MTR Alternative: Fairmount and Dvd2onex

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:44 pm

Okay, as an alternative to mtr, I have decided to start some experimentation with using Farimount and Dvd2oneX (also referred to as Dtox)

Here are the links to get each:
Fairmount
Requires VLC media player, its free and if you do not have it, you should.

http://www.metakine.com/products/fairmount/
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Dvd2onex:
Costs money (39.99 Euro) but well worth it for any serious dvd backups ( There is a 30 day free trial).
http://www.dvd2one.com/

So, with that said, I have been using fairmount to mount my source sans css. Then processing the fairmount disk image with dtox. This lets me remove zero cells, which I have to do sometimes with mtr output anyway, as well as join two disk titles for HandBrake to make one continuous file.

Since my best success with mtr has been full disk extraction, I end up typically eating up 7 - 9 gigs of HDD storage to store my sources, which I like to keep in ripped form for re-encoding with HandBrake as we add new features and capabilities. By using dtox right from the fairmount image, I can store just the main feature, sans 0 mb 0 duration cells, which is typically more around the 3-4 gig range.

So far, in re-ripping my library, I have had zero failures using this method, and in fact have had two sources that previously failed with mtr full disk rip (yes, latest 3.0 r-14g) which needed to be salvaged with dtox anyway. Successes have included the likes of Blades of Glory and Shooter, which have previously given MTR fits when used with HandBrake.

Oh, btw, obviously for use with HandBrake, set your dtox output to File Set and set the size to double layer disk, to make sure that dtox does not perform any compression itself, thereby assuring you give HandBrake the best possible source.

I just wanted to post this as a viable alternative to mtr and see if anyone else has had good success with this method.

Cavalicious · Post by **Cavalicious** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:19 pm

- Ditto with:

The DaVinci Code & Casino Royale...among others

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:51 pm

One other nice thing is you can save just the audio tracks and subtitle tracks you want to with dtox. As well, usually dtox will tell you which track is the directors cut. Very nice as HandBrake doesnt indicate this in the audio tab (though its usually the one that is only in a 2.1 source, the 5.1 source is usually the main feature track).

bdkennedy1 · Post by **bdkennedy1** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:23 am

Thank you very much for this information!! I'm glad there's an alternative to MTR. The MTR developers apparently aren't getting enough oxygen to their brains.

baggss · Post by **baggss** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:34 am

I have Fairmount and DVD2OneX. I'd also recommend DVD Remaster made by the same folks who make Fairmount. It's come through in a few instances where everything else, including HB, have failed.

mrtaber · Post by **mrtaber** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:26 pm

So far, I've never had this combo fail on me (Fairmount and DVD2OneX2), on over 50 of my movies. It's all I use now. And since I have dual optical drives on my MacPro, I create 2 instances of DVD2OneX2, and can rip 2 movies in parallel. Wait, it just dawned on me that I am probably violating DVD2OneX2's license...maybe I *won't* be doing that anymore...

Mark

jrv · Post by **jrv** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:13 am

Are there MD5's available for any of these programs?

cvk_b · Post by **cvk_b** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:52 am

I'd love to see a how-to on avoiding MTR altogether (for mac).

Mucx · Post by **Mucx** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:30 am

Thanks for this...

I have been, for want of a better word 'banned' from MacTheRipper because I complained to Geezerbutt about my confidential information being broadcasted in this whole crazy email license scheme. Not only was my email address sent out and CC'd to multiple people but my paypal information as well.

So I rightfully complained...and banned. That is after donating more than $120 total to them on three seperate occasions. So I cannot access the forum, and I cannot request a new license or download of MTR it seems.

Thankfully I came across this post here so I will try it out.
Will the fairmount method allow me to mount my disc and then use HandBrake to encode the mounted disk image of the disc?

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:58 am

Mucx: that is what lead me down this path, I blew the whistle on their transmitting personal info and received, shall we say, a less than warm response.

Yes, you can rip right from the fairmount disk image with HB, though dtox gives you more control in terms of getting rid of zero cells, and it does a bang up job of fixing intentional mastering errors in both full disk and movie only mode. Funny thing is, as you know, most mtr users end up using dtox with mtr output for this very same thing, so in the end, you really in effect, cut out the one unnecessary step, which is mtr !!

I am have still had zero failures using this method and have done my toughest titles, including Meet the Robinsons, which is giving mtr fits apparently according to their forum ( dont know first hand as I have quit using mtr myself).

Good luck, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Mucx · Post by **Mucx** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:34 pm

dynaflash you are a star!

