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RealNetworks To Introduce a Simple DVD Copier
langelgjm writes "The New York Times reports that RealNetworks will begin selling RealDVD today, a software program designed to make copying DVDs a trivial task for the average user. Unlike free alternatives, which generally require some technical knowledge and make it difficult to copy an entire DVD with extras, etc., RealDVD claims to be able to copy the entire DVD, menus and all. While sure to raise the ire of Hollywood, the program does have significant limitations: the DVDs it makes will only be playable on the computer where they were created; or, users can pay $20 per computer to play the DVDs on up to five additional computers."
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Even though it will have limitations to make the DVDs playable on a limited number of computers, the fact that the software cost you money and it isn't open source, because this sort of thing usually spawns free alternatives. I mean, it's not really rocket science to make a software that creates DVDs, but inspiration to make easy to use alternatives is needed.
If it won't produce something that will play on a standard stand-alone DVD player, then IT'S NOT A DVD AND THIS IS NOT A "DVD Copier." This is just a ripper that adds an annoying layer of DRM to the files (umm...no thanks). And you get to pay for the privilege, no less. Woo hoo!
There are any number of one-button DVD rippers that are just as good, just as simple, and produce an actual DVD. And many of them are free. DVDfab is just one example. It produces an actual DVD, it's as simple as it gets to use, and it doesn't cost a dime (unless you want the premium version).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"the DVDs it makes will only be playable on the computer where they were created"
Doesn't this make it *not* an actual DVD, but rather an encoded video on a disc that just happens to be shaped like a DVD with the capacity of a DVD? Kind of like how all those DRM'd CDs can't actually be called "compact discs" because they don't adhere to the red book standard?
Let me know when this DVD copier actually lets me copy DVDs that can be played on a DVD Player.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
People who want hassle-free DVD copying are usually the ones that like to watch DVDs in a DVD player, sitting on the couch of their living rooms. Why? Because they are not very computer literate (or can't be bothered, doesn't matter which).
Make It Secret Protect your privacy
AnyDVD + DVD shrink is brain dead easy to use if you really want to copy all the crap on the DVD.
Want just the movie on your laptop use handbrake. easy as pie.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
DVD copying has been trivial for many years now with DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter. I'm sure there's already other programs out there that are even easier to use.
I'm assuming they get by the legality of selling it by stating it is for use for the single copy you are allowed to make. Still, I'm sure they'll see some pressure from the content providers.
Most "average" users I know play they're dvds on their tvs, not their computers. I hope they explicitly state only plays on a computer on the label, or a lot of average customers will be rather annoyed.
Finally, I remember something about dvd shrink (which is extremely easy for average users when used with dvd-decrypter, though not legal in the us) may be actually legal in the EU since CSS does not effectively protect the content. Here is a link to one of the articles. Any way we can push this through in the US?
It uses DRM. No way can it be simple.
...violate the DCMA, regardless of the limitations? It cracks encryption without permission of the copyright holder...
/.ers and say that I think that the title is deceptive- when people think of DVD movies, they think of movies that will play in their car or living room, not in a limited number of computers.
Even so, I'll agree with other
Attempting to bilk people for $30 software that makes a DRM'd copy of a movie just isn't going to fly when free and non-free tools already exist that rip DVDs to any format you like. Especially when Real Networks is reknowned for producing bloated spyware laced crap. If you want to go free, find DVD Decrypter & Handbrake and you can rip and encode movies suitable for a variety of formats and devices. If you want non-free then use AnyDVD and Nero Recode. The tools are not as simple as they could be but they work and they work extremely well.
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Two step process for me. Mac The Ripper to decrypt/rip the entire DVD (menus and all) to a VIDEO_TS folder on my hard drive. Insert CD, click a button. Not too technical.
From there I can use VLC to play it as much as I want on any computer I copy it to. Can have a large HD full of complete DVDs immediately accessible. (and there are apps that will jukebox them for you)
From there I have to use a commercial app like Roxio's Toast to burn it to a physical CD, that works in a real DVD player. But Toast has always been a very good product, worth the coin. Drag and drop the VIDEO_TS folder into Toast and click burn. Only slightly more technical procedure than MTR.
Did I mention MTR strips out the NOOPs ("operation not permitted" when trying to FF past the FBI warning etc) and also removes region coding, during the rip?
Who on earth would pay for REALcrap?
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink. How hard is it, really?
