Download DVD Shrink

Pros
+ Free
+ Power users can control nearly every aspect of the final DVD, including compression and region settings

Cons
- Requires significant technical know-how to use
- Only outputs to DVD, CD, and harddrive... no support for Video iPod, PSP, or media centers.
- Lacks a built-in CSS decryptor, so you must download and install one separately (see below, or click here for downloading instructions).

DVD Shrink Review

DVD Shrink is the DIY option for video techies. This powerful freeware program can be used to burn virtually any copy-protected DVD to DVD or your harddrive. The downside? You'll have to install a number of third-party applications (including a CSS decryptor and a DVD burning program) to make it work. You'll also need to learn the technical details about how DVDs work. And if you run into trouble, there is no company to call for support... DVD Shrink is unsupported freeware.

Installation

Installation of DVD Shrink is straightforward, but the program can be hard to find on the internet. You also need to install a CSS decryptor and a compatible DVD burning program. Finally, you should make sure the firmware is updated on your computer, as this is a common cause of problems with DVD Shrink.

Usability

DVD Shrink is not anywhere near as usable as commercial programs, so expect to do a little reading. Once you learn how everything works, it's not so bad though. A good guide for copying DVDs with DVD Shrink can be found here.

After opening a DVD with DVD Shrink, you'll see a window similar to the following:

DVD Shrink's full backup mode

By default, DVD Shrink is configured to copy the entire disc. However, if you aren't copying to a dual-layer DVD, you will probably experience poor video quality with the backup DVD. To improve the quality, you'll need to enter "re-authoring" mode and remove the extras and any unwanted audio tracks. From there, you'll need to lower the compression ratio, or use deep analysis and some advanced compression algorithms. Sound complicated? It is, which is why most people will want to opt for a commercial DVD copying program.

Re-authoring mode allows you to remove extras and audio tracks to improve the quality of the final DVD.

Compatibility

Backups made with DVD Shrink are surprisingly compatible with a wide variety of DVD players, even moreso than many commercial products.

Performance

DVD Shrink was a little slower than most commercial products, taking 29 minutes to copy a 120 minute movie. You also need to factor in the time it takes to manually set up a DVD for copying. One nice feature we liked about DVD Shrink is that it previews scenes from the DVD during the encoding process:

DVD Shrink displays the current scene while encoding ... cool!

Copy Protection

DVD Shrink requires a third-party CSS decryptor to backup copy-protected DVDs.

Quality

The quality of the final backup copy depends largely on how well you know how to use the software. If you make a full backup and don't tweak any settings, you will probably get ok, but not great, results. For the best quality, you'll need to use dual-layer DVDs or tweak the compression settings.

Other Features

There are few other features provided with DVD Shrink. While it excels at giving power-users the ability to get down and dirty with the DVD backup process, it doesn't support a wide variety of input or output formats. For instance, you can import from DVD or ISO, but not from AVI, DivX, or Windows Media Player formats (forget Tivo, camcorder, or VHS). The output files are going to DVD or your hard drive - there is no PSP or Video iPod support.

One nice feature that DVD Shrink does support however, is the ability to remove region encoding from DVDs. The backups made with this program can be viewed on any DVD player in the world.

Support

Because DVD Shrink is freeware, there is no official email or phone support. You'll have to resort to internet forums, and you will need a fair amount of technical knowledge about your system to get answers there.

Summary

DVD Shrink is a powerful but complex DVD backup program. It doesn't support a wide variety of formats and you'll need a lot of technical knowledge to use it, but nonetheless, it is totally free.

Pros
+ Inexpensive

Cons
- Not compatible with common DVD drives
- Buggy installation
- Malfunctions when used with common CSS decryption software

RedXPress DVD CopyWare Review

From the moment we downloaded this program to our PC, we've had problems. Not only would it not read any DVDs, it also had conflicts with common CSS decryption software that were so serious we couldn't open our drives. We were unable to burn a single movie with this product.

