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Thread ID: 43697	2004-03-24 00:22:00	Copying DVDs	Steve_L (763)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
224737	2004-03-24 00:22:00	There are two parts to my question, one pertaining to legal, non-copyright DVD, and the other pertaining to illegal, copy-righted DVDs (i.e. movies). First: a friend of mine has a DVD writer (Pioneer I think, a stand alone unit with VHS tape; she paid $2,500 for it a couple of years ago). She volunteered to copy some home videos for us, from analog VHS onto DVD. The DVD worked fine - we can now see our home videos on our DVD player. So I asked if she could copy this new DVD and make another DVD, using her computer or whatever to do the job. She said that she tried this before but keeps getting a copy-right block that prevents making a duplicate DVD. Remember that the original are just home movies and not copyright. So what causes this? Would it be something with her DVD writer that is not being switched off, that makes a DVD that automatically placed a block against copying it? Second question: Last year I recall someone here on Press F1 saying that DVD movies (from the video shop) can be copied on DVD with no problem. I thought that all copyrighted DVDs had a block that prevents copying. Is this correct? If so, is it an imbedded signal within the movie? I ask this since my friend tried to copy a Hollywood movie by taking it off her telly, without success. Someone else said that getting one of those Dick Smith units that send TV signals to all rooms of the house could be used - these units are wireless and a transmitter is connected to the VCR or DVD player so that a movie can be viewed in another room, such as in a child's bedroom or spa pool area. Personally, when I get a new computer with a DVD writer, I have no plans to copy movies from the video shop (they are so cheap to rent and there are so few movies that we would ever want to see again), but I would like to be able to make copies of DVD home movies. Thanks, Steve L	Steve_L (763)
224738	2004-03-24 00:37:00	> She said that she > tried this before but keeps getting a copy-right > block that prevents making a duplicate DVD. Remember > that the original are just home movies and not > copyright. So what causes this? Would it be something > with her DVD writer that is not being switched off, > that makes a DVD that automatically placed a block > against copying it? Im not 100% sure on what would be causing this, but check out dvdshrink.org, now with DVD-Burning via Nero > Second question: Last year I recall someone here on > Press F1 saying that DVD movies (from the video shop) > can be copied on DVD with no problem. That's right.... ;-) > I thought that > all copyrighted DVDs had a block that prevents > copying. Is this correct? If so, is it an imbedded > signal within the movie? I ask this since my friend > tried to copy a Hollywood movie by taking it off her > telly, without success. Could be user error? Ive done it fine with Copy-Protected DVD's (My father and myself aquired copyright permission to copy the DVD and show a small scene at a public gathering). > Personally, when I get a new computer with a DVD > writer, I have no plans to copy movies from the video > shop (they are so cheap to rent and there are so few > movies that we would ever want to see again), but I > would like to be able to make copies of DVD home > movies. DVD Shrink.. DVD-Decryptor.. Both will do the job :-)	Chilling_Silence (9)
224739	2004-03-24 00:42:00	Most, if not all, DVD's you can buy (movie or music etc) have 2 forms of copy protection. One, called Macrovision, stops you from being able to record a playing DVD onto VHS (or TV capture card in PC etc) The second, called CSS (Content Scrambling System I think it stands for) stops you from being able to do a digital copy of the DVD, either on your PC or with a standalone DVD Recorder. The first one is not so bad because most standalone DVD players you buy these days have the Macrovision disabled or it can be disabled by a secret menu or similar. The second one is (or was) a bit more tricky to crack but it has been done. A program (or code) called DeCSS was written by someone to allow them to play DVD's on their Linux PC, as at the time there was no available software to allow you to do this. He got taken to court for this but was found not guilty ;) There now programs available on the internet which make it very easy to copy DVD's on your PC, as to their legality well that's another story. Don't know about standalone DVD recorders though.	CYaBro (73)
224740	2004-03-24 00:57:00	Is that what Macrovision does? Ive never quite fully understood it.... Css is made useless with dvdshrink for Windows, or dvdbackup in Linux... IIRC it relies on libdvdcss.... I must say that Im yet to find a Linux app as good as DVD Shrink :D	Chilling_Silence (9)
224741	2004-03-24 01:26:00	> Is that what Macrovision does? Ive never quite fully > understood it.... > > Css is made useless with dvdshrink for Windows, or > dvdbackup in Linux... IIRC it relies on > libdvdcss.... > > I must say that Im yet to find a Linux app as good as > DVD Shrink :D Macrovision when it first came about would add some "jitter" to cetain key sync signals on the video signal that would cause tracking errors on VCRs and cause rolling etc on playback. They then added some more trickery to the colour signals that would cause the signal to appear black and white on playback or be soo dark the picture was unwatchable... VCR makers soon "tweaked" the limitations that macrovision exploted and those methods have now all but become redundant... Now I understand a pattern is being super imposed on the video signal at reduced magnatude to the original signal that will show up on recordings due to losses in the signal conditioning in the VCR during the record phase and causes distortions on playback. Also a "digital finger print" has been added that all digital TV out devices seem to be bound by the power of law and money to detect and if detected disable the TV output. Hope that makes some sense to you Chill? Back to the orignal DVD question, most early drives and software packages will have the "copyright material" option enabled by default and it could be disabled, if lucky, by fishing through some obsure menu structure or a registrey hack.	ugh1 (4204)
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