Burning a copy protected DVD isn't as easy as it used to be: As the years have passed, movie developers have become much more aware of the pirating of DVDs and in response are trying to implement and find ways to further protect their precious DVDs with commercial answers for their ultimate protection. This has led to the addition of artificial restrictions, commercials, and FBI warnings which can not be skipped as well as the implementation of region coding. For the ordinary DVD collector this can be aggravating when you want to make backups for your collection. But fear not, because as difficult as it may appear to be, burning copy protected DVDs is not an impossible feat.
An Important Reminder
Keep in mind that the creation of backups for your own personal use is legal, but if you make “backups” for commercial gain, where you actual make money off of them - it isn’t. Countries prohibit the reproduction of copy protected DVDs for the sole purpose of selling these illegal reproductions to others. There are laws in a number of countries which may permit the creation of a single backup of certain media or software for personal use. By utilizing the information here, you are acknowledging the fact that you personally own the DVD copyrighted material that you intend to copy and that this site will not be held responsible for any copyright infringement. This article is simply a guide for educational purposes. This site does not, in any form, condone piracy.
Now that we’ve got that clear, and you know that this site does not endorse any form of copyright infringement or piracy, let us proceed with how to burn copy protected DVDs.
There are different ways to back up copy protected DVDs. We will leave you with the choice to pick your method but in this article we’ll offer you a simple method and a more complex one. Read on about each method and then take your pick.
The simpler method to burn copy protected DVDs requires you to get hold of
DVD copy software which can guarantee you a perfect fit backup copy each time. DVD copy software should include a DVD ripper or some form of DVD decryption tool which will be doing the hard work of descrambling the actual CSS encryption or copy protection of the DVD. This in turn will allow the software to continue to burn a spotless copy of your copy protected DVD.
The best DVD software on the market is either Next Copy DVD (The Editor's Choice) or DVD Clone Studio Sounds simple? But the actual issue here is that because movie developers are scrambling to create new modes of DVD protection in order to prevent piracy, the latest DVD copy software may not always work. On the rare occasion that the above software titles can't clone a copy protected DVD, what you need to do is download a
free DVD decrypter and/or ripper and get your hands dirty. After it has been installed (and you know how to use the software), you should be able to decrypt and then burn your copy protected DVDs without too many hassles...
The more complex method of burning a copy protected DVD will require you to get your hands on a free decryption tool like DVD Decrypter which will permit you to initially decrypt and then copy DVDs to the PC’s hard disk. You’ll then be able to watch these DVDs by the use of PowerDVD or WinDVD, or you may opt to utilize software such as DVD shrink in order to write these copies onto a single layer DVD or CD. This more complex method of burning DVDs has a number of steps which will not be as quick, nor as plain and simple as using title like DVD Next Copy... But this method has a major plus point - it’s FREE! So read on to comprehend exactly what must be done.
NOTE: DVD43 is another free DVD ripper which you may choose to download in order to apply this method. (Try using it if you have problems with DVD Decrypter). While these programs are fairly simple to use, if you get stuck you can always contact our help desk. We'll try and answer your question or technical problem within 24 hours.
Pointers to keep in mind before burning
Before we begin, you should make sure that you will utilize a new DVD disc for the copy you are making. Any defects in the media you utilize will result in defects in the written disc. You may even actually see these defects on the underside where or middle of a DVD+/-R. These physical defects are stains, scuffs, scratches, contamination, pinholes found in the metal layer, problems with the plastic, or even places where there is a lack of recording dye.
Next, make sure that you even turn off screen savers during a burn. If you encounter issues with buffer underruns, a slower writing speed would be appropriate. Virus protection software should also be shut down and ensure that no other programs are running during the burn. If you can get your hard drive defragged, that’s a good idea. This will enhance your computer’s speed and the efficiency of the DVD burning process. Any kind of improvement in your computer’s speed will be a key tool in your DVD burning.
Now let’s begin…
You should have 14 GB of free hard-drive space (up to 8.76 GB for ripping DVD, up to an additional 4.38 GB for backup disc)
Software Requirements:
DVD Decrypter
Part 1: DVD Decrypter
1. First, insert the DVD you’d like to burn. Next, shut any DVD player which proceeds to open after this. Now you can open DVD Decrypter.
2. Proceed to click on “Mode”, after which you should click on ISO, and then Read.
3. Click on the icon which will portray exactly where your DVD file will be saved. Here is where you will choose a folder.
4. Click on File and then Decrypt.
5. Copying your DVD to the computer’s hard drive may take around 30-40 minutes, but this of course depends on how long the movie is and what added features there may be.
6. Once DVD Decrypter has completed its creation of the file you may now shut the program and take out the DVD.
Software requirements:
DVD Shrink
Part 2: DVD Shrink
1. Begin by opening DVD Shrink
2. Click on File and then Open Disc Image
3. Search for the file which you created with the use of DVD Decrypter. It will take DVD Shrink a few minutes to analyze the film.
4. Proceed to uncheck the corresponding boxes for audio languages which you will not utilize on your DVD.
5. Search for the + sign which may be located near the Extras folder. The bonus materials found on the DVD should be located here.
6. For an even better quality film, remove extras by clicking on each individual file and from the dropdown menu, select Still image/s. If you wish, the extras can be previewed prior to removal.
7. If you want your DVD to have the extra features, just select the clip and adjust the dropdown menu to custom compression. You should lower this around 50-60 percent pertaining to each individual extra.
8. Make sure you check by clicking on the main movie folder. By removing extras or compressing them, the quality of your DVD should be at least 60-70 percent. Keep in mind that the higher the percent of quality the better.
9. Once you’re satisfied with the quality of the main movie, you can click on the Backup icon.
For Part 3 you should have:
A blank DVD
Software Requirements:
Nero (preferably version 6.3 or higher):
Part 3: Burning 1. Now put in a blank DVD
2. First, click on the tab for Burn Settings and make sure that the speed is at least 1-2 speeds lower than the greatest speed shown.
3. Now DVD Shrink can compress the created file by DVD Decrypter and make DVD video files. This may take around 20-30 minutes.
4. Nero Burning Rom may be used to burn DVD files located in the VIDEO TS folder, which are left after utilizing programs such as DVDShrink, to a DVD+/-R.
5. Begin by clicking on Recorder --> Burn Compilation (or hit CTRL+B). You can leave the default settings.
6. Click the Burn button which is seen at the very top above the Nero Express and Cancel buttons. Reply with Burn without multisession just in case you are prompted with multisession disc burning.
These DVD video files will be burned automatically in about 15 minutes and the DVD will be finished.
This guide for burning copy protected DVDs was purposely written in a simple, easy to comprehend manner for even those non-techie aficionados to understand. If you think we have missed something or you found any part of this article difficult to understand then please let us know.
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