Installation

We had some problems installing the demo, which we downloaded from the RedXPress website. First, the download has no file extension, so it won't run. To get it to work, you have to manually give it the "exe" extension. Next, when we tried to run the program on a fresh install of Windows XP, it displayed an error message saying that we were missing the file "MSVCR71.DLL". We had to find this file (and another) on an internet website and install it in the proper directory before the install package would work. We suspect most people won't have the patience or know-how for this.

Usability

Unfortunately, we were unable to get this program to recognize DVDs with any combination of drives, even on two separate computers.

RedXPress DVD Copyware wouldn't recognize DVDs, even though our computer had no problem reading (and playing) them

Copy Protection

DVD Copyware is not compatible with DVD43, and in fact we got serious errors after using the two programs together. So much so, that we couldn't get the DVD drive to open until after a reboot. We also tried other programs, including their recommended CSS decryptor, but the program simply wouldn't work.

Compatibility

Based on the problems we've experienced trying to get the software to work with typical DVD drives, we doubt that the copies created with this program would be compatible with a wide variety of DVD players.

Other Features

After clicking around the options window, we discovered that this is a very basic program. There appears to be no way to compress a movie to a single DVD, nor can you strip off extras.

Summary

This product appears to be little more than someone's computer science project. It was riddled with problems starting with the install to the moment that we deleted it from our computer. Save your money.

Pros
+ Attractive and easy-to-use interface
+ Outputs to DVD, VCD, SVCD, Windows Media Player, and DivX.

Cons
- Requires third-party CSS decryptor to recognize copy-protected DVDs
- Preview doesn't work
- Will not write to DVD-R format discs
- Does not support dual layer DVDs

InterVideo DVD Copy Platinum Review

InterVideo DVD Copy Platinum is an effective DVD backup program with a few extra bells-and-whistles. It ran a bit on the slow side and we experienced some compatibility issues however. You'll also need a third-party CSS decryptor, as it won't recognize most commercial DVDs without one.

Installation

At a whopping 50 megabytes, DVD Copy Platinum isn't the quickest download, but it installed smoothly and without any problems. We also had to install a third-party CSS decryption program (DVD43) in order to get it to recognize commercial DVDs.

Usability

The user interface is attractive and for the most part, straightforward. In theory, all it takes to copy a DVD is to select a source and target, and then choose what format you want (DVD in most cases). But in practice, it's not quite that simple.

For starters, the program tends to hang for long periods of time if there are any issues. Our two-drive setup, which works quite well with most programs, would not work at all with this software. We got around this by reading and writing using a single drive, but this meant we couldn't make a copy while leaving the program unattended.

There are other usability issues as well. The preview function doesn't work with most DVDs, and if you have limited space on your C: drive, you will have a heck of a time figuring out how to change the temporary file location.

Furthermore, the program can be quite slow with certain CDs. For instance, while the movie "Very Bad Things" took only about 20 minutes to copy, "The Lord of the Rings" took over an hour.

Worst of all, the program would not write DVDs to DVD-R format. We had to run out and buy special DVD+R format discs in order to use the program. This kind of inflexibility is not found in most software programs.

Intervideo DVD Copy Platinum is an attractive product, but it has a number of usability and compatibility problems.

Copy Protection

DVD Shrink requires a third-party CSS decryptor to backup copy-protected DVDs. Other articles on this site have instructions on where to find this software.

Quality

The quality of the final movies was pretty good. DVD Copy Platinum allows you to remove menus, audio tracks, and extras in order to reduce compression of the final disc. If you prefer, you can also disable compression and make a copy that spans multiple DVDs.

Compatibility

One of our DVD players would not read the copies created with this software, indicating that there are some compatibility issues to be worked out.

Other Features

There are a few other features, including the ability to write downloaded files to DVD as well as the ability take scenes from multiple DVDs and write them to a single disc. You can also output to a number of useful formats, including DivX.

Despite these features (which we suspect cater to the illegal downloading crowd), the software has some obvious omissions, such as the ability to remove region encoding or to strip the copy protection from the final copy. You are limited in your input and output formats as well - forget ripping from Tivo or downloading files to your Playstation Portable... it's just not supported.

