How do I compress a disk image (or DVD)

Question

How do I compress a disk image (or DVD)

I have a DVD that's 7.6GB and I want to compress it and save it on my hard drive. It's a concert DVD (copyright protected I'm sure) so I want fairly simple access to it after compression. I made a disk image of the DVD and then saved the disc image to the desktop using Disc Utility. A disc image file that ends with ".CDR" is created and saved on the desktop. I have no problem opening the resulting file (.CDR disc image) and getting it to play in the DVD player or anything like that, however it's still a 7.6 GB file. Is there a way to compress the disc image? I read a post about dragging/dropping the disc image from the desktop into terminal (which I've never even opened before today) and then terminal would automatically compress the disc image. Is this correct? If it is, where is the resulting file (the compressed disc image) then stored? Is this even the easiest way to compress a DVD? Do I even need to make a disc image first, or is there software that will automatically compress the DVD for me and allow my DVD player to open it? It seems like there ought to be an easier way. What am I missing here? I'm not going to save a DVD (or disc image for that matter) that takes up that much space (7.6GB) on my hard drive. Thanks for any help. Michael

PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Mar 11, 2006 5:51 PM

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Answer 1

R C-R

Level 6

17,794 points

Mar 11, 2006 11:06 PM in response to Michael Metzger

Copy protected DVD's (if that is what this one is) make copying difficult by intent. You can try MactheRipper to "rip" it to unprotected form, but please read & heed the caution about the legality of doing so at the developer's web site.

This app may or may not remove any copy protection, since DVD makers understandably sometimes modify their schemes in an attempt to defeat apps like this one. You may also need to make decisions during the ripping process that may affect the way the content plays. IOW, this isn't a 'one-button & your done' sort of thing.

That said, any unprotected DVD can be compressed in various ways by various apps, but you should be aware that compression affects playback quality. Different apps give you greater or lesser control over this & it may well be that compressing the content to a size acceptable to you results in quality that isn't acceptable.

The commercial apps Popcorn & Toast Titanium 7 are probably the easiest to use for this, but that is because they mainly are intended to compress 'jumbo' DVD's down to a size that fits onto regular ones, about 4.7 GB. For better control of compression vs. quality, you will probably have to use more 'geeky' stuff and/or use MactheRipper to discard whatever is least important to you.

If all this sounds like too much trouble, consider investing in more drive space for your .cdr files or just buying extra copies of the DVD's you need to archive.

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Answer 2

Mar 11, 2006 8:11 PM in response to Michael Metzger

The Terminal will do that.
But if you're wanting to make a .zip file, you easily do it.
Find the file and Control/Right-click on it and choose "Create Archive"
BP

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