Basic information on copying Dvd

Most new computers come configured with the hardware you will need to copy a DVD, hence getting to copy a DVD is no difficult if you have recently purchased a new computer. Hardware in a new computer includes: a DVD burner, adequate memory and hard drive space. If you have an older PC and it does not have a DVD burner installed, you need to have it installed. You may also purchase external DVD burners that could be plugged into your USB port or Firewire port.

Overview:

We have often seen people ask: Cant I just cut and paste files from the original DVD movie onto a blank DVD? But it just wouldnt work that way. This would work if the DVD were a data DVD which means, that the DVD contained regular files as word documents, photographs etc. However, motion DVDs like movies is encrypted. Thus you will need a special DVD copying software that understands how to break the code on a DVD movie, so that you can easily copy it into a blank DVD.

DVD copying software will perform these three processes when copying a DVD:

"Ripping  The DVD copying software will decrypt or extract data from the DVD and place the copy of that data in a temporary folder on your hard drive.

"Transcoding  The DVD copying software will thereafter take that decrypted DVD data and transform it into a format that can be burned onto a blank DVD.

"Writing  The DVD copying software will etch, burn and encode the transcoded data on to a blank DVD-R/ RW.

"The end result is a neat copy of the Original DVD.

How to copy a DVD?

Sometimes you may want to take a backup copy of the DVD that you own. There are numerous ways to successfully copy a DVD, be it a movie or a data disc. We detail below the basic steps to learning how to replicate a DVD. These are the thing you would need to copy a DVD  DVD Burner/ Copier, Blank DVD discs and a DVD / CD laser cleaner.

"Before you attempt to copy a DVD, please ensure that the DVD is not copyright protected and that you are not unknowingly violating any copyright laws.

"Ensure that the blank DVDs you purchase are compatible with your DVD burner.

"Do not forget to follow all the steps as laid out in your DVD copying software, because each software manufacturer has unique particulars on how you should go about making a DVD copy.

However, you also need to take the following precautions while making a DVD copy:

"Ensure that you have the correct format of the blank DVD and compatible to your DVD burner.

"Before you begin, you need to close down all unnecessary programs that may be running.

"Clean your DVD burners thoroughly to avoid any kind of error while burning.

"Do not knock the DVD burner while the copy process is in session.

"Do not touch the surface of the blank DVDs before you attempt to make copies of the DVD.

"Do not attempt to run other programs while the DVD copy process is in session.

About The Author To find more information on Copying DVD's and for a list of free tools and tutorials that will let you convert your disk image files from various proprietary formats (e.g. Convert DMG to ISO, BIN to ISO, IMG to ISO and so on)