Summary

We expected more from this popular DVD copying product, but InterVideo DVD Copy Platinum left us wanting. While it supports some of the more common formats, it couldn't backup copy protected DVDs, nor could it write to DVD-R discs. It also had some obvious feature omissions and usability problems, which left us with the feeling that this software needs some more work.

Posted: Nov. 3, 2005

After his case received national attention, a Racine man sued by the film industry for copyright infringement after his 13-year-old grandson downloaded four movies on the family's home computer has been offered another chance to settle out of court.

An attorney for the Motion Picture Association of America called Fred Lawrence late Wednesday, telling him the lawsuit would be dropped if he paid $4,000, Lawrence said. The MPAA said it would let Lawrence pay the amount in monthly payments over a year to 18 months, he said.

The deal is essentially the same one offered Lawrence in March, which he ignored, except it allows him to pay in installments.

"I don't want to sound like a smart aleck, but $4,000 might as well be a $1 million," said Lawrence, a former employee of Snap-on Inc. and seasonal worker for the City of Racine. "We are budgeted. We have a fixed income. I don't have even an extra $250 a month."

Lawrence said he is still trying to find an attorney to defend him in the suit.

Lawrence, 67, learned Monday that he was being sued for as much as $600,000 in damages by three major movie studios after his 13-year-old live-in grandson downloaded the movies from a file-sharing server on the home computer.

His phone has been ringing off the hook after a Journal Sentinel story about the lawsuit made national news.

Most of the calls have come from the local and national media, but Lawrence said he also has received several calls from strangers offering words of support.

"The thing is that you just don't have any peace," Lawrence said of all the attention. "But it gives me a good feeling when you get somebody who calls and says, 'We sympathize with you.' "

All the attention might have played a role in the MPAA's acquiescence, Lawrence said.

"It just overwhelmed me that it has turned into something that is getting national attention," he said.

The MPAA could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Lawrence was one of several people contacted by the MPAA this year who were offered an out-of-court settlement. Those who declined or didn't respond to the mailed settlement offers, including Lawrence, now face individual lawsuits.

Lawrence said he couldn't afford the settlement offer and didn't know what file sharing was.

From the Nov. 4, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

DVD+R and DVD+RW

These two formats are supported on DVD burners created by Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others. They can be read by most commercial DVD players.

A DVD+R disc can be recorded to once, and once only. Once recorded, the data becomes permanent and can not be re-recorded.

DVD+RW discs can be erased and recorded multiple times without damage. They are almost always compatible with the DVD+R format, so you'll sometimes see this format written as DVD+R(W).

DVD-R, DVD-RW

These formats are supported by Apple, Toshiba, NEC, Pioneer, Sharp, and Panasonic. They can be read by most commercial DVD players.

DVD-R is similar to DVD+R in that it can only be recorded to once.

DVD-RW is similar to DVD+RW in that it can be recorded to multiple times. They are usually compatible with the DVD-R format, so you'll sometimes see this format written as DVD-R(W). Furthermore, drives which support both the + and - formats, might have the following jumble of letters: DVD+/-RW or DVD+/-R(W).

DVD-RAM

This is a less common format and can only be read by DVD players and drives that are specifically compatible with this format. These discs are usually housed in cartridges.

DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL

These are dual layer formats supported by many manufacturers, including Dell, HP, Sony, Yamaha, and many others. Dual layer DVDs can store data on two separate layers on the DVD, effectively doubling their capacity.

Dual layer discs can be read by many DVD players, although the less expensive ones tend not to support this format.

DVD ROM

This was the first format supported for DVD discs and is a read-only format (ie: the discs may never be recorded over). It is typically used for movies and video games, and should run on every DVD player.

REGION 1 -- USA, Canada
REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland
REGION 3 -- S.Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia
REGION 4 -- Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico)
REGION 5 -- Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa
REGION 6 -- China
REGION 7 -- Reserved for Unspecified Special Use
REGION 8 -- Resevered for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc...
REGION 0 or REGION ALL -- Discs are uncoded and can be played Worldwide, however, PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit and NTSC discs must be played in an NTSC-compatible unit.

