Using Liteon DVD recorder to re-record scratched disc?
 

Just to be clear, the copyguard/anti-copy is an analog protection, an artificial signal error created to confuse recording devices that try to lock onto a signal. When a device is "hacked" to address this issue, the copyguard is not "removed" as much as it is simply ignored. The detection system inside the unit -- a LiteOn DVD recorder, in this case -- is shut off. So the signal is still there, it's just not being looked for by the unit.

Analog devices (VCRs) were truly confused by the error. Digital devices must filter out errors, including the false ones, but will halt when it sees a preset algorithm style. The problem is, of course, in that analog video is rather chaotic in nature, and random errors can appear very similar to the artificial ones. It's why so many people are told their home videos of junior eating pears at age 2 are "copyright protected" with a rude error message on the TV screen.

VCRs were not the greatest at recording, but home cameras were arguably much worse in the error department. So while you can get the same problems on TV recordings, it's more common on home videos. Copies of copies are really bad, too, regardless of original source (TV on VCR, or home shot videos).

Some copyguard errors were so abusive to a signal, that even ignoring the anti-copy signal would still product problems on screen. Even with the LiteOn hacked, some videos made by Lucas Films and Disney still cannot be copied -- even full-frame TBCs have issues cleaning out the vile crap dumped into the signal.

DVDs have analog protection and digital protections both, usually Macrovision and CSS. In an analog copy method, CSS isn't an issue, but the Macrovision can be.

With the detections turned off, a new copy is possible, but it will again depend on how damaging the artificial error is.

The only real way to copy a damage retail disc is to either

1. Buy and run AnyDVD (or the trial) and use ISO Puzzle -- more methods mentioned at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/show...a-bad-421.html
2. Buy another disc.

The analog copy of the DVD will result in degraded image quality from the original. But it may be an easier and cheap option, compared to the others. I won't suggest it, but I will acknowledge that it is an option, yes.

Even with an enhancer of some kind (what sort of enhancments?), it may still be a downgrade in quality, along an analog copy path, rather than the all-digital data recovery.

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So does a dvd player to dvd recorder loose quality because of the analog output of the player?

Yes, the quality loss comes from the D>A to A>D conversion. The analog middle steps lose the quality, mostly on the A>D step where the analog signal is re-digitized.

Is this "loss" so bad that this process is not recommended or will about the same loss occur if the dvd is decyped (if that's correct) to the HDD of a computer and re recorded?

It's a last resort only. You'll get something, but it's not the best method.

There is no loss with digital-only non-encoding copying, such as using DVD Decrypter to rip the disc image (ISO) or files, and burning to a new blank.

So that's the preferred method to copy a dvd, just rip the original and burn to a new blank...can it be just that easy...

It should be that easy, yes.

The only times when it is NOT that easy, is when:

• the disc is physically damaged with more than just minor damage (note that damage is not necessarily something you can see with your eyes)
• the drive in use isn't very good, or has aged and is weak

The drive in my computer is a lightscribe DVD multi recorder is what's on the face, is this good enough?

That's probably an LG drive. While not the best readers (or writers, for that matter), it might work.

Try it.

The worst that can happen is it just spins for a while and gives you an error message that the disc cannot be read.
--- Just don't let it do that for more than an hour in all (let's not burn out the drive).

Is the "AnyDVD" software that will remove the copyright from DVD's?

It's one of them. It's a payware option. I'd try the freeware options first, with DVD Decrypter or DVD Fab 6 in free ripping mode.

I have tried to copy a few (dvd-dvd) I know, not the best way, but the reason I ask is two of them say "cannot proceed, copyrighted material, and the other few let me copy them, what's the difference between them?

The analog DVD method was halted by analog DVD protection. unlike VHS tapes, a DVD has no "real errors" in the analog signal. If you're getting a copyguard warning of some kind, then it's because the DVD has analog protection on it.

Some TBCs or other "black boxes" that remove anti-copy from the signal can fix this problem -- others cannot. I don't know which model does and does not work here, because I almost never use this copy method, seeing how it's inferior to the disc-copy method on a computer.

2 thents worf...
 

