Save DVD chapter to hard drive?

[CondorMan]

Hello everyone

I hope that this is the correct forum. If not, could one of the mods move it to a more appropriate one?

I have XP Pro SP2 and also Windows Media Player v10. I know that I can use this legally to save music CDs or individual tracks to my hard drive so I can play the music on my laptop when on the move without having to take the CDs with me.

I'd like to save some chapters of some instructional DVDs to my hard drive, rather than having to carry the DVDs with me. Given the facility available for music CDs, I assume that this process is legal (I'm in the UK), so how would I go about it? I realise that the DVD files are much bigger than music CD tracks so I would be limited in how much I could put onto my hard drive.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[cdogg]

Currently, it is only legal if the DVD's do not incorporate any level of copy protection (well, at least that's how it is here in the U.S.). You see, the "Fair Use" policy that has been in place for decades does say that everyone has a right to make a backup of copyright material that they've purchased. However, the Digital Millennium Act of 1998 stated that circumventing mechanisms in place for protection is illegal. So you have the right to make a backup, but do not have a right to bypass copy protection. Even a monkey knows that there's something wrong with making "the process" to do so illegal.


Anyway, enough ranting. The point is that music CD's are not subject to the same controversy since they don't have copy protection. I suggest you go to other sites like

http://www.videohelp.com

for tutorials and software recommendations. If the DVD in question doesn't have copyright protection, then you can simply copy/paste the files from DVD to your hard drive.

~cdogg
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[CondorMan]

Thank you for the tips.

Yes, I have bought the DVDs and it seems odd that I can copy music CDs easily but not DVDs. I have no intention of copying the DVDs to sell on, although I realise that less scrupulous folks might use the techniques for this purpose. If they do so and get caught, that's their look out!