I could teach my wife to do that in about five minutes. As an added bonus, it's free, it removes region protection, it removes UOP's (possibly the most annoying part of the DVD format to most people), keeps all the menus, shrinks it onto the cheaper single-layer DVD-R's with virtually zero visible difference and it doesn't have silly restrictions. A program with silly restrictions to stop a particular format from having silly restrictions?
I just backed up a couple of my boxsets using this because they were slightly damaged when we took them on holiday with us and I don't want to pay for them again if we do damage them. The majority of the time was spent looking at a little window wending its way through the DVD and swapping discs (I only had the one DVD-writer drive plugged in at the time and had to swap original for blank constantly).
I even did it using WINE because the PC with the writer was a home Linux server, and it worked perfectly. I very much doubt you could make it THAT much simpler, except possibly joining the two programs together and incurring the wrath of the DVD industry by doing so (does this software strip region-protection? It doesn't mention it).
I can't see anybody using this... people "in-the-know" enough to distinguish between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM etc. and who know that this "is possible" are probably already doing it. I can't even get my parents to copy their CD's before they scratch them and that's a one-click operation. I can't see them doing it for their DVD's even if it's a one-click operation with this software. And, to be honest, I'd rather show them the "two-click" method that gets rids of the UOPS because that would astound them and they would kill to have that feature on their existing DVD's.
It's really lame that they make stuff like DVDDecrypter illegal but still insist on sticking to the region encoding crap. In the US, the only way I can get some foreign content is to purchase it from a foreign location and use DVDDecrypter to get rid of the region encoding so I can actually view it using my region 1 DVD player.
Why is it that in a so-called "global economy" we are limited to buying and viewing DVDs produced for our own region without circumventing the encryption on the disc (thereby technically violating the DMCA)?
When's the last time Real mattered? They chose the wrong path a long, long time ago and something as stupid as an automatic DRM inserter doesn't get them headed in the right direction. This company seems to have no clue about the realities of digital content use and management.
Unlike free alternatives, which generally require some technical knowledge and make it difficult to copy an entire DVD with extras, etc.,...
What??? Maybe you're right.. there are a ton of steps..
Using DVDShrink and CDBurnerXP. Steps to copy a disk:
1) Insert DVD.
2) Launch DVDShrink.
3) Select Open Disc.
4) Select Backup.
5) Choose Backup location (make note of this location).
6) When complete, exit DVDShrink.
7) Launch CDBurnerXP.
8) Select Burn Disc from ISO.
9) Eject the source DVD and insert a blank DVD.
10) Select the source ISO.
11) Press Burn.
12) Wait
Actual time outside of the wait is about 20 seconds of real work.. Of course, I've listed EVERY step. If I detailed how to save a file in Notepad it would take quite a few steps...
1) Wait until the computer boots.
2) Click on Start.
3) Click on All Programs.
4) Click on Accessories.
5) Click on Notepad.
6) Type your message into the editing window.
7) Click on File.
8) Click on Save.
9) When prompted, select a location to save your file.
10) Press OK. (or SAVE)
11) Select File.
12) Select Exit.
They're still around?
Region encoding is the biggest bullshit ever. I moved from Canada to Germany, brought my DVDs over, and my friends can't play them because of region encoding. Great. And they wonder why people download? Fuck you MPAA.
I prefer use AnyDVD. It is based offshore and kept very current. :) http://www.slysoft.com/
AnyDVD can strip region Coding too... plus it rips HD-DVD and Blu-Ray HD content too (removing all CCS, Region coding, and other DRM like BD+, etc..)
You can burn back to a blank DVD (double or single layer DVDs, but DVD-R works best in most players) or to a blank Blu-Ray "BD-R" using the burner of your choice.
Standard set-top players should play the burned disks just fine in most modern DVD drives. (I use CloneDVD2 for this)...
I find taking one (or each type) of your burned disks to the store and trying it on the set-top DVD players *before* purchase (where DVD drive showrooms are available) makes pre-sales testing go smoother. Not all set-top DVD players are created equal nor are they all well-endowed by their creators...
A Blu-Ray burner is way too costly at this time, but I have ripped a few Blu-Rays with AnyDVD HD (same program, but you can pay for the more expensive HD ripping key if desired) and they sure look good playing from their DRM-Free and Region-Free images off my HDD (at 1920x1200).
Who says that HDCP (another hardware-based DRM schema) monitors are required to watch digital HDMI Blu-Ray content on my PC!
