transferring vhs to dvd

rainbow12

First off, I hope Im allowed to post this message - sorry if I have broken any rules.
I have a load of old vhs videos that I want to throw away - but instead of having to buy duplicates in dvd format I would like to transfer these to dvd format. I bought a dvd / vhs combi unit and it wont allow the videos to be recorded because of copyright law - which is fair enough. However, I have read on the net that you can make a back up copy of your videos, which is all I want to do - I wont be giving copies away or selling them etc.
I have read that there are video enahncers you can get that allow the signal to go through but Im not sure if these are legal to buy or which ones actually work - they dont seem to be sold in the mainstream stores.
In the spirit of trying to save money I would rather spend a few pounds on one of these than have to replace my whole video collection!
Any suggestions of how I can do this / equipment to use etc would be welcome.
Thanks

superscaper

rainbow12 wrote: »

recorded because of copyright law - which is fair enough. However, I have read on the net that you can make a back up copy of your videos, which is all I want to do - I wont be giving copies away or selling them etc.

Still the same copyright law whether you're making a backup for yourself or copying for others. Whatever you read about backing up your videos is either just wrong or applies to a different legal juristiction (assuming you're in the UK). Even in America where making a backup for yourself is legal, you still must retain the original to make it legal.

rainbow12

Thanks for your reply.
I think it's wrong that I cant make a copy of my vhs tapes and have to buy new ones instead - what a rip-off! :mad:
But thanks for your answer anyway superscraper :cheesy:
Back to the drawing board I guess
Anyone got any other suggestions?

superscaper

rainbow12 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.
I think it's wrong that I cant make a copy of my vhs tapes and have to buy new ones instead - what a rip-off! :mad:
But thanks for your answer anyway superscraper :cheesy:
Back to the drawing board I guess
Anyone got any other suggestions?

As far as speaking legally, they're supposed to have the results of a public consultation on copyright issues due in April to amend the law. I know that definitely includes ripping CDs to MP3 (which is currently illegal) but I'm not sure whether it will go further and allow a "fair use" clause in backing up in general.

converse

I really don't think it's a problem for you to do this. You own the originals, and you don't intend to sell or dispose of the originals, you are mearly changing the format for modern times.

It's the same law that states you can't copy CDs to tapes, and essentially also CDs onto computer then onto an iPod. Everyone does these, and no one is going to be arrested for it, it's because the legalese hasn't caught up with the way media is used today.

As long as you keep the originals, there really is little illegality about it, despite what the actual "legal" text is.

You could buy a DVD recorder and pass the signal from another VCR to it and record like this, that's probably the easiest method. You can also capture them via a video card onto a computer and burn a DVD from the resulting file.

superscaper

converse wrote: »

I really don't think it's a problem for you to do this. You own the originals, and you don't intend to sell or dispose of the originals, you are mearly changing the format for modern times.

It's the same law that states you can't copy CDs to tapes, and essentially also CDs onto computer then onto an iPod. Everyone does these, and no one is going to be arrested for it, it's because the legalese hasn't caught up with the way media is used today.

As long as you keep the originals, there really is little illegality about it, despite what the actual "legal" text is.

But we still have to stick to the legality as far as the forum rules go and in terms of what we can discuss on here. Otherwise it puts the forum in a very liable position. Yes there is a difference between what's illegal and what's prosecutable but the forum rules are quite clear about no discussion of illegal topics, there's no mention of whether they have to be prosecutable or not.

converse

superscaper wrote: »

But we still have to stick to the legality as far as the forum rules go and in terms of what we can discuss on here. Otherwise it puts the forum in a very liable position. Yes there is a difference between what's illegal and what's prosecutable but the forum rules are quite clear about no discussion of illegal topics, there's no mention of whether they have to be prosecutable or not.

I think you are overplaying this. This topic often crops up here and is discussed.

We all talk about iPods and how to rip tracks in different ways, so how is that any different? Technically that is illegal too...

I think we need to exercise some common sense.

superscaper

converse wrote: »

I think you are overplaying this. This topic often crops up here and is discussed.

We all talk about iPods and how to rip tracks in different ways, so how is that any different? Technically that is illegal too...

I think we need to exercise some common sense.

But in the OP's context you're talking about circumventing copy protection. Ripping CDs is different because the BPI have explicitly stated they won't prosecute and have lobbied the law change themselves. There's no such equivalent explicit statements about transferring other media.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=3477012&postcount=14 there doesn't seem to be a paragraph about "you can discuss illegal subjects if it falls under common sense".

isofa

A search on the forums (e.g. VHS to DVD) will bring up many related topics for advice to the OP, such as: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=772011

If they are copy protected with something such as Macrovision, then essentially under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) you are breaching the terms.

If they aren't copy protected, or taped off the TV, then it's a grey area, like ripping as mentioned above.

superscaper

isofa wrote: »

then essentially under the DMA (Digital Millennium Act) you are breaching the terms.

This is one of the main problems that I think the OP had fallen into as well. The digital millennium copyright act has got nothing to do with it as it doesn't exist in the UK. It's an American law and has no relevance unