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some reasons to "bother"

Posted by Joe Murphy Jr (A) on June 11, 2005 at 12:48:20

In Reply to: I do not bother with that stuff either... posted by millen on June 7, 2005 at 13:41:25:

portability
Taking movies on the road is great, especially with kids, but it's better to leave the original at home and take a copy on the road. Portable DVD players don't have the resolution of home displays, so a "less than perfect" copy isn't an issue.

insurance
I don't have any worries with my oldest son (5) using the DVDs that I buy for him (the 20 month old is a different story). He was VCR-literate at 2 and was taught how to operate a DVD player before he was 3. But not all children are good at taking care of tapes or discs. Making a copy is insurance that the original stays in its "original" condition and can be set aside until the child can demonstrate responsibility with a $15 - $20 purchase.

restriction
Unless you have one of those DVD players that can turn off the Macrovision circuit, making a VHS tape from your DVD of Shrek or The Incredibles isn't possible -- unless you don't mind a picture that fades in and out, changes color and/or distorts in other ways. Many of these programs can strip out the Macrovision data from the digital stream itself. The DVD copy (or the file on the computer if you don't want to make a DVD) is then Macrovision-free and can be used to make a tape for the kids that they can actually watch.

versions
There are many films released in other countries that either never make it to the US, are edited for the US market, don't contain the extra material or don't contain preferred audio soundtracks. Using the proper software, one can purchase these releases -- usually restricted to that region (through Region Coding) -- and make a Region-free or Region 1 DVD.

space
Single-layer recordable DVDs can be found for <$.40 in quantity, but dual-layer recordable discs are still a bit pricey when compared to single-layer recordable discs (best prices, $5 vs $.40). Most movie releases require a dual-layer disc due to the amount of data present. Several software programs allow you to recompress the movie so that it fits on a single-layer disc, leave off video and/or audio items you don't want, etc. Of course, for the important movies, you can also create perfect copies for your dual-layer recordable discs.

cost
Even if you are willng to spend the money, the best decrypting and back-up programs available (DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink) are absolutely free.

customization
Besides being easy to use (any dummy can use the above programs), you can make a copy that eliminates the bullshit (FBI warnings, Interpol warnings, forced ads, time consuming menus, audio selections, etc). You can actually make a disc that immediately starts up with the movie and your preferred soundtrack selection when you put it in the player. Imagine placing your copy of House of Flying Daggers in the disc tray, pressing CLOSE and the unedited Region 3 (Hong Kong) version and full bitrate DTS ES 6.1 soundtrack starts up without having to touch another button.

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