I was helping ADigitalMan with his own PIF chain. (His work is outstanding. I have made over 20 copies of his Wizard of OZ disc.) I have also seeded and plan to seed, many Star Wars related items. I have even brought free DVDs to various Sci-Fi conventions, the SW Celebrations, and all of the TRU Midnight Madness Events. (to give away to people I met in line). I have also done my best to spread DVDs given to me by the glorious Rikter Blksvn. (Miss you Pal.)
I truly support the fan film/fan edit community and would like to to anything I can to help.
If you think I'm worthy please send me a PM. I have multiple computers, my own business, and lots of free time.
Very excited to see the dvd-5 in all its glory, once again thanks Adywan, you have given some real time, talent and effort to this. Just to set the record straight. I'm one of the "moochers" who asked for a copy of dvd-9 because I dont have a dual burner, I offered to contribute towards adywans hard drive regardless of whether he sent me a copy or not. I didnt get a reply to whether he wanted the cash (and how much) just a mention in his post here. Infact whilst Im 'fessing up , I'm the one who asked him to sign it also cause i thought it showed how much i appreciated his work. Im a musician and when people ask me to sign something ive created it means a lot to me.
Im not a total newbie, I discovered this site a little late. Ive made some posts but not that many too date. Adywan I offered to contribute to your hard drive regardless of whether you could send me out a copy. I offered three times, once on the forum in the threads, and never heard a reply. All times i said i would contribute regardless of whether you could send me one or not. I'm happy to do some PIF for the dvd-5 I just dont have the skills to install a dvd-9 drive so wont be able to get the best format of this when you release it. As a staunch supporter of you and your work (see my review a few pages back) I was a little suprised that my intentions have been so badly misinterpreted. It's probably my fault, Im not sure of the etiquette here, I apolagise and no offence was intended.
Adywan you have the perfect star wars, things I had thought might have been in Lucas' version (the faster duel etc) but never were. I will happily contribute to the Empire disc in anyway I can. (Can i say from the start that Lucas improved Cloud city looks fake and need some new texture work) Keep up the good work, I know the next one will be just as good. Sorry once again, the dvd-5 is more than enough.
Originally posted by: discostewart I just dont have the skills to install a dvd-9 drive so wont be able to get the best format of this when you release it.
Dude, its 4 screws, a ribbon cable or SATA cable and a power plug.......but if that is too hard for ya, how hard is it to plug in a USB cable?
discostewart, it wasn't your message that i was referring to. you'd be surprised how many emails i had asking for a signed boxed DVD-9. I did reply to your first message but you haven't got your PM's turned on.
Just started the painting for the cover today. It should only take me a couple of days to complete.
Ah ! Sorry Adywan, I will turn them on again if you would like to forward it. I just wanted to apolagise above because i really didnt mean to add to the hassle you are getting as I think the way some people r treating you is very unreasonable.
Vbangle there are a lot of people who user forums/the internet who may have disabilities that prevent them from doing upgrade work to their Pc's. As for your USB idea i didnt know they existed ! So thanks for that part.
If you are implying that someone could be a Quadriplegic then yes, I could see how that would be a problem....my Dad's ex-wife is a Paraplegic so you know I understand the challenges....
In any case I'm pleased that I was able to show you something new....the internet is an monstrous amazing thing, is it not? And to thing I used to get excited about playing pong back in the day.....
I love everybody. Lets all smoke some reefer and chill. Hug and kisses for everybody.
Originally posted by: gavin77 So what format are my store bought Star Wars DVD's in......DVD-5 or DVD-9?
Probably DVD-5. If they say they're 4.7gb or 120min, then they're DVD-5. If they say "DL" then they're dual-layer and DVD-9. The five and the nine are approximations of the number of GB they hold.
Originally posted by: gavin77 So what format are my store bought Star Wars DVD's in......DVD-5 or DVD-9?
Most modern commercial DVDs are DVD-9s these days. Dual Layer has been around for quite sometime now. The only official SW DVDs that might be DVD-5s would be the bonus discs for the individually packaged IV, V, and VI, in other words, the GOUT. I do not own the GOUTs, so I am not sure about that. But rest assured that the PT and the 2004 SEs are all on DVD-9s. If you were to watch to backup one of your commercially purchased Star Wars DVDs, you would need to compress the video in order to make it fit onto a DVD-5 (which are the more common, and less expensive DVD-R/+Rs).
