Hi all,

I hope this isn't viewed as too taboo...I swear my intentions are innocent.

I want to rip the audio and video from a commercial DVD. A friend of mine took apart the movie Memento and reassembled it in the chronologically correct time. I would like to try this also as an excercise. So, I need to rip the movie off my DVD so I can edit it in FCP.

I'm on a Mac Dual 2G running os X.3.7 .

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Scott

I need to get a logo off of a DVD and was told that I need dvd ripping softare for a mac. The logo is 6 seconds and in black and white. Any suggestions?
Thanks

Wendy

It really doesn't matter for what purpose - copying/ripping commercial works, or strategies/techniques on circumventing copyright protection cannot be discussed on this forum. We all strive to respect each others' intellectual and creative property, and unless you have specific, expressed approval from the copyright owner, it's illegal for you to pursue such a venture for any purpose.

That's our story and we're stickin' to it!

I am not looking to rip anything that is copyrighted. I did a commercial for converse and they sent me a dvd of it with their logo animated to match my commercial on it and I want the full version for my reel. Any suggestions for the appropriate software.
Thanks
Wendy

Roxio's "popcorn" is claims to do this: http://www.roxio.com/en/products/popcorn/index.jhtml;jsessionid=20U3CDMKIWZWRLAQAMHB3KQ

Note their disclaimers however* Does not copy encrypted or copy protected DVDs. USE OF THIS SOFTWARE TO MAKE UNAUTHORIZED COPIES OF MOVIES AND OTHER CONTENT MAY REQUIRE THE PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.

† Use of ripping software may contravene the copyright laws in certain countries. Please consult your legal advisor for information on the laws in your country. I would also like to echo Imran's comments; we can't discuss illegal copying on DVinfo forums, regardless of how "innocent" your intentions might be.

<< I did a commercial for converse and they sent me a dvd of it with their logo animated to match my commercial on it and I want the full version for my reel. >>

Your best bet is to contact Converse and ask them to provide this for you.

However wrong it is, the fact remains that programs like this are so painfully easy to find for free, it actually seems ridiculous to hear someone ask where to find them. You haven't even tried have you?

I wouldn't condone the behavior of ripping DVD and CD's except... My Windows XP Professional disk took a crap. It had the most miniscule, tiny, little scuff on it and refused to work anymore. Well, Microsucks sent me a replacement disk, except the one they sent to replace didn't have SP1 on it. (my original did) That means I spent hours and hours and hours swapping back and forth between drives and installs and updates so I could properly format the 160Gig drives which weren't recognized before SP1.
ALL BECAUSE I DIDN'T MAKE A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL!
Now I firmly believe in personal backups of anything that is sold on such a delicate format as DVD and CD. It is our right as consumers to protect our investment in this digital media. It is the duty of the media conglomerates to educate the public as to how to be a responsible citizen. They've spent plenty of money corrupting social values, they can spend the money fixing it now.

Having said that though, it would not be productive or responsible to give that information (copy programs) on this forum. If you want it, you will have to find it. Should take all of about 15 second at most, there are about a trillion other web sites out there to look at you know.

Look...All you guys are normally quite helpful so let me say that I appreciate every bit of help I've gotten here to date.

Rhett, your post has a pretty snotty, "know it all" tone to it. I am not looking for you to condone or approve of what I do with my time or my possessions. I didn't ask for an illegal method. Yes I have already searched for and tried the easily found applications that are available. None have worked so far with this dvd. I have never even attempted to extract the video off a DVD like this before. It just sounded like a fun exercise.

If I want to re-edit footage from a movie, that I bought and paid for, into a different order for my own personal use that is up to me. I'm willing to bet it's not even illegal especially considering what schools get away with under the guise of "educational purposes".

I understand perfectly that this BB cannot and should not condone illegally copying DVD's.

Thanks anyway.
Scott

Digital Millinium Copyright Act makes the breaking of copy protection illegal. Many think it's a bad law since it can make it illegal for you to back up protected DVD/CD you bought but, none the less, it is a law.

