So…I eventually really got hooked on DVD’s and ended up getting quite a few. Thing is though that as soon as I got a bunch of DVDs everyone wants to borrow them - SO I want to make backups of my movies and keep the original as I lend out a copy.

A) Is that legal?

B) For a DVD-burning virgin like myself…HOW DO I DO THIS?

I have a Sony TR laptop (is the CD drive able to burn to DVDs?)

If not whats the best external DVD burner I should get?
And how about sofware?
Oh..and process? Do I ‘load’ the DVD into the laptop as a file and then from that file burn it onto a DVD - OR does it require the DVD to be spinning at the same time as another - external - dvd burner is connected and writes to a dvd disk??

Geeee..as you can tell..I know nothing about it…

Help!!

[quote author=“Tiffany”]So…I eventually really got hooked on DVD’s and ended up getting quite a few. Thing is though that as soon as I got a bunch of DVDs everyone wants to borrow them - SO I want to make backups of my movies and keep the original as I lend out a copy.

A) Is that legal?

B) For a DVD-burning virgin like myself…HOW DO I DO THIS?

I have a Sony TR laptop (is the CD drive able to burn to DVDs?)

If not whats the best external DVD burner I should get?
And how about sofware?
Oh..and process? Do I ‘load’ the DVD into the laptop as a file and then from that file burn it onto a DVD - OR does it require the DVD to be spinning at the same time as another - external - dvd burner is connected and writes to a dvd disk??

Geeee..as you can tell..I know nothing about it…

Help!!

Thats a lot of questions and I am on my Airpanel so ill keep it short.

Unless you have a TR5 you can’t burn DVDs.

I have no experience with external drives so I cant help all that Much except to say you want a dual format + and - RW drives (yes the +- makes a difference). The newest thing is dual layer which is nice but if there is a big difference in price I would Skip that.

DVD Shrink is free and does the job well.

As for legality you can copy for backup purposes so technically You would need to copy them but lend out the originals.

Hope this helps
Erik

A - It’s legal to make a backup copy for your own use. The problem is that the disks are encrypted and the software to break the encryption is technically illegal. That said, a zillion people are doing it and as long as you keep it low key and ethical…

B - You will need an external dvd RW drive. I strongly suggest firewire for decent performance.

Commercial DVD’s are dual layer. Only the newest DVDRW drives support it and the media is costly.

I really suggest a program called DVDShrink. You can eliminate the “extras” and fit a movie onto a standard writeable DVD. The image quality is good enough for most uses.

In addition to DVDShrink you’ll need one or two other programs to actuallly burn the disk. There are free tools or you can use Nero Burning ROM or other commercial software.

It’s pretty busy, but you can find links to DVDShrink and a number of tutorials on using it with different burning options here:

http://www.videohelp.com/

Well, it depends on who you ask. I think it’s perfectly fine making your own DVD copies for backup. That said, you should understand a few things.

First, most DVDs in the US are DVD-9 discs. That means they can hold up to 9GB of data which allows them to have a nice picture and extras. The most common type of DVD burners (DVD-RW/DVD+RW) only hold 4.7GB of data. The newer DVD+RW/DL (dual layer) discs hold 8.5GB of data but are more expensive.

So, either way you look at it, you may need to re-encode the regular DVD into another DVD but with higher compression. So, you’ll need to squeeze 7-9GBs into a 4.5GB disc. One of the easier tools to use is DVDShrink .

Assuming you buy an external burner…what DVDShrink will do is read the contents of a DVD, copy it onto your hard disk and then convert it to a smaller version that should fit on your target DVD. It will then burn the DVD on the external unit when it’s done recompressing everything.

A. Yes it IS legal as long as you aren’t making people pay you to rent them out to them or renting movies, ripping and burning them, and then keeping them.

B. One of the easiest ways is to get a program like DVD X Copy Gold.   It is really self-explanatory.  My friend who wanted an Apple iBook because it was…...orange… was even able to get it to work w/o too much help from me… (She forgot which was her DVD-Burner drive… I knew which it was and she didn’t…yea, she isn’t the most computer literate…)  But, back to DVD X Copy… In a nutshell:
 
You start up the program and it asks you to insert a DVD, it will ask you whether or not it is a dual-layer DVD or not… if it is you must have a dual-layer DVD writer and dual-layer DVD’s.  Then it will begin the ripping process once you select either A) burn directly to DVD media (after it has saved the image file to your hard drive) or B) save it as a viewable file somewhere on your hard drive. Then, your finished.

Whether or not your CD-RW can burn it depends… is it a CD-RW ALONE or combo (DVD-RW/CD-RW)?  However, either way the TR’s DVD-RW/CD-RW does not burn dual-layer DVD’s so an external   Sony 16x Dual Layer DVD +/- Writer would be a good decision.  PLus, now the prices on these writers have begun to drop.  NEC also has a DVD+/-RW writer that rivals Sony’s.  Personal preference and price I guess is what will ultimately decide… I’d take the Sony but… your decision.  (The process was sorta explained up there ^)
Hope this helps.  :D

I agree 100%, its mine and I can back it up if I want to…

Erik

I agree 100%, its mine and I can back it up if I want to…

Erik

In a perfect world…

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

FWIW, DVD X Copy Gold has been discontinued as 321 Studios was basically sued into submission by the MPAA. So, if you can still find it then hurry and buy it.

Otherwise, DVDShrink (which is free) is a very usable alternative. I use it all the time myself.

And this. DeCSS is the technique used in DVDShrink. Interesting story surrounding DeCSS and its author if you care to search it out.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/02/04/dvd.law.idg/

Don’t forget DVDShrink is freeware

And put the Title back to Sony TR World at the top you jokers :D

[quote author=“psikey”]Don’t forget DVDShrink is freeware

And put the Title back to Sony TR World at the top you jokers :D

Yeah, it’s supposed to be Sony TR-lite World.

Thanks!

You guys are awesome!!!

I found this DVD-writer/burner that I kinda like (and my buget is about 200 dollars so it would work).

Would it work for what I want it to do?
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=YTK5_E3_JfC5egyc_uuz9wLxrkc9uY1p3vM=?ProductSKU=DRX700UL&Dept=cpu_accessories&CategoryName=cpu_Sony_PCAccessories_CD/DVDBurn_DVDBurners

Its the Sony DRX-700UL (or 710UL)

Thanks again!!!

If you want to save some money (and also get that $30 rebate) you can get it at NewEgg.com

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=27-131-230&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=CD+Recorders

$182 and under your budget!  :wink:

not a bad price….Thanks for the link…

I agree 100%, its mine and I can back it up if I want to…

Erik

In a perfect world…

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

Sue me :wink: , I need the practice

Yes, it’s the decrypting part thats the hang up…blah, they usually don’t go after individual users without a reason…ie selling or distributing.

Erik

These folks always need good lawyers who give a damn…

http://www.eff.org/