I know this isn’t the fastest or most sophisticated way to back up a protected DVD (please don’t flame me for posting it). However, it teaches you to use three very powerful programs, the programs are freeware, and they don’t install anything goofy that takes over everything. So here we go.

Download and install these three programs:
DVDFab HD Decrypter
DVD Shrink 3.2.0.15. This is the last version. Try Softpedia
Imgburn

DVDfab HD Decrypter is updated all the time to keep up with protections. This tutorial uses the 4.0.1.2 but you need to check often. The free version of this program does one thing: remove copy protection. If you want to be able to do all of this in one step, buy this baby, read the manual and go to town.

DVD Shrink does just what the name says. If you have a DVD9 original and you need to fit it on a DVD5 you need this gem. It is still not obsolete because it has some extremely powerful DVD editing features that can still be exploited. Don’t ask me for them, start at the Shrink website and you’ll find all kinds of tutorials. There are some fantastic guides here at CDFreaks, Copy DVD Movie, Guides and Tutorials At one point Shrink would strip copy protection as well but and it hasn’t been updated in quite some time so it will not work with newer protections.

Imgburn is arguably the single best free program for burning DVD images. There are a lot a bells and whistles but you can still burn an ISO file to a DVD with just a few clicks and you don’t need to learn everything at first. I’m using V2.3.2.0 for this guide but download the current version as it is updated regularly.

Fire up DVDfab HD Decrypter and insert your DVD.

Pick a destination directory. Mine is D:\Decrypt

Click the Start button.

DVDfab strips off all the annoying stuff and leaves you with a set of files from the DVD. Notice that this is going to take about 30 minutes. Get a beer.
If you want to do all this in one step, pay Fengtao some $$$. Send Fengtao $10 anyway. This program is sweet.

When it’s all done, click the Finish button.

Now we need to open DVD Shrink. Don’t ask me for advanced tutorials, this is the Free and Simple DVD Backup Tutorial. Look at the CDFreaks Guides to DVD Shrink for all the good stuff.

Click the Open Files button and navigate to the directory that you selected in DVDfab.

Click OK.

DVD Shrink will take some time to analyze.

If you just want to compress the whole thing to fit on a single layer DVD, click the Backup! Button and skip ahead to the ImgBurn section.

All I want is a high quality backup of the main movie so I’m going to click the Reauthor button.

Now, click on Title 1 under the right side window and drag it over to the DVD Structure window on the left.

Click back on the Compression Settings tab and uncheck the unnecessary Audio and Subpicture bits. Keep at least one soundtrack.

Click the Backup! button and you will get the Backup DVD window.

Pick a place to store the .ISO image by using the browse button.

Click OK.

One word of warning. I have had trouble with the DVD Region setting on some DVD players. You may want to select your specific region on the DVD Region tab if your backup locks up in your player.

DVD Shrink will analyze and compress your image into an ISO file for burning.

This takes some time. Go get another beer.

Don’t try to do anything else on your fancy system while DVD Shrink is busy shrinking. It is a huge resource pig. Drink beer instead.

DVD Shrink will let you know it’s done. Click OK and then close DVD Shrink.

Now open ImgBurn. This program is written by the genius Lightning UK! It is arguably the best image burning software on the planet. He is constantly updating ImgBurn to add new features. You can control DVD writer settings for bitsetting, overburn…..oops, sorry, this is supposed to be a n00bie guide.

Do as Imgburn says and “Please select a file…” by clicking the little folder and magnifying glass button and selecting your ISO file.

Insert a blank DVD in your writer drive and watch the window on the right side. See all the information about your drive and disc?

In the Settings area, set the Write Speed to AUTO.

Click the Disk on Paper -> Disc button on the bottom left.

The burning window will come up. Go get another beer. Donate $10 to Lightning UK!

ImgBurn will tell you if anything goes wrong. If everything is OK you’ll get the Operation Successfully Completed message.

Congratulations, you just backed up a DVD.

Great guide, worked a treat for me

Thanks! This was a great and easy to follow guide. Exactly what I needed. Now like you said I can go and check out the other features of the softwares!
The Shagster

Ps The advice on beer was taken to heart and followed religously.

I'm happy you guys are finding this useful. And, yes, without a monster CPU these things take time. Beer drinking fills in the down time and makes you less anxious about things finishing up quickly.

great guide. this combo is what i started with.

great free combo. keep this one bumped.

Is this the same as just " dvd decrypter " ? I know that this was banned some time ago but is still out there.

Not "the same", but similar. Imgburn is also developed by LUK!

Dvd Decrypter's burn engine updated.

So they are both free but which one is better? It sounds like the new one ig it is an updated version of the original. Is the decryption the same?

IB does NOT do decryption.

Just to add something IMGBurn will also build an .iso from DVD files.
Just use mode pulldown /build This gives you some extra control over the .iso if you need them.

I meant which is better, the original dvd decrypter or the new dvdfab hd decrypter? I just heard it was hard to find the original and it was the best and worth finding.

It's not about what is better, Dvd Decrypter hasn't been updated in years, where DvdFab HD Decrypter has, so it has been able to keep up with newer protection. An option would be to use a program called RipIt4Me which uses Dvd Decrypter & will still work on a big % of todays Dvds, but then you would still have to use DvdFab HD Decrypter for the odd one. It isn't that hard to find Dvd Decrypter, all you have to do is look, Google is our friend.

dvdfab all the way.

and dont you mean bOOble