50 to HardDrive 50GB (main movie only, no compression).
2. From HardDrive 50GB main movie selected, compress down to 25GB on HardDrive
3. Use ImgBurn to make BD. Burn verified perfect.
RESULT: Coaster (the BD loads in player, image plays for about 1 second, then screen becomes black, no more image).

QUOTE]

hey all, new to bd burning, doing my first shot with Transformers 2... 2 questions :

1) i'm done with step 1, step 2 : how long does it take normally ??
main movie is 36 GB, dvdfab says 9 hours to compress to 25 GB, normal ? (source is on the non-system HDD and target on system HDD).

2) is Nero 10 ok to burn the resulting file or are there real advantages to use imgburn ?

thanks !

IPopov50

benito

(1) Is 9 hrs normal? It could be, depends on hardware you have. If you running 2-core processor without GPU acceleration, 9 hrs is not that bad. If you running Quad processor with GPU acceleration - 9 hrs is way too much. If you post your configuration< you may get better answer.
(2) there are people who uses Nero, and if you prefer Nero you can use it. Majority of members here, however using ImgBurn. Advantages are simplicity and reliability.

benito

[QUOTE=IPopov50;42760]benito

(1) Is 9 hrs normal? It could be, depends on hardware you have. If you running 2-core processor without GPU acceleration, 9 hrs is not that bad. If you running Quad processor with GPU acceleration - 9 hrs is way too much. If you post your configuration< you may get better answer.
(2) there are people who uses Nero, and if you prefer Nero you can use it. Majority of members here, however using ImgBurn. Advantages are simplicity and reliability.[/QUOTE]

IPopov50, thanks for your answer !
(1) I have AMD Athlon X2 64 6400 (3.2 Ghz) (dual core), with 4GB ram running Win 7 64 bits. I have an ATI Radeon HD 4850 (dvdfab says GPU acceleration enabled or something). It took 7h40 minutes... too long or expected time for this config ? If expected time with this config, what would be the average on a more recent system ? Thanks !

IPopov50

[QUOTE=benito;42867]IPopov50, thanks for your answer !
(1) I have AMD Athlon X2 64 6400 (3.2 Ghz) (dual core), with 4GB ram running Win 7 64 bits. I have an ATI Radeon HD 4850 (dvdfab says GPU acceleration enabled or something). It took 7h40 minutes... too long or expected time for this config ? If expected time with this config, what would be the average on a more recent system ? Thanks ![/QUOTE]

(1) First of all, lets take a look at your existing system. You've said DVDFab recognized your card for GPU acceleration, so please go to Settings ->General -> A/V Codec and tell me exactly what you see.

(2) I honestly feel sorry for all owners AMD/ATI product. AMD so far behind and goes wrong direction, that I can only suggest is to abandon this product altogether and start from scratch. Their CPU is appears performing OK, but graphic cards is an absolute crap. Don't take me wrong and don't jump on me, I'm speaking from perspective of GPU acceleration and Parallel computing. They might be absolutely perfect for gaming - I have no idea.

(3) I would suggest you to follow this link and see what others have. You will see my post about my mediocre laptop with Intel/nVIDIA product, and.... you've got the picture.

(4) If you ever serious about upgrading your system, send me a PM, I might have a couple of ideas for you. This forum is DVDFab forum, and I don't want to go too far off-topic here.

In a meanwhile, considering your current system, 7-9 hrs per movie, sound about right.

benito

[QUOTE=IPopov50;42873](1) First of all, lets take a look at your existing system. You've said DVDFab recognized your card for GPU acceleration, so please go to Settings ->General -> A/V Codec and tell me exactly what you see.

(2) I honestly feel sorry for all owners AMD/ATI product. AMD so far behind and goes wrong direction, that I can only suggest is to abandon this product altogether and start from scratch. Their CPU is appears performing OK, but graphic cards is an absolute crap. Don't take me wrong and don't jump on me, I'm speaking from perspective of GPU acceleration and Parallel computing. They might be absolutely perfect for gaming - I have no idea.

(3) I would suggest you to follow this link and see what others have. You will see my post about my mediocre laptop with Intel/nVIDIA product, and.... you've got the picture.

(4) If you ever serious about upgrading your system, send me a PM, I might have a couple of ideas for you. This forum is DVDFab forum, and I don't want to go too far off-topic here.

In a meanwhile, considering your current system, 7-9 hrs per movie, sound about right.[/QUOTE]

thanks again for your help.

(1)
DVDFab A/V Codec settings:
Decoder:
H.264 - DXVA
VC1 - DXVA
MPEG2 - Software

Encoder:
H.264 - Software

------------------
I can also now tell you the result of my compressed output since it's now completed. The initial "movie only" 36GB file plays fine in PowerDVD 10 (the 00003.m2ts file). However, the compressed file (around 22GB) is "choppy, skipping" (sorry I speak french but I guess you get it...). I tried to burn that file on a BD-R using imgburn just to see on my BDR-205 with latest firmware 1.08, same result (plays even choppier in my PS3). What am I doing wrong in the compress steps ?? I selected the "main movie" folder on my HDD as input and an empty folder on the HDD as output, and choosed Bd-25 1080p and started the thing... thanks again, I guess when I have figure out this one i'll be on my way in the BD-R (hope I did'nt buy that BDR-205 for nothing !!!).

