DVD Shrink Re-Author Mode Explained
Ask experienced DVD Shrink users for their single best tip, and most will say the same thing: use re-author mode. It is the feature that lets you build a backup from only the parts of a disc you actually want, and it is the key to getting the sharpest possible copy of a movie. This guide explains exactly what re-author mode does, when to use it, and how to get professional looking backups with just a few clicks.
What re-author mode does
DVD Shrink offers two ways to back up a disc. Full Disc copies everything, menus, trailers, extras and all. Re-author, by contrast, hands you a blank canvas and lets you drag in only the pieces you choose. Instead of duplicating the whole disc, you build a custom backup that contains just the main movie, or just the episodes you want, along with only the audio and subtitle tracks you use. Everything you leave out is space that DVD Shrink gives back to the content you keep, which is why re-author is the secret to higher quality backups.
Why re-author gives better quality
The reason is simple arithmetic. A movie DVD spends a large share of its capacity on things you may never watch, the animated menus, the studio trailers, the deleted scenes, the commentary tracks and the half dozen foreign language dubs. When you copy the whole disc, all of that competes for space, so the film itself must be compressed harder to fit your target size. Strip it back to just the movie in your language, and DVD Shrink suddenly has far less to squeeze. The film keeps more of its original bitrate, and with deep analysis switched on, the result can be almost indistinguishable from the source. Less clutter means a sharper movie, every time.
How to use re-author mode step by step
- Open your disc. Insert the DVD, launch DVD Shrink, and click Open Disc so it reads the contents.
- Click Re-author. The window switches to a blank left panel with a DVD browser on the right.
- Drag in the main title. Find the main movie in the browser, usually the largest title, and drag it into the left panel.
- Trim the tracks. Expand the title and untick the audio and subtitle streams you do not want, keeping only what you use.
- Set compression. Select the title and enable deep analysis for the smoothest shrink if compression is needed.
- Back up. Click Backup, choose ISO or VIDEO_TS, pick a location, and let DVD Shrink build your custom copy.
The finished backup contains exactly what you chose and nothing else, at the best quality the disc space allows.
Finding the right main title
Occasionally a disc tries to hide the real movie among decoy titles, a trick some studios used to confuse copiers. In re-author mode this is easy to handle. The main film is almost always the longest title with the biggest file size, so sort by length and pick the largest. If you are unsure, use the preview pane to play a few seconds of a title and confirm it is the movie rather than a menu loop or a trailer. A moment spent checking saves you from backing up the wrong thing, and DVD Shrink makes the check quick.
Combining titles into one backup
Re-author mode is not limited to a single title. You can drag several titles into the left panel to combine them into one backup, which is perfect for television discs. If a box set disc holds six episodes and you want only four, drag in the four you want in the order you would like them to play. DVD Shrink stitches them into a single smooth backup, dropping the rest. This flexibility lets you build exactly the disc you wish the studio had made, with only the content you care about.
Keeping the tracks you want
One of the most effective ways to save space in re-author mode is trimming audio and subtitle streams. A typical disc carries the film in several languages, plus a director's commentary and multiple subtitle sets. If you only ever watch it in English with English subtitles, all those other tracks are just taking up room. Untick them in re-author mode and that space goes straight back to picture quality. Keep the one audio track and the one or two subtitle tracks you actually use, and drop the rest with a clear conscience.
When to use Full Disc instead
Re-author is not always the answer, and it is fair to say when Full Disc wins. If you love a disc's menus, want to keep the bonus features, or are preserving a special edition exactly as it was made, Full Disc mode is the right choice, since it keeps the complete experience. The trade off is more compression on the movie itself. A good rule of thumb is to use Full Disc for treasured collector's discs you want to preserve whole, and re-author for everyday backups where all you want is the film at its best. Many people keep both, a full copy of favourites and trimmed re-author versions for regular watching.
Get the most from re-author with the official DVD Shrink
Re-author mode is one of the features that made DVD Shrink famous, and it works best in the genuine software. Beware the many clones and copycat downloads online, which are often outdated or missing the polish of the real program. This site is the home of the original and official DVD Shrink, the best maintained version on the market, with the trusted engine that gives re-author its quality edge. To build sharp, custom backups of the films you own, download DVD Shrink from the official source, then follow our full tutorial and dual layer shrinking guide to master every part of the process.
