December 17, 2004

11:39 AM

DVD Copy Protection Question: I'm trying to figure out what the best program is to scan a dvd for copy protection. Before anyone goes thinking I'm illegally doing something: I have a GPS dvd "Map for the Eclipse Navigation System" that you keep in the car in order to help the device. The problem is that pulling the dvd in and out of the system is causing it to scratch. So I'd like to have a copy of it for the car (it'd be useless for anyone else anyways). The problem is that it didn't work as a copy the first time, so I'm thinking there's some sort of protection. I know there are cd scan programs which do the job for CDs (ClonyXXL and such), but is there such for DVDs?
posted by Drylnn to (5 comments total)

I don't know of a program that will detail what kind of protection is installed on a DVD - besides regular old movie encryption protection.

How did you copy it the first time? I think it's likely that the dvd drive in your GPS unit just doesn't handle DVD-Rs very well (or whatever format you copies onto). Can you verify that the copy is no good by running it in a computer? I have no idea how your GPS stuff works, but I think basic incompatibiltiy with recordable DVDs is as likely as some sort of copy protection screwing you up. For one thing, if the disc were copy protected, wouldn't the copying process fail?
posted by scarabic at 12:25 PM on December 17, 2004

DVDBackup will strip the region code and macrovision stuff, etc. for a DVD and let you save it as normal files on your OS X computer that the DVD Player app can open just like a physical DVD.

I would ASSUME you can then just burn those decrypted files onto a new DVD, but I only use it for legal timeshifting and delete them when I'm done, so it may only work for that.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 1:17 PM on December 17, 2004

oops. Forgot the link: DVDBackup
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 1:18 PM on December 17, 2004

I was talking more about a program/data dvd than a movie. I'm not sure DVDBackup will do what I need.
posted by Drylnn at 3:14 PM on December 17, 2004

Well, still, may be worth a try is my point.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 3:57 PM on December 19, 2004