It's enough to burn you up

Faster DVD burners, more standardization, the ability to burn dual-layer DVDs, and lower prices for name-brand discs (well under $1 for high-quality DVDs) are combining to make creating DVDs at home something that no longer requires a PhD in electronic engineering.

My interest level increased a bit in March when I contacted Columbia House to request a replacement DVD for a movie that I had purchased late in 2004 and had watched (at most) twice. The DVD had been stored in its protective box, but had somehow gone bad. I assumed that Columbia House would replace it.

Bad assumption. Once you've owned the DVD for 45 days, even if it's still in a sealed box, Columbia House will not replace it. So I concluded that I need to back up the my existing DVDs.

Is this legal?

Good question. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act would seem to make it illegal, even for those who purchase DVDs, to make a backup copies for their own use. The DMCA is not one of the more intelligent bits of legislation to come from Washington in the past few years.

Without question it would be illegal for someone to buy a DVD, make copies of the DVD, and sell the copies. The DMCA makes it illegal to give away copies, too. And, as I noted, probably to make your own backup copies. The law is being challenged in court.

Is this possible?

Because I haven't paid much attention to duplicating DVDs, I didn't know much about the process. I know that single-layer DVDs hold 4.7GB of data and double-layer DVDs hold 8.5GB of data. Movies, particularly those with additional features and multi-language soundtracks, are burned on dual-layer discs because the combined size of the movie, additional languages, and special features is more than will fit on a single-layer DVD.

Dual-layer DVDs are still pricey -- up to $10 each -- in small quantities, while prices of single-layer DVDs have dropped to less than a dollar (beware the really cheap discs). That leaves only the problem of finding a way to fit the contents of a dual-layer DVD onto a single-layer DVD.

We've talked about DVD software in the past and some of the applications make it possible to shrink a dual-layer DVD so that it will fit on a single-layer disc. Usually you have several options: You can choose a "movie only" DVD, which eliminates additional sound tracks, special features, and even the menu. Or you can keep some (or all) of the extras and accept more compression -- which means the video and audio quality will be somewhat degraded. If you watch the resulting DVDs on a standard television, you probably won't notice any difference. If you sit close to a large high-resolution screen, you may see some of the artifacting.

But what about copy protection?

Some of the readily available products will choke when they try to copy movies because the movies are copy protected. Searching the Internet will lead you to applications that claim to be able to copy DVDs that use copy protection techniques. Some of these applications are free and work well.

Several weeks ago, I talked about NTI CD and DVD Maker Platinum 7, a full-featured CD, DVD, audio editor application. NTI's application has a DVD duplicator that includes a "DVD fit" function, but it works only with DVDs that have no copy protection.

DVD Shrink is an easy-to-use application that can duplicate many copy-protected DVDs. It assumes that you want all of the extra features on the DVD and adjusts compression to make the contents fit the available DVD, but if you want the highest possible quality for the main feature, you can eliminate some of the extras.

Perhaps the easiest DVD duplicator I've seen is 1Click DVD Copy, another application that copies only DVDs without copy protection. Unlike DVD Shrink, this program assumes that you want the best quality and are willing to omit all of the extra features. Each time I restored one of the features, the program warned me that it would have to compress everything a bit more.

Two of the programs I've just mentioned say that they cannot duplicate copy-protected DVDs, yet I've used them to do just that. Here's how: I download a small application called DVD43Free. This is one of the free applications. DVD43Free runs in the Tray, detects DVDs, and allows other applications to write files from protected DVDs to the computer's hard disk. I've found that it's a good idea to disable DVD43Free when writing a DVD. Leaving it in memory doesn't actually hurt anything, but it does considerably delay the process that the writing program uses to determine whether a DVD is present.

• If you use DVD Shrink, you may not need DVD43Free, but DVD Shrink doesn't know how to decode some of the more recent copy-protection systems.
• DVD43Free seems to know about most of the techniques that are in use and it works cooperatively with applications such as 1Click DVD Copy.
• When all else fails, use DVD Decrypter. This application only extracts DVD files to your computer's hard drive and does not compress them, so you're stuck with a 3-stage process: Extracting the files with DVD Decrypter, compressing them with 1Click DVD Copy or DVD Shrink, and then burning the backup DVD.

