Preferred authoring (and ripping) software – Opinions?

[Michael Sacci]

Ripping and Authoring are two separate things, so you need to split the two things up.

[Laura Kozikowski]

Not quite sure I follow… Are you referring to splitting up my question within two forums? Surely you aren’t suggesting that there lacks software capable of doing both– And yes, I’m aware these are two different things, that’s why I added the “and” 🙂

Sorry if I’m confused here.

[Eric Pautsch]

No…there is no authoring tool which is a ripper. Like Michael said, they are 2 separate things. There’s nothing worth mentioning in the sub $100 range. DVDLab Pro is around $200 and is the best tool for its money IMO. As far as rippers go, there are tons. best to google that and try which one You like best.

[Laura Kozikowski]

Well, I have Googled and tried a few but obviously I didn’t find what I was looking for, which is why I posted here. I understand I’m not getting top quality without top money, but surely there is a program you could recommend (even if it’s not up to your standards) for under $100. I must admit I’m still confused on the two different functions –perhaps I’m using the wrong vocabulary when I say ‘authoring’? I’m not looking for something like DVD-Architect that will put together an actual DVD, merely a program that will burn an Iso file (and hopefully media copies) directly to the DVD. Programs like Wondershare, DVD Copy, DVD Cloner, Magic DVD Ripper, Rip N’ Burn, Nero all seem to do both functions. Does that make things clearer?

[Eric Pautsch]

Not sure what you need? 🙂 Authoring, ripping or burning tool? There’s nothing that does all 3.

https://www.videohelp.com/tools

Try this site…it has tons of tools. These are my favorites

Authoring – definetely DVD Lab $250
Ripping – https://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVD_Decrypter FREE
Burning – https://www.imgburn.com/ FREE

[Laura Kozikowski]

As I mentioned, I guess I got my vocab wrong. I was looking for something to both be able to rip from a DVD (into an Iso file), and also be able to burn both Iso and other media files onto a DVD.

For example:
I have a computer game for kids that I would like to be able to make an Iso copy of, to keep on the hard drive as well as burn to another disc. I also have media files (say family videos) that I would like to be able to burn to a DVD. No menus, no setup, no splicing, just here’s the 45 minute file, put it on the DVD, insert into a player, self start. That clear things up? Sorry for the confusion.

[Eric Pautsch]

Like I said, there are no tools which do everything. Sometimes I use 6 or 7 tools to get a disc.

Ripper:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/decrypters-dvd-rippers

De-multiplexors:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/all-in-one-dvd-converters

Burning software:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/burn

Encoding:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/video-encoders-mpg-dvd

Authoring:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/authoring-dvd

There are no magic tools which do it all. Img burn makes ISOs so your covered there. As far as drag and drop authoring theres really nothing good in my experience. But go through the list here – there are 46. Try and see which ones you like.

I gave you my opinions but those are like A-holes – everybodys got one and they all stink. Try the tools out and see which works best for you

[John Pugnale]

Laura,

Try TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 from Pegasys.

https://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/taw4_feature.html

We use it almost every day. You can import from existing DVD’s, video files, etc.; cut edit; add menus; output to folder; and burn discs.

Hands down the most feature rich, yet easy to use DVD Authoring software I have ever used. $99.95.

John

[Seth Berkowitz]

Does this program allow you to simply create auto-chapters at intervals of 5 or 10 minutes for example?

[John Pugnale]

Yes,

You can set chapters at time based intervals, evenly space a set number of chapters, & manually set chapters. I use a script that exports a keyframe file from Sony Vegas that will piut chapters at Marker points set in Vegas.