DVD copy legal/not legal. argh!

[toomanyblastedbits]

Movie and record execs. cry about copying downloading mp3's, movies etc. I can see their point. However, I can take the output from my stereo to my computer and make and mp3 that sounds just as good to me. The Supreme court has ruled that using VCR to copy Star Trek to watch at a later date/or for your own personal use is legal. I have also seen and heard the news that renting a VHS tape and then copying it for your own personal use is also legal. So wouldn't this carry over to DVD??? So if downloading a piece of software that allows you to "decrypt/rip whatever" a DVD is not legal, then what is the use of having a right that the supreme court says you have. Miranda, right to a lawyer, what's the use if you can't afford one, Giddeon couldn't afford one. Now, if you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the court. Your thoughts.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Here in the US the RIAA and MPAA want to take away our right to Fair Use
by pressuring A/V and computer hardware manufactuers into installing
copy protection.Money talks too because Congress bought what they were selling and passed The Digital Millineum Act and is considering even stronger legislation.

....for every encryption there is a hack.

[DigitallyFascinated]

Movie execs and motion picure companies were charging aoutrageous prices for home videos and dvd's long before the advent of consumer level copiers and software. Therefore, the excuse by movie companies that movie prices are so high because of "copying" just doesn't fly with me.

People are sick and ******* tired of paying ridiculous amounts of cash for home movies. They don't like us copying movies? Too fuckin bad - it's called "Fair Use". They wanna sit back and rob the shit out of us, and expect us to have a sympathetic ear to their cause.

[vitualis]

Movie and record execs. cry about copying downloading mp3's, movies etc. I can see their point.

No you should not. If you do, they've already won.

Why does the "industry" care about home copying and casual trading? They would tell you that it is because they are losing "billions" of dollars. But this is completely fictitious.

I would contest the the majority of "home pirated" material (i.e., it is "illegal" for sure) have a neutral effect on profits. Say, hypothetically, someone has a huge collection of pirated MP3s (say 100 albums at $10 an album). The industry would rise up and claim that they have "lost" $1000 due to piracy. This is, however, nonsense. Would that person really have bought all those products if these were completely "non-piratable"? Would that person have even bought any??

The truth is, these apparent multi-billion dollar loses are based on the ridiculous assumption that every item pirated equals one sale lost. It is definitely not so. The real effect on profits are more likely to be completely neutral (e.g., the recording industry has not reported a significant loss of profits since MP3 came around -- or audio tape for that matter) or even positive (e.g., in the same way that radio boosted profits -- by essentially free, "word-of-mouth" advertising).

So if it not for profits, why does the industry care? Is it because the industry is full of upright virtuous people who want to see the letter of the law carried out? Obviously not.

The reason is that the "industry" wants to control how you consume the products you purchase from them. If you buy an audio-CD and convert the tracks to MP3 so that you can listen to it on a portable digital player, the industry sees it as a lost business opportunity. Perhaps they could have sold you BOTH an "audio CD" AND "some portable digital audio track". The truth is, by limiting the amount of "freedom" the consumer has with their products, they can arbitrarily create a larger selection of products.

For example: I may have a pen that can write on both rough and smooth paper. However, the pen industry decides that it can make more money if they specialise pens for each type of paper. However, rather than simply making these new products, they FORCE the change by making the "smooth paper pen" incapable of writing on rought paper and the "rough paper pen" unable to write on smooth paper. In the end, if I want to have the SAME freedom and functionality I had previous, I am forced to purchase both products..

Note: this post isn't pro-piracy. Far from it. However, I am trying dispel the myth that the industry has pulled over people's eyes. It almost seems from their perspective that you are either with their new pro-protection stance or you are a dirty pirate. I personally find this stance rather insulting to the general public and consumers. Try to keep in mind that the purpose of these new "copy protection" schemes is so much about preventing piracy as to erode your "Fair Use" rights. The real pirates that are damaging to the industry are the large scale commecial ones.

Regards.

[DigitallyFascinated]

I agree.....

These companies are using "lost sales" as a crutch for their pissing and moaning in front of the courts, when they have absolutely NO WAY of remotely coming close to accurately knowing whether or not someone would have bought the CD to begin with. In fact, maybe there happnes to be a CD I want at the moment, but want to hear a taste of first. I downlaod it, like what I hear, and go buy the CD (hypothetically speaking, of course). Maybe I like to sample shit before I just shell out 18 bucks for a CD that has 1 song on it even worth listening to.

