I used DVD Decrypter to rip the contents of some movie DVDs onto my HD. Before I worry about transcoding them onto a DVD-R, I decided to see the version on my HD to check for any visible problems.

A few times in the movie, there is a slight pause, about a second long. The sound and image both stop for a short while and then continue as normal. I've seen two movies so far and noticed about a dozen or so.

I checked the original DVD by playing from the original instead of my HD, and these pauses are in the same location.

So, I'm thinking its either because of a defect (maybe media or a small scratch) in the original so the ripped version also carries the defect, or the pause occurs where two chapters are joined together.

Which one is it, or is it something else?

It's normal for these pauses to happen when the DVD switches between layers (on DVD-9 discs that is).

Pauses can aso be caused by readability problems, either by the reader or a scratchy/dirty disc.

If these pauses don't appear on your standalone DVD player, maybe find a friend that has a DVD-ROM on thier computer, and test it in there. Then see if you can rip it from thier computer.