As for USB DVD writers, I have a LG brand, Dual layer, external USB 2.0 DVD writer I bought a little over a year ago, it works great and I have gotten good quality burns out of it. But my previous experiences with USB DVD burners has not been so good. It doesn't take much looking at external DVD burner reviews and consumer feedback to see that you are better off with an internal drive. Not to mention internal drives are much less expensive than an external drive. I am a laptop owner, so I am limited to buying a drive specifically designed for my model of computer, which are often fairly pricy, or to a external drive. I choose the later because ti was cheaper, and it is not limited to working with just one computer, if a friend needs to back up his files and doesn't own a DVD drive, I can just bring mine over. It also allows me to get things off of my old laptops. So externals can be very practical. However, if I owned a desktop, I would most definitly go with an internal drive. Externals tend to have buffering problems far more frequently than internals, and the likelihood of making coasters is usually much greater.
An internal is really easy to install, if someone is not able to do it themselves, no doubt they have a kind friend, aquaitance, neighbor, etc. who would be willing to do it for them. I have installed many drives for neighbors and friends of my parents when I was a teenager. It is a pretty simple process that requires minimal knowledge to preform.
"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape
I interpreted the question differently, and I'm pretty sure that yours is the more useful answer.
BTW, I got a copy of --- I think --- "The Red Planet" from Netflix the other week, and I was shocked to see that it was a single-layer disc. On the other end of the spectrum, the Wookie Groomer DVD-9 of the TESB split-screen was so loaded with data that it kept causing my cheap Norcent player to glitch.
So my Macbook Pro has a "DL" drive in it..........I guess this means that I can purchase some type of dual layer DVD-R and burn the DVD-9 version of this movie right onto the DVD-R without any loss of quality, and with a little better quality than a DVD-5 version....right? How much are DVD-9 discs to buy? Peace......
Originally posted by: gavin77 So my Macbook Pro has a "DL" drive in it..........I guess this means that I can purchase some type of dual layer DVD-R and burn the DVD-9 version of this movie right onto the DVD-R without any loss of quality, and with a little better quality than a DVD-5 version....right? How much are DVD-9 discs to buy? Peace......
DVD-DL discs are a tiny bit pricey...sort of. I bought a bulk pack of DVD-DL discs a while ago (Memorex...I forget how many), and they cost roughly $2 each.
I just bought my computer from Dell almost 3 months ago, I just realized the DVD burner on it is not Dual Layer, so I dunno how I am gonna burn the newest edition w/extra on a DVD-R without it being so compressed, and I am not about to go out an buy a DL burner.
Originally posted by: Sevb32 I just bought my computer from Dell almost 3 months ago, I just realized the DVD burner on it is not Dual Layer, so I dunno how I am gonna burn the newest edition w/extra on a DVD-R without it being so compressed, and I am not about to go out an buy a DL burner.
Those DL burners are less expensive then a commercial available DVD.... Otherwise use DVD-rebuilder to compress the DVD-9 to DVD5.
I'm just not getting all of this dual-layer fear - the drives are affordable (and easily fitted, as already discussed), the blanks, while not as dirt-cheap as SL discs, are also affordable. The best DL burning tool (ImgBurn) is completely free.
It's got to be worth putting in a little bit of effort so you can share and enjoy a project like this in its best possible presentation, hasn't it?
Downloading 9GB, on the other hand, now there's something to worry about (or perhaps this is going to be exclusively distributed via PiF...)
Let's talk DVD burning for a moment. There really are a few issues that will be at play here that apply to both DVD-5 and DVD-9.
Copying a DVD Those participating in a PiF chain will need to copy discs ACCURATELY. This means including ALL content (e.g. ROM folder) on the copy. It's not uncommon for me to receive in a trade a disc that is missing the extra content. Quite simply, somebody didn't make a proper copy. The easiest way to avoid this is to rip an ISO image of the DVD to your hard drive, and then burn the image to a playable DVD. That way EVERYTHING on the source disc winds up on the copy. I use DVD Decrypter (ImgBurn's forerunner) for ripping the ISO. Note that some of these programs (DVD Decrypter & Nero, that I know of) might actually change IFO and BUP files (during the image ripping process) if the disc was authored a certain way and if certain settings in the software are selected. So you still need to have a clue... unless the DVD was authored in a manner that these programs find acceptable. Not that altered IFO and BUP files are the end of the world, I just think it is important to make copies that are faithful to the original.
As an aside... please don't make copies with DVD Shrink. A. There is no way to include extra folders. B. Even if you are using no compression, it'll change more than just the IFO and BUP files.
Burning the DVD from Downloaded Files <blank> I have no experience here. If there are any tips that can be shared, please do so.
Dual-Layer Issues (applicable to both items above) Now, my DL drive is new so I have yet to burn DL with it. But I do know from previously ripping DVD-9's that DVD Decrypter asks something along the lines of "Do you want DVD Decrypter to determine the optimal position of the layer change?". What is the correct answer here? Is the original layer change important enough to keep consistent from copy to copy? Please advise.
