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Written by Don Lee
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Friday, 26 May 2006 |
 NTI Dragon FliX was released to help Mac users make backup copies of
their unprotected DVDs and provide compression features so you
can fit that dual layer DVD content onto a 4.7-gigabyte single layer
disc. I’ve tried a few programs in the past but I’ve always had issues
with the quality of video compression. I was interested in seeing if
Dragon FliX could provide better solution.
After I installed and launched Dragon FliX, the interface will present an option to import VIDEO_TS content. Once you navigate to the unprotected VIDEO_TS folder, the program will begin to parse the DVD content into Dragon FliX. Once the parsing is complete, the main window will look similar to the picture below.
Dragon FliX will now display a lot of information about the content you are now working with such as the video format, titles and size of content. From the Copy pulldown menu, you are given the choice between choosing all of the DVD’s content or you can select just the main movie.
Then you can choose the audio files you want included. You will notice that if you choose just the main movie that most of these audio files will be deselected. Then you move on to choosing the output size. The Output pulldown menu gives you the choice between the standard 4.7-gigabyte DVD or you can choose you own output size. If you choose to define your own output, the textbox below will become enabled and you will be able to set the size you want.
Now you have to choose the Action you want to perform with the data. Select Copy to VIDEO_TS folder, Copy to ISO Image file or Burn to DVD disc from the pulldown menu. After you make your selection, press the red button at the lower right side of the Dragon FliX window and the transcoding process will begin to prepare the data for the final burn. The transcoding time will differ based on the size of the content, drive speed and other factors.
From the Preferences panel, you can change the location of your temp directory, selection of various languages, audio codings (AC3, MPEG1/2, MPEG 2, PCM, DTS, SDDS) and audio channels (Mono, Stereo, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1).
Dragon FliX can even burn your DVD content onto multiple drives at once. While I don’t see this as being advantageous to an individual user, this feature could be very useful to small DVD facilities or businesses, which need to make multiple disc copies.
Overall, Dragon FliX is a solid program that does a good job compressing content down to a single-layer DVD as well as making backups. The program’s interface is easy to understand and the process is broken down into just a few clicks. I felt that this is a niche product but the $39.99 price tag is priced right. Protect your precious personal DVDs by making backup copies of them. Dragon FliX earns a 4 out of 5 star recommendation.
NewTech Infosystems offers a free trial that you can use for up to 10 uses. Remember that Dragon FliX will not circumvent any copyright protection placed on DVDs.
Visit NewTech InfoSystems website to learn more about Dragon FliX.
System Requirements
Macintosh computer with Power PC processor
128 MB of RAM
Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or later
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