Why do Straight-to-DVD TV Recordings have Clicking noises?

[VideoFanatic]

I bought some straight-to-DVD WWE wrestling seasons off some people. I bought an NTSC recording (recorded off USA network in USA) and a PAL recording (recorded off Sky Sports in the UK) season of the same show. Both had occasional clicking noises. The volume on the PAL show had clicking noises which seemed like they were caused by clipping as the volume was too high (above 0dB). However the NTSC show volume was quite low yet it still had clicking nosies so it doesn't seem like those were caused by clipping.

I thought that kind of crap only happened with VHS-to-DVD conversions yet it's still happening in Straight-to-DVD recordings.

People said they just connected their satellite box to their DVD recorder with a scart cable so what the heck would cause clicking noises?

Also I thought a DVD recorder is supposed to prevent clipping?

[aedipuss]

hard to believe you bought illegal copies and expect them to be perfect. just to remind you penalties for a first offense may be as high as three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 and you are the one in possession of the contraband now.

[themaster1]

"clicking noise" on satellite channels (in my experience) is likely caused by a partial decoding of the audio stream (ac3, dolby digital). Some packets may be lost during reception (storm, snow,rain)=> incomplete decoding > clicking noise)

[sanlyn]

And re-encoding by the original owners in lossy audio formats doesn't help, either.

Illegal? Most of the video discussed by the O.P. are home=made tv recordings to tape or DVD. But these might have originated elsewhere.

[aedipuss]

And re-encoding by the original owners in lossy audio formats doesn't help, either.

Illegal? Most of the video discussed by the O.P. are home=made tv recordings to tape or DVD. But these might have originated elsewhere.

hehe -

I bought some straight-to-DVD WWE wrestling seasons off some people.

- nothing legal about that.

[VideoFanatic]

@Themaster - The picture looks perfect, it doesn't look like it has reception problems if that's what you meant? The only problems are that it has occasional clicking noises. It's very frustrating these clicking noises. I've got 52 episodes over the course of a year and they all have occasional clicking noises. I cannot understand why people go to the trouble of recording a show and presumably they play back a DVD and find the clicking noises but they don't try to prevent that happening during future recordings, they just carry on recording as normal!

@Sanlyn - Standard definition is broadcast in MPEG2 which uses AC3 as far as I know which was the format used to record to DVD. The clicking noises were in the DVD before I converted the audio to WAV.

@aedipuss - This isn't doom9 where you get spanked for discussing pirated videos. All that matters on videohelp is discussing video and audio issues regardless of the legality of the footage. I didn't come here to discuss the law and the police aren't interested in people who buy pirated videos only those who sell them, even then they're only interested in large scale video pirates.

[jman98]

@aedipuss - This isn't doom9 where you get spanked for discussing pirated videos. All that matters on videohelp is discussing video and audio issues regardless of the legality of the footage. I didn't come here to discuss the law and the police aren't interested in people who buy pirated videos only those who sell them, even then they're only interested in large scale video pirates.

Actually discussing that violates the forum rules. See the very first rule here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/72386-Forum-rules-Acceptable-Use-Policy-%28AUP%29

[VideoFanatic]

I stand corrected. I never saw that before. Weird place to put the forum rules in "Other > Feedback". Nobody has ever mentioned that to me before even though my videos are pirated.

[usually_quiet]

@aedipuss - This isn't doom9 where you get spanked for discussing pirated videos. All that matters on videohelp is discussing video and audio issues regardless of the legality of the footage. I didn't come here to discuss the law and the police aren't interested in people who buy pirated videos only those who sell them, even then they're only interested in large scale video pirates.

You are mistaken. Most of the time a moderator eventually closes threads like yours, and tells the OP obtain the material from a legal source.

I stand corrected. I never saw that before. Weird place to put the forum rules in "Other > Feedback". Nobody has ever mentioned that to me before even though my videos are pirated.

You were probably given the opportunity to read and agree to abide by the forum rules before joining. I know I was. That one has been around for as long as I have been a member.

[VideoFanatic]

Jman98 made it clear the first time. No need to repeat the same thing. The videos I'm interested in were never commercially released and they never aired on TV in my country so I can't get them from a legal source.

[aedipuss]

@aedipuss - This isn't doom9 where you get spanked for discussing pirated videos. All that matters on videohelp is discussing video and audio issues regardless of the legality of the footage. I didn't come here to discuss the law and the police aren't interested in people who buy pirated videos only those who sell them, even then they're only interested in large scale video pirates.

