DVD-Questions (for dummies)

[bighap]

Originally posted by rookie.dk
1) How good is the quality of a back-up copy? Is it worth watching on a TV, or is the quality considerable degraded compared to the original ( I would like the back-up to incl. comentary and pref. some extra features)?

Quality can be the same as the original or just slightly less if you like. Most dvds are dvd9, which obviously won't fit onto a single disc as is. You can either keep true dvd quality by splitting the movie onto two discs or you can use compression to get it onto 1 disc. Quality loss with compression is minimal to not even noticable.

2) regarding the quality. Is it worth waiting for the new generations of burners, which can burn dual layer discs. I have heard rumors that their are suposed to reach the stores very soon - do you know anything about this?

They aren't worth it. They will cost a fortune when they are released(1st quarter 2004) and it will require a new dvd player to play this new dvd9 media. As explained above, a dvd9 burner is not necessary for dvd backups.

3) The last question is about the protection of original DVDs. CD Media Worlds front page feature a story about SecuROM version 5.00.01. Do you think these kind of protections (or any kind of protection) are a treath to "legal" back-ups, or is there a way around them.

There is a workaround for all protections. No worries.