When I was on a business trip to Paris, I bought a few DVDs as gifts for friends. I was surprised when I arrived back home in the U.S. and found that none of the DVDs worked! That’s because they were stamped with region code 2, and U.S. players only accept region code 1 DVDs.

Why Do DVDs Have Region Codes?

Essentially, it’s a marketing practice. The studios claim that this helps to protect the financial integrity of a movie release. For instance, the film “Troy” was released in the US well before it was released in Europe. Region encoding prevents US individuals and companies from exporting the DVD to France before the official release date.

Another possible reason is price-fixing. Region encoding allows distributors to charge different prices in different regions, and the region encoding again ensures that outside companies can’t arbitrage the difference.

Is Region Coding fair and legal?

It is legal, but many people consider it unethical and are working to get laws passed banning it. For instance, suits have been filed in Australian and European courts to have region encoding discontinued.

What can you do about it?

Some DVD Copying software can remove the region encoding from a DVD, allowing the copy to be played on any DVD player. Additionally, it is possible to purchase DVD players with the region functionality removed. These players are expensive, but can play DVDs from any region.

Note: Another factor that can prevent DVDs from being played in different regions is PAL or NTSC encoding. US televisions display pictures using NTSC, while televisions in other parts of the world use PAL. Unfortunately, the two formats are not compatible, but there are televisions that can play either format. These are rare in the US, but more common in other countries.

Pros
+ Includes variety of CD, audio, and DVD tools

Cons
- Does not work with copy protected DVDs
- Does not compress DVDs
- Can not strip off extra features to save space

Nero Express 6 Review

Nero is one of the most widely known names in CD and DVD software. Unfortunately, this seems to be due more to the fact that the Nero software is bundled with many DVD and CD players, and not because of the value of the software. While Nero Express 6 is useful for burning mp3 tracks to CDs, it is practically useless for copying DVDs.

Installation

The Nero Express CD comes with 6 programs, three of which may be installed separately, and the other three of which may be installed as a suite. The names of the programs aren't very descriptive as to their function, leaving the user scratching their head as to what software they should install. The programs include:

* Nero Express - the burning software and the one you want to install
* NeroVision Express - DVD editing and import software
* Nero Media Player - used to organize music and movies
* InCD 4 - a program that allows you to burn files to CD
* EasyWrite Reader - a reader for MRW format (?)
* Content + Template - an expansion pack for the NeroVision Express software

Confused? So were we. It turns out that if you just want to copy DVDs, then you need to pick Nero Express. Unfortunately, it can't do the job as we'll soon see.

Usability

The main window in Nero Express 6 presents you with a dizzying array of options. We first tried the obvious sounding (but misleading) option "Disc Copy". We were presented with a ton of options, most of which did not have obvious choices, and then attempted to burn. Unfortunately, Nero Express kicked us out with a fatal error, saying that there was not enough room on the target DVD. Apparently Nero Express doesn't recognize the DVD format in this mode.

The main screen offers a number of non-descriptive options.

A little more hunt-and-peck turns up the video backup option. Unfortunately, this mode is not much better than the previous one. This screen asks you to drag and drop the actual video files (in VIDEO_TS) from the DVD into the program. After two hours and multiple errors later, we had a non-functional DVD backup. Unfortunately, Nero Express doesn't copy tracks that have errors in them and the resulting copy won't work.

The copy screen is straightforward, but unfortunately doesn't work with movie DVDs.

After hours of effort, we were unable to make a successful DVD backup with Nero Express.

Performance

Nero Express is very slow at reading video files. Copying a 120 minute movie on a 16x drive took over two hours, the slowest of any program we've reviewed to date.

Copy Protection

Nero Express can't defeat copy-protection unless run with a third-party CSS decryptor, such as DVD43Free.

Quality

We were unable to make a working DVD backup with Nero Express, so we can't comment on the quality.

Other Features

Nero Express is very light on features. For instance, it can't compress video:

Nero Express doesn't offer compression, so expect to see plenty of errors like this when trying to copy DVDs.

