backup to external hard drive

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:18 pm

I think this will be an easy one for someone.

I have burnt my home movies to DVD using Video Studio - for viewing on the TV. I have about 15 and I want to back them up on my external hard drive. For the last two I had still got the Video File which I was able to copy to the drive. For the other 13 I only have the DVDs which are MPEG.

If I explore a disc I find an AUDIO_TS folder which is empty - and a VIDEO_TS folder which contains files such as VTS_01_0 and others named VIDEO_TS etc.

I have backup software but this converts the file type. I simply want a copy of the MPEG on the ext hard drive, which I could easily access to burn a further copy if the need arises.

I thought it would be easy but I can't do it!

Grateful if anyone can help.
Thanks
Ann

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:27 pm

Do you want to backup the entire DVD Structure (including menus/buttons, etc...)?

Just copy/paste the entire contents of the VIDEO_TS folder on each of the 13 DVD's to your external hard drive (put each in its own folder so you don't mix them together).

Regards,
George

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:48 pm

Thanks for that.
I do want to back up th entire structure with menus etc.

I have tried what you said. The files copy across OK - but I can't then seem to do much with them. the two dvds where I saved the video file created in Ulead can just be opened and viewed in media player - or other progrma - I get the Open with... option when I right click. But if I right click on the copied files I can't do this and I can't seem to watch the footage. With this method I don't seem to actually be copying across n MPEG DVD - just a series of files?

Any other thoughts appreciated.
Ann

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:59 pm

Do you have a software DVD Player -- such as WinDVD or PowerDVD (you can locate Trials on the web). They should be able to play your DVD's from the VIDEO_TS folder.

A version of either of those sometimes come with new computers and/or dvd burners -- so you might be lucky and already have a version installed...

Regards,
George

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:09 pm

I'll have alook for these just now - on my pc and on the net, but could you just confirm - will the VIDEO_TS files have chapters and menus intact?

I just tried importing to Ulead - in the share facility - the film copied across and I guess I could then have burnt it to DVD, but it had no menus etc.
Ann

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:17 pm

Yes you need to save the Video_TS folder and all of its contents. You do not need to save the Audio_TS folder.

In fact I have never yet seen the Audio_TS folder contain anything and have the impression it was included in the DVD specifications for some future development that never got activated.

Some older standalone DVD players require an Audio_TS folder even though it is empty, so all you need do when burning a new DVD at a later date is to create one as and when required.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:37 pm

Steve -- the relatively new phenomenon of music DVDs changes all that. Essentially, most of the audio goes into the Audio_TS folder, as I understand it, while the the Video_TS folder only has enough information in it to get a DVD player to recognise it, plus some menus if they are required... There are other differences, of course, but I think those are the basics...

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:44 pm

sorry - you're losing me ... any tips for the backup
thanks
ann

Post by **Ken Berry** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:06 pm

You already have been given the basics. All *video* DVDs (as opposed to archive/data DVDs) are required to have a structure consisting of Audio_TS folders (which are almost always empty) and a Video_TS folder, which contains all the video in .VOB files, plus backup files (.BUP) and information files (.IFO).

If a video DVD has been burned with a menu, then yes, the menu will definitely be included in one of the VOB files on the disc and copied to your hard disc. And it will play back and be fully effective if played back on a software DVD player like WinDVD (which you should have received a copy of if you bought VS10.) The menu will also be there and fully effective if you later burn the Video_TS folder back to DVD with a program like Nero (in which you would use the 'Burn DVD Folders' command).

Depending on the size of the project burned to DVD, you also need to be aware that during the authoring phase in the burning module, the original files will have been chopped up into a maximum of 1 GB files up to the maximum you can fit on a DVD disc (4.3 GB for a single layer DVD, and 8.5 GB for a dual layer).

To get the raw video back later from the Video_TS folders when you want to work with it again, you will have to go through the 'Insert DVD/DVD-VR' command and choose what elements of the video DVDs you want to import.

In that stage, though, you need to know that the original menus, if imported, will no longer be linked to specific parts of the main feature, so to speak, because the imported menu is seen by VS as just another video clip.

If you wanted to preserve the menu in its active form, then in my opinion at least, you would have had to burn your project as a data archive on DVD, rather than as a video DVD. That would have had to include the original project .VSP file, all video and audio files included in the project, and saved also from the burning module so as to ensure the .VSP file includes the menu. When you activate the project VSP file, you would probably also have to use the Re-link command to re-establish links to the video files making up the project because, as far as the VSP file is concerned, they are still on the original drive.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:35 am

Ken Berry wrote:Steve -- the relatively new phenomenon of music DVDs changes all that. Essentially, most of the audio goes into the Audio_TS folder, as I understand it, while the the Video_TS folder only has enough information in it to get a DVD player to recognise it, plus some menus if they are required... There are other differences, of course, but I think those are the basics...

Ken,
I think we need to be careful not to confuse the original poster here.
My experience of creating a music DVD using DVDLab Pro resulted in what appeared to be a standard DVD structure that still had nothing in the Audio_TS folder.

I haven't had cause to try the Audio DVD module contained in MovieFactory 5 Plus and so do not know how that handles these matters.

To make things simple for the original poster, my advice is to look first and double check that the Audio_TS folder is empty. If so there is no need to back it up as it can be created in a matter of a few seconds.
If it does contain anything then obviously you need to back it up.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:55 am

You are of course quite right Steve -- and I hadn't meant to confuse the situation, just address your own specific point.

I too have never used the music DVD capability of MF5. I do, however, have a specialised program which only does music DVDs and it behaves the way I described (and details of which will now not pass my lips again! Promise!

)

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:37 pm

Thanks to all! I think I understand now so I'll try and get on with it....
Thanks
Ann

PeterMilliken · Post by **PeterMilliken** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:00 pm

Hi Ann,

You might be interested in further thoughts on backing up (archival mechanisms) here:

http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/video_stud ... pid=194534

This describes a mechanism for archiving your video (source files as well as rendered out if you choose - I don't save the rendered output because I figure if I have the source and the project files then I can rebuild the output and therefore save space

) to DVDs.

Make sure you use good quality DVD blanks whenever archiving (or for that matter writing master videos

) - see http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm for more information.

Peter

ann hackett · Post by **ann hackett** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 5:40 pm

Hello again.
I have now copied the video files successfully to the external hard drive and been able to watch them back on the PC. HOWEVER - as they were originally created for TV viewing I wanted to be confident that they would burn successfully to DVD. So today a tried this with a trial version of Nero (using Nero Express) and it did work. BUT....the quality appears to be poorer - much more pixellated. I put alot of effort into following advice from this site when capturing, editing and burning so that I got good quality. Is it possible this quality can be lost now or am I just being paranoid?

2Dogs · Post by **2Dogs** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 11:23 pm

Hi Ann,
--------if you've used Nero Express to burn your DVD folders to disc, it should have no effect on the picture quality - it's just writing the files, and not re-encoding them.

Perhaps you've just become accustomed top viewing your DVD's on your pc - and if you don't have a posh TV, the quality will look better than if you play the DVD to your TV.

Just to be sure, you can check to confirm that the burned DVD files should match the backed up DVD folder files in size - just right click on the DVD drive on your pc with the disc in it and click on "properties" - it should then show you the size, say 4.35GB, for example. Do the same thing for the Video_TS folder on your hard drive you used to burn the disc, and make sure it's the same size.