DVD Burner, how to use it? (1 Viewer)

[Keith_R]

Hey all, I don't want to see this turn into a discussion about illegal stuff, which is against forum rules so try to keep it clean. Anyways my new computer is going to have a DVD burner in it and to be honest I don't really know what I'll do with it (it was a free upgrade). I was wondering what you guys that own DVD burners on your PC use them for.
What do you use them for? Can the discs you make play back on your living room DVD player? try to keep this discussion away from piracy. Thanks.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yes, with a package like DVDiT! or MyDVD you can make your own discs that play on your deck (YMMV some players don't support all blank types). You can also use it to backup your HD

 

[Jeff Savage]

Okies here goes -

First remember that you can do anything with this that a normal CD burner can do. Mainly though I got my DVD Burner for data backup. The DVD blanks are getting cheap enough that this makes a great backup device.

Recently I have used my burner to make assorted music CD's, MP3 CD's, making video cd's with music from digital pictures, etc..

There are various software packages that will allow you to edit and create video CD's or DVD's that will play back on most DVD player. This is a great way to transfer old VHS tape or create photo albums with sound that you can give out to people. Making VCD's from digital pictures is a new hobby of mine. When I go to events or on trips I compose the VCD's from pics and video and then give them to people. Most folks love to be able to watch the stuff on their TV's

Laters,
Jeff

 

[John_Berger]

I use mine for backing up my main PC's hard drive (on DVD-RW) as well as converting many of my VHS tapes and laserdiscs to DVD.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Well really a DVD Burner can be used exactly the same way a CD Rom burner can, it can hold a heck of a lot more stuff. Files, Photo's , Music files etc. Transferring my camcorder footage. I also capture TV from my WinTV card and burn it to disk.

 

[Gary_E]

Keith,
Hello to a fellow Floridian.



There are compatibility issues at the present time between DVD recording formats, very similar to the BETA vs. VHS format days. There are two recording formats available at the present time: DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW

Many new DVD players support both formats. It has been my experience, as a DVD-R/RW user, that computability with most name brand players is not a problem. The only DVD players I have been unable to get a DVD-R to play in are Phillips and Magnavox, which are supporters of DVD+R/RW.

DVD-RW playback is much more fickle. A standalone player that plays DVD-R probably will not play DVD-RW. Many of the DVD players on the market now will state in their spec sheet whether or not they will play DVD-R. My Panasonic RP-91 DVD player plays any format I throw at it.

Recently, my brother bought a Tohsiba 2900 DVD player from Best Buy for $69.00 and it plays both DVD-R and DVD+R formats as well as CD-R/RW and MP3s. It will NOT however play DVD RW of either format.

Do a search in this forum for DVD-R vs. DVD+R, there is a wealth of useful information contained on this board.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
-Gary

 

[Joe Szott]

Keith,

It is legal to copy your DVDs, as long as you own the original. Just like you can burn your CDs into MP3s for your personal use, it's legal if you have an original.

There are programs out there (totally legit and legal) that allow you to make DVD backups for your personal use. So there you go...

 

[Rob Gillespie]

It is legal to copy your DVDs, as long as you own the original.

But isn't it illegal to break the encryption required to make a 'backup'?

I don't want to get involved in another legal argument (there's been too many already), but I thought this was the major issue.

 

[Reece]

But isn't it illegal to break the encryption required to make a 'backup'?

I for one definitely don't want to get into a legal argument either...but to just answer your question...

There is a case still pending in the courts as to the legality of this very issue. There will be a decision given eventually, between the major studios and 321 studios, over the software dvdxcopy. This will help decide if it's legal to back up legally owned digital media or not. From what I understand, 321 studios claims their software doesn't break the CSS encryption to access the video/audio on the dvd. They claim it intercepts the data after the dvd software player unlocks the encryption with its key.

Like I said, I'm not writing this to debate legal issues. Just wanted to present an answer to a question..Thats all.

 

[JohnTKline]

The best thing about a dvd recorder for me has been transferring our mini dv tapes to dvd. You can also have a massive archive of photos and slideshows. I do recommend investing in the (rw) discs unless you know for sure that the project your working on will turn out right, or you have the need to send a disc to someone with a standalone player.
I wasted several dvd-r discs with recordnow max that came with my sony.

John

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It is currently illegal to break any form of digital copy protection, even for your own use

Whether DVDXCopy is found to be legal or not, is a matter the courts will decide, until then assume it's a no-go.

 

[Rob Landolfi]

John brings up a good point... RW disks will save you from wasting disks if a project doesn't turn out right. I've run test projects on my RW discs many times to try them out before "going final" to a + or -R.

My experience with RecordNow DX has been very positive, and I'm thankful a download upgrade from the RecordNow software that came with my Sony burner was made available.

You're really only limited by your creativity/imagination, and the ideas people have mentioned (mini DV movies to disk, photo slideshows, VHS to disk, etc.) will keep you busy exploring the capabilities of your burner and your computer. Good luck!