Nero Express does offer a lot of options unrelated to DVD copying, such as the ability to burn, organize, and playback music files. It can also create data CDs, however this functionality is provided as part of Windows, so there's little value provided by having it in the product.

Summary

Nero Express 6 is an out-dated media burning program that is little more than a demo application included with many DVD burners. We were unable to make any working DVD backups with it.

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Pros
+ Watch movies on any device
+ Supports widest variety of input devices (Tivo, downloaded movies, DVD, VCD, VHS, and more)
+ Supports widest variety of media players (PSP, Video iPod, PDA, Mobile phone, media center PCs, and most DVD players)
+ Output to more than 20 digital formats (DivX, WMV, ASF, MPEG1-4, DVD, SVCD, more)
+ CSS Decryptor included
+ Can remove extra features to save space
+ Supports dual layer DVDs
+ Compresses entire DVD to one disc
+ PAL (European) and NTSC (United States) support
+ Automatically organizes video collection
+ Widescreen or Fullscreen
+ Thumbnail support

Cons
- Highest priced option

Video Vault 3.5 Review

Video Vault is the top-selling premium DVD Copy product on the internet. With it, you can output video to nearly every DVD and media player (including iPod video and PlayStation portable), encode to over 20 digital formats (including DivX, VOB, Windows Media Player, and others), and import video from camcorders, VHS, and of course, copy-protected DVDs. Video Vault delivers on the company's promise that with it, you'll be able to watch movies on any device.

In our tests, Video Vault copied full DVDs in record time with high quality. It was difficult to find anything wrong with this product, but software this good does come at a higher price than other alternatives.

Installation

Installation was straightforward and easy and Video Vault was up and running in a few minutes without any problems. When started for the first time, you'll be asked to enter your default video mode, PAL or NTSC. If you aren't sure, you can look it up, but United States users should pick NTSC, while European users should choose PAL.

When you first install the program, you should select NTSC (United States) or PAL (Europe)

Usability

Unlike other popular programs like 1Click DVD Copy which opt for a minimalist interface, Video Vault's interface is robust and offers many options. This is our biggest gripe with the product - it takes some getting used to and a little bit of trial and error is necessary to burn your first DVD.

There's a lot going on at first, but it's easy to get the hang of it.

What you need to know is that Video Vault can keep track of the movies you import, acting as a virtual video store. By default, it will import your videos on to your hard drive. From there, you can select movies (or individual scenes) to burn, view thumbnails, and export to various formats.

On the other hand, if you want to start simple you can just click "Backup DVD" (lower-left portion of the window). Video Vault will prompt you for a DVD and then guide you through the rest of the process.

Stability

This is a very stable program. We experienced no fatal crashes or other errors while copying movies, and in fact we were able to use our computer for other activities even while writing discs.

Performance

Video Vault is a very fast program. We were able to copy the entire 120 minute movie, "The Stewie Griffin Story", in 26 minutes on a 16x DVD drive. If the movie is already on your hard drive, the process is much faster - about 12 minutes from start to finish.

Copy Protection

Video Vault also includes a built-in CSS decryptor and had no problems reading copy-protected DVDs, even new releases (which make use of tougher copy protection algorithms).

Quality

We stripped the extras from "The Stewie Griffin Story" and fit the entire 120 minute movie onto a single DVD. The quality of the movie was indistinguishable from the original.

Compatibility

Compatbility with various devices is what distinguishes Video Vault from other DVD Copying products.

You can export to over 20 different formats, including: DivX, WMV, ASF, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DVD, SVCD, VCD, VOB, AVI, MS-DVR, WMA, MP3, MPEG1 Layer II, WAV, PCM, LPCM, AC3 and others. Videos can be played on a variety of personal video players, including the PlayStation Portable, the Video iPod, many PDAs, mobile phones, and even home media centers.

Video Vault also supports multiple input formats, including DVD, VHS tape, VCD/SVCD, camcorder formats, and many other devices.

Other Features

Video Vault bucks the trend of going light on additional features. There were actually so many features embedded in this product that we haven't been able to learn them all yet. Some of these additional features include:

* Organizes videos by genre
* Automatically compresses videos in the vault to the target media size
* Organized with video thumbnails
* VHS, TiVo, and camcorder input

Video Vault includes features such as allowing you to organize your videos by genre.