I am at work at the moment so couldn't check, this saves me a a few hours or so tonight. I was sat here during my break thinking how I could tell, using Fairmount, whether HandBrake was just doing the encoding or if it was encoding and removing the CSS at the same time.

So I was thinking, great I need to find a recent DVD of mine that fails under HB, that will be the only way to know...

But, thanks to you...I know the answer.

Thinking about it now, and looking at the Fairmount site, and the fact it is OpenSource, have you guys thought about integrating the Fairmount method into HandBrake? Or maybe you guys don't really want to go down the route of helping people bypass the encryption anymore? Which is fair enough as 'the man' might be watching.

Anyway...nice

jbrjake · Post by **jbrjake** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:06 pm

Mucx wrote:Or maybe you guys don't really want to go down the route of helping people bypass the encryption anymore

Exactly.

One day, released builds of HB won't even handle basic CSS stripping. It's a sad inevitability.

Cavalicious · Post by **Cavalicious** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:31 pm

cvk_b wrote:I'd love to see a how-to on avoiding MTR altogether (for mac).

I can do something this weekend if you guys want...Let me know.

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:36 pm

Maybe something with screenies showing how to remove zero cells with dtox

Cavalicious · Post by **Cavalicious** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 2:37 pm

No Problem...

cvk_b · Post by **cvk_b** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:57 pm

dynaflash wrote:Maybe something with screenies showing how to remove zero cells with dtox

2nd'ed with added please.

Mucx · Post by **Mucx** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:06 pm

Ok gave this a go when I got home on a Futurama DVD I had laying around. Here is how it went...

Slid the disc in, launched Fairmount...
Fairmount, spent 20 seconds mounting the disc (nice bagel effect)...
Disc image replaces DVD Disc on my desktop...
Opened HB and pointed it at the VIDEO_TS in disc image...
Very slow in reading all 15 titles on the disc...
2-3 minutes later I point it at the first title...
Input my usual settings (clicking my pref I have setup - Avi, 1800kbps, AC3)
I click 'Start'...
Eventhing is chugging away pretty damn fast!..(80.22fps avg)
Checked the rip quality on the episode and it's great!

So that is very impressive I agree! It also saves a ton of time where you previously ripped the disc using MacTheRipper. Really cannot fault this method whatsoever.

The only 'problem' I encountered was just the initial scanning phase HB does on the disc when it is reading the titles...it was very slow on that part. (I had encoded from it not so long ago so I noticed) Everything else was perfct-a-mundo!

Looking forward to seeing your guide Cavalicious, more people should know about this method.

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:51 pm

Mucx wrote:The only 'problem' I encountered was just the initial scanning phase HB does on the disc when it is reading the titles...it was very slow on that part. (I had encoded from it not so long ago so I noticed) Everything else was perfct-a-mundo!

Is that compared to scanning the previews from an mtr rip on your hard drive, or using HB direct from dvd? Since I almost always encode from my hard drive, whenever I have to encode right from dvd, it always seems like the scanning phase takes forever in comparison as HB pulls up those images.

At any rate, glad to hear you have found success as well. Good stuff

Cavalicious · Post by **Cavalicious** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:56 am

"Small" Leopard (10.5) issue with solution...

dynaflash, you're my witness that I did indeed test this out with that Sony "Lets throw every bit of garbage of "protection" at this DVD", aka Casino Royale. Well, with Tiger (10.4) it works fine.

In an effort to get a jump start on the tutorial, I started to capture my screenshots. Got to the point of showing a DVD /w Zero Cell size/duration. I inserted said DVD and Fairmount did its thing fine. Choose Movie Only and BLAM, DTOX crashes, over and over again. Picked the Video_TS folder this time...OK, can see selection. Click on Cells...BLAM...again.

Obviously a Leopard thing, cause I know this worked in Tiger...hell, I have the encode to prove it. So I put in Cars...works flawlessly.

Summary, DTOX may have issues with over-the-top protected DVDs in Leopard. New release should be coming shortly...hopefully!

Good News: Screenshots are done, thus tutorial half way done.

Mucx · Post by **Mucx** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:23 pm

dynaflash wrote:
Mucx wrote:The only 'problem' I encountered was just the initial scanning phase HB does on the disc when it is reading the titles...it was very slow on that part. (I had encoded from it not so long ago so I noticed) Everything else was perfct-a-mundo!
Is that compared to scanning the previews from an mtr rip on your hard drive, or using HB direct from dvd? Since I almost always encode from my hard drive, whenever I have to encode right from dvd, it always seems like the scanning phase takes forever in comparison as HB pulls up those images.

