Copying a DVD

Copying a DVD is somewhat more problematic than copying a CD. There are two reasons for this:

• Dual-layer commercial DVDs hold up to 9.4GB of data, where blank DVD-R discs only hold 4.7GB. This means that it's impossible to copy a movie onto a single disc; you either have to break the movie into two halves (on two separate discs) or compress the movie to fit, thus compromising quality.

• Many commercial DVDs are protected by a sophisticated encryption scheme, which prevents copying.

So if you want to copy a DVD, you're pretty much limited by the original material. If you want to copy a DVD you've created, you're okay. If you want to copy a commercial DVD movieeven if it's just a backup copy for your personal useyou're probably out of luck. (There's no harm in trying, however; not all commercial DVDs feature copy-protection encryption.)

That said, there are many programs that let you make copies of your personal DVDs. With most of these programs, the process is as simple as clicking a button or two; some programs let you compress longer DVDs to fit on a standard blank DVD or break long DVDs into two shorter ones.

Both Easy Media Creator and Ulead MovieFactory, which we've discussed previously, will do basic DVD copying. Also good are two dedicated DVD copy programs, DVD Wizard Pro (www.dvdwizardpro.com) and EZ DVD Copy (www.ezdvdcopy.com). Again, note that none of these programs will copy commercial DVDs, but they're great for copying your home-made discs.

The Absolute Minimum

Here are the key points to remember from this chapter:

• If you have a DVD burner in your PC system, you can create movie DVDs from your existing home movies.

• MyDVD lets you create DVDs direct from videotape or from edited movie files.

• You can also create DVDs that contain slideshows of your digital photographs.

• While it's possible to copy your personal DVDs, copying commercial movie DVDs is more problematicbecause of both file size and copy-protection issues.