How to Make Backup Copies of Your DVDs

Do you want to make a backup copy of a DVD you bought?  Here are the three free programs that will allow you to accomplish the task!  Keep in mind that you should not copy discs that have a copyright.

First, many movies will not fit on a homemade DVD.  Usually this is because of all of the extras that are on the original disc.  Sometimes the movie itself is just too big.  The problem is that factory pressed DVDs are frequently double-layered but today's home DVD recorders can only make single-layered discs.  So, a factory disc can actually hold about twice as much as a homemade disc.  (Note, double-sided recorders are on the way!)

How do you overcome this problem?  Well, some programs will let you split a movie over two discs, but you probably want to go the cheaper route and force it to fit on one disc.  For this you'll need DVD Shrink which can compress a movie just enough to fit on a single disc.  It will also let you "re-author" a disc to remove the extras and menus.  The advantage is that the movie won't have to be compressed as much and will retain better quality.  In reality, you can compress quite a bit and not see any quality difference, though.

DVDs are usually encrypted but DVD Decrypter can take care of this problem.  It will remove all encryption and even the locality codes which normally prevent a disc from being played in other countries.  This program will also record your movie to a blank disc.

So, install both of the previously mentioned programs.  Run DVD Shrink and re-author the movie to get the parts you want.  It will produce an ISO file which can then be burnt to disc with DVD Decrypter.  Shrink will even automatically launch Decrypter for you and set everything up for you.

Since DVD Shrink is the most important program you'll be using, visit DVDShrink.info for good tutorials.  For other great information on creating DVDs, visit DVDRHelp.com.

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