At any rate, glad to hear you have found success as well. Good stuff

I tested this further actually, I have the copy of my original disc on DVD+R and did an encoding with HB straight off that. The scanning process was a little faster than the original disc (not a whole lot faster but noticeable). Hard to tell though...need a stop watch! So I could be wrong.

Then I pulled the unecrypted VIDEO_TS off of the DVD+R and it was blistering fast as normal.

I tried a few other discs of mine...
It is always faster off of the VIDEO_TS folder on the HD obviously.
It is definately a little slower through fairmount than just letting HB go at the disc itself.

I think, a non-CSS VIDEO_TS folder on your HD is always going to win in terms of scanning time and encoding (fps), Fairmount is still great don't get me wrong but there is a noticeable slowdown in the scanning process. I think the mileage of that may vary for different discs so there isn't any real science in this.

Thing about MTR is, you get an unencrypted file on your HD and I always liked the idea that encoding from a file on your HD is less intensive and will save your DVD drive (and the lense) a lot of wear and tear. I need to try Fairmounting a disc, putting it into toast and burning it to a ISO disc image or something and encoding off that from my HD...

Mucx

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:39 pm

Mucx wrote:Thing about MTR is, you get an unencrypted file on your HD and I always liked the idea that encoding from a file on your HD is less intensive and will save your DVD drive (and the lense) a lot of wear and tear. I need to try Fairmounting a disc, putting it into toast and burning it to a ISO disc image or something and encoding off that from my HD...

Mucx

Which is why I prefer to add the dtox step to the procedure

So I can create a perfect VIDEO_TS fileset on my hard drive to open up with HB. Even better yet, movie only to a file set works simply awesome, as well as a quick check for zero cells which you can remove right within your workflow. Oh, never mind joining your titles on multi disk features like LOTR or Pearl Harbor

Yes, dtox costs money, but if you look at what the *recommended* donation is to get mtr you basically pay for dtox, and even with a paid beta of mtr, you still find you need dtox anyway nine times out of ten.

In terms of HandBrake ready files, dtox's remastering in movie only mode absolutley smokes mtrs Main Feature extraction hands down. There really is no comparison.

Mucx · Post by **Mucx** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:41 pm

Good to know...good to know

I stopped using DTOX when they went to that er, messy looking interface but might sep up and purchase it now.

Glassman · Post by **Glassman** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:28 am

Hey guys,
I am just curious. I like to have all the tools available to me to make the most out of my backups. I am wondering why there is a problem with MTR. I have tried every ripping ap out for the Mac and most for windows and have had the most success with MTR. I love HB for encoding for Apple TV and my iPhone, but for ripping MTR has been great and fast. Usually 14 to 16 minutes to rip a flick. Also the beta is up to r14i now and works great. And bye the way, it has been posted by the MTR developer that no personal info is sent. I think they are smarter than that. I am not against any ap whatsoever, I just think we should keep our tool boxes so if one ap doesn't work, then we have other options. It doesn't make sense to slam any ap really as we are all trying to accomplish the same goals.

dynaflash · Post by **dynaflash** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:14 pm

Glassman wrote:Hey guys,
I am just curious. I like to have all the tools available to me to make the most out of my backups. I am wondering why there is a problem with MTR.

Everyone has their own reasons for using what they use. The objective here is to offer an alternative to mtr for those that wish to use something besides mtr, which has largely been construed as the "only" reliable ripping option for the mac (hence the title of this thread).

Glassman wrote: I just think we should keep our tool boxes so if one ap doesn't work, then we have other options. It doesn't make sense to slam any ap really as we are all trying to accomplish the same goals.

My intent here was to offer another method which I have found to be extremely reliable for ripping for HandBrake. So, I offer it to our users as an option. If you read the first few posts, I try to offer why I personally prefer this method to mtr (and yes, I have and have used all of the mtr flavors back to 2.6.6) least of which is reliable main feature output, joining multi-disk titles, removing zero cells in the same step, etc. etc.

However, what you choose to use is obviously totally up to you.

Cavalicious · Post by **Cavalicious** » Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:30 pm

http://handbrake.m0k.org/forum/viewtopi ... 9433#19433

...It was a slow day at work...

HandBrake

MTR Alternative: Fairmount and Dvd2onex

MTR Alternative: Fairmount and Dvd2onex

And I thought I was the only one...

Danger Will Robinson Danger!