Support

X Software offers email support with same-day turnaround time.

Summary

Video Vault is our new favorite DVD copying program. Not only is it very fast at making high-quality DVD-to-DVD copies, it also supports nearly any input device, media player, or format you can think of. This is hands down the clear premium choice for people willing to pay extra for the best software available.

Price: $119.99
Free Trial: Yes

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Pros
+ Easy to use interface
+ Can remove extra features to save space
+ Supports dual layer DVD writers
+ Compresses entire DVD to one disc
+ CSS Decryption available with free plugin

Cons
- Slow
- Poor documentation
- Does not work with all DVD players

XCopyDVD Review

Installation

Installation was straightforward and easy. The product installed quickly without any problems, and immediately afterward a browser window opened up to a site offering a CSS Decryptor plugin. The plugin installed in seconds, and we were able to read copy protected discs without any further hassle.

Usability

XCopyDVD has a very simple user interface. It automatically detects which drive has a movie inserted and automatically populates the configuration screen with common settings. To start copying, all you need to do is click the "Go" button. However, in most cases, you'll probably want to select "movie only" before copying so that the DVD will fit on a single disc. This first screen also gives you the choice of specifying a dual-layer destination DVD if you have one available.

Although the program doesn't have many options for destination formats (for instance, it doesn't support PAL/European format), XCopyPSP also comes with the program and gives you the ability to import DVD videos to your PlayStation portable.

Stability

The program worked perfectly with only one hitch. If you accidentally open up any DVD program while burning a copy, XCopyDVD will bomb out with a fatal error, ruining your DVD in the process. Be careful!

Performance

Performance of XCopy9/XCopyDVD was poor. It took 40 minutes to first compress the movie, then another 20 minutes to burn the DVD, and this was on a 16x DVD drive. What's worse, the program can't take advantage of multiple DVD drives, so there's really no way to speed things along.

Copy Protection

The free plug-in installed during installation worked perfectly. XCopyDVD was able to read copy-protected DVDs without any problems, even the latest ones.

Quality

The DVD we produced with XCopyDVD had some trouble playing back. While we were able to play it back on our PC, it didn't work at all on two (ordinary and admittedly inexpensive) DVD players. The overall quality of the compressed movie was fine however.

Other Features

XCopyDVD is light on features. It is a plain vanilla copy program, designed to copy store-bought movies onto recordable DVDs. Other than the basics (defeat CSS protection, support of dual-layer discs, compression to a single DVD), there's nothing.

Support

XCopy offers email support.

Summary

XCopy9/XCopyDVD is a simple and easy-to-use DVD duplicator that offers the basics: compression, the ability to defeat copy protection, and support for dual-layer DVDs. We had some problems playing back the copies on ordinary DVD players, but the major weakness of this program is the excruciatingly long time it takes to copy DVDs.

Price: $49.99
Free Trial: NO

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Special: Includes XCopyPSP for copying movies to your PlayStation Portable

Required Tools: Small Phillips screwdriver
Approximate Time: 15 minutes

1. Decide on the type of DVD drive you'll need

First, decide on what kind of setup you want. The ideal recording PC will have two DVD drives - one for playing the source DVD, and another for recording the new DVD. Backing up DVDs is much easier and faster with two drives, but of course, you may have to purchase a spare DVD player (around $40) if you don't already have one. Also, the two drive setup requires two mounting locations - these are in short supply on the smaller desktop PCs. And finally, you'll ideally want to have two IDE ports on your motherboard (see below). You can mount two drives on a single IDE port, but recording will be slower.

Next, consider the type of connection you'll need: External (USB) or Internal. will you be burning DVDs on your laptop or a PC. If on a laptop, then you'll probably want to spend a little more money and get a USB DVD drive. This is a standalone drive that plugs into one of your spare USB ports. Internal recordable DVD drives are available for some laptop models, but the quality varies widely. It's safer to go for a proven external model.