Basically even if the client hands you a protected DVD of a feature they own the rights to, you still can't circumvent the protection legally. It's not about "ownereship," it's the act of circumventing the copy protection.

It's almost as if you lock yourself out of your house so you need to break the lock to get in but you're still subject to "breaking and entering." Dumb eh, it's the law. Thank the folks elected to congress for that.

<<<-- Originally posted by Scott Shama :

Rhett, your post has a pretty snotty, "know it all" tone to it.
Scott -->>>

Rhett snotty????? NEVER!!! :)

Wendy
I once needed a DVD ripper for legal purposes, and chose something that didn't do the job very well, and cost me $50, so I won't give them any free advertising by naming them. I suggest as Chris did that you ask for your footage in a data format, it is so much easier.
However, if you do need a ripper, check out www.download.com There are lots of DVD rippers there, most with free trials so you can test them out. Make sure you read users reviews, as some of the free rippers come packed with spyware. Most of the good ones are in the $30 range. The free ones... you get what you pay for....


Hope this helps!

Craig,

Great analogy. Stupid law. I don't even want to get into who's running the country "right" now. =(

Dylan,

Thanks for your help but that site caters to windows users mainly....not very good for mac. I'm really not that interested in paying for one as this was just something to do as an exercise. I would rather not do it than put $50 into it.

Cheers,
Scott

<<<-- Originally posted by Scott Shama : I would rather not do it than put $50 into it. -->>>

Honestly, that's probably your best option then.

I'm still not clear on what you want to do: do you want to capture a commercial movie, then edit it into something else (that's what your first post said). Since you don't want to spend any money you probably don't care a lot about the quality (you obviously can't sell it or put it online or anything). In that case, why not play the DVD on a decent LCD or plasma screen and use your DV camera to film it? That will convert it to DV quickly and easily. You could capture directly into your computer from the camera to avoid the step of recording on tape.

Hey, I wasn't trying to be snotty but it IS not only a taboo, but is against the rules on these forums to discuss illegal activities such as bypassing copy protection on commercial products. It doesn't matter if it's just for personal use or not, bypassing the copy-protection is illegal. I don't agree with it! But it's the way things are. I have a program (DVD X Copy Xpress) I purchased at Fry's, but now 321 Studios, who made it, are out of business for this very reason. (and as such there are no updates, support or further sales and it has web activation so I'll never be able to install it again if this computer dies)

There is a website that "tracks versions" of software (get the hint?) and a quick search on that web site will give you exactly what you are looking for! Either for the Mac or PC. It is so widely discussed on the internet, I don't know if I have even gone a day without seeing one program or another being mentioned somewhere on the web. You can buy lots of the "non-commercial" ripping versions from any computer store like CompUSA or Frys. I have 4 different programs that will do this as well as commercial DVD's, 2 were free (and excellent) 2 cost about $100 (not quite as good, but easier to use). (I believe there are a few dozen for either platform but the PC one's are a little faster)
I was publicly denouncing the practice of ripping DVD's but if you read further you would notice that while I didn't specifically approve of it, I DO understand it has a perfectly good place in our society. I travel quite a bit, and I like to bring movies with me, BUT I do not believe that when I pay good money for a DVD that I can only expect it to last a short time and then I have to buy it again! That's not fair. (and most frustrating is when it happens to an almost $400 piece of software!)
If you just want to rework a movie for exercise, there are probably options far easier than ripping the DVD and converting the VOB's and re-syncing the audio and such. Boyd's was a good option.

Rhett, thanks for the explanation. Sorry I was curt. Everything I've tried to extract the footage with leaves green spots all over the screen. I don't really want to watch it this way when I am done editing.

Boyd, the movie Memento is basically about a week in a guys life. The days are edited in reverse though. It starts with the last day and counts down backwards showing the viewer what happened the previous day (Fri, Thurs, Wed, Tues). I want to put it in the "correct" order (Mon, Tues, Wed) and watch it. Kinda odd to explain, I hope this made sense. If not, you should rent it. It's a very good movie.

