CopyDVD software

[marziemcg]

Received an e, saying for $19 or that I can have this wonderful software programme that lets you rip DVD's and PS2 disks, only needing a CD-RW and a DVD drive...it's called CopyDVD, any1 used it? Any good?

[Mirror_Image]

Subject: [3-49-1] I heard of software that copies DVDs with a CD recorder!
(2001/10/30)
I'm guessing you've also heard of ways to get rich by sending money to other people, legal ways to get your bad credit history erased, and drug-free side-effect-free low-cost super cures made from all natural ingredients on distant tropical islands.

They're all nonsense. I can't help you if you believe in the above, but I can speak to copying DVDs with a CD recorder. Here's a piece from a message that was spammed at me (spelling and grammer errors left uncorrected):


COPY ANY DVD MOVIE

With our revolutionary software you can copy virtually any DVD Movie
using your existing equiptment! Conventional DVD copying
equiptment can cost thousands of $$$

Our revolutionary software cost less than the price of 2 DVD Movies!

If you go to the web site, it goes on to say:

Learn How To Burn DVD's onto Regular CD-R Discs and watch your new
movies on Any DVD Player, not just the computer DVD.
[...]
No DVD Drive Required!!!

Another, possibly unrelated, site says:

With detailed, easy to follow, step-by-step instructions, you can
BURN your own DVD Video using nothing more than our software and
your CD-R.
[...]
o No DVD Burner Required
o Superior Reproduction Quality

It has a link for their "frequently asked questions" document, but you have to give them your e-mail address to get it. Any company that refuses to give you information until you submit to their spam list is best avoided.
Let's start with the facts:


You can't read a DVD in a CD-ROM drive. DVD requires a laser at a different wavelength; the disc has a different physical format; the disc has a different logical format. A firmware update is not going to make this work, so don't expect that installing new software is going to help.
You can't put a full DVD on a CD-R disc. DVD movies are typically around 8GB, which is roughly 11x as much as you can put on a CD-R.
Many DVD players can't read CD-R discs. This is because of the different laser wavelength. DVD player manufacturers have found several ways around this, but many players just can't handle CD-R.
You can't easily duplicate the blocks with the security keys. They live outside the filesystem area. The only way to get the MPEG video off in a playable format is to strip the CSS encryption, and software that can do that is illegal to write, sell, or use in the USA (DMCA law).
Products like "DVD Wizard" and "DVD-Copy 2.1" cannot possibly do all that they claim. The closest they could get would be to transcode the video into a different format. This requires ripping the MPEG-2 video off the DVD using a DVD-ROM drive, stripping the encryption, re-encoding the video in MPEG-1, and writing it to CD-R as a VideoCD. This would let you duplicate a movie that could be played back in computers or *some* DVD players, but at VHS quality, and without any of the features that make DVDs special (e.g. menus). You will not be burning "DVD Video", and in some parts of the world (most notably the USA) you will be breaking the law even if the copy is for personal use.
Software that does this sort of thing can be found, for free, on various sites on the Internet. (Because of the legal issues, it isn't always available in one place for long.)

[marziemcg]

Cheers M8! Will avoid...(bit of a newbie here!)