copy protection on backup to VHS

[iosman]

Hello,

I OWN a DVD movie and would like to back it up to VHS. It has copy protection (I think Macrovision but not sure). The screen goes light, dark, light, and off and on when played through VCR.

I want to use my movie on a VHS player where I go and there is no DVD. remove this if I burn it and then try to play the burned copy to VHS? What can I do?


thanks
iosman

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[jagabo]

The Grex video stabilizer should work.

[dellsam34]

It is not going to be a cheap solution, you need a video stabilizer or a TBC which none can be cheap nowadays. It is way cheaper to get a hard drive or flash memory media player with analog outputs (or HDMI if your TV has HDMI input) and rip the DVD to computer and copy it to the media player.

[october262]

Hello,

I OWN a DVD movie and would like to back it up to VHS. It has copy protection (I think Macrovision but not sure). The screen goes light, dark, light, and off and on when played through VCR.

I want to use my movie on a VHS player where I go and there is no DVD. remove this if I burn it and then try to play the burned copy to VHS? What can I do?


thanks
iosman

are you trying to copy from DVD to VHS or VHS to DVD ??

[dellsam34]

He is very clear on what he wants to do just re read the first post.

[johnmeyer]

He is very clear on what he wants to do just re read the first post.

I'm in the same boat as October262: it is actually not clear what he is trying to do. Yes, the title and the post say he is trying to backup a DVD to VHS, but this makes no sense.: why would anyone do such a dumb thing if, as the OP says, he owns the DVD?? Just play the DVD and get on with life.

The other thing that makes the post extremely confusing is that he claims the DVD has some sort of Macrovision copy protection, something that is found on VHS but, AFAIK, not on DVD.

[dellsam34]

I'm in the same boat as October262: it is actually not clear what he is trying to do. Yes, the title and the post say he is trying to backup a DVD to VHS, but this makes no sense.: why would anyone do such a dumb thing if, as the OP says, he owns the DVD?? Just play the DVD and get on with life.

The other thing that makes the post extremely confusing is that he claims the DVD has some sort of Macrovision copy protection, something that is found on VHS but, AFAIK, not on DVD.

Obviously you didn't read the entire post he has a reason for that:

I want to use my movie on a VHS player where I go and there is no DVD

Also your lack of knowledge makes you confused, DVD has the analog Macrovision protection on the analog outputs just like VHS did.

[jagabo]

DVDs have a flag in the video stream that tells the DVD player to add Macrovision's Analog Protection System (APS). APS uses some of the same techniques as Macrovision's Copyguard (CPS) for VHS. All commercial DVD players implement this feature.

And yes, the best method is to make an APS-free backup of the DVD and record the output of that disc to VHS (assuming you must have VHS).

[johnmeyer]

DVDs have a flag in the video stream that tells the DVD player to add Macrovision's Analog Protection System (APS). APS uses some of the same techniques as Macrovision's Copyguard (CPS) for VHS. All commercial DVD players implement this feature.

And yes, the best method is to make an APS-free backup of the DVD and record the output of that disc to VHS (assuming you must have VHS).

Yes, I understand that, but I also understand that most ripping programs remove that flag. What I was referring to above is that since the video is digital, it does not have the timing pulse suppression that is the heart of VHS Macrovision. That was the original "Macrovision."

So, despite the snark from dellsam34 ("your lack of knowledge makes you confused"), converting to VHS is still a pretty bad idea because there is a much more more reasonable way to be able to play a movie somewhere that doesn't have a DVD player: convert it to a format that will play on a laptop, tablet, or other digital device, and then bring along whatever cables and converter will let it play on the equipment at the remote location.

Degrading it to VHS, and taking the time to record it to VHS (can't be done faster than real-time), both seem like wrong-headed ideas.

So, to the OP, consider one of these other options. Also, if you really want to record to VHS, use a ripping program that takes care of the Macrovision flag, and that should solve your problem.

[dellsam34]

The ripping software programs removes the digital protection from the VOB files, He is recording from an analog output. We all know that recording DVD to VHS degrades the quality and it consumes time, but we are not in the position to tel the OP what to do other than giving suggestions, Some people do things for personal purposes and they have every right to do so whether it makes sense or it doesn't.

