Tech: Copying DVDs

Subject: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 09:26 PM

A local high school made a promo DVD for the women's center where I do volunteer work, and it was very good. We'd like to make copies for distribution, but I haven't found an easy way to copy a DVD. What I've done is to take the video files from the DVD, rename them to MPEG, and then use them in Windows Movie Maker. It's a complicated process, and Windows Movie Maker adds menus that are nowhere near the quality of the High School video.
Isn't there an easy way to copy a DVD? I checked sourceforge.net for freeware DVD copy software, and didn't find anything that sounded good.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 09:35 PM

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 09:38 PM

Pushed the wrong button, Joe. I was saying good luck. Paul Goelz, who has done a lot of the videos of Art Thieme, that have been posted lately, said that video programs do not have a standardized form. So finding a program that will accept some other program is a result of trial and error, as opposed to some logical thought pattern.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 09:57 PM

Joe, do you have either Nero or Roxio? Either should do the task easily enough in most cases.

I couldn't tell you the brand name, but the local high school has a duplicator which will whip out, as I recall, about six copies at a time. Doubt you'd want to get into that, but you might check around your local schools, in case the local techie is a friend of yours or maybe a friend of a friend.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 10:08 PM

Well, I had Roxio, and I suspect it's the one that messed up my DVD burner - so I'm unwilling to try it on another computer.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 10:26 PM

There used to be a thing called CloneCD and I think there is a modern DVD equivalent but it is no longer freeware. I'd expect Nero to do it anyway.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Mark Ross
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 10:27 PM

Joe try Nero, it works great on CD's. I suspect it does just as well on DVD.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: GUEST,DWR
Date: 28 Jun 10 - 10:43 PM

I almost always use Nero, for both CDs and DVDs. I have Roxio, but normally trot it out only when Nero fails to read track information.

You CAN download the full shebang on Nero and use it free for a week or so. Email me if this sounds like something you'd like to do and I'll point you in all the right directions. (it is BIG, though)

My paid version is an older one, Nero 7, but it does everything I ask of it, with just the occasional fault mentioned above.

Dale

How many votes for Nero is that?

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 12:23 AM

I have been using Nero for seven years now for CDs and DVDs from scratch professionnaly, and DVD copying and I highly recommend it Joe.

whb

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:26 AM

I see Nero still uses the trade name "Nero Burning ROM" - one of the cleverest trade names in the corporate universe.
Guess I'll have to try it. Gee, I wonder if the free edition will do what I want.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 03:31 AM

You can often buy a DVD combo drive (reads and writed CDs and DVDs in all formats) WITH a bundled Nero (usually only works with that drive) for about £22 here in the UK. Worth it to have the latest fastest drive and the drive PLUS Nero is cheaper than Nero on its own. Ebuyer is the local port of call, dunno what would be best in the USA.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Bernard
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 01:20 PM

If you've already got a DVD that runs in a DVD player, just copy the files into a folder, then copy/paste them to your DVD burner (with a compatible blank already inserted) and XP xhould do it for you without any other software...

This won't work for copyrighted DVDs, but I'm guessing yours won't be.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: GUEST,Woodsie
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 01:42 PM

Only trouble is NERO doesn't allow you to copy mainstream DVD movies as they are copy protected! But there is a great little software package called DVD Fab which will do the trick!
It will also remove.convert region coding.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: GUEST,TonyA
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:25 PM

If it's a normal DVD with the same capacity and structure as blank DVD's and not copy-protected like a commercial movie DVD, then there's a great freeware program that will do it called ImgBurn.

To copy a DVD with ImgBurn, you first make a copy of the DVD's stream of 0's and 1's (a disc image file) on your hard disk. Then you burn that image onto a blank DVD. That gives you a new DVD exactly like the old one.

–"What would you like to do?"
–"Create image file from disc"
–"Please select a file"
–(specify a filename and location for the DVD image)
–►
–(wait till it's done)
–"Mode > Ez-Mode Picker"
–"What would you like to do?"
–"Write image file to disc"
–"Please select a file"
–(select the file you created earlier)
–►

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: IvanB
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:53 PM

Well, I found this thread late, but I'd give a hearty second to Tony A's recommendation of ImgBurn. It's a small program that does only a few things but does them well. I don't know how well or if it works with Windows 7 or with any 64 bit systems, but on my Vista Ultimate 32 bit system it works great.

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:53 PM

I installed the free version of Nero, and it wouldn't run because of a C++ runtime error. Reinstallation solved that. BUT...I forgot to bring home the DVD I wanted to copy, so now I have to wait.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Copying DVDs
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:55 PM

'Clone DVD' works wee enough for me
Jim Carroll