DVD to Video

[charlie]

Hi to those who responded to my plea for help with copying from USA DVD to Video.
First, thanks for all the info. None of it worked, but, I did find out that there is equipment which can help cost $99. I may go for that.
It seems that some DVD's have a built-in anti copying system (some have 2) to protect against copying. And, fair play, I suppose.
Again, thanks for help.
Charlie.

[Schoko]

Hi Charlie,

yes, most VCRs will not make copies of protected DVDs or Videos. But there are models that have more than one input and the copy-protection enabled only of the first of them. I have one of these (Sony DLV 800SE) and it has a front-side S-VHS (Audio left/right, Video) connector through which I can record even from protected discs or tapes.

hope that helps,
Schoko

[The Fat Fucker]

The copy protection is called macrovision,however there will be another problem.
You can pick up a dvd player with the macrovision disabled however the dvd may not record properly if its originally from the u.s due to their ntsc signal.
They are playable worldwide but your video is not,so where it might be able to play ntsc signals on your video,you will not be able to record them.
you can buy a convertor which changes the signal from your dvd from ntsc to pal(the uk tv signal),these cost about ?50,you can find them in most uk home cinema magazines.

[Karol]

Charlie....if you need anything converted from NTSC to PAL or vice versa, be it VHS, LD or DVD, whether has Macrovision or not...e-mail me.

[Schoko]

A converter for recording is only necessary if your VCR does not understand NTSC signals, which mine and a lot of other models do. In addition, many DVD players do have an option to select the output signal type, I can switch mine between Auto, NTSC and PAL. As my TV set can not handle NTSC, I have set the DVD player to PAL, so if I play a NTSC DVD, the player will convert the output signal to PAL.

[joe king]

http://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/LINK/F_MacroVision.html

[Shaun]

I had a similar problem: a non-scart TV with a DVD player, I got round it by buying a scartcable that took out the macro part of the signal. All it enabled me to do is to watch dvds on my old tv(10 yrs +) and I can't record them not that I'd want to as it's illegal

[charlie]

`Thanks again everyone - a lot to digest there!
Karol, I may take you up on that sometime, thanks.
Charlie