To all DVD Shrink users ...

[ddlooping]

Hi all

I think we all agree that Mr. DVDShrink is putting a lot of work to provide us with his cool and free software.
So this poll is simply to get an idea of how many of us would be willing to make a donation via Paypal as a small token of our appreciation.

So please start voting!!

Edit: I just wanted to add that this poll is for DVD Shrink users.
If you do not use DVD Shrink because you do not rate it or would rather use something else, it is kind of obvious you wouldn't be willing to donate.
So please, do not vote if you do not use the software.
Thanks.

[lagerlout]

Much as I rate DVDShrink, there are other free tools to use. I'm still experimenting, so wouldn't part with any cash yet. A few things I haven't figured out yet still annoy me, like if I re-author the disk label always seems to come out as "DVDSHRINK-20030605" or something. Add a burner prog too, like CopyToDVD in there, and yes I think it may be a viable purchase.

[Gil T Pleasure]

I think you're missing the point. ddlooping is asking whether we would be willing to donate money to DVDShrink. It is voluntary as you are still free to use the app since it is a freeware.

[ddlooping]

Thanks for your comment, lagerlout.

However, we are not talking purchase here, simply about donating.
I, for one, trully believe Mr. DVDShrink's work is worth it, whether you use his software to backup DVDs or only as a simple way to re-author them.
It is simply a mean to encourage him and show him our appreciation.

I'm not sure about your "DVDSHRINK-20030605" problem; I use Nero in UDF mode to burn my backups, and it gives me the choice to label the disk. I've never seen any mention of "DVDSHRINK" in the default label box.

I feel the need to add that this poll was in no way "commandeered" by Mr. DVDShrink. As far as I know he doesn't even have a Paypal account. Yet!

Edit: Gil T Pleasure, I guess you beat me to the post.
You must have replied while I was typing away.
Thanks for your reply.

[mkelley]

Yep, I'll donate now ( as a matter of fact, I was just thinking about this exact thing this weekend, as Shrink 2.0 is working just great for me and my STTNG series work).

Are you trying to set something up? Can't Mr. Shrink get something going on the site?

[ddlooping]

Thanks for the reply, mkelley.

I'm not trying to set something up, just trying to show Mr. DVDShrink (I wish I knew his/her name, lol) that he/she should.

[mkelley]

(Hmmm, never considered Mr. Shrink could be a she. I guess...)

Are you sure Mr. Shrink frequents these forums and/or reads all these threads? I guess you could post the poll results (in a day or two) to the DVDShrink forum -- I did notice he is pretty good about responding there.

I'm a big believer in someone getting rewarded for their hard work -- it benefits all of us, as well, as they may well be encouraged to keep it up. And this truly is software I'd pay for -- so let's make sure we can get this going.

[ddlooping]

Are you sure Mr. Shrink frequents these forums and/or reads all these threads? I guess you could post the poll results (in a day or two) to the DVDShrink forum -- I did notice he is pretty good about responding there.

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=87617#post87617

Please let me know if this is the forum you were refering to.

I'm a big believer in someone getting rewarded for their hard work -- it benefits all of us, as well, as they may well be encouraged to keep it up. And this truly is software I'd pay for -- so let's make sure we can get this going.

I couldn't agree more. Which is why I posted these polls.

[FulciLives]

There should be an option on the poll for people who don't use this program. I use DVD2ONE and I am very happy with it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[KYUSS]

i'm not 100% sure but i think the author of dvdshrink may run into trouble if he accepts any monies or in anyway gains assets from the supply of this program as its in some way against the law......as it decrypts the dvds as it transcodes.

i thought dvd decrypting was against the law? can anyone clarify?

as it stands now its freeware and he gains no money from it so he's not taking money from the film companys.

...........but i for one would like to donate to ensure he keeps up the good work.....if only to aid his distribution and help keep his website aloft.

one thing i would love this program to include in a future installment would be to output to an ISO image.
i know this can be done freely (IMGTOOL) but maybe it would be possible to incorporate dvd decrypter to write to dvdr when trancoding is finished or merely so image can be mounted for testing purposes?

what do you think?


oh and keep up the good work dvdshrink author.

[Jukka]

Having not tried DVDShrink, DVD2ONE, DVD95COPY, et al (only read about them) I have to say that DVDShrink would be my last choice for the main reason that DVDShrink doesn't (as far as I know) utilise full disk capacity. From what I can see it just gives a range of compression options, some of which are massive (i.e. down to say 3Gb or less) but even the best quality still leaves some 300-400Mb free on the disk.

I may be wrong here and will be quite happy to be proved so, but the point is, until it provides an exact fit option it will be second best in my opinion.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the programmer - I think anyone who can program this sort of stuff is a god in my eyes, just comparing it to others on the market (free or otherwise).

J

[ddlooping]

FulciLives, this poll is for DVD Shrink users.
It is kind of obvious you wouldn't be willing to donate if you do not use it.
(unless you're a rich philanthropist maybe, lol)

Read my edited first post.

[mkelley]

i'm not 100% sure but i think the author of dvdshrink may run into trouble if he accepts any monies or in anyway gains assets from the supply of this program as its in some way against the law......as it decrypts the dvds as it transcodes.

i thought dvd decrypting was against the law? can anyone clarify?
.

Whew. This one's complicated. For one thing, PowerDVD and WinDVD both decrypt -- they *have* to decrypt in order to play a DVD. So, no, decrypting is not against the law. Is publishing software that makes decrypting of the files onto your hard drive against the law? Possibly -- possibly not.

The fed court in San Fran is currently taking under consideration the arguments for and against 321 (which publishes DVDXCopy et al) and the judgement there will go a long way towards establishing, *in the United States* exactly what is and is not legal. But it won't be the end of it, not until the Supreme Court renders a decision.