Building a highlights or custom disc
Re-author mode turns DVD Shrink into a light editing tool for the discs you own. Because you choose exactly which titles go into your backup and in what order, you can build a disc that never existed on the shelf. Fancy a single disc of just your favourite episodes from a long series, or a compilation of the concert numbers you actually replay? Drag those titles into the left panel in the order you want, drop everything else, and DVD Shrink assembles them into one smooth backup. This is a wonderful way to make the collection work for you, trimming away the filler and keeping only the moments you love, all while staying within the discs you legally own.
Preserving chapters and navigation
A common worry is whether trimming a disc in re-author mode breaks the chapter points that let you jump around a film. In practice DVD Shrink handles this gracefully. When you bring the main title into your backup, its chapter markers come along, so you can still skip forward and back through the movie just as you could on the original. What you lose are only the elements you deliberately dropped, the menus and extras, not the basic navigation within the film itself. For most people this is the perfect balance, a clean copy of the movie that still behaves like a proper DVD when you want to jump to a favourite scene.
Re-author and copy protection
Part of what makes re-author so smooth is that DVD Shrink deals with the disc's protections quietly in the background. As it reads the title you selected, it removes the region locks and the forced sequences that stop you skipping straight to the content, so your backup is cleaner and friendlier than the original ever was. There is no separate step to worry about and nothing extra to install. You simply pick your movie, and the copy you get plays freely, without the trailers you cannot skip or the region restrictions that tie a disc to one part of the world. This seamless handling is a big reason re-author feels so effortless.
Common re-author questions
New users often have the same few questions about re-author mode. Will the backup still play in a normal DVD player? Yes, because DVD Shrink rebuilds a proper DVD-Video structure, a re-author backup burned to disc plays anywhere. Can you add titles back after removing them? You cannot undo within a finished backup, but you can simply start a fresh re-author and choose differently, which takes only moments. Does re-author always give better quality than Full Disc? For the movie itself, yes, because dropping extras frees space, though you lose the menus and bonus features. Is re-author harder to use than Full Disc? Not really, it is just a drag and a few ticks, and the quality reward is well worth the tiny bit of extra effort.
A worked example of the space you save
It helps to see the numbers. Imagine a dual layer movie disc that holds about 8.5 GB, made up of roughly 6 GB for the film and another 2.5 GB spread across menus, trailers, deleted scenes, a commentary track and four foreign language dubs. Copy the whole disc to a 4.7 GB blank and DVD Shrink must compress everything down to about fifty five percent of its size, which is a heavy squeeze. Now switch to re-author mode, keep only the film and your one audio track, and the content to fit drops to around 6 GB. The compression needed falls dramatically, so the movie keeps far more of its original detail. Same disc, same blank, but a noticeably sharper result, purely because you dropped the parts you were never going to watch.
Re-author tips for beginners
If you are new to re-author mode, a few habits will have you producing excellent backups straight away. Always start by sorting titles by length so the main movie, usually the longest, is easy to spot. Preview before you commit, so you never back up a decoy title by mistake. Keep only the one audio track and the subtitles you use, since every stream you drop becomes quality for the film. Turn on deep analysis whenever the disc needs compressing. And save to your hard drive first, testing the result before you burn. None of this is complicated, and after your first couple of discs it becomes second nature, turning re-author into the fast, reliable routine that experienced users swear by.
Re-author and keeping the right subtitles
Re-author mode is also a quiet ally for accessibility. Discs often bury the subtitle or captions track you rely on among many others, and Full Disc copies keep them all whether you use them or not. In re-author mode you choose exactly which subtitle streams to keep, so you can hold on to the ones you need for comfortable viewing and drop the rest to save space. The same applies to audio, where keeping a clear main track while removing unused dubs both frees room and simplifies playback. Tailoring a backup to the way you actually watch is one of the most useful things re-author lets you do, and it costs nothing but a few ticks before you start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Re-author mode in DVD Shrink?
Re-author mode lets you build a custom backup from just the parts you want, such as the main movie and one audio track, rather than copying the whole disc.
When should I use Re-author instead of Full Disc?
Use Re-author when you only want the film and not the menus or extras. Dropping the extras leaves more space, so the movie keeps higher quality.
Does Re-author mode improve quality?
Yes, indirectly. By removing content you do not need, less compression is required on the main title, so the picture looks better.
Can I keep subtitles in Re-author mode?
Yes. You choose exactly which audio tracks and subtitles to keep, so you can include only the languages you use and drop the rest.
Is Re-author hard to use?
Not at all. You drag the title you want into the re-author panel, pick your tracks, then click Backup. It takes just a few clicks.
