[aklug] AV Utility: ddrescue is a handy disk, image DVD tool

Since much of what I do involves audio-visual materials I thought I'd
pass on a positive experience with GNU ddrescue
<http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/> We recently rec'd for deposit a
DVD from a donor who indicated there were problems with the DVDs they
had had made from video tape copies of some old film. I was unable to
copy the DVD using conventional means on an Apple "Mac Pro," a Pioneer
PRV-LX1 (a dedicated linux based DVD duplicator/digitizer) or under
Windows XP using a variety of tools. All of the tools I tried indicated
that some of the files (.vob files) were damaged and unreadable.

There was a thread on a list I read, "ARSC Recorded Sound Discussion
List" <http://www.arsc-audio.org/arsclist.html> in which several folks
suggested that CD and DVD burners and players can be out of alignment
and this can lead to playback problems. Several folks said they'd had
good luck with ddrescue so I thought I'd give it a try. I followed the
instructions I found here:
<http://sumofungus.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/making-backup-copies-of-damaged-dvds-using-ddrescue/>
and after reading the ddrescue manual I successfully created a 9660 iso
disk image of the problem DVD (films from Alaska c. 1940). I'm wondering
if anybody here has used the program and what your experience might have
been?

--greg

-- 
Greg Schmitz
AMIPA - Alaska Moving Image and Preservation Association
v: 907.786.4983
f: 907.786-1834
e: greg@amipa.org
www.amipa.org
The Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to media preservation and education to ensure long-term access to Alaska’s moving image heritage.
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