...Until you're ready to place your full trust in the Admin that mirror imaging a DVD to a hard drive is the best way to duplicate material- A device that will circumvent most brands of copy protections (present on VHS cassettes or DVD discs, burned or pressed) is the Sima SCC-2 Color Corrector.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/foru...tor-pro-series

http://www.hd.ca/bargains/scc2.php

http://www.omegadigicam.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=55

This (and other like-models) came off the market when Macrovision filed a lawsuit...

I ran it through two error/macrovision removers and it still would not copy, I have a sima pro series color corrector, I ran from dvd player to AVT TBC, to Sima to dvd recorder and it had the "cannot record copyrighted material".

Is there a dvd decrypter tutorial? I did a search but came up empty.

Nevermind, think I found one.

Guide for how to use and copy a DVD with DVD Decrypter: http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/vid...-decrypter.htm

Followed the guide and settings and my dvd recorder rips it just fine at 10x speed to a directory I created on the hard drive, no errors but rips it as the vob files and there is no mds files when you go to burn back to dvd, do you have to create them? What did I not do?

The MDS is only required for dual-layer media. The MDS saves the layer break. I'm sure there is other data in there, but the layer break is the only important piece.

Was your source disc a single-layer (DVD5) disc, or a dual-layer (DVD9) disc?

Did it rip an ISO file, or did it make VIDEO_TS folders on your computer? You want the ISO image file.

Ponder that mix of info, and then get back to me.

I assume it's a DVD5 but don't know, do you need to check that for any disk you want to copy? And if so is that info gspot will provide?

It copied as a videoTS folder with the vob files inside.

Go to "My Computer" (Windows explorer), right click on the DVD drive, go to properties. How big is the disc?

5.89 GB size

That's a dual layer disc. You have to do one of two things.

1. Copy DVD 1:1
Rip it again with DVD Decrypter, and be sure to go into the program settings and enable the MDS file creation checkbox. When it rips the disc to an ISO+MDS file pair, then burn the new disc with ImgBurn. You'll pick the MDS file as the thing to burn. You need to use a Verbatim DVD+R DL disc.

2. Shrink Copy.
You'll rip the disc in DVD Decrypter, then use DVD Shrink to "shrink" the DVD to fit a 4.37GB DVD-R or DVD+R single layer disc. You may lose some quality with this method, it's not 1:1. How much quality loss is noticed (if any) depends on how bit-saturated the original retail disc is.

MDS create file box checked, re-ripped to folder I created on HardDrive, ripped with no errors, put in DL DVD disk, try to copy and there is no MDS file, did this twice, it is not creating the MDS file, even chech file extensions and MDS is checked there too.

You see filename.ISO, but no filename.MDS?
Hmmm....

Well, you can always just try burning with ImgBurn, and let it guess at where to put the break. There's usually not a lot of locations, and ImgBurn is usually correct.

If you play the disc, and it can't access the second layer, then you'll know there's an issue.

There is no .ISO or .MDS, it has the vob files and a couple of other type of files...like it just copied what's on the disk, maybe it didn't decypt....but it did burn using dvd shrink.

You ripped it in file mode --

File mode takes the VIDEO_TS folder, and all the IFO, VOB and BUP files inside of it. This is not what you want to have.

ISO mode create an ISO and MDS.

You know, up at the top of the program ... FILE, EDIT, MODE
and then be sure you're in ISO mode.

This is in DVD Decrypter.

Although DVD Decrypter can burn, you're better off using ImgBurn to burn.

Ok...I should have figured that out...

What is meant by "no reference position found" ? I thought the disk could not be played because dirty/scratched but I guess this is the reason it won't play and is there anything that can be done?

The dvd drive in the computer shows 0 bytes...do factory movie disks get out with nothing on them?

I don't know that I've ever had that error message.

If this retail DVD is copy protected, it may use a method that DVD Decrypter cannot understand. DVD Decrypter was discontinued several years ago -- the developer decided to concentrate more on the burning aspect (hence, ImgBurn) and not so much on the reading/ripping of discs.

Newer software, that can detect newer protection schemes, is DVDFab 6, and you can use it in the free "HD Decrypter" mode. Download it here: https://secure.avangate.com/affiliat...www.dvdfab.net

0 bytes is probably related to the protection. I can't think of a likely scenario that would create a blank pressed DVD. It's not like a burn, where you could overlook one or get a lead-in burn fail that goes unseen. A blank press? Nah.