No-Go Video?

August 3, 2010 6:01 AM

Help me preserve memories and save money... I have several old VHS home movies I'm trying to digitize so I can preserve them and edit together the good parts. I used a GoVideo machine to create DVDs that are playable. But I can't copy the DVD files to my PC or otherwise rip them. I sent one of my tapes to a company and their DVD copies to my PC and into my movie editor without a hitch. What gives? Do I have to suck up the cost and send the rest in to the service? Anything I might be doing wrong?
posted by timnyc to Technology (5 answers total)

You should be able to copy any playable DVD to your PC. What are you using to rip them?
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:29 AM on August 3, 2010

Does the disc play on a different player?

Did you make sure to finalize the disc?

I've heard that some set top recorders create non-standard filesystems as a method of copy protection. What do you see when you try to open the disc in your computer?
posted by Devoidoid at 7:12 AM on August 3, 2010

What brand of blank discs are you using? The DVD drive on your PC might not like them.
posted by reptile at 7:27 AM on August 3, 2010

Response by poster: I did finalize the DVDs in GoVideo. The discs I used are Verbatim DVD+R. I'm told that the newer model GoVideo (sometimes) works with DVD-R, and this type can be more compatible with PCs. Is this true? Maybe I'll try this.
posted by timnyc at 8:02 AM on August 3, 2010

The DVD drive in your computer might be DVD-R or DVD+R only, if it's years old. Put a Verbatim DVD+R blank into your computer & see if it recognizes it as a blank DVD.
posted by Pronoiac at 4:45 AM on August 4, 2010