How fast?

You're probably better off using a dedicated copying program instead of one of the more general DVD editor applications. When I used NTI's CD and DVD Maker Platinum 7 to make a backup copy of a DVD, the "import" and "transcode" processes took nearly three hours. A dedicated DVD duplicator application requires between 20 minutes and a hour to do its job, depending on whether any additional compression is needed. If the original files are smaller than 4.7GB, the process will take about the same amount of time it would take to copy the files using any other method. If additional compression is needed, the process will take longer.

If you have a high-speed DVD burner, you may not be able to use it at the highest speed. Set-top DVD players are picky and may be unable to play a disc burned at 12x or even 8x. The burner I use is rated at 8x, but to get reliable DVDs, I burn them at 4x.

How to obtain the applications you need

1Click DVD Copy is available for free download and trial use. It will duplicate 3 DVDs before you must register it. Registration costs $60 and includes a copy of Copy to DVD SE. This application comes with no documentation and needs none. It is as easy to use as the name suggests. See it at www.1clickdvdcopy.com and keep in mind that you will need DVD43Free for protected discs.

NTI CD and DVD Maker Platinum 7 is the most complete of the products because it includes an audio editor, a backup application, a photo slide show application, DVD authoring, and DVD playback in addition to the DVD Fit function. The program comes with 2 booklets (one for the backup application and one for CD and DVD applications). See www.ntius.com for information on the $80 program (with backup) or the $50 program (CD and DVD functions only). A free download will allow you to try it by duplicating up to 5 DVDs.

DVD Shrink is free from www.dvdshrink.org. The interface is more complicated than 1Click DVD Copy's, but the operation is straightforward. It assumes that you have the Nero DVD burner installed, but you can use any other DVD burner once DVD Shrink has extracted the video files. DVD Shrink also allows you to re-author your DVD to remove components you don't want or to combine video from multiple DVDs.

DVD Decrypter: DVD Shrink ceased development in 2004, so there will be discs that it cannot copy. Another option is to use DVD Shrink (or any other writer application) with DVD Decrypter (www.dvddecrypter.com), which is still being developed. This application extracts the video files in about 40 minutes, but doesn't compress them; you'll still need to use one of the other applications to fit the files to a single-sided DVD. [NOTE: DVD Decrypter has been eliminated and is no longer available.]

The list of applications here is by no means comprehensive. You'll find discussion lists that deal with media quality, backup software, DVD burners, media types, backup techniques, and more. One of the best is AfterDawn, a Scandinavian website.

Medium good

Earlier, I mentioned that you can find DVD blanks for less less than a dollar. You may find prices in the 40-cent range, but unless they're quality DVDs that a store is selling as a loss-leader, you're better off spending a little more. I can generally find Verbatim 8x +R DVDs in 100 quantities for about 60 cents each. Verbatim makes high-quality products in their own plants. No-brand DVDs can come from just about anywhere.

If you care about quality and longevity, go with Verbatim or one of the other premium manufacturers and then burn the DVDs at a speed that's slower than what they're rated for. I've had excellent results with Verbatim 8x DVDs recorded at 4x. Verbatim "Movie" DVDs are limited to 4x, but I've burned a lot of coasters.* The standard 8x DVDs burned at 4x are a better choice.
             *Coaster: A failed DVD that will not play.

Faster drives are available and, in fact, I purchased a DVD+/-R burner that claims to be able to burn at high speed. That may be the case, but DVDs that I've burned at those high speeds won't work reliably in my set-top box. These devices are particularly picky, but I also found that some of the high-speed DVDs wouldn't read on another computer and wouldn't even read in the drive that recorded them!

So "slow and steady" is the best advice. Burning an 8x DVD at 6x or 4x is much more likely to produce a functional disc. And, according to those who know more about this than I do, the manufacturer matters, too. Verbatim, Sony, Ricoh, Fuji, and Hitachi Maxell get the best reviews. Notice that Memorex is conspicuous by its absence from this list. Experienced users claims that Memorex buys DVDs on the spot market from wherever it can find them and has its name printed on them.

To help you determine who manufactured your DVD, regardless of whose name is on it, try downloading the free DVD identifier available at dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com. I used this application to test some DVDs that were on my desk.