In the meantime the issue will remain cloudy -- but taking donations from a software site is certainly legal. There's no "quid pro quo" here -- anyone can use the software without donating, and anyone can donate without using the software. Mr. Shrink would be on firm legal ground there.

[KYUSS]

i'm not 100% sure but i think the author of dvdshrink may run into trouble if he accepts any monies or in anyway gains assets from the supply of this program as its in some way against the law......as it decrypts the dvds as it transcodes.

i thought dvd decrypting was against the law? can anyone clarify?
.

Whew. This one's complicated. For one thing, PowerDVD and WinDVD both decrypt -- they *have* to decrypt in order to play a DVD. So, no, decrypting is not against the law. Is publishing software that makes decrypting of the files onto your hard drive against the law? Possibly -- possibly not.

The fed court in San Fran is currently taking under consideration the arguments for and against 321 (which publishes DVDXCopy et al) and the judgement there will go a long way towards establishing, *in the United States* exactly what is and is not legal. But it won't be the end of it, not until the Supreme Court renders a decision.

In the meantime the issue will remain cloudy -- but taking donations from a software site is certainly legal. There's no "quid pro quo" here -- anyone can use the software without donating, and anyone can donate without using the software. Mr. Shrink would be on firm legal ground there.

thanks for the excellent reply m8...i thought my comments might get taken the wrong way for a min

[Jukka]

KYUSS, et al - decoding / decrypting DVDs is only illegal if you intend to copy them. Decrypting to display is not illegal as far as I know (unless it is to broadcast without a license but that applies to all copyright media). Therefore PowerDVD, etc. are not illegal. Does DVDShrink decrypt off the DVD disk and then compress, if so I feel shaky ground underfoot. I don't think the courts would give a sh*t if you were receiving money or not, in their view you are breaking the law either way.

J

[Nolonemo]

The DMCA says (section 1201) that "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." Money is not a factor.

That means that (currently) it is illegal (in the U.S.) for you personally to defeat the CSS on a DVD even if you own it. Now, when you play the disk in your settop box (or on your computer) you are not breaking the law, because you are not circumventing the encryption - the decryption is being done lawfully by a device (the player or the software) that is properly licensed to decrupt the content.

I would say that if you play the DVD in your settop box and make a copy to VHS (let's just say for the sake of argument that the deck isn't screwed up by Macrovision), that would be legal under the fair use doctrine because you're not "circumventing" the encryption. But if you rip the disk to burn a copy, that's not legal because you're circumventing the encryption because you're using an illegal (unlicensed) product to do it.

That's why 321 Studios will lose and its "fair use" doctrine argument won't work. It doesn't matter whether there's "fair use" or not, because you can only copy (rip) by circumventing the encryption. It's a different issue. The only way they can win is if, IMO, they can show that they don't have to break the encryption to copy (ie, they are just duplicating the encryupted data stream).

Of course, even there, there is an argument that since the purpose of the CSS encryption is to prevent copying, any instance of copying necessarily has involved "circumventing" the encryption and is therefore illegal under the DMCA. Undetr that argument, even taping the decrypted video stream out of your settop box could be illegal.

[mkelley]

Nolonemo,

I'm no lawyer (although, truthfully, I *have* played one on TV :>) and I wouldn't even pretend to disagree with your assumption that 321 will lose, but I don't think it's anywhere *near* as clear cut as you suggest. For one thing, despite the DMCA there are some compelling arguments that backups of your content IS legal -- and there are all kinds of precedents to suggest that a previous law can indeed take precedence over a subsequent law (so, for one example, it's possible the "betamax" case will prevail over the DMCA in terms of legality).

If there's one thing I've learned in the courtroom over the years it's that nearly anything can happen -- and this is very likely to be the test case that gets heard before the Supreme Court to determine if the DMCA is indeed legal and enforceable. As I said, I'm kind of the opinion the studios will prevail, but I also thought so in the Sony case, and they didn't, so you just never know.

Despite all that, even if the U.S. Supreme court makes a determination that backups are not legal, the U.S. is not the world (I have to keep reminding myself this :>) So decryption may well continue to exist legally in all sorts of places, and the web being what it is, it will be difficult if not impossible to control this flow (I don't necessarily know Mr. Shrink is based in the U.S. -- do you?).

Anyway, I'm sure the next year or two will be interesting times (the old Chinese curse).

[macleod]

Mr/MRS/cousin IT Shrink....This software is fantastic!!! I am a HUGE fan of DVD shrink. I had been using different back up software (dvd2one, IC7, DVDXcopy, etc.) and none of them compare to what you have done. And....... its free, which just blows my mind. I figure you are going to bankrupt the other companies. I have used different packages and I like the ease of dvd shrink, how quickly it does everything, the intuitive design of the app, EVERYTHING.

Cant thank you enough for putting this software out for everyone to use. I know that there are others that say the quality isnt the same as XXXX app, however, my little 32" toshiba plays the DVD's just fine and they look great.


Thanks again!!!!!

[lagerlout]

I'm not sure about your "DVDSHRINK-20030605" problem; I use Nero in UDF mode to burn my backups, and it gives me the choice to label the disk. I've never seen any mention of "DVDSHRINK" in the default label box.

I use CopyToDVD, due to way too many deaths with Nero. I think my PC is at fault TBH, at least OS wise, as before installing a few Ulead products it was fine. Even putting a disk in takes 30 secs to recognise! TBH though I'm not willing to retest it yet, am waiting for a reinstall. I think DVDShrink just makes its own name when re-authoring or something? Just for the record a disk I just this second burnt is called:

DVD Temp_DVDShrink_20030610

[Remco]

The author doesn't want any money, he/she wants respect!!
That's what I'm giving him by using his awesome proggie