Two can play at this game ...

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  • admin
    Administrator
    • Nov 2001
    • 8950

    Two can play at this game ...

    321studio is filing a complaint against the MPAA in regards to the DMCA. 321studio sells a DVD backup software called DVD Copy Plus, you can download it here :



    (you'll need to purchase a license before you can use it, which is a shame, because there are many free DVD conversion tools - they should at least provide a trial version, as this will avoid the situation where people buy a DVD backup tool thinking that the backup will be identical to the original DVD, but in actual fact, it is only to DivX or the low quality VCD format, which I think is what DVD Copy Plus converts to).

    I don't know what will come of this, or whether this is just a publicity stunt (of course, if this backfires ...). It seems they are responding to some kind of threat made by the MPAA, which is not all that surprising, considering DVD Copy Plus is marketed as a commercial DVD copying tool, and we all know how "mad" the MPAA got at a certain free DVD decryption tool (that didn't even work properly) ...

    I have some quite negative feelings towards software such as DVD Copy Plus, which reportedly packages freeware tools such as DVDx, SmartRipper and VCDEasy, and tries to sell it as a standalone commercial package. It may have some nice looking guides and a new interface or something, but the fact is that it is still based on freeware tools, sometimes taken without the permission of the author. But this is probably not the main issue here, as the MPAA doesn't care if it is freeware or not.

    From my perspective, there are two issues involved here. One is the legality of DVD backup, for profit-less personal use (since backing up CDs are legal - it seems that it is only illegal if the stuff you are trying to backup has anti-copy protection). The other is the question that if I sell a software to make backups of DVDs, and these backups are pirated, does it mean that I have profited from the piracy, as indirectly as it is.

    I've heard a wide range of opinions in regards to this, with some saying that it's all illegal, and some saying that it's all legal, and those that believe as long as no one is making profits from it and it's for personal, it should be legal (fair use). I tend to believe these are all valid points, and you can give arguments for and against each of these opinions.

    The big question : is DVD backup illegal, since it could be used to pirate the movie (although most professional pirates probably won't be using a DVD ripper to make copies of DVDs, since bit-to-bit DVD copiers are available and makes DVD pirating much easier)? Or should it be allowed, since DVD backup could come under fair-use?

    If guns are legal in the US, and you can argue they have both legal and illegal uses, should DVD rippers be legal as well?
    18
    Yes, the MPAA should crack down on all DVD backup tools
    0%
    0
    Yes, but free DVD backup tools should be legal since they make no profit from it
    0%
    4
    No, 321studio and others has a right to sell DVD backup tools
    0%
    5
    No, but DVD backup tools should be free
    0%
    9
    Visit Digital Digest and dvdloc8.com, My Blog
  • mikehunt
    Junior Member
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2002
    • 1

    #2
    IS THIS ANY GOOD?

    i am thinkin about this software does anyone know if its any good i have heard good things about is www.dvdripper.co.uk

    Comment

    • admin
      Administrator
      • Nov 2001
      • 8950

      #3
      If it doesn't have a trial/demo version, then it's probably a scam.

      And this statement :

      And finally, why go out to your local electronic store and pay upwards of $1000 for a DVD-Burner when this revolutionary DVD Package will allow you to create DVD-compatible video discs for just a fraction of the cost?
      Just screams BS. If I did pay $1000 for a DVD-Burner (although they only cost around $500 today), I get to make almost exact copies of the original DVDs (some work may be required to split the DVD onto 2 DVD-Rs), whereas with this software, I can only make very inferior VCD or at best, SVCD copies of the original DVD - with only half of the original video quality, no surround sound, with no anamorphic widescreen, with no multiple languages/subtitles, with no menus, with no extra features ... didn't mention these facts did they??
      Visit Digital Digest and dvdloc8.com, My Blog

      Comment

      • kevin abq
        Junior Member
        Junior Member
        • Jul 2002
        • 40

        #4
        DVD rippers

        Not to mention, there is a lot of top-shelf ripping software out there. My favorite, like many people, is Smart Ripper.

        Let these small software start-ups try to charge for a ripping/copying app. That's their right. It's free enterprise, and there will always be someone who will be willing to pay their price. Word gets around quick, though, when a few bucks can be saved by using a free app like Smart Ripper. This little app blows most of the commercial stuff in the weeds.

        I was busy "backing up" a DVD at home. I couldn't just rip the VOB files because it was a double-layer commercial DVD and had about 8 GB of video on the one side, so I captured the A/V with my MPEG-2 encoder at a lower bitrate than the original and burned it with Nero.

        The problem was with disc #2, which had 3.9 GB of bonus material on it. My wife loves the outtakes and scenes that didn't make the final cut. Capturing was out because it would have involved editing and rerendering the video, and one section had a funky video/storyboard overlay that kept jumping back and forth between chapters. It would have been unlikely I could have duplicated that. So I used Smart Ripper and got flawless files, de-CSS'ed and de-macro'ed, which I just burned with Nero. That little app saved me a bunch of time.
        Cheers!
        Kevin

        Comment

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