Electronic Backups of DVDs?

They used to have this thing called "Fair Use", that said it wasn't illegal for you to make a backup of something on another media, but now it seems when I was searching for info on backing up DVDs to a hard drive it seems like I am a criminal....has the law changed? Can you do backups for DVDs? I used to backup CDs to cassettes, i got tired of them getting scratched, I feel the same way about DVDs. For instance, my Rocky DVD skips during the fight, what a waste....I would like to get this all on a few TB external hard drives hooked up to a computer hooked up to a tv...just click on the movie instead of sort through DVDs...how would one go about this legally?

 

You have privacy rights too.

 

It's totally legal to have a backup copy as long as you have the original disc.

You're falling for the MPAA propaganda machine's message of "anything other than playing a DVD directly is illegal". They want you to think you can't have a copy, so they can sell you a second copy via iTunes that you can carry around on your iPod.

The biggest problem is that the tools to rip a DVD are illegal because of the DMCA, which keeps the encryption on the disc from being broken, even for fair use purposes. So it's illegal to make the tool, but not illegal to use the tool (assuming you don't distribute).

To go about it legally: rip it and keep the disc, and don't give your friends copies.

 

Find a program to do this they do exist. The DMCA laws are a gray area(purposely I believe, so big companies can still have all the power while people wouldn't be outraged when it passed).

What get's companies closed down or sued into oblivion is the fact that their software cracks the copy protection. And it is illegal to make tools that circumvent copy-protection under the DMCA .

The U.S's laws are out of date as far as fair use is concerned, because how can you make your own personal copy without breaking encryption on a standard encrypted dvd? you can't.

but that's not your problem you can't make or sell those tools but it's legal for you to use them or buy them.


The whole movie and music distributing system is out dated. Copy protection shouldn't inconvinience the consumer, It creates a situation where paying people have to jump through hoops to use it while pirates don't. Piracy looks nice to a lot of people and it basically the companies fault.

for examples of it done pretty close to perfectly look at steam(game client), they will let you redownload any game you bought.

 

bingo. i have found there is software out there, but now i am worried it will affect my computer, or it is from a malware company etc...which hurts my privacy right to get around the DVD copy as long as I stay within my fair use exception of just legitimately changing the format, and really not trying to sell it on the corner. I don't even bother uploading photos, nevermind videos.

 

ohh.....i can have those tools as long as i am not making them...that makes sense. because then i am not contributing to copyright infringement like they (arguably) are.

100% agree with you sostoudt. I lost a program I have a receipt for, and they have my registration supposedly, but I have to buy a new disc. Well I said to them, (okay the guy at best buy) if it was the disc I bought, after I install it I can sell the disk right? "no, it is the license..." ...lol...so what happened to my old license? lol...Oh well. I bust this guy's chops a bit but he is really nice about it.

I love that idea you were talking about, Best Buy should get on that, I would never shop for software anywhere else. Great point too, since limewire and the rest make piracy as easy as can be, they should just remove most barriers for user convenience. To me that would put added value in the product, if I was going to pirate it I would just get it off of lime wire etc...

 

Just as a general reference, there's a list on Wikipedia of DVD ripping software, with info on whether they have spyware or other things bundled with them, and other info on the features.

 

I'm with P.

Just do it, and don't tell anybody, or redistribute.

It's only the stupid people who redistribute and / or download movies, then shoot their mouth off about how they got the latest lame ass movie off the 'net for free. Get yourself some ripping tools, and archive off to a large HD and you'll be fine.

 

thanks! i never knew wikipedia had info on software and what is potentially harmful. there is all sorts of open source i like to use, but often it is hard to tell who is legit, and who is trying to sound legit. thank you for that info, i appreciate it.

 

The situation with copyright in this country when dealing with digital goods is really inconsistent and poorly done, I agree.

Then again, it's not like the situation is correct anywhere else. China has no copyright to begin with, which kinda kills innovation altogether. We have so many restrictions that it infringes on our rights, but lets companies innovate without worrying about whether they'll be able to protect their investment. European countries are, in some cases, even stricter than the US, like with their implementations of three strikes rules with no due process.

So, in sum, copyright altogether is messed up because of the internet, and nobody has found the right balance yet.