is dvd burning like vcd burning? the lower the speed, the better the quality??

also when using dvd shrink to back up a dvd5, do u guys do any compression at all??

also, is it ok to label a dvd with cd labels?

Okay to answer your first question the quality of the picture really isn't affected by the speed of the burning. The only issue some people run into is the disc not working properly in a DVD Player (ie skipping). However a number of us (myself included) burn at 4x with no problems. Alot of it has to do with the type of media that you are using. I recommend discs that use Ritek, Taiyo Yuden or Apple dyes. The surest way to get these dyes is to get the ones that come straight from the source. Ritek is my personal preference as they deliver excellent quality for the price. Second when backing up a DVD5 there is no need for compression since it will already fit on a DVD-R without having to do anything. If you want to save yourself some time and juggling more than 1 program, just use DVD Decrypter in ISO mode. Read DVD5 disc to the HD in ISO mode and write it back in ISO mode to the DVD-R. Either way though no work necessary for backing up a DVD5 other than the standard decryption. Third I would strongly suggest NOT using labels on your discs, they are known to cause problems in playback, ect. if they are even slightly off-center or can rub against the top of the drive and affect playback. Stick with a Sharpie Marker (permanent marker of some kind) and you will be much happier with your results.

alrighty then, thanx for the quick replys and clearing things up for me

No problem. Good luck with your first burns.