[Mano Bakker]

Back in the 90s I owned a analoge video mixer: Sansui-Video-Processor-VX-99-Pal. All it did was taking the sync of one of the sources and made wipes and fades bewteen source 1, source 2, black or a color. In this mode it cleared the blanking of the signal, precise where the Macrovision block where. No TBC (Timebase corrector) was in this machine. So with this gear I could make a simple copy of a protected VHS (or DVD). But now a serious question: Why copy a DVD to VHS??

[orsetto]

The OP, iosman, is from India. So workarounds that seem more reasonable in our neck of the woods may not carry over as well to his situation. It is entirely possible the remote location he's referring to has a bare-bones old CRT television with an old VCR attached, and he's happy at least that works. Backing up the DVD to a VHS would do just fine for that very specific occasional situation, the generation loss will hardly be noticeable. Bringing a VHS tape to that location and leaving it there will be a lot simpler than fussing with a media player (which the TV might not even have connections for), or dragging a laptop back and forth (here again, the old TV is unlikely to have HDMI input). Probably the best workaround would be to just pick up a very cheap DVD player to keep in that location, but yet again, chances are the old TV does not have composite connections. If we're dealing with an RF-only TV (as seems likely), it VHS backup or nothing.

Agreed the best way to defeat the MV issue would be using a decrypt-and-rip utility to make a clean backup DVD, then playing from that backup DVD to make a clean VHS. Finding an old analog MV filter or Grex or TBC in India is probably more difficult than simply downloading a utility like dvdfab.

[Brad]

The ripping software programs removes the digital protection from the VOB files, He is recording from an analog output.

The digital flag is what triggers the DVD player to add copy protection to its analog outputs, as stated by jagabo. Ripping the DVD and playing the rip instead of the original solves the problem.

[dellsam34]

Yes I'm aware of that but the process will be even longer and requires blank DVD's that's why I suggested using a video stabilizer during recording to VHS from the commercial DVD or rip to computer (after removing the protection obviously) and load to a media player.

[lordsmurf]

The Grex video stabilizer should work.

It needs to be mentioned:

Grex for DVD > DVD works well.

The DVD > VHS probably also works ... though DVD to VHS, really?

But VHS > DVD does not work, Grex screws with all the video values. Color is "more stable" than raw Macrovision, but it's still fubar. Rotates values, varies in time. It's not a TBC, does not strip signal flaws from tape (be it natural errors, or the artificial MV errors).

VHS > VHS is likely just as bad ... but again, who would do that in the 2020s?

[moni]

One piece of DVD-RW here is about 50 eurocents /a good one, Verbatim/. Not so expensive.
So you can rip the DVD with your preferred software to a hard drive folder and then record it to DVD-RW /which accepts re-writing so you can erase it and record it again later/ and after then transfer the DVD to VHS with no problems. I own a combo VHS <-> DVD recorder by Daewoo, probably the best there is and the latest model prior to the end of the VHS era. But it still cannot record Macrovision. I use it to transfer the old VHS recordings with no Macrovision protection to DVD.

[dellsam34]

It's been two years most likely the OP has moved on and probably he just posted for those survey click baits at the bottom of his post so he can make money.

[Zunchan]

I have found this thread after looking for a combo DVD/VHS device, and do wonder how these devices do work if the dvd does display a menu?
Looking at some of the manuals, a direct dubbing function does exist, which simply states that the dvd would get started automatically.
But I can't understand how this should work, because normal dvd's do have a menu.

@moni: You did mention a Daewoo combo device, might it be the Daewoo SD-7100? I still can't decide which one to buy, I have read about some (e.g., Philips DVDR 3510 V, Grundig GDR 6460, Panasonic DMR-ES 35 V), but I don't really have any idea yet. I would be mainly interested in the DVD to VHS function.

[rgr]

These devices record on a VHS cassette exactly what you see on the screen. Including the menu, OSD etc. Also the final menu, which will show after playback is finished.
The equipment has no advantage over a separate VCR and recorder.