DVD recorder question.

[The_Blunt]

So I just got this VCR/DVD recorder. I haven't even opened it yet,
but I have a question that I'm hoping someone knows the answer to:
Will I be able to take whatever video I put on the DVD off and put it on my computer?
Like as a WMV file or something?

I want to start making music videos of our games/practices as a hobby, but if I can't pull videos off of the DVD,
then I won't even bother hooking it up to where I play my games. So, does anyone know?

[sovereign]

I'd imagine that if you "close" the disc in the DVD recorder so that you can play it in any DVD player, you would be able to rip the DVD on your PC like you would any other... except that you don't have to deal with the copy protection.

I really like Auto Gordian Knot for turning MPEG2 video files (DVD video) into MPEG4 XVid/DiVX files. Great utility. =)

AutoGK website

[The_Blunt]

Alrighty...and a couple more questions:

It says it can record on both DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW. I know what the R and RW mean, but what is the difference between the + and the -?

And do MPEG4 and DiVX files work with Windows Movie Maker?

[Taco_assassin]

the rw means you can write and rewrite to it. those are nice cuz you can erase and reuse them. there's not much diff. that i've seen between the + and - for dvd's. i've recorded movies on both. And about the winodws movie maker thing i'm not sure.

[The_Blunt]

Okay. I guess I'll just have to hook it up and test it out.
I'm just really lazy and I didn't feel like wasting my time doing something that wouldn't work.
Instruction booklet, here I come!

[RaTix]

The main thing between the + and - that you need to worry about is which one of those formats your DVD drive in both the player and PC can use. This is only an issue for some older drives I believe. Like if your PC DVD drive is not able to read the + format (the newer of the formats) then your SOL when you go to use it. The + is the better of the two formats. Any machine that can + will read -.

[The_Blunt]

Well, my PC is virtually brand new, so I guess I shouldn't have any problems there.
I'm gonna hook it up and record tonights practice to see if it works.
If it doesn't...I might just leave it there because I'm so lazy.

[EagleOne]

Blunt just make sure you have a really good dvd ripper like anydvd or clone dvd and I Imagine you have windows movie maker so that is all you need. Depending on the dvd recorder it should tell you what format it burns. If you what to make a divx movie you will need to have the Divx converter program.

[The_Blunt]

Okay, so I need a program to rip the video off of the DVD? Is AnyDVD or CloneDVD the same thing as the "Auto Gordian Knot" that sovereign posted? Or is that just to convert it to DiVX? And are the AnyDVD/CloneDVD programs free to download?

[EagleOne]

No they are not free but you can possibly find a keygen. I don't know about that program soverign posted but this is the program I use to copy dvds. It removes the copy protection. Divx is not part of the package you have to buy that separate and you get that at divx.com. You may be able to find these programs free on limewire or bearshare but good luck. These programs will help you alot. And are easy to use.Me and Rdaug have teated alot of programs and these work the best. Nero is also very good and allows you to make a video cd with a menu but very limited editing. It is going to take a while to figure out how to make good movies. I am also recording practices but is taking a while to convert edit and modify the video since you don't have differant views and only yours.

[The_Blunt]

Alright, thanks Eagle. I checked out the CloneDVD site and they have a free trial so I'm gonna try that out and see if it works.
I've always wanted to make music videos so I might just end up buying the programs.
It's gonna take me a while to figure this out. I'm still stuck in the VHS world of record, rewind and play.

[RaTix]

Please don't tell me people are actually still using LimeWire and crap. Limewire is good for one thing, Porn, and even for that there are better options.

Newsgroup Reader and service
http://www.shemes.com/ Download/Install This
http://www.usenetserver.com/en/index.php Sign up here, well worth the Price (there are other ones as well. Each ISP has a news group, but usually low retention and not as much stuff as paid for ones)

Torrent Site and Prog

http://thepiratebay.org/

http://pingpong-abc.sourceforge.net/

Serials
http://crackfound.com/ (careful on this one, you might get some spy ware and other **** if your not careful and know what your doing...Same as LimeWire though)

[CHRIST]

i get music off of limewire easily

[Dioxin]

DVD- needs about 200-300 megs of empty space or the disk can be unstable. DVD- disks store disk info in the outer ring, making it more susceptible to being corrupted, since the disk is more shaky as the laser gets to the outer ring.

DVD+ should be ok on any newer dvd player. If you can use them, I suggest doing it. Also, Verbatim disks are supposed to be superior to other brands. On pro dvd burning web pages, people swear by only two or three brands. Burned dvd's do not last as long as burned cd's or store bought dvd's. Verbatim will let you get the most out of your disk.

If you need a really good dvd burning web page, try http://www.afterdawn.com/

[Dioxin]

Also, I don't think clone dvd works as well as AnyDVD, DVD Shrink, and Nero, if you're making legal backups of your personal dvd collection on your computer.