Despite the possibility to last a lifetime, DVDs are very fragile, even compared with old VHS tapes. They are easily scratched or damaged in million other ways, and the more popular DVD is, the more chances it has to get damaged because of frequent use. The most logical way here is to make a backup copy of the disk; however, there are certain problems associated with copying DVDs.

First of all, not all DVD contain same amount of data and certainly not all of them could be copied into standard DVD-R. Second, sometimes it makes sense to make a copy of movie on smaller recordable medium, for example, if original movie is recorded on DVD-9 disk, the backup can be made on DVD-5 disk without any noticeable quality loss. To resize a DVD movie into smaller medium there are lots of DVD-Shrinker utilities, with DVD Shrink being the most famous one.

Strangely enough, the original author for such a popular piece of software is still unknown. Fearing possible legal pursuits, he hasn’t ever shown himself and even the official website of the program is being supported by someone unrelated with the program. Also, the link to program download on official website leads to Google Search, so the only way to get DVD Shrink is to download it from alternative sources. Probably, it’s due to this unprecedented security measures that the development of DVD Shrink hasn’t stopped yet.
Indeed, it is hard nowadays to exercise the right to make a personal backup copy.

Features
No single DVD-copying program is possible without means to decrypt DVD protection, and so is DVD Shrink. Unfortunately, DVD Shrink decryption tools are far from ideal, so it makes sense to use a separate program for this, for example DVD Decrypter which was reviewed earlier.

Decrypted and shrinked movie copies can be saved on either a hard drive (both as a *.iso images or as a set of files) or on DVD-R medium.

DVD-Shrink doesn’t have its own tools for burning CDs and DVDs, however, it uses Nero Burning ROM for that purposes. DVD Decrypter burning is also supported, although it takes much longer to use as it can only burn image files. In this case DVD Shrink first creates *.iso image file on a hard drive and then burns it on DVD-R.
Essentially, it means that one of these DVD-burning programs have to be used in pair with DVD Shrink.

In DVD Shrink, disks could be backed up in two modes: Full disk and Re-author.

In a Full disk mode disk is being copied with full preservation of its structure, so all the menus and additional materials are left intact. The compression for each fragment can be set manually, separate streams can be discarded and some of the animated menus can be replaced with still images.

In Re-author mode the structure of original disk is not preserved, and it is possible to rearrange episode order, add own information, delete bonus materials and unnecessary advertisement or make them shorter. It is also possible to compose own collection of episodes from several DVDs on one disk.

Interface
(01) The interface of the program is well-designed and easy to use. On top of the window there are a traditional drop-down menu and main toolbar. It is responsible for DVD disk or ripped files opening (“Open Disk” or “Open Files” button), selecting optimal compression (“Analyze” button), starting actual backup (“Backup !” button) and selecting one of the main modes of program (“Full Disk” or “Re-Author”). The button icons can be changed to any of the 7 icons supplied with the program or to anything drawn by the user.

The top drop-down menu generally doubles the toolbar, however there are some unique options there, such as opening ISO image file (“Open Disc Image”) or entering preferences for the program (“Edit\Preference”).

Right below the panel there is a graphical bar that indicates the difference between the size of the media (which is set in preferences) and actual movie. If the bar is completely green, then the movie fits on the recording media completely, otherwise (if there is red area on the right of the bar) something have to be either deleted or compressed more.

Below the bar the window is split into three frames: top left displays the selected disk structure (DVD Structure), bottom left is the preview frame and on the right is the compression settings frame. In a Re-Author mode (Full Disc is always selected by default) a new tab “DVD Browser” appears on the right, and the “DVD Structure” frame gets three additional buttons. Each frame can be easily resized so the program could be adjusted to virtually any screed resolution. Both the bar and the frames are only active when DVD disk or its hard-drive copy is selected.

Usage
Straight after opening of DVD or ripped disk files on a hard drive, the analysis window pops up. This window appears only once for each disk, as the analysis results are stored within program. For couple of minutes DVD Shrink tries to determine the encryption and disk structure (and display full preview of the disk in a small frame), after which the analysis window disappear and the program is ready to work.

Using DVD Shrink is quite easy. First, the desired episodes or the whole disk have to be selected in “Disk Structure” frame (note that they can be instantly previewed in Preview Frame), then the compression level have to be set in a drop-down menu. Also, unwanted audio streams could be discarded by unchecking the appropriate boxes.

To completely rearrange the disk, the program needs to be switched into Re-Author mode, in which the desired episodes can be dragged from DVD-Browser tab into DVD Structure frame, where the order and duration of episodes can be set. Next step is the selection of appropriate value in “Compression Settings” tab.

After preparing the disc for the backup and setting the compression, it is possible to adjust quality settings by pressing “Analyze” button on the toolbar. After around 10 minutes the program will determine which parts of the movie can be compressed more and which of them are better to leave intact. (04). After this procedure is finished, it is a high time to press a “Backup !” button. The selection window for the writing method will appear, allowing to select to either burn backup copy on the CD\DVD or to save it on the hard drive. It is also possible to add additional effects or to turn off the region code for DVD disk in this window.
The OK buttons starts the actual copying process. Few hours wait, and the copy is ready !

Summary
DVD Shrink is a perfect program for large DVD collection owners or for a movie fans.
This program allows to make DVD copy for everyday use and not to be afraid of scratching the original disk. Convenient interface helps to do it fast and easy.

Unfortunately, there are also few drawbacks. First of all, the program doesn’t bypass the DVD protection well enough and secondly it doesn’t have any built-in burning tools, which leads to usage of the third-party software in both cases.

Interface – 5.
Functionality – 4.