I am SURE that rips of disks that have no region coding and no CCS and BD+ or any other DRM would play on about any flavor of *nix that had a media player which can handle the format...
Blu-Ray "BD-R" burners need to come down in cost to a reasonable level and blank media needs to be under $1 per disk... then I'll just go to that. Business as usual.
(Of Course, I purchase ALL of the disks that I "rip" and copy for MY PERSONAL USE ONLY, Ahem..) You know, for my Non-Windows and Non-OSX boxes and for use in other devices that I own...
"Backup Copies". Also great for the typical destructive 2-18 year olds who want to "watch" a copy of my new movie and often return it scratched because apparently they used it as a slider to move furniture...
I Purchased AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 two years ago (and later the HD upgrade for the AnyDVD ripper) and they are still going strong with frequent and free updates and it has worked on hundreds of DVDs and a few Blu-Rays and several HD-DVD disks too ever since.
I NEVER pay Real Networks for anything...
I fail to see DVD copying could be done simpler than with k9copy.
Insert DVD, click "make DVD copy", wait, done.
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
Only on Windows...
Handbrake for MacOS X happily DeCSSs your dvds, in addition to having more options and profiles available.
__
ipsa scientia potestas est
"knowledge itself is power" - Francis Bacon
How do RealNetworks stay in business? Are they secretly funded by Microsoft as a distraction? A front for CIA? What the heck is going on?
I look forward to the advertising campaign:
'Hey there, do you find the region encoding and DRM on DVD not restrictive or costly enough? Here at RealNetworks we have the answer to your prayers! Order today and we will double the price _and_ infect you with Hepatitis C!'
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
The studios and copyright holders have it all wrong, in my opinion. Instead of charging $20 for a movie with all kinds of copy protection that doesn't prevent piracy (the pirates will ALWAYS find a way around copy protection), they should take Steve Jobs' approach (where do you put the apostrophe on a name that ends with "s"?). Charge $5 for a movie on a media that contains all the copy protection in the world. Charge $20 for the same movie on a media that has NO copy protection. The average viewer doesn't have the technical prowess to copy either type of movie so it doesn't matter anyway. The low price for a movie will mean that it won't make sense to pirate some crappy quality movie and waste the time downloading and burning it onto a disc, so most viewers won't bother; they'll just pay the $5 and purchase it legitimately. For those who feel that non-DRM is somehow better, they'll pay $20. And for those who are going to pirate the movies anyway just because they feel they need a library of 10,000 movies they'll never get around to watching, well, what difference does it make? Suppose they copy the movie. Even if it were NOT available for easy copying, chances are they would NOT shell out any money, even if it were a penny, to buy the movie legitimately. So the studios don't really lose money in this case. Yes, an additional copy of the movie was made and they weren't paid for it, but they wouldn't have been paid for it even if the copy were not made. In other words, make the movies cheap to buy legitimately and the majority of the population won't bother to pirate them because there won't be any incentive to do so. Chances are the studios will make more profit even though the price per unit is lower because more movies will be sold. Would you pay $3 to rent a movie when you can buy your own copy for $5? Would you bother to burn a copy from a friend that costs $1 for the disc, more if the burn fails a bunch of times and you have to re-do it, and waste the time bothering with it and jumping through all the hoops to make a watchable disc? No way! You'd just drop five bucks and get the damn movie!! I think it's a win-win. Any economist will tell you that when prices are higher, demand is lower and vice versa.
McCain/Palin '08. Now THAT's hope and change!
Well, if it turns out that RealDVD works legally, then that would be a reason to use RealDVD, given that most if not all of the free alternatives are illegal.
IANAL, but I can kind of see how RealDVD might turn out to be legal, while the free options aren't. The free options mostly involve unauthorized DeCSS (a possible exception might be products that capture the output of licensed DVD player software), thereby violating the DMCA. RealDVD could, however, do what I understand Kaleidescope did: use a legally licensed DeCSS from the DVD-CCA folks, and then, because of a loophole in the DVD-CCA licensing, capture the decrypted video to a hard drive for playing back later. In effect, the claim could be that the computer running RealDVD becomes a complex DVD player with delayed playback--it decrypts DVDs perfectly legally using a licensed DeCSS, and then plays back the decrypted output later, using a DVD-R as an intermediary.
I would have thought the DVD-CCA people would have closed this loophole in their licensing after the Kaleidescope case, but maybe RealNetworks got a license earlier or something.