Actually discussing that violates the forum rules. See the very first rule here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/72386-Forum-rules-Acceptable-Use-Policy-%28AUP%29

i can't even begin to tell you how many times i have warned people not to use the pirated videos filenames here. and you come out and blatantly declare yours as stolen. copyright theft is not to be rubbed in the noses of the "watchers". seeing as you probably bought the stolen "goods" online, do you really think the suppliers records are not going to be checked when they are busted? sleep well.

[DB83]

I stand corrected. I never saw that before. Weird place to put the forum rules in "Other > Feedback". Nobody has ever mentioned that to me before even though my videos are pirated.

There is a link to the forum rules at the top of the page where this, and any other topic, is posted. Maybe that is another weird place to put them ?

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the OP or the respondent to ensure that he abides by the rules. Ignorance is no defence.

[VideoFanatic]

Now that I know about the rules I'll be more careful in future with regards to what I say about my videos.

aedipuss - Who are the mysterious "watchers"? As I said before the police or the copyright owners are not interested in people who buy pirated videos (for one thing a buyer could easily say he did not know they were pirated). You are naive if you think they are. I sleep fine.

No disrespect to anyone but does anybody have anything of value to add to the issue I mentioned in the OP other than talking about the law?

[usually_quiet]

Jman98 made it clear the first time. No need to repeat the same thing. The videos I'm interested in were never commercially released and they never aired on TV in my country so I can't get them from a legal source.

Too bad for you, but that does not change the fact that you are engaged in an activity that the owner of this website does not want to appear to encourage. Surely you are aware that the owners of various websites which have been knowingly helpful to those involved in piracy have found themselves in legal trouble.

No disrespect to anyone but does anybody have anything of value to add to the issue I mentioned in the OP other than talking about the law?

Not if we want to abide by the forum rules.

[sanlyn]

I don't get it. Where did the O.P. state "Hi, I have some illegal retail videos here pirated by friends of mine and the vids have ckicking noises." I believe they were described in post #$1 as "TV-to-DVD". Videos that the O.P. has been posting here for well over a year are problem vids that have been tape dupes and bad captures, tape re-dupes and bad DVD transfer, and so forth. They all look home-made from cable TV broadcasts.

On top of that we're just guessing about what the clicks sound like.

[usually_quiet]

I don't get it. Where did the O.P. state "Hi, I have some illegal retail videos here pirated by friends of mine and the vids have ckicking noises." I believe they were described in post #$1 as "TV-to-DVD". Videos that the O.P. has been posting here for well over a year are problem vids that have been tape dupes and bad captures, tape re-dupes and bad DVD transfer, and so forth. They all look home-made from cable TV broadcasts.

In what respect does selling home-made DVDs of recorded TV shows still under copyright not qualify as piracy?

[sanlyn]

The average consumer doesn't know TV copyright practise from their own butt. How many times have you ripped copies from retail sources? How many times have you copied )or ignored) the ubiquitous FBI warning that has been around media since 1976: "The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment". That you aren't selling them on the street is irrelevant. The copyright notice sez no unauthorized reproduction. How many times have you seen posts in this forum that are clearly made from ripoffs of retail issues. I count three of these that are current threads as of this writing. You yourself have contributed hundreds of thoughtful and useful discussions on how to improve these infringements and make them look really nice. Apparently the 4th generation of infringement is enough to dilute the law into nothing. Suddenly everyone in this thread wets their pants about something that hasn't been posted yet. The O.P. posts dozens of wrestling videos that are clearly recordings off cable TV (and didn't even bother to remove the broadcast logos).


To VideoFanatic I can only say, try before you buy. I'd bet they've been cut, edited, and re-encoded.

[usually_quiet]

The average consumer doesn't know TV copyright practise from their own butt. How many times have you ripped copies from retail sources? How many times have you copied the infamous FBI warning yourself: "The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment". That you aren't selling them on the street is irrelevant. The copyright notice sez no unauthorized reproduction. How many times have you seen posts in this forum that are clearly made from ripoffs of retail issues. I count three of these that are current threads as of this writing. You yourself have contributed hundreds of thoughtful and useful discussions on how to improve these infringements and make them look really nice. Apparently the 4th generation of infringement is enough to dilute the law into nothing. Suddenly everyone in this thread wets their pants about something that hasn't been posted yet. The O.P. posts dozens of wrestling videos that are clearly recordings off cable TV (and didn't even bother to remove the broadcast logos).


