DVD Shrink

Discontinued

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2004
Developer: DVD Shrink (individual developer, real name not specified)
Pricing: Free (freeware)
Open source: No
Platforms: Windows

Indexes

DVD/Blu-ray Ripping

Overview

DVD Shrink is a freeware Windows program for transcoding and compressing DVD video to fit on single-layer DVDs from dual-layer originals. It decrypts DVDs using DeCSS, removes unwanted content like extra audio tracks or subtitles, and supports modes like Full Disk backup or Reauthoring for customized copies.¹⁷

Key Features

DVD Compression - Recompresses video to as little as 39% of original size to fit on 4.7 GB DVD-R from 8.5 GB dual-layer DVDs.
DeCSS Decryption - Decrypts commercial DVDs to access and process protected content.
Full Disk Mode - Creates functionally identical backups with optional deselection of audio/subtitle streams.
Reauthor Mode - Allows removal or replacement of titles, menus, or extras with still images to save space.
Custom Compression - Manual or automatic distribution of compression across titles, menus, and features.
ISO/Image Support - Opens VIDEO_TS folders or disk images in ISO, IMG, NRG, MDS formats.
VBR Encoding - Variable bitrate re-encoding of DVD video.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Standard	Free	Full DVD backup, compression, and reauthoring features.

Platforms & Requirements

Runs on Microsoft Windows; compatible with Windows XP through Windows 11 per some sources, but official development ended in 2005 with version 3.2.²⁷ Can run on Linux via Wine. Requires DVD drive for input and pairs with separate burning software.

Integrations & Ecosystem

DVD Decrypter (common pairing for ripping)
Any DVD burning software (e.g., ImgBurn)
Wine for Linux compatibility
ISO image generation for Nero or other burners

Alternatives

App	Difference
HandBrake	Open-source video transcoder supporting broader formats beyond DVDs, no built-in DVD decryption.
MakeMKV	Focuses on lossless ripping to MKV without compression, supports Blu-ray.
DVDFab	Commercial all-in-one tool with newer decryption for current DVDs/Blu-rays.
AnyDVD	Background decryption tool without compression, often used with cloning software.

Reputation

DVD Shrink is praised for its simplicity, small 1 MB size, and effectiveness in backing up early 2000s DVDs via easy compression and reauthoring.¹⁷ Criticisms include obsolescence against modern copy protections like ARccOS and lack of updates since 2005, with fake 'new versions' identified as scams.⁷⁸ It remains popular among legacy users via Wine but is no longer suitable for recent commercial DVDs.

Sources (8)