If you're planning on recording DVDs on a desktop PC, then you'll most likely want to go with an internal drive. This kind of drive fits directly in your PC, so there won't be any extra cable hookups. However, be sure to take a look inside your PC first. You'll need a spare IDE port and an open mounting bracket. If you don't have these, you'll need to go with an external/USB drive.

If you do decide to go with an external USB drive, the following guide does not apply to you. Installation is actually far easier, requiring you to simply plug the drive in and install some software. Consult your installation guide for further details.

2. Unpack the components.

Things you will likely see:

* The DVD drive itself
* Installation Guide
* Audio cable - used to play CDs directly from the drive
* Removable face plate - The nicer drives usually come with a black and a white faceplate to match your computer.

Contents of a typical DVD drive

3. Open your PC

Turn off your PC (VERY important, or you could ruin your PC) and open up the case. The exact steps depend on your PC. As we occasionally tweak our memory and other hardware, we've invested in a nice case where the side pops off without the need to unscrew anything:

4. Set Jumper Settings

Read ahead to step 5 and determine if your new DVD drive will be sharing a cable with another drive. If not, set the jumper setting at the back to "Master". If it will be sharing the cable, then one device has to be set to "Master" and the other to "Slave" (it doesn't matter which). If you don't perform this step properly, the drive won't be recognized.

5. Find your cable connections

You will need to make two, perhaps three, connections to completely install the DVD drive. Before hooking the cables to your drive, loosely fit the drive in place. If you screw it in now, it will probably be very difficult to get the plugs inserted into the drive, so hold off.

First, find a spare power cable. These are usually four-pronged, white plastic connectors.

Important: Do not hook your DVD drive up to a power cable connected to a motherboard fan. The electricity running through these cables is very "dirty" and could result in electrical spikes which could damage your drive or cause it to not work properly. Sometimes these sockets are clearly marked:

Next is the data connection. The DVD drive is connected to your motherboard with an IDE cable. IDE cables are flat and ribbon-like:

The other end of this cable goes into an IDE port:

This is an IDE port. There is another IDE port in parallel behind this one, but it is obscured by the cable. If you are installing two DVD drives and have two ports, put each drive on a separate IDE port.

Now here's a subtle point that many installation manuals don't mention. If you are going with the two-drive setup, you want each drive to be on a different IDE port if possible. This will allow your system to copy DVDs much faster than if they are on the same port.

The IDE cable fits into the back of the DVD drive. There is a notch in it that ensures it can only go on one way, although if you purchase a cheaper drive, the drive might not have the corresponding notch in it. If you're unlucky enough to have one of these drives, you'll have to guess and if it doesn't work, pull your PC apart and reverse the cable.

Your drive may have an optional audio cable that plugs into your sound card. You only need to plug this cable in if you listen to CDs on your computer.

6. Finish the Installation

You're just about done. Slide the DVD drive into its mounting bracket and screw it in place. Re-assemble your case and turn it on. After the re-boot, Windows should automatically recognize the new DVD drive and assign it it's own drive letter. If you aren't sure which drive letter it was given, pop a DVD into the drive and open up Windows explorer. You can easily locate the drive as it will be clearly marked with the title of the DVD.

Good job! Once you install a good DVD copying software package, you'll be ready to copy your first DVD.

Thanks!
Gooroo Reviews

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In a sign that the two competing optical disk standards may become more alike, Hewlett Packard on Thursday asked supporters of the Blu-ray format to include some key features that will be available on the rival HD-DVD format.

The computer maker formally appealed to the Blu-ray Disc Association to include a technology known as mandatory “managed copy,” which allows consumers to make legitimate copies of their high-definition content and share it on their home networks.

HP also wants Blu-ray to include iHD, a technology developed by Microsoft that will enable better interactivity on DVD content. Both these features will be available on the rival HD-DVD format.

The announcement came as a Forrester Research report predicted Blu-ray will win the format war over HD-DVD when both the formats are released in the spring of 2006.

HP, which has been backing the Blu-ray standard, said the changes would represent a “significant step toward bridging the differences between the two competing high-definition optical disc formats.”