To VideoFanatic I can only say, try before you buy. I'd bet they've been cut, edited, and re-encoded.

Recording a TV show for personal use is one thing. Selling or trading those recordings is piracy. End of story. ...and I don't rip my retail discs or retail tapes (I prefer to keep them in their original format), but if I did rip them for personal use, that would fall under fair use. Never tested in court, but some people think it might hold up.

[sanlyn]

Of course it's piracy. By law, making your own copies isn't just "one thing", it's also an infringement. The copyright symbol and/or statement that appears on every ESPN broadcast is legal and binding. You might not be selling it, but recording it is still infringement under the law. There's no fine print that goes into "personal use". On the other hand, I'd like to see ESPN go to court for every case of every recording made on a DVD recorder, cable company DVR, or VCR.

Paying for it is absurd to begin with. Paying for two copies of the same thing is....[words fail]. This material is broadcast 24/7/365, and rebroadcasts are common.

A whole season? Of just one series?

[usually_quiet]

Of course it's piracy. By law, making your own copies isn't just "one thing", it's also an infringement. The copyright symbol and/or statement that appears on every ESPN broadcast is legal and binding. You might not be selling it, but recording it is still infringement under the law. There's no fine print that goes into "personal use". On the other hand, I'd like to see ESPN go to court for every case of every recording made on a DVD recorder, cable company DVR, or VCR.

In the US, for close to 30 years (thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on the Betamax case) it has been 100% legal to time shift anything for personal use that the TV service provider has not chosen to prevent you from recording. This includes sports broadcasts. So far, there is no limitation on how long you can keep the original copy of your personal recordings, and if they are "copy freely" programs, making copies for your personal use or format shifting is also legal.

Now, what are we to make of this: I repaired for my nephew a VHS recording of the football game that won his college the league championship during his graduation year. He gave me $10 for the blank DVD's and I made 2 copies and 2 versions (single-disc and dual-layer) from VHS. There are copyright notices all over the broadcast. He comes to me after some "tape digitizing" shop charged him $100 to transfer the 4 hours of tapes to DivX and made a big mess of it and partially damaged the tapes. Just think, if everyone spent the time to prevent this sort of thing from happening, the world might find they don't have spare time for starting wars. One would hope. I better call my nephew, give him his $10 back, and advise him to destroy the discs and the tapes.

Since your nephew owned the video tape you copied, and you were performing a service for him alone, the above is an example of fair use.

[sanlyn]

I don't disagree at all. Admittedly, I'm bringing up some odd cases. Having dealt with the sports community and similar niche groups, I can say that privately this sort of thing happens all the time. Now, to be sure, the more user-friendly and intimate groups don't sell copies of copyrighted material to their friends -- they give them away. But it's amazing how the so-called average consumer is unaware of any of this legal stuff, to the point where we have hundreds of posts during the past few months by cable TV users who don't realize that DVR recordings off their cable service are copy-protected.

[usually_quiet]

I don't disagree at all. Admittedly, I'm bringing up some odd cases. Having dealt with the sports community and similar niche groups, I can say that privately this sort of thing happens all the time. Now, to be sure, the more user-friendly and intimate groups don't sell copies of copyrighted material to their friends -- they give them away. But it's amazing how the so-called average consumer is unaware of any of this legal stuff, to the point where we have hundreds of posts during the past few months by cable TV users who don't realize that DVR recordings off their cable service are copy-protected.

I think much depends on the circumstances. If someone was caught giving their personal recordings of the entire first season of "Downton Abbey" from PBS to their sister so she could catch up before starting to watch the second season live on TV, I don't think it is likely that that person would be prosecuted, although theoretically they could be.

...but someone caught trading/giving away their personal recordings could be in hot water, if this was a regular, organized activity involving a large number of people, and there was substantial evidence of what was going on. ...especially if they were distributing multiple copies.

[sanlyn]

I'm with you there, and with the forum rules as-is.

[DB83]

Not wishing to cast too many aspertions on the OPs motives, there is one thing that puzzles me.

So you 'obtain' - I may be wrong but I believe this is the first time he said 'purchase' - a pile of copyright material. You have not seen this so your initial reaction is going to be to watch it. Having watched it, who will spend hours and hours trying to restore it since you are hardly, yourself, gonna watch it again in the forseeable future.

[Baldrick]

Thread closed. Don't buy pirate crap material.