GregiBoy

Try turning off the DXVA encoding and re-encode.

There are being more and more problems reported with the ATI cards.

IPopov50

[QUOTE=benito;42887]thanks again for your help.

(1)
DVDFab A/V Codec settings:
Decoder:
H.264 - DXVA
VC1 - DXVA
MPEG2 - Software

Encoder:
H.264 - Software

[/QUOTE]

benito, all I can say is a sorry, and I can offer you a hug or kiss in a cheek - your choice. But seriously, I see where your problem is - it's ATi card and DXVA acceleration.
Unlike CUDA, it just not working. In general, I would suggest you to get a nVIDIA card, even inexpensive one CUDA enabled card would make a world of difference.
In a meanwhile you can continue with naked (without acceleration) plain CPU run of a codecs - software decoding and encoding, as GregiBoy suggested. It will give you very good result quality wise, but on you Duo machine - very very slow. I'm talking about 12-16 hrs if not more.

DharmaBummed69

I have to say something on this. DXVA works fine for my HD 5770 in XP Pro. I only get the choppy video using DXVA in Windows 7. I'm not sure you can fault the card when it works in fine in 1 OS and not another. I'd include the results of DXVA in Vista but DVDFab doesn't recognize DXVA for the HD 5770 in Vista. At this time DVDFab seems to concentrate more on CUDA than any ATI offering and I don't see how you can knock GPU accleration for ATI when there seems to be very little development from DVDFab for it.

Also those times for a C2D from Ipopov50 are in the ballpark of what I get with my C2D's with and without CUDA accleration.

IPopov50

[QUOTE=DharmaBummed69;42940]I have to say something on this. DXVA works fine for my HD 5770 in XP Pro. I only get the choppy video using DXVA in Windows 7. I'm not sure you can fault the card when it works in fine in 1 OS and not another. I'd include the results of DXVA in Vista but DVDFab doesn't recognize DXVA for the HD 5770 in Vista. At this time DVDFab seems to concentrate more on CUDA than any ATI offering and I don't see how you can knock GPU accleration for ATI when there seems to be very little development from DVDFab for it.

Also those times for a C2D from Ipopov50 are in the ballpark of what I get with my C2D's with and without CUDA accleration.[/QUOTE]

DharmaBummed69
With all my respect to ATI and it's users, DVDFab have NOTHING TO DO with these parallel computing issues with ATI GPUs. And here's why.
Both manufacturers ATI and nVIDIA providing a Develper's package to anybody for free. You can download it if you want it. Those packages contained basic architecture, concept of parallel computing, etc. , and most importantly - source code and algorithm.
Developers of any application who wish to make their product being able to use GPU acceleration, downloading that package and incorporating in their code. Sorry, I'm trying to explain this in simple terms.
Problem with ATI product, that's is not working (unlike CUDA). ATI scrambling to make it work, they have three different (CUDA-like) scripts - none of them work...
DVDFab developers do not pay extra attention to CUDA, it just simply works as it intended to.... very simple.
There is new version - CUDA 3 out there, designed for Fermi-based cards, yet it's not working in DVDFab, which tells me that developers actually do not paying much of attention, but probably focusing on something useless that doesn't work.

DharmaBummed69

You say both packages are available to developers from both AMD and Nvidia and yet DVDFab has only CUDA and no offering for AMD/ATI other than DXVA which if I understand right is Direct X Video Acceleration. That seems to me that more time has been spent Nvidia's CUDA maybe because that' the type of card the developers have. I know there is interest in ATI video acceleration. There's a thread in the Features Request with posts going back 8 months with no reply.

benito

[QUOTE=GregiBoy;42888]Try turning off the DXVA encoding and re-encode.

There are being more and more problems reported with the ATI cards.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, tried that and it worked ! Took 8h47 instead of 7h40 (+1h)... i'm I loosing something in terms of quality by turning the gpa acceleration off or just that extra time to compress ?

Thanks also to IPopov50 for your help !

I might consider upgrading my system in the future, but just not now.

cheers to all !

GregiBoy

Only losing time!!!

IPopov50

[QUOTE=benito;43037]Thanks, tried that and it worked ! Took 8h47 instead of 7h40 (+1h)... i'm I loosing something in terms of quality by turning the gpa acceleration off or just that extra time to compress ?

Thanks also to IPopov50 for your help !

I might consider upgrading my system in the future, but just not now.

cheers to all ![/QUOTE]

Only time. In terms of a quality, you're actually gaining by eliminating extra process.