[NDBounce]

I have some questions I hope someone can answer:

I am wondering if it is A) Legal and B) Possible to copy a movie I own on VHS on to a DVD.

I have this trilogy of movies that is only available on VHS, and I am very afraid of wearing out the tape, especially since they do not make the original version of these movies anymore (only special editions). So, since I just bought a new Powerbook with SuperDrive I was wondering if it is legal/possible for me to copy the movies on to DVD for my own personal use so that I can watch them over and over without fear of ruining them.

If it is legal and possible, can someone direct me to information on what hardware/software I need to do this.

Thank you,

O
B unce!

[Mark E]

i'm pretty sure that it's safe and legal to do this, as it's for your own use and you already own the original media. you're not likely to get the FBI breaking your door down if you do this.

what you'll need is a digital video converter.. several posts on this forum will tell you that the canopus advc-100 is the best tool to use for the job. this basically converts your analog audio and video signal (from your VCR) to a DV signal, as used by DV camcorders etc. (there are several different products that do this, but the canopus is consistently rated as the best in terms of quality.)

next, import into imovie, final cut, etc, and do any necessary editing.

once your editing is done you'll need to encode to mpeg-2 (which can be done with a great program called ffmpegx. alternatively you could try to use iDVD, but i don't think you'll be able to fit the trilogy you're talking about into iDVD's 2-hour movie limit.

once your mpegs are encoded, you can use sizzle to make basic menus and make a DVD image to burn.

if you search through this forum for 'vhs' you'll find tons of posts with more info about doing this whole process. also worth a browse is the site www.videohelp.com (in fact, there's a 45-page thread about star wars DVD conversions! though the site is mainly PC-orientated, there is a mac section.)

hope that was helpful.

-Mark

[fiesta cat]

Originally posted by NDBounce:
I have this trilogy of movies that is only available on VHS, and I am very afraid of wearing out the tape, especially since they do not make the original version of these movies anymore (only special editions).

Your very wise to be making DVDs of the original Star Wars trilogy, since that will probably never see the light of day again outside of used VHS or Laserdiscs you find here and there.

Even the VCDs I've found have been the special edition trilogy. (I found some actual 20th Century Fox VCDs that were the real deal, but they sucked - they were pan&scan.

By all means, go after the Canopus ADVC-100. I can only say good things about it. It's also useful as a pseudo-PVR for recording off the TV/cable.

[NDBounce]

Thank you guys both for the advice...I did some research and found out that if I am copying my own VHS movies for personal use it falls under the Fair Use rules, so that is good to know.

Has anyone else done this conversion? I am assuming the Canopus ADVC-100 will not be affected by any copy protection that may/may not be on the movies (I'm not certain as I have not tried to copy them before).

One more question, since these are the only 3 movies I am really interested in converting, I am thinking of borrowing a relative's Mini DV camcorder...will that work as well?

Thanks for the advice.

O
B unce!

[bmedina]

Copying VHS to DVD is legal, as it is a fair use exception to the copyrights of the holder. Copying DVD to VHS also falls under fair use, but it is currently a violation of the DMCA to do so, as it requires circumvention of the macrovision copy protection scheme.

Doesn't make much sense, huh?

[Mark E]

Originally posted by NDBounce:
Has anyone else done this conversion? I am assuming the Canopus ADVC-100 will not be affected by any copy protection that may/may not be on the movies (I'm not certain as I have not tried to copy them before).

One more question, since these are the only 3 movies I am really interested in converting, I am thinking of borrowing a relative's Mini DV camcorder...will that work as well?

there's a simple hack that will prevent the canopus from capturing the macrovision signal from the tapes.

yes, you could do it with a DV camcorder, but you will also need to get hold of a device that removes the macrovision signal from the source, as most camcorders will stop recording if a macrovision signal is detected by them. those are around 50 dollars, i think, though as i have the canopus i don't need one.

there are currently a few units on eBay - if it were me, i'd just buy one and sell it back on eBay afterwards. you'll lose maybe 20-30 dollars, if that.

http://search.ebay.com/canopus-100_W...trypageZsearch

HTH

-Mark