If you are experiencing complications during the conversion, there are a couple of things you can try.
(This applies to DVD Catalyst as well as most other DVD and video file conversion tools)
* 99 Tracks / Scrambled Scenes. Some newer DVDs feature a non-DVD compliant protection system. This protection system (called ARCOSS) can affect playback on an actual DVD player, as well as cause complications for the conversion. The easiest way to figure out the proper track to use is to play the DVD on your DVD player. Start the movie, and then either on it’s LCD display or in the On Screen Display (OSD) look at the tracknumber displayed. When you start DVD Catalyst with the DVD, select the same track number, and your movie will convert fine.
* DVD protection. If you are having issues with a new-ish movie, its possible the DVD protection is causing complications. On this website, we have a “Problem DVD” section where we list DVD’s that we are aware of causing some complications. If your DVD is not listed, try an older DVD, and see if that works.
*Video file DRM. Movies such as Amazon’s Digital Downloads, iTunes rental/purchases and Digital Copies feature a DRM (protection system) that requires activation. These files are tied to a single computer or a single (iTunes-) account, and devices that do not have the same capability can not play these files. Most conversion tools can not convert these files.
* DVD drive. In brand-computers such as Dell/Gateway/HP, cheaper-made DVD drives are often used, which can cause issues during conversion. Usually this only happens with dual-layer DVDs, at the point where the movie switches from the first layer to the second (halfway during the conversion) so I don’t think it applies to you, but if possible try a different DVD drive, or install DVD Catalyst on a different computer to see if that works better.
* Conflicting software. It is possible you have some software installed that is interfering with the conversion. Many video-related programs install so-called “helper” programs. These helper programs jump in when a certain video file type is being accessed on the computer, to improve quality, to detect information or to make it easier to import the video in an editting application. When the conversion is running and one of these helpers try and access the file, the conversion stops.
Programs such as Pinnacle Studio and Nero Showtime do this, but one of the most commonly used is the DIVX codec.
Please have a look in the DVD Catalyst manual at the bottom of page 77, where some information about some settings changes for the DIVX codec are explained with screenshots. If that doesnt help, try booting your computer in Windows Safe Mode, and try a conversion from there. In Safe mode, startup items and helper-apps are usually not loaded, so they do not interfere with the conversion.
* DVD Catalyst has a failsafe that kills the conversion if the conversion appears to be locked up. If you are using a slow computer, or, if a different program is accessing the DVD at the same time (a DVD player program for example) this could kick in to make sure no hardware damage is done.