Realistically though, this is a serious issue for me. I get into some pretty heated debates with people over this. I'm tired of being robbed blind my the recording industry and motion picture companies. They bitch about "lost sales" when they make just massive millions about mountatins of massive millions. Nobody is starving lot having food ripped off their family's table like they would have you believe.

Therefore.....

If there's a new CD out I want.... I'm gonna download the shit to my heart's content. New movie? I'm gonna download that bitch too. The only people getting money from me is blank CD-R manufacturers that I spend money on to burn the shit.

**** em all...... The shit is free from here on out. Im tired of paying for shit that is highly overpriced to begin with. Now I could see their point when it comes to bootleggers who take advantage of the shit to make a profit. But when someone is simply downloading it for personal use - GET REAL.

Ive gotta get running now.... Gotta download a massive shitload of free movies and CD's.

[Conquest10]

personally, i say **** the riaa. i will never buy another music cd ever again. dvds, on the other hand, are different. a dvd is worth the $20. its packed full of features in addition to the digital movie. most of the time it has 2 discs. a cd is not worth it. all it is is maybe 13-15 songs. maybe just at the most 3 of them are good. and its only $2-3 cheaper than a dvd! forget about double disc cds, they're more expensive than a dvd! that's bullshit!

[defense]

Good, strong points, and I agree. I am definitely decreasing the profits of the RIAA single-handedly. I haven't bought a music CD in over four years and counting. I will never buy another DVD again either. I will just continue to "back-up" the ones that I have. Being that I only have a handful, maybe I will just back them up on five or six DVD'S...that way I can have 30 DVD's with only a 5 selection of movies. Gotta protect against that Disc Rot Ya Know......(wink, wink) LMAO

[easydvd]

I have two cents worth for this.

This is about bottom line, which, in this case, is an execs pocket. For those of you who are familiar with the recent spectacle in America over Enron, Adelphia etc. Think about this......every "pirated" CD or DVD takes away a little of the money they ned for new limo's, private LeerJets, hotels, hookers etc. If it were me...I wouldn't want to lose those either.

Now, I'm not suggesting that this is right or even acceptable.....just playing the Devils' advocate.

This is an issue that I think involves personal greed more than anything. As long as we live in a society that condones corporate elitist behavior this will continue.

Final thought........
**** THE MPAA!!!!!! **** THE RIAA!!!!!!! COPY,COPY, COPY.

[Kennyshin]

The entertainment industry is doing great harm to the computer industry. They have done everything to delay and prevent the release of DVD writers and standalone DVD recorders when quite a lot of the users will just use them without ever touching or caring about their movie products. can live without ever watching Hollywood movies but I need better writers for PC.

On the other hand, will the Chinese buy DVD movie titles for US$20 per copy if there are no illegally distributed DVDs? They'll simply ignore those things as long as it's not opium.

[ChrisX]

I don't have a problem with DVD copying for personal and private use with ownership of a legitimate DVD movie for backup purposes.

I can't see any difference with capturing or copying from the TV, the LD, the video tape and music CD for private use only. The DVD is the same, so what is the difference? **** the RIAA. **** the MPAA. They are infringing my rights at home, this is censorship.

What right they have in taking away my freedom and they should be after the bootleg industry. The CD and DVD counterfeit factories should close down.

It is ridiculous that we are subjected this absurd and outdated DVD regions worldwide. Macrovision distorts the images when viewing a movie on the television, I noticed this last night watching "Swordfish", a very good and enjoyable movie. It just not fair that the images can be this way just because of copyright.

The RIAA and the MPAA are doing more harm that good to the industry.

I'm not going to buy any more music CD's with copy protection and the same goes for video cards having macrovision built in. It isn't worth the money and not doing it's full job. They are too expensive and why on earth the CD's cost as much as a DVD movie.

I do feel cheated and being ripped off with these measures. I am so angry about it.

[mitch-m]

Gotto agree have downloaded some mp3's that I never would have bought so they never lost any of those sales as I wouldn't have got them in the first place have downloaded some movies I wasn't sure about liked them then bought the DVD so it's actully boosted sales you win some you lose some. use to work in a computer shop the kids would come in try out the new games then go to the markets an buy it from the bootleggers.

Don't know about in the USA but here in the UK the papers and the MPs all say that all those that are pirating are doing it to get money to buy drugs and sell it to the kids on the street(sad).