I’ve reciently purchaced a new laptor and have recorded sound DVD’s but I can’t burn movie cd’s. How come?
A lot of software will allow you to burn VCDs. Is that what you are asking? Can you be more specific as to what you can and cannot do?
I would like to be able to put a movie DVD in my drive and record it on my hard drive. For my own use only.
I can do this with a music CD. I can also play movies on my computer but not put them on my hard drive.
What software program are you trying to use? You can’t rip commercially produced DVDs to your computer using standard Windows software. I don’t know about software that comes with a Mac but I’m pretty sure you can’t do it with their included programs either.
What missbunny said.
Just so we’re on the same page, “ripping” is getting content off of a CD or DVD (and storing it on your hard drive). “Burning” is putting content (songs, movies, data files) that you have on your hard drive onto a CD or DVD. (CDs and DVDs are two different media, so don’t confuse them. Almost any player, drive, etc. that can work with DVDs can work with CDs, but not necessarily vice versa.)
Windows (through Windows Media Player) has the ability to both rip and burn music CDs, and it can play movies that are on DVD (assuming your computer has a DVD drive) but cannot rip movies from or burn movies to DVD.
There are various readily available software programs that will rip and/or burn DVDs. Many commercial DVDs, however, have copy protection, which there are laws against getting around. (It can be done, but we can’t tell you how to do it here.)
Well, then would it be worth it to buy this software if most movies have copy protection? I don’t see much problem bypassing the copy protection if the movie is for my use only.
If I were you, I’d look into freeware or shareware.
How to rip DVDs (to a hard drive and/or to make a copy) has been discussed before, most recently here, and more thoroughly here.
Google “MPAA DRM” and the 360,000 resulting hits will give you quite a long tale about why what you want to do is so difficult (and most likely illegal). Blame the DMCA.
This thread veers into questionable territory, so I hope nothing I’m writing is a violation of the rules. I’m interested in something similar, so I’m considering buying a Neuros OSD. This is a device that can be connected between a video source (such as a camcorder) and a television and will record to an MPEG-4 file so you can, for example, watch your home movies on an iPod. The device costs about $200, but does not include any storage, so you need to connect an external hard drive or USB memory key to save the file. (I first read about it in the New York Times, which described the company’s open source approach. The device is based on Linux and the company actually encourages people to hack and extend it.)
Dewey: maybe I’m not understanding something, but why is it necessary to use this Neuros device? If the footage is on your camcorder and you have a computer, just put it on your computer. Then use any of hundreds of converters to make it into MP4 H.264 format (that is what plays on an iPod). I do this all the time and didn’t pay no $200 for the software to do it!
I also believe many camcorders can be hooked up directly to a TV and play the movies on the TV.
Or is this not what you’re talking about?
You could connect it to a camcorder or to a DVD player, VCR or DVR. If I buy it today, I’ll try it.
You don’t need that device to convert anything though. A computer does the exact same thing so I’m not understanding why people would want this unless they didn’t have a computer already. From the link:
“With the Neuros OSD, you can store hundreds of hours of video in one location (like an external hard drive), get rid of those bulky cases, put an end to DVD damage, and instantly access any of your videos with the push of a button on a remote. You can even transfer your video content to a portable device (video iPod, PSP, mobile phone, etc.) to watch on the go, or email your home movies to friends and family.”
It doesn’t store the movies; it enables them to be stored in a digital library, for which the buyer provides the storage unit (like an external hard drive). I can see the value if someone has many VHS tapes, since it sounds like it will convert those to digital; I think you need a piece of hardware to go VHS tape to digital file. But a camcorder or DVR or DVD can be put on one’s computer and converted without needing any additional hardware.
I just might be missing the point though. Not trying to tell you you shouldn’t buy it. 
Nero 7 is available for a free, legitimate download. I also had an email from Nero to download a free, legitimate copy of Nero 8 from them a week or so ago but it looks as though I have binned it.
As far as I am aware it will not allow you to rip copy-protected DVDs.
The critical point, which the advertising does not say, is it permits you to make a copy of any content stream, INCLUDING the copy-protected ones. The real point is to let you snag a copy of copy protected-DVDs or cable / satellite / over-the-air broadcasts. The camcorder used in the ad copy is a carefuly chosen safe example to hold the lawyers at bay. Yes, the copy goes through the anoalog domain and isn’t bit-for-bit perfect, but it’s plenty good enough for most uses, especially low-res portable viewing.
And it’s got a real simple UI that is more AV- than PC-like. Lot’s of people don’t really “get” having a PC connected to their TV & AV gear.