As Jonno claims, ImgBurn is the best DL burning tool. I haven't used it for such but I imagine there are some settings that need to be configured for optimal burning, perhaps as it pertains to layer change. Jonno?
It's cliche, but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If someone screws up a copy early on and then that multiplies, there will be quite a few unhappy people out there. If you're not sure what you're doing, ask. If you still don't know, abstain from participating in the chain. Get it via B&P. Download it. Trade 1:1 for it. Just don't pass along a crap copy.
And finally, to Adywan: will there be MD5 checksums generated for the files on the DVD? Those will allow us to verify whether or not our copies are faithful to your original.
Originally posted by: auximenies As Jonno claims, ImgBurn is the best DL burning tool. I haven't used it for such but I imagine there are some settings that need to be configured for optimal burning, perhaps as it pertains to layer change. Jonno?
Ah! Your post reminded me. I completely forgot to mention DVD Decrypter - you will of course need this too. But if you rip an ISO using Decrypter, it will contain all necessary data (including the layer position specified by Adywan), so ImgBurn's only job is to burn it accurately to the blank disc. If everyone on the PiF chain follows that 'recipe', there should be no losses or inconsistencies (barring bad discs, but I'd also recommend using DVDinfoPro to do a read test prior to passing the disc on).
Originally posted by: dark_jedi GOUT DVD's are not DVD5,they are DVD9's as well.
Just for fun, I went home and took a look at my _other_ Star Wars DVDs. Didn't have a chance to check out the discs themselves, so I'm trusting their packaging, but...
The only one that claims to be DL is the second volume of "Clone Wars." That surprised me since I didn't remember much content on the disc.
The three dual-feature discs --- "Ewok Adventures," the "Ewoks" selections, and "Droids" selections --- are single-layer flip-discs. I can't imagine that it's cheaper to manufacture a single-layer flip than a dual-layer disc, and one thing I've toyed with is recreating each one as half of a dual-layer disc. (The main reasons I haven't are a) not particularly wanting to watch the live-action features again and b) the fact that the animated features are mulched from the original episodes, which I didn't have at the time I bought these discs.)
The first volume of "Clone Wars": single layer, which makes sense given only an hour-plus of content.
As for "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome," it didn't say. But with half an hour of content, I'd be shocked if it weren't single-layer.
An easy way to check for sure whether or not its DVD5 or DVD9, is to just pop it in your DVD-ROM drive, and look at the size. If its greater than 4.7GB it definitely is a DVD9 (dual layer).
...anyway not to get too off topic. Ady, I am really looking forward to your DVDs, and am gonna grab both the DVD5 and DVD9 versions once they are out. Thank you so much again.
When people are copying discs in a PIF chain, mistakes will no doubt be made by people with limited knowledge using crap software to do the job (especially with DVD9 involved). And so on, and so on, and so on. Eventually, discs being copied around are worthless and unable to be played on many devices or missing DVD_ROM and/or JACKET_P contents (EditDroid, anyone?). I put my projects out in disc image format to avoid this situation, although that doesn't help when people start distributing copies that they've made. My point, basically, is that the only way to make sure that you're getting the genuine thing is to get it directly from adywan or download it from his usenet post. Now hopefully this will be put out in ISO or IMG format with an SFV or MD5 checksum for the contents of the DVD disc. If adywan doesn't put out an SFV, then the best thing would be for someone to create one from the contents of his usenet post and make it available (not that hard).
I am willing to bet that after the first wave of user created copies, most of them will not match up to an original checksum.
BTW, really looking forward to the NTSC DVD9!
You can go about your business. Move along, move along.
Originally posted by: MoveAlong Eventually, discs being copied around are worthless and unable to be played on many devices or missing DVD_ROM and/or JACKET_P contents (EditDroid, anyone?).
Originally posted by: MoveAlong Eventually, discs being copied around are worthless and unable to be played on many devices or missing DVD_ROM and/or JACKET_P contents (EditDroid, anyone?). I put my projects out in disc image format to avoid this situation, although that doesn't help when people start distributing copies that they've made.
Uh huh. Got your "Lost Scenes", MA, and the ROM folder is missing. For crying out loud, the DVD menu itself makes mention of this feature. How do you copy and pass this along without realizing you're excising material?
You're right that unless you're getting it from the source you can't know for sure what you're getting. But I've made trades in the past where I've asked ahead of time: "Do your files verify OK with these MD5 checksums?" and if not, I say "no thanks". The MD5's are big in the music trading circles I am in, and are often available online somewhere.
(or perhaps this is going to be exclusively distributed via PiF...) 
