DVD Copyright Removing Software?

[Ron Thorne]

I don't plan on doing much burning of commercial DVDs, but would occasionally like to create a backup of certain hard-to-find or OOP films in our collection.

I'm hesitant to download much of the freeware that's available online since I've heard that trojan horses and other potentially damaging "goodies" may come along for the ride.

Can someone offer a tried-and-true, trustworthy software brand to me?

Thanks.

[groover]

Ron, I use a freeware program called DVD43 to override copy protection. DVD43 is a memory resident utility that senses when a copy-protected DVD is in the drive and unlocks it for copying. Once the little smiley face in the Windows taskbar turns green, you should be able to copy the DVD using your existing software.

This has worked fine for me using NERO with single-layer discs. I haven't tried it yet with dual-layers. Any movie 120 min. or under, or discs with Widescreen/Fullscreen on each side, can be copied this way, one side at a time.

For longer movies, I've had success with DVD-X-Copy. This software allows you to make a back-up copy of just the movie, without all the extras, and will apply compression if the movie is longer than 120 mins and unable to fit on a single-layer blank. However, if the movie is significantly longer than 120 minutes, it will probably not be successful.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I use DVDShrink, which is difficult to find on-line since the company that created it lost a lawsuit. It works great for doing exactly what you're trying to do, Ron. See if you can find a copy out there. The last time I searched for it, it was pretty easy to find.

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks groover and Kevin. I'll look into those programs.

[Ron Thorne]

I'm very appreciative of the responses to this thread.

I'm currently burning a copy of an OOP DVD for a friend, utilizing DVD Shrink, and it appears to be working fine. I'll be very interested to see if the compression results in compromised video quality.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

I'm very appreciative of the responses to this thread.

I'm currently burning a copy of an OOP DVD for a friend, utilizing DVD Shrink, and it appears to be working fine. I'll be very interested to see if the compression results in compromised video quality.

If you use DVDShrink, use the "Re-author" method and choose the movie & English audio. It will result in a better picture quality. When you click on Re-author, just double click the movie and then click the compression tab. It will show you how much compression will be needed to fit the movie onto a single layer.

Kevin

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks, Kevin.

However, the first DVD I'm copying is not in English, but Spanish with English subtitles.

I didn't use the method you described last night, but the audio/video quality seems to be remarkably good, especially since it must have been compressed to some degree.