DVD Copy Ware

[hes]

First post, so take it easy if I break some sacred covenant of this forum.

Interested in "backing up" your DVDs? I have read reviews that this software works well. This link is to a highly rated Yahoo Store. On my internet search, I don't think they were the absolute cheapest until I considered the current free shipping for orders over $25 & until I found a 15% off discount code by searching on Google. The store currently has the software discounted from $59.95 to $46.95.

They say "no other discounts or coupons other than free shipping valid with this special offer". Nevertheless, my 15% off trick slipped right through -- shipped 9/29. You enter the discount code at checkout.

$46.95 - 7.04 (15%off) = $39.91 w/ free shipping.

It was on "back order" initially & took about 3-4 days to get a confirmation of shipping. Shipped 9/29 via Media Mail (ugg! slow...).

Yes, I know that there are freeware DVD copy applications out there. I tried using them and especially for the longer movies or ones with lots of features, this freeware was not simple to use. For less than $40, I will pay for ease-of-use

 

[huesmann]

How can it be any simpler than DVDShrink?

 

[hes]

May not be. Never used DVDShrink. Tried the free stuff like 6-7 months ago and gave up. Maybe I missed DVDShrink or it wasn't around then. Oh well...

 

[Kraeji]

DVDshrink + nero is very easy..

nero comes with a ton of burners so lots of you ppl should already have it

 

[laidbacklarkin]

DVDShrink + InstantCopy = works like a charm !!

Cost = $0 for DVDShrink + $0 for InstantCopy = $0..if anything's cheaper than this, I'll take it..else, wont even cast a glance

 

[Collije]

Agreed.

DVDDhrink + Nero (or Instant Copy) = Ease

 

[xybertron]

I use IMGTool to burn.

Had issues with Nero - I couldn't get it to work in both Xbox and my DVD. I dunno if they fixed that.

 

[ConnCarl]

The bottom line is that DVD Copy Ware is a new product by U.K.- based Redxpress. I cannot find any reviews on the product, which would be enough to keep me from buying it.

From reading their Web site, I would guess that this software probably is very easy to use, since it sounds very similar to the original DVD Xcopy put out by 321 Studios, which I believe was the first "one click" DVD backup solution.

Of course, DVD Xcopy is already obsolescent since it offers no compression and hence, no DVD-9 to DVD-R solution except dropping features or splitting the backup over two discs, which has not proven to be popular with end users for a number of reasons. From what I've read DVD Copy Ware does not offer compression either. Even freeware such as DVD Shrink addresses this issue with flexible compression options. So while this product would have made a hell of a splash in, say, 3rd quarter 2002, today is seems like too little too late.

It does sound like a single-program solution, which obviously is an advantage to the less technical user. Here's my take on single-program DVD backup solutions...<climbs onto soapbox>

One-click DVD backup solutions are vulnerable to legal challenges. Judge are by no means of one mind on this issue, and 321 Studios is still fighting a costly battle with the MPAA. Their products may disappear without a trace one night, with no support and no updates (and, with Robert Moore's quirky ideas of customer service, no refunds).

A solution like DVD Shrink is virtually immune from such attacks. Originally, DVD Shrink would not break CSS encoding, and although the new beta version does, they already have a version for the German market which does not, due to their copyright laws. So if you use, say, DVD Decrypter for ripping and Instant Copy or DVD Shrink to encode (and yet another product to burn) it would be difficult to imagine a legal decision that would disrupt your backup operations significantly. <climbs down from soapbox>

Technical and legal issues aside, the "Purplus Software" site stinks to high heaven. Take a look at the so-called "Testimonials" page. This is set up to resemble eBay feedback, and they almost manage to carry it off, except for one minor flaw. The grammar, punctuation, and spelling are all absolutely perfect.

The one thing that has struck me most about the Net in the twelve or so years I've been using it, has been the emerging proof that the average American internet user cannot spell correctly to save his or her life, does not know the difference between your and you're, their or they're, or between to and too, is not familiar with the concept of paragraphs or sentence structure, and only uses punctuation to end a sentence.

Well, guess what? In the fifty "Customer Feedbacks" shown on Purplus' Testimonials page, there is not one single misspelling or grammatical error, unless you count the use of the word "lightening" where the PhD who wrote the page obviously meant to use "lightning". Even this, though, is a correctly spelled word, just not the one with the meaning they intended. I wouldn't trust these guys as far as I could throw this computer. Where is the Mean Mod when you need him?

Carl