Not trying to use warez

[psigna]

I own just about every Disney video put out. I bought them for my daughters. Now that DVD is available, I would like to have these on DVD, but I don't think that I should have to pay for the same movie twice. Since I already own the movie, would it be illegal to copy the dvd? We never watch the vhs anymore, and they degrade, so I will most likely not have them in years to come. I am not trying to obtain something that I don;'t have already. Sorry if this is a no-no question. i could not decide. Please don't ban me.

[canadateck]

If you dont have the DVd how would you copy it?
Just transfer your VHS to DVD.

[psigna]

How is the quality of that through a capture card? i have one and I have used it for old home movies, but those qualities is not that great to begin with.

[canadateck]

Well , you really cant make it any better then it is.

You maybe able to abit, but there is more work then just capturing. If you know how to capture well, you maybe able to get the same quality as the VHS..

[AlecWest]

I own just about every Disney video put out. I bought them for my daughters. Now that DVD is available, I would like to have these on DVD, but I don't think that I should have to pay for the same movie twice. Since I already own the movie, would it be illegal to copy the dvd?

This is a tough question ... and has never been addressed by law in a definitive manner. According to the Audio Home Recording Act (1992), you are entitled to "space-shift" music you own. For example, if you owned a song on a 45rpm record, you're entitled to copy it to a cassette (aka a "backup") as long as (and this is important) you retain the original ... that both copies remain in your possession. It's interesting to note for history's sake that (snicker) AHRA was partly authored by the RIAA. And, this came back to haunt them later when people pushed the limits of this law ... copying their CDs to other CDs and/or MP3 files (some of which did not remain in the possession of the original owner).

In short, there's no "Video Home Recording Act." But, if you had to go to court, I suspect the same argument would be found in your favor if you did a backup of your original VHS tape on DVD. How it would be interpreted if you backed up a DVD version owned by someone else (a rental store, a buddy) is something else altogether.

[dcsos]

I'm sure its Illegal. But I don't think it should be..and yes I would make seveal copies of such a DVD (your own authoring from the tapes of course..anything other would be a violation of this sites rules) because I wouldn't be able to go back to the Tapes if'n I chucked 'em.

[somebodeez]

...because I wouldn't be able to go back to the Tapes if'n I chucked 'em.

I'm not chucking our Disney tapes just yet. Among others, we've got the Little Mermaid tape w/the banned cover art. Could that be a collector's item some day?

[fmctm1sw]

Could that be a collector's item some day?

Only if you have the one that had a "unit" as part of a castle. Or was that another one?

[Cobra]

psigna,

Thank you for respecting the Forum AUP. I appreciate it.

I cannot give a definitive legal answer, but here on VideoHelp we feel it is too dubious to allow on the forum. I am afraid that you cannot get any help with this particular project here, should you download copies.

However, if you would like to capture and convert your VHS tapes to DVD we can certainly help you! I did something similar recently - it looks scary but it isn't so bad.

Cobra

[psigna]

Thanks for all of the insight and help. I don't plan on chucking the vhs either, but i don't know if they will be watchable later on. Thanks for not banning me!!!

[pepegot1]

While we are on the subject, is it illegal to copy a TV movie to a tape or DVD? Are not the airways free, as long as it is for personal use?

[AlecWest]

While we are on the subject, is it illegal to copy a TV movie to a tape or DVD? Are not the airways free, as long as it is for personal use?

That, too, is a gray area. All the 1982 (Sony v. Columbia) Supreme Court decision did was make it OK to legally timeshift ... record off TV for watching later. I'm not sure whether it allows for MUCH later (aka "archiving"). But, I don't think the media-type is the issue.

[somebodeez]

Could that be a collector's item some day?

Only if you have the one that had a "unit" as part of a castle.

That's the one

[Gurm]

I've always sort of been mixed on the TV thing. Adam (one of the mods here) is the legal expert, and feels that it's clearly illegal to download a TV show and watch it.

However, how this is different from time shifting I'm unclear. If I ask my friend down the street to tape "friends" for me on VHS, and he does, and hands me the tape, I guess that's TECHNICALLY illegal - because it's certainly no different from having a friend in Britain pull "Battlestar Galactica" off of Sky-1 and e-mail it to me. But in the VHS case it happens all the time and nobody says a word - not even, at this point, the TV stations.

So I guess what I'm saying is:

1. Yes, it's very clearly illegal to make a DVD copy of someone else's DVD, even if you own that movie - even if you own that movie on DVD! (We've covered the "mine is scratched, can I copy a rental" issue before).

2. I - and many others - feel that it's neither immoral nor unethical. The way I look at it? Disney got your money. C'mon - Disney has gotten my "Little Mermaid" dollars a dozen times over now. The fact that you can't put your hands on a legal copy of "The Little Mermaid" now for any amount of money doesn't mean my 3-year-old doesn't want to watch it. BOTH of our VHS copies are now dead, I borrowed a friend's DVD... see where this is going? Of course I admit to no wrongdoing. That would be WRONG. But you can see, ethically, where this is going.

