When I first saw the title for this article I thought great this is something we have dealt with a lot, until I learned that ripping a DVD is different from making home VCD's or even burning a DVD. Not only are the processes, software's, and hardwires different but it seems the legal controversy is as well.



We all know that with the right software that is normally included with any CD writing drive, that you just record your videos, open it with the software and burn it to a CD Disk. However this is not the case with making a DVD, by either burning it or RIPPING it.

Obviously the first thing you need to do is decide is which type of DVD you are making, the first being a home movie, the second being a copy of Movies you have either purchased and are wanting to make a personal backup copy. Both of these require a DVD+R Writer, and DVD+R/DVD+RW disk, and the appropriate software. Not too mention plenty of space on your hard drive.

The controversy on making copies of Movies you have legally purchased is the fact many film makers do not want you to copy but buy a new one to replace it. At this time it is not illegal to make copies for personal use of movies you have bought, it may or may not change in the future but we are talking about today.

Onto ripping your DVD, once you have decided what kind of DVD you are ripping, you then have to decide which program to use and how easy they are to work. There are many out there which are deceiving to say the least, luckily though my husband found one that is both user friendly, but reliable as well, not too mention has many various other features which are definitely useful. Nero frequently offers software updates with registration; drivers for your burners and is definitely worth the cost.

There are many different products on the market with different ways to download some of these for free, however it has been my experience that cheaper or free is not always the best answer. I know someone who went with cheaper and ended up having to download multiple programs, and drivers, including having to purchase more memory for her PC. All of this was after the fact she had to redo her PC when she ended up running out of space even though she met or exceeded the requirements, and her PC froze. She had tried to remove the Movie but the file was even too large to remove.

Yes there are compressing agents out there to decrease the size but unless it comes with the program and is automatically started at the appropriate times this program cannot do the job to the best of its ability. Which leaves the computer too full to erase properly and leaving the owner to harassed and upset to do anything else but either pay more money for someone to fix or redo the pc and try again.

In conclusion, in cases such as this it is my sole opinion that the best thing to do is when you go looking for the write hardware. Make sure you also choose the right software to go with it, if not already included. Make a checklist and see how many things the Program can do, and what it cannot and go with the one who does it all or the most.