I'm running a dual processor 1.25Ghz G4 with 2Gb RAM & OS X 10.4.2, fitted with a new NEC 3540 dual-layer DVD writer alongside the original combo-drive.

I've downloaded & tested the trial version of Fast DVD Copy successfully - for some reason it allowed me to do 2 burns instead of 1. The first was to copy a single-layer original (a DVD-5) onto a single-layer blank, and the second was to copy a dual-layer original (a DVD-9) onto a dual-layer blank. So far so good - a cursory glance at the results seems to show that the copies have come out OK.

Now, I already have Toast Titanium 6.1.1, Popcorn 1.0.3 & MacTheRipper 2.6.6, and I could even download a trial of DVD2oneX if I wanted, but none of this software offers the elegant & simple solution that Fast DVD Copy should. I say "should" deliberately. I've read all the horror stories on here about people's nightmarish experiences with the product, and to those affected, you have my condolences. We all merely want Fast DVD Copy to work as it should!

I have a number of specific preferences & priorities regarding my own particular situation, as follows:

What I want to do is to successfully & reliably clone encrypted dual-layer DVD-9 originals, unaltered, onto dual-layer DVD-9 blanks. There's also the odd DVD-5 that I want to clone onto DVD-5 blanks too. I say clone, since I do not want to bugger about with the content in any way shape or form! No removal or alteration of special features, subtitles, audio, etc. No compression. Nothing. I want my copies, as far as is possible, to be indistinguishable from the originals, as far as the actual bits of data are concerned. Why on earth anyone would want anything but this is beyond me! (but that's another discussion for another time!)

Now my 2 trial burns appear to show that the product can do what I want. Since I have MacTheRipper, Popcorn & Toast, why don't I just save my cash & use those instead, you might ask?

Well, Toast won't do encrypted discs at all, and whenever I try to clone an unencrypted DVD-9, it all appears to work perfectly until right at the very end when the following error appears: "The drive reported an error: Sense Key = MEDIUM ERROR Sense Code = 0x02 NO SEEK COMPLETE". I've ruined countless expensive DVD-9 blanks trying to get Toast to copy a dual-layer DVD - it just refuses! Admittedly, it could be the blanks themselves, but they are decent branded media, and the blank (from the same packet) that I used with Fast DVD Copy burnt fine!

Does anyone know why this is happening? Could it be due to the fact that I haven't applied Patchburn to the drive, altering it's firmware & thereby making it "Apple supported"?

People on here seem to recommend the MacTheRipper/Popcorn route as the one to go for, but I can't get Popcorn to include all the content from a DVD without insisting on compressing the movie! For example, I ripped my "Jackass - the movie" DVD using MacTheRipper just fine, including all the content. This gives a VIDEO_TS folder of 6.9Gb in size. When I import this into Popcorn, even with the disc type above the red burn button set to "DL", it sets "Low Compression (36% reduction)" under Copy Options whether I want to or not, even though there is plenty of room to not compress the disc! Tell it to only include the main movie, and suddenly it says "No compression" and "Quality: Identical to Original". Why the hell doesn't it let me choose what to do? Why is "Auto-Compression: On (if needed)"? How can I turn it off? I've been through every single menu item. Nothing! So, that's Popcorn out the window then. Damn shame. Anyway, assuming it just uses the same burning engine as Toast, it would probably just throw up the same error as I get with Toast anyway - and I'm not about to waste yet another blank finding out!

So, everyone's thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Assuming I can get one of those $30 rebate code numbers that's still valid (the one on versiontracker expired on August 31st), I reckon that $69 (which over here in the UK is about £38) would be well worth it - IF it's going to work reliably! The only other thing to note is that I'm really not bothered about the speed issue. I couldn't care less if what I end up using takes hours to do the job, as long as it does it accurately, reliably & without flaws & errors!

Thanks very much for your interest.