Next-generation DVDs promise better picture quality, sound, and storage. Sony-backed Blu-ray and HD-DVD, backed by Toshiba, have been in a three-year battle over what standard will ultimately dominate the $20-billion worldwide DVD market.

The two technologies that HP is asking Blu-ray to incorporate were the main reasons two other tech giants, Microsoft and Intel, decided initially to back the HD-DVD format (see MS, Toshiba Team on HD-DVDs).

Managed copy allows duplication of content for sharing on home networks, an activity that Microsoft and Intel are promoting in order to sell their hardware and software that enables home networking.

Meanwhile, Blu-ray has been less enthusiastic about supporting managed copy as movie studios, which carry weight with both camps as providers of content, are against the feature because of piracy concerns.

Tipping Scales

HP’s move could be another sign that the scales are tipping in favor of Blu-ray. Both the formats had equal support from the major movie studios until Paramount Studios, which initially backed HD-DVD, said recently it would release content on both formats.

HD-DVD is lagging in support from major consumer electronics manufacturers and computer companies. HD-DVD has support from only from three major players including Sanyo and NEC while Blu-ray is backed by at least half a dozen including HP, Apple, Dell, Hitachi, Phillips, and Samsung.

It’s possible that the Blu-ray Disc Association will make the changes HP has requested to get the computer giant’s full support, said analyst Josh Martin with IDC, a research firm. Mr. Martin said Blu-ray does plan to support managed copy feature but that it won’t be mandatory for all content.

“HP has been a very big proponent of Blu-ray and they are just appealing to them to accept those changes,” Mr. Martin said.

Also, if Blu-ray accepts HP’s request, it may have to persuade with movie studios such as Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox to accept managed copy. That’s because one of their primary motivations for joining Blu-ray over HD-DVD might have been the absence of that feature, Mr. Martin said.

Reprinted from Red Herring

Blu-ray is a next-generation optical disc format that is expected to hit the markets in 2006. It is a major contender to become the new standard which will replace VCRs and DVD players.

Why Is a New Standard Necessary?

HDTV (High Definition TV) is already an option in many areas throughout the US, and by the end of 2006, most cable and television stations will offer HDTV broadcasts as an option. And by 2009, HDTV will likely be the only option – your existing analog television won’t work anymore, nor will your current DVD player or VCR.

HDTV offers much better picture quality that analog TV and supports a resolution of 1920x1080. This higher quality means that your existing DVD or VCR will not be able to keep up. Instead, a better recording method will be required. One such method is Blu-ray.

What Makes Blu-Ray So Special?

Simple: Blu-ray supports the recording, rewriting, and playback of High-Definition video.

It can do this because it supports faster data transfer and greater data storage. Because of their lower storage capacity, today’s DVD players will need to heavily compress HDTV, resulting in poor picture quality. And even if storage capacity weren’t an issue, DVD records are just too slow to keep up. Blu-ray players, on the other hand, support higher recording speeds so HDTV can be recorded without loss.

How Much Can a Blu-Ray Disk Hold?

While DVDs hold about 5 GB of storage, a Blu-ray disk will hold 25 GB. This equates to 135 minutes of HDTV (only 27 minutes on today’s DVDs), or perhaps up to 8 hours of play time when compressed. A dual-layer Blue-ray disk will hold twice that capacity.

Will Blu-ray Players Read my DVDs?

Almost certainly, although this will depend on the manufacturer. Cheaper Blu-ray players may not be backwards compatible, but the mid-tier and higher-end models will.

Can I Record With Blu-Ray?

Again, it depends entirely on the model you purchase. Blu-ray supports at-home recording, but individual manufacturers will decide if they will include this feature (or not).

Do I Need a High-Definition Television to Use Blu-Ray?

No – Blu-ray will work with ordinary televisions, but you won’t notice any improvement in picture quality. To see the difference, you will need an HDTV.

Why Is It Called Blu-Ray?

Today’s conventional DVDs use a red laser to read and write information from the disk, while Blu-ray uses a blue-violet laser instead. Hence the name, “Blu-ray”.

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