Copying DVDs

[BlownZ]

What do I need to be able to burn copies of DVDs that I have purchased.

We buy any movie we love...we watch movies we love all the time and I don't want the originals to become damaged. So can I do it on my computer or is their a separate unit.

Help.

 

[BandAid]

Why waste money buying them and not using them,,Rent them and then Copy them....I'M sure there both againts the law,,but so is tearing the tag off your King size Mattres...

 

[BlownZ]

Yeah...so the point of the post was what do I need to copy DVDs.

 

[THE CROW]

Go here ....

http://www.afterdawn.com/

Download DVDShrink and DVD Decrypter. Everything you need for your DVD backups !

 

[Metal]

Don't forget the DVD burner and blanks too!

 

[BlownZ]

Originally posted by Metal
Don't forget the DVD burner and blanks too!

ok...do I need a DVD burner that goes in my computer or can I buy one of these DVD recorders that allows you to record off Tv to burn dvds?

 

[AZ Vic]

Originally posted by BlownZ
ok...do I need a DVD burner that goes in my computer or can I buy one of these DVD recorders that allows you to record off Tv to burn dvds?

You can do it either way you want. If you get the recorder that hooks up to your tv, it will cost a few more bucks but it is easy to record TV shows. One for your computer is cheaper but you have to get another piece to record off of your TV.

To just record DVD to DVD it is easier to ad the second drive to your computer and set it up to burn straight from the original (assuming that you already can play DVDs in the drive in your computer). If you have a lot of movies - spring for the fastest one you can afford - they have a 16x now.

I was told that some of the new DVD recorders coming out will not allow copying of copyrighted discs... I would sure check into that before you bought. I heard it last year at a bestbuy store.

Good Luck!

Vic

 

[Demon]

I agree with THE CROW 1000%...

Get a Plextor DVD Burner (Internal). You won't be sorry...

 

[disco stu]

Is the resolution the same? And are DVD blanks different than CD's?

 

[THE CROW]

Originally posted by disco stu
Is the resolution the same? And are DVD blanks different than CD's?

It depends on how much of the video has to be compressed to fit on a single DVD disc. If your just backing up the movie and not the menus and special feactures, then the video quality will be very close or just the same as the original. If you want to copy the whole disc, then there is some degradation in video quality. More than likely you won't even notice.

Yes DVD's and CD's are different.

 

[buickfreak]

you need first a DVD burner in your computer for sure (pretty cheap 60-70$) and some blank DVDs

then use DVD Decrypter + DVD Shrink or InterVideo DVDCopy

all that process is really really easy to do

 

[Demon]

Here's what works REALLY well:

1. Plextor 12x DVD Burner (internal)
2. DVD Decrypter
3. DVD Shrink
4. HP 8x DVD+R discs

"Hypothetically" speaking, of course, it takes about 30 minutes to make a perfect backup of any DVD. Getting rid of menus is a good idea - who needs 'em and all they really do is take up space. It's nice popping in a DVD and BAM! The movie just starts playing.

 

[THE CROW]

I would suggest buying a couple of DVD+/-RW discs to practice with first. Once you get the hang of the process, then pick up a 100 count spindle of DVD+/-R discs.

 

[GNX Guy]

Beware that all brands of DVD's are not compatable with all the stand alone players out there. For instance Fuji DVD-R's most of the time are not recognized in Phillips or Toshiba Stand alones.

Get a spindle of Verbatims at Sam's for $45.00 stay away from no name and stay away from memorex

Joe

 

[Lhorn]

I'm still trying to firgure it out myself. I copied DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter. For some reason it took forever to rip a DVD and then I couldn't get it to burn.

Anyway, what I've been told is that DVD Shrink will allow you to rip (copy the DVD onto your harddrive) most encrypted DVD's. It also shrinks the file to fit on the DVD. You then need a program to burn the file onto a new DVD. Nero is popular but costs about 40-60 bucks. I think Roxio will also do it (this is what came with my DVD burner).
There are a growing handful of very new DVD's that can't be ripped with DVD Shrink - they have newer form of encryption. DVD Decrypter will reportedly rip even these new ones. As a bonus it can also burn burn the DVD so you don't need to get another program. Both DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter are available free online.

Do a search on "Digital Video Forum" and there is a great message board where you can learn a lot. Naturally this should only be used to make backup copies of DVD's that you have bought and paid for.

 

[CHARGED]

I use 123DVD, bought at Best Buy for around $24.00
It does the compression and burning in an extremley easy to use program.
Put the DVD in, choose Feature Film Only, choose the language then copy it to the HD. To burn it just choose the file where you copied the movie to, and choose burn. I probably have 25+ movies stored on various HD's I've only had problems with burning 2-3 movies and the quality of the movie is very good even on my widescreen TV.
Also my older DVD player(for the TV) had problems with the burned movies so I went out and bought a new player(Sony) and haven't had any problems since.

 

[THE CROW]

DVDShrink Guide

Here is a link to some really great, step-by-step guides using DVDShrink.

http://www.dvdshrink.info/guides.php

I'll also second what GNX Guy said earlier about the blank discs. Verbatim work very well, so do Maxell.

 

[Scott231]

Another tricky way to get a Retail DVD on to a single-layer DVD-R is to use DVD Stripper, a free program. This program lets you easily remove unwanted stuff (trailers, extra languages, warnings, etc.) while keeping some ("the Making of...", etc. extras). It will then recompute/recreate the menu hierchy for you. Unfortunately, the creator wasn't getting enough donations so he turned it into a "retail version"...I however, did donate.

Of course someone may have the installation program stored on his hard drive.

 

[Not Avg 6]

Originally posted by Lhorn
I'm still trying to firgure it out myself. I copied DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter. For some reason it took forever to rip a DVD and then I couldn't get it to burn.

Anyway, what I've been told is that DVD Shrink will allow you to rip (copy the DVD onto your harddrive) most encrypted DVD's. It also shrinks the file to fit on the DVD. You then need a program to burn the file onto a new DVD. Nero is popular but costs about 40-60 bucks. I think Roxio will also do it (this is what came with my DVD burner).
There are a growing handful of very new DVD's that can't be ripped with DVD Shrink - they have newer form of encryption. DVD Decrypter will reportedly rip even these new ones. As a bonus it can also burn burn the DVD so you don't need to get another program. Both DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter are available free online.

Do a search on "Digital Video Forum" and there is a great message board where you can learn a lot. Naturally this should only be used to make backup copies of DVD's that you have bought and paid for.

What is the best way to burn a DVD from your hard drive to a blank disc? Is there any freeware out there to help?

Thanks

 

[xrunner123]

Another way.
Get the Phillips DVD player with Divx support (or any other brand that supports Divx) and just rip to Divx (Divx is the mp3s of video). A full DVD can fit on a single CD with no loss in quality- or just copy 5 movies on 1 DVD.

Couple of good sites-
http://www.videohelp.com/
http://www.divx.com/