The movie companies, in THEIR version of a perfect world, would make you pay every time you watched something. They'd keep you from EVER owning it - just like Microsoft wants you to perpetually "lease" their software, MGM would love for you to pay every time you watched one of their movies. If we as consumers don't catch a break soon, it might happen.

[adam]

The Audio Home Recording Act definitely does not apply to video. The written language is very clear, and the Committee Notes expressly state that video has always been granted more protection than audio, and that the act does not cover anything that isn't primarily a musical recording. It doesn't even apply to non-musical recordings like a comedy sketch for example.

The Supreme Court also expressly stated that downloading musical works was not permissible under the AHRA.

What you want to do (VHS->DVD) is called "format-shifting," and under US law it is only allowed for time-shifted material and audio recordings, and probably for computer software as well but there isn't much use for that. As others have already stated, what you want to do is technically illegal.

[ZAPPER]

I haven't read the AUP today, but the jist of this site, I think, is about it being ok to make a back up copy of any movie that you own and still have the orginal of. We use terms to skirt around what people are actually doing, but if you own a VCR tape of a movie it is generally accecpted that you can make a back up of it to a different media, DVDrw or what have you.

Somehow there is a grey area here. It seems that there has yet to be a legal trial on this subject, so there is no definate legal answer.

While I am no expert on anything, my thoughts on the matter are like this. If it turns out to be against the law, you never met me, keep quiet about it. Somehow I don't see Disney sueing you for letting your child watch a Disney movie that you already have paid to own even if you shift it over to another format. Now I could be wrong, you could end up being the one that they put up against the wall and shoot to make an example out of. But as I have said before, if you live in a country that has indoor plumbing I wouldn't worry too much about getting shot.

There is plenty here at this site to read about the subject, just search a little

[ZAPPER]

go here https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=124514 and read the fair use part

[housepig]

All the 1982 (Sony v. Columbia) Supreme Court decision did was make it OK to legally timeshift ... I'm not sure whether it allows for MUCH later (aka "archiving").

IIRC the Sony decision does state that once you've watched the program, you need to destroy / tape over it, and it specifically does not allow archiving.

[laspis59]

So when you have backed up your legally owned DVD to DVD-/+R,which cannot be written over ever again,you have to destroy it once you have viewed it a couple of times. Why sell DVD Writers,Video recorders,Cassette recorders ect.....
I cant see many people making a DVD,then trashing it.

[adam]

He is referring to time-shifting where you record material off of on-air broadcasting to watch at a later time. Under current law you are only supposed to record it for a one time later viewing. You are not allowed to archive it into your library.

As for backing up VHS and DVDs which you have purchased, as already stated there is no provision for this under US law. Until ruled otherwise, it is a violation of copyright.

Under the copyright laws of other countries this practice may or may not be legal. The administrator of this board has taken his personal position on this matter and said it is ok to discuss backing up DVDs and such, nothwithstanding the laws of any given country.

[crazythunder]

most disney tapes are protected. you'll need one of these http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=simct2&store=&catid=4550 . they work great.

[penn]

psigna,
I am in a similar postion to you. I bought a lot of the Walt Disney videos for my children and they ( and I ) have watched them several times. I have started transferring my collection to DVD and now my grandchildren are watching them on DVD. The point is that I have paid for my original VHS movies so Walt Disney have received the royalties from me as an individual for each movie and all I have done is the protect my investment by backing up the movie so that I and my family can continue to enjoy the marvellous work of Walt Disney. I see nothing illegal in that. I am not profiting from anything I have done and Walt Disney are not losing revenue.

[pbhalerao]

psigna,
I am in a similar postion to you. I bought a lot of the Walt Disney videos for my children and they ( and I ) have watched them several times. I have started transferring my collection to DVD and now my grandchildren are watching them on DVD. The point is that I have paid for my original VHS movies so Walt Disney have received the royalties from me as an individual for each movie and all I have done is the protect my investment by backing up the movie so that I and my family can continue to enjoy the marvellous work of Walt Disney. I see nothing illegal in that. I am not profiting from anything I have done and Walt Disney are not losing revenue.

I second that. I am doing that for all my VHS collection but I need a TB corrector first to overcome Macrovision. I will keep the original VHS also.

[J. Baker]

I would think you would be able to transfer your vhs to dvd.

It would be like buying a new car from dodge and dodge saying that you can't ever fix your car, so once it's broke down and undrivable, you have to buy a new one.

Sorry but that's the only thing I could come up with to view my point.

[pbhalerao]

I would think you would be able to transfer your vhs to dvd.

It would be like buying a new car from dodge and dodge saying that you can't ever fix your car, so once it's broke down and undrivable, you have to buy a new one.

Sorry but that's the only thing I could come up with to view my point.

I see what you are trying to say - but I am guessing that Video cannot be treated in the same analogy.

Maybe transforming the format is illegal; but I will go ahead and do the same - after all this is for my personal use and I am only protecting my investment.

However, there might be a case when the movie on DVD is preferable to buy (not much expensive) than making - saves the time to encode the DVD, author it (not to mention that one might wish to add chapters, etc.). Unfortunately Disney DVD's will probably never fall into this category.