Recent Verbatim DVD+R

Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R:MCC-003-000]
Disc & Book Type :       [DVD+R] - [DVD+R]
Manufacturer Name :      [Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.]
Manufacturer ID :        [MCC]
Media Type ID :          [003]
Product Revision :       [Not Specified]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [2,295,104 Sectors = 4,482.6MB = 4.38GB (4.70GB)]
Recording Speeds :       [1x , 2.4x , 4x , 6x-8x]

Here we have a Verbatim disk manufactured by Mitsubishi. This isn't a problem. Verbatim is a division of the Mitsubishi Chemical Company.

Older Verbatim DVD+R

Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R:RICOHJPN-R00-001]
Disc & Book Type :       [DVD+R] - [DVD+R]
Manufacturer Name :      [Ricoh Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID :        [RICOHJPN]
Media Type ID :          [R00]
Product Revision :       [001]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [2,295,104 Sectors = 4,482.6MB = 4.38GB (4.70GB)]
Recording Speeds :       [1x , 2.4x]

Verbatim and Ricoh work together on some projects. These are DVDs that I bought several years ago. They function, but are reliable only at 1x.

Recent Memorex DVD+R

Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R:CMC MAG-E01-000]
Disc & Book Type :       [DVD+R] - [DVD+R]
Manufacturer Name :      [CMC Magnetics Corp.]
Manufacturer ID :        [CMC MAG]
Media Type ID :          [E01]
Product Revision :       [Not Specified]
Blank Disc Capacity :    [2,295,104 Sectors = 4,482.6MB = 4.38GB (4.70GB)]
Recording Speeds :       [1x , 2.4x , 4x , 6x-8x]

Here's an example of a report with a danger sign. If you search for "CMC Magnetics Corp." using a search engine, you'll find that discs made by CMC are problematic for video. A DVD that will function acceptably when used for data backup or music files may not work well for video.

Spend less by spending more

Some of the drives (including the one I use) create DVDs with significant problems when the media is -R. The +R discs have proved much more reliable for me. Other burners may exhibit exactly the opposite performance. Earlier I said that you don't need a PhD in electronic engineering, but you do need patience and you have to be willing to experiment. If you're looking for help in understanding how the entire process works, be sure to visit www.afterdawn.com.

You'll also find discussions there in which people ask "If I can buy DVDs for 40 cents, why should I spend 60 cents?" Let's explore that question, the answer, and the logic behind the answer. If 95% of the 60-cent DVDs you burn are good and 65% of the 40-cent DVDs you burn are good, which DVD is more economical?

• 95% success: To get 100 good DVDs, you'll need to burn about 105. If each burn takes 15 minutes, you will waste 1 hour 15 minutes. The 105 60-cent DVDs will cost $63.00 (or effectively 63 cents for each successful burn).
• 65% success: To get 100 good DVDs, you'll need to burn 154. If each burn takes 15 minutes, you will waste 13 hours 30 minutes. The 154 40-cent DVDs will cost $61.60 (or effectively 61.6 cents for each successful burn) .

If you are willing to trade 13 hours and 15 minutes for an overall savings of $1.40 (1.4 cents per successful DVD), please contact me right away because I have several real estate opportunities (oceanside property in Arizona, beachfront property in Alaska, and a fine bridge that connects Manhattan to Brooklyn) that I'm sure you'll be interested in.

But is a 95% rate reasonable? In April, I bought and used 50 Verbatim DVD+R blanks and created exactly one coaster. The coaster was my fault, not a problem with the disc. That would be a 98% success rate. Or, discounting human error, a 100% success rate. On the other hand, I purchased 15 Memorex DVD+R discs and got 3 coasters (33.3% failure) and only 2 discs that exhibited no playback problems. All of the DVDs were burned at 4x instead of the 8x they are rated for. In other words, both the 95% and the 65% numbers are reasonable.

I've seen reports of success rates as low as 10% with some of the "bargain" brands and I've seen reports of 100% success rates with better quality DVDs. For my money, give me a stack of 60-cent Verbatim DVD+R discs because I know that -- by my math -- $60 is less than $40.

