Odd Warning about MacTheRipper - Meaning?

[Tango]

I tried ripping a DVD I just got in the mail from an eBay seller and I got this:


For reference, it says: "It appears that you are opening the disc processed by DvdFab/MacTheRipper which is known to produce damaged VOB files. Errors may follow - please use original disc instead."

I've never put this DVD in my drive before. I literally just broke the seal on the package. I did try to rip it and it did okay on the 1st title, but was stuck for a long time on the 2nd one. I'm going to try it again, skipping the 2nd one.

I'm not clear what the relationship is between DVDFab and MacTheRipper is. Does this message mean this disk is somehow damaged or looks like a DVD I've tried to rip before, or does it mean MakeMKV checked an online DB that says this DVD has protection issues?

[Woodstock]

There are some disks that are authored using techniques usually associated with pirated disks. People rip the originals using the mentioned programs, then re-mix them to create their own "product".

This can happen with big-name vendors; about half the seasons of the ABC series Castle that I've purchased through Amazon get this warning. I cannot say that they are NOT pirated, just because the packaging looks legitimate, and the seller was listed as "Amazon". I did try to track down whether it was pirated or not, though.

The "stuck on the second one" might be trying to pull Closed Captions, which is a known issue with disks that advertise having CCs but actually do not. Eventually they will rip. You can check this by deselecting the CC tracks from the titles.

[Tango]

I wanted to rip without captions, to see if that helped, but I can't find how to do that. I checked all the settings. How can I change that?

MakeMKV and Handbrake could pull 6 out of 8 episodes. With #2, it just goes on and on, stuck at the same place, with something close to 102MB written out. It was trying to get past that forever! I stopped it and pulled the DVD to look it over and it doesn't look scratched. #8 - Handbrake would rip it and give me a 0B long file. MakeMKV just reported it as failed.

This is from eBay. I didn't mention the show name - wasn't sure that was a good idea, but since I posted, I've looked over post titles and see people do that. It's WKRP in Cincinnati. I see someone else has similar problems with the same series, like the low video quality. Recently I ripped Haven and experimented with both MakeMKV and Handbrake because it was lower quality video - just kind of fuzzy when I ripped it. Fuzzier than I've been getting and I've done a lot of rips. I'm betting it's also quite possible both eBay and Amazon sellers might be selling pirated DVD sets and not know it and that the real pirate is their source.

I'm finding that it's just way too common for a DVD or BD to have glitches. I don't think I'm ever having problems due to protection. It seems like the reason I can't rip a disk is almost always due to physical damage.

I'll check out the rest of the set and see how it goes. But at this point, I'm going to return it and probably ask for a refund and re-order from either a different vendor or Amazon. While I get that there's no guarantee that Amazon vendors have good DVDs, my experience is that I have far fewer problems with DVD sets I get from Amazon and returns are easy. (We're out away from shopping centers and the like, at least a 20 minute drive to get to anything and with Amazon, I can just have UPS pick up returns.)

[Woodstock]

Changing names with Expert mode enabled contains information on using "Expert Mode", which allows you to select which tracks you want to be included in a title.

If you're experiencing rip errors, please read here first! covers common disk errors, and ways to deal with them.

Sometimes, the disk structure will be "disturbed" by an error.

As I recall, legitimate WKRP disks may be "burn on demand", which can mean they're hard to read in many players. I've started avoiding those, after going through multiple copies of one title, trying to get one to read correctly. Turns out that they are NOT friendly to Blu-Ray players; only one of my DVD-only drives could rip the whole disk. If you have access to one, you might give it a try.

[Tango]

Changing names with Expert mode enabled contains information on using "Expert Mode", which allows you to select which tracks you want to be included in a title.

If you're experiencing rip errors, please read here first! covers common disk errors, and ways to deal with them.

Sometimes, the disk structure will be "disturbed" by an error.

Thanks. I'll go through both of them.

As I recall, legitimate WKRP disks may be "burn on demand", which can mean they're hard to read in many players. I've started avoiding those, after going through multiple copies of one title, trying to get one to read correctly. Turns out that they are NOT friendly to Blu-Ray players; only one of my DVD-only drives could rip the whole disk. If you have access to one, you might give it a try.

This sounds like I'm rather screwed, as is anyone trying to get a good copy of WKRP.

I have sleep issues and one trick that works is to leave old sitcoms like this playing on the TV as I fall asleep. (I also use a pillow speaker, so the sound doesn't bother my wife.) But if I just stick a DVD in, I find I wake up within 20 minutes of it ending in the middle of the night. I've seen sets with a bad disc here or there, but I'm on the 2nd disc and both of them have had trouble with the 8th episode on the disc. Since I don't see damage, I'm starting to suspect part of the problem is what you're telling me - or that these are pirate and just a crappy job. I realize a pirate can copy a set of discs exactly. I bought a set of Star Trek:The Next Generation DVDs that were almost indistinguishable - I don't remember the whole story, but I do remember something tipping me off it was a pirate set. At this point, I'm not sure what to do, since this WKRP set looks like all the others. I guess it's worth the cost of shipping to try another set, but it sounds like, with this title, I shouldn't expect much luck.