I just bought a new computer with a 16x DVD burner. What exactly can I do/not do with it? I tried burning a DVD from the library to test it, but it said it was unable to burn because it was protected. Then I thought I would try to burn a Godfather dvd and got the same message.

Any clarification would be appreciated.

The idea is to burn your own home movies, or data, to blank DVDs.

You can't copy commercial DVDs because they're copy-protected. There is a way around it, though. If it's a short movie (will fit on one single-sided, single-density 4.7 GB disc), then you can rip it to your hard drive with SmartRipper and then use Nero to burn a new DVD with those files.

If it's a normal movie w/ extra features and stuff that normally won't fit on a single DVD+/-R disc, then try a program called DVD2ONE which will compress it all onto one disc, tho you'll sacrifice some video quality. And that's all I gotta say about that.

If you want to get serious about it, read the how-to articles at VideoHelp.com .

Geoff

Thanks - exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

There is a program called "DVD X Copy Gold" which my friend (a comp science major) says gets around the copy protection because it was released before some copy-protection mandate. You can still get it at a few places, though I'm not sure where.

I am getting a DVD burner for my computer I'm building, I want to get at least an 8x burner, but I'm looking at the new dual-layered burners

I have 2 dvd burners and one dvd recorder I hook up to my tv. With nero I usually just burn short videos off my computer, but I have never really used it that much.

DJ,

I've been looking for a DVD burner too, the cheapest you can get it here 8X, is about 70 euros, and I can get it 16X double-layer for only 80 bucks here, including shipment.

The cheapest D-B discs I can get is 5 for 16 bucks. While I can get "normal" DVD-Rs of 4.7 GB for only 0.65 a piece. I guess the D-B discs will get cheaper in the long run, since D-B hasn't on the market that long.

MC14

I'm not sure if the dual-layer is worth it though...unless you have a multi-layered movie you want to burn, then I think you'd need it (i.e. Scarface, Star Wars) which is how most are now anyways, they have layer transfers part way through the movies, barely noticeble, but it allows them to have the whole movie on the disc (also with advances in compression technology).

there is a program called dvd copy x or whatever you said it was and i actually have a copy. depending on how long the movie is you could fit it on 1 disc like malibu's most wanted i was able to fit on 1 disc but bad boys II had to use two discs.

Goombah - I backup DVD's as region free using Anydvd - this programme stops the region encoding and copyright encription from working so that you can copy a region 1 or 2 disc and the backup version is region free. It can also be used to view other region discs on a region specific computer dvd drive.

The programme I use to make my backup copies is Clonedvd - it goes without saying that you would pay for this and not search for a cracked version? :p

Thanks for the info!

Is there any software that you would NOT recommend? I saw some in Best Buy this weekend that was on the low end price-wise ($20). I was leary. What is a good price to pay for DVD burning software?

Well, if it's any barometer - the best ripper for getting around copy protection is DVD X Copy Platinum, which, while banned, can still be bought online for around $160.

Then again, you should download it from Emule or Bitorrent and see if you like it first.