While DVD recording is currently a contentious issue, there is more and more demand for DVD backup software. As DVDs are vulnerable from scratches and general deterioration, sensible people are looking to create copies. In this article we will explain some of the problems you may have experienced while copying a DVD and offer you the software to help you do so successfully. The copied disc will also have the benefit of being region free, allowing you to play it on 'any' DVD player.

A DVD disc generally contains a movie, therefore we will focus on making a copy of a DVD movie. First we will introduce you to the DVD format, tell you why you can’t simply copy it and reveal the process necessary to make a reproduction. After that we will discuss some useful tools to assist you in making your backup.

What’s on a DVD?

Once you have purchased a DVD that you want to copy, place it in your DVD-ROM drive and check out its contents. Within the disc you will find several folders. Normally you should see a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folder. The AUDIO_TS folder is used to store DVD Audio, the VIDEO_TS to store DVD Movies.

We will be focusing on a movie DVD, so we’ll enter the VIDEO_TS folder. In this folder you will find .VOB .BUP and .IFO files. The VOB file contains the actual movie files. This is an MPEG-2 encoded file. In short, MPEG-2 is a method of movie compression, just as MP3 files compress audio. The file will also contain audio, normally found in a compressed format. This is an improved form of MP3, named AC-3. The .VOB files will also contain subtitles and multiple camera angles.

The .IFO files are the information files, used by your DVD playing device. It gives the DVD player information on what .VOB files to load and when - e.g. when to start a new chapter. The .BUP files are simply a backup of the IFO files and generally have no use, they will only be used when an .IFO files become unreadable somehow.

Let’s copy those files!

You would think it would be as easy as copying files to a folder on your hard disk and then burning them to a recordable DVD, but unfortunately DVD producers don't make it that easy. The files copied will contain useless data and your copy will not work.

DVD movies are protected by a Content Scrambling System (CSS), a protection developed and adopted by Hollywood Studios. It simply protects them from pirates who want to make copies to sell in bulk. The protection encrypts the data on a DVD and requires a special key to decrypt it. Some DVD playing software developers have received a key from the studios allowing their software to read the information, but unfortunately the studios don’t hand out keys to just anyone.

However the protection has proven to be weak and has been beaten by many applications. Most of these protection applications are based on software called DeCSS. Removing the DeCSS protection and getting the movies to a hard drive is referred to as ripping. A CSS movie may also contain a protection developed by Macrovision, also features on many VHS tapes. Software that is able to remove CSS, will easily remove this Macrovision protection.

Another problem you'll find, is that if you're planning to record your movie to a recordable DVD, it simply won’t fit. Currently DVD discs can only contain about 4.7 (actually it’s 4.38) Gigabytes of data. These are generally referred to as DVD-5 (4.7 ~ 5). The movie you have purchased might contain a lot more Gigabytes and many movies are released with up to about 9 Gigabytes of data (DVD-9). It is plain that a DVD-9 movie, will not fit on a DVD-5 disc.