Cheers,
Scott

Was one of the questions being asked "Is it illegal to re-edit a copyrighted movie if it is for your own personal use?"


Does anyone recall the movie rental chain, I think it was in Utah, that was actually editing out what they considered to be "R" rated scenes in movies so that it could be rented as "family entertainment" to their local customers?

I heard it ended up in the courts but I don't recall the final outcome.

If this company is allowed to "augment" a copyrighted movie that they purchased and then re-rent it, that would appear to be a lot more potent than just re-editing an existing movie for one's personal use.

I would challenge readers of this thread that think they have rights to copy materials to actually go read the law and find where it says you have the right under "fair use" to do what you think you can do. I promise you it will be an enlightening experience. You'll find the actual definition of Fair Use not the second hand interpretations. Another interesting tidbit is how Educational and Non-Profits have exclusions that allow use that the rest of can't do. Lastly, there are different laws for music versus video. Enjoy:

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html

I appreciate that I opened this can of worms but I don't really care what the law says. Any law that seeks to prosecute me for cutting up the footage on a dvd, that I bought, for my own personal use is crap as far as I am concerned. I "legally" can take a hammer and destroy the dvd if I choose, so cutting up the movie for my own personal pleasure is "legal" in my book. If the motion picture people find me that much of a threat to their "business", let them come after me. They should be happy that I paid for it in the first place instead of just renting and "ripping" a copy.

Sorry for the rant but it's pretty annoying to have some people post like I'm out there clubbing baby seals.

I mean, c'mon, give me a break. Why not go join the police force and go arrest a real criminal. Preferably someone armed with more than curiosity, an internet connection and a copy of Final Cut Pro.
:)

Cheers,
Scott

Did you read the law and found where it says you can't do what you want or are you just going with what others say?

I carry and swing no club. My challenge is that you experience the freedom that comes with knowledge and actually know what the law says instead of getting angry based on what others say about it. What's this about cheese sauce?

Scott Shama, you baby seal clubber, you.

I'll make it my mission in life to cease everything and hunt you down... NOT.

However I would like to point out one potential twist to your argument about who owns what. You had said:

<< I "legally" can take a hammer and destroy the dvd if I choose, so cutting up the movie for my own personal pleasure is "legal" in my book. >>

That's not at all right, sorry. Big problem here. You own the physical thing, that is, the DVD. Destroy it if you wish. Buy multiple copies at full retail and destroy all of them, but be careful of the media circus that might create if you make a public spectacle out of it! ;-)

What you do NOT own however is the material that's on the DVD, and you are not free to cut up the movie. The DVD is one thing -- the movie that's on it is another. Destroy the DVD if you want, but you have no right to alter the movie, even if it's only for your own private use. You are allowed by law to make a backup copy, but you are not allowed to change it in any way.

For a very good clarification of copyright law, see http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/business/copyrightfaq1.php, which is a five-part copyright FAQ by Douglas Spotted Eagle.

As far as this message board is concerned, you have to realize that I must look at it as a liability issue. Within this community, what you think of the law -- whether you think it's stupid or smart, whether you think it should be changed -- whether or not you think anybody is going to come after you for you what feel is only a minor infringement -- none of this matters around here.

All that matters is that you and the rest of our community know what the law is.

What you choose to do in your own home with copyrighted material is no concern of ours, but we will have no public discussion of it here. Sorry to turn serious, but this thing has to be considered from a global perspective. So let me repeat:

What you think about the law does not matter. All that matters is what the law itself allows.

And with that, I think it's time to close this thread. Of course I don't really think Scott is a baby seal clubber, nor do I really care what he chooses to do with his Momento DVD. But the topic itself of ripping copyrighted material falls well outside of what is allowable here at DV Info Net (remember I have to walk the line of liability), so we have unfortunately reached the end of this discussion.

Hope this helps,