Copy Dvds

[sabai sabai]

Hello Jockstar -

When "copying" my DVD collection onto blank DVDs, I normally use "DVD Decrypter" and "DVD Shrink." Both are available from the internet, and best of all, it's for FREE!

Since I will be back in Thailand in October, I shipped all my original DVD collection that I purchased in America (over 300 DVDs) and then I made backups of my original collection using Decrypter and Shrink, just in case something goes wrong or the DVDs are scratched or misplaced.

You are probably having trouble with playing your copied DVD with your stand-alone DVD Player because the stand-alone player may be a couple of years old and may not be able to recognize the DVD-RW or DVD+RW formats. Try making a copy of your original DVD with just the DVD-R disc. It may not recognize this -R format, so then try the +r format. Many DVD stand-alone units (unlike the computer DVD counterparts) recognize just one format. It all depends on how old your stand-alone DVD player is. I believe that all computers with dual-format capability are able to play the + and - as well as +R and -R formats so that's why your copied DVD movie plays well on your computer.

I also have used DVD X-Copy to make copies of the discs I already own. Most of the time it copies"encyption" found on many DVD original movies. It copies the entire movie, along with the encryption.

DVD-X Copy is several years old and is not being updated and provides NO updates or customer support since the 321 Studios got sued by MPAA and went out of business. I think that an international company may have purchased the rights to use 321 Studios DVD-X Copy (aka 123 Studios), but it still costs around $50-100 USD. Definately not worth the money. Even after purchasing DVD x-Copy, you must call by phone or via internet and get a special code to unlock the software. That sucks!

Precatuion: DVD-X Copy will enable you to make a perfect copy of the original; however, if you take that copy you have just made and give the copy to a friend in order for him/her to make their own copy, it won't work. You must go back to the original DVD movie to make a backup. Also, DVD - X Copy puts a 6 second logo at the beginning of your copied movie stating the copy if for making "backups" of movies you yourself already own.

When using DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink, I am able to copy my 4.7 GB original movies onto one 4.7 GB blank disc, and if the movie is longer than 4.7 GB (as many movies are dual layer and around 9 GB), I split the movies at whatever point I want and record onto 2 separate DVD blanks with NO DETERIORATION IN QUALITY. It doesn't bother me at all that a movie like "Lord of the Rings" stops roughly half way through and then I must insert the 2 disc to continue with watching the movie. I do not use any "compression" when compying. As with many movie discs purchased in Thailand, especially at street vendors, most movies are copied using high compression and the movie starts looking not like a good DVD, but as a cheap quality VCD with many break-ups and pixillation in the picture.

Decrypter will bypass any macro-vision encoding and can make your movie region free as well. There are many DVD copying packages being sold on the market today, most doing essentially the same thing, but I love using Decypter and Shrink.

Here in America as with many countries now, most laptops and some desktops are already equipped with DVD Dual-Layer Recorders. However, the DVD-L discs are very expensive. At BestBuys, one can buy a package of DVD-L dual-layer 9 GB discs at a price of $18USD for a package of 6 discs (when there is a sale going on).

$3USD is simply too expensive at the present time to buy one Dual Layer disc. When more people will buy the new dual-layer blanks, prices will eventually go down dramatically, as in any new medium.

I normally buy Memorex, Verbatim, or TDK single layer 4.7 GB blank discs for about 33 cents each (about 13 baht each) when buying a box of 100 blank DVDs, same price for + or - formats. Make sure that your DVD recorder works well with a specific brand of DVD blank. If it works, then stick with that brand of DVD blank.

Best to go with DUAL LAYER, DUAL FORMAT (+ and - format) DVD recorders. You can purchase an internal DVD recorder or an external DVD recorder (using USB and/or Firewire). I prefer the external units which can easilly be unplugged from your computer and carried with you and connect to another computer without any problems.

I've noticed that here in America, all electronic items, including DVD players, computers, cameras, etc. are about 10-15 cheaper in price than in many places in Thailand, and have the newest or latest models. So perhaps cheaper to buy in Singapore or other places. Shop around.

Also relatively new are the computer (internal & external) DVD recorders that have the LightScribe technology which will enable you to put a logo, movie title, picture, etc. onto your CD or DVD blank using a blank LightScribe disc.

I hope I was of some help to you.

Best of luck, Jockstar.

Edited August 25, 2005 by sabai sabai

[britmaveric]

Just tried DVD Cloner 3 - have to say it works brilliantly. Push a button and you have a perfect backup copy of your dvd. (one step copy)

www.dvd-cloner.com