Busy days at Samsung

South Korean electronics giant Samsung keeps coming up with new devices -- phones, flat-panel monitors, and memory. Within a week Samsung announced mass production of a 4GB flash device and development of a 16GB flash drive. Less than 5 years ago, I was amazed by the ability to carry a 16MB memory device in my pocket.

Samsung has begun mass-producing a 4GB flash device that will be used in 3G mobile phones, PDAs, mobile gaming systems, and digital cameras.

The company says the device delivers a sustained data read speed of about 108 MB per second and a write speed of 10 MB per second.

Further down the road, expect 16GB solid state devices before long. Samsung says it has developed a solid state disk based on Flash-memory technology for consumer and mobile PC applications. These devices are still substantially more expensive that hard disk drives, but they use only about 1/20th the power of hard disk drives, produce little heat, and have no moving parts. In other words, it's the ideal kind of memory for mobile devices.

Samsung says their new solid state devices performance exceeds that of a comparably sized hard disk devices, with the ability to read data at 57MB/sec and write at 32MB/sec.

The solid state devices will look like hard drives from the outside so that they will easily fit where manufacturers have typically used hard disk drives in the past. When? Sooner than you might think. Samsung says the full range of SSD devices will be available in August this year.

Nerdly News

Verbatim Dual Layer 4x DVD-R discs ship

Verbatim is shipping 4x DVD-R Dual Layer media, but keep an eye on your wallet. You'll pay $25 for 3 DVDs in jewel cases. This compares to less than $1 for single-layer DVDs. The price will have to come down before sales will take off.

Dual layer DVDs have a capacity of 8.5GB on a single side. At 4x speed, a burner can fill the disc in less than half an hour. NEC, Pioneer, Plextor, and Sony are among the manufacturers with drives that support the format.

ICANN goes with .xxx adult domains

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved "xxx" top-level domain names. Whether you like or hate pornography, this is a good move. If you love it, you'll be able to find it more easily. If you hate it, or if you want to block such sites, this will make that process easier, too.

The sponsor of the new TLD is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (iFOR), a Canadian non-profit organization. The .xxx top-level domain joints .jobs and .travel approved recently. Negotiations are underway for .cat, .post, and .mobi domains.

More and more for your cell phone

Handmark, one of the big developers of software for mobile devices, can put a map on your mobile phone with a Java version of Pocket Express, the company's suite of information services for mobile devices. Express is available for handsets from Sprint PCS Vision and users can access real-time news, sports, movie times, maps, local city information, and more.

How much? $7 per month gives you access to news, stocks quotes, sports scores, schedule and standings, weather conditions and forecasts for over 2 million locations worldwide, maps and directions for the entire United States, movies, and 411 white and yellow page directory search.

Which phones? Sprint PCS Vision handsets from Audiovox (PM-8912, PM-8920; LG: PM-125, PM-325, PM-535, PM-5225), Samsung (VI600, VI620, VI660, VI680, PM-A740, RL-A760), Sanyo (RL 4920, 5500, RL-7300, MM-5600, MM-7400, PM-8200), and Toshiba (VM 4050).

The new Java version of the Express application is available for download directly to handsets from the Sprint Vision download "tools" option on supported handsets. For more information about the service, see the Handmark website.

Let us know what you think. Write to:
Bill Blinn --
Joe Bradley --

Have a question? Ask it and you might pick up a prize for stumping the chump. Send your question to . And ... good luck!

Privacy Guarantee:

I HATE SPAM and will not sell, rent, loan, auction, trade, or do anything else with your e-mail address. Period.

Is this information useful?
If so, consider making a contribution, please.

Joe

(Photo by Sally)

Bill

(Photo by Scampi)

As if you didn't already get enough weather on the radio!

If you do not see a Weather Underground banner above and you use ad-blocking software, please set your application to allow images from "www.wunderground.com" to appear.

Annoying legal disclaimer
My attorney says I really need to say this: The Technology Corner website is for informational purposes only. Neither Joe nor I assume any responsibility for its accuracy, although we do our best. The information is subject to change without notice. Any actions you take based on information from the radio program or from this website are entirely at your own risk. Products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and their various trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Technology Corner cannot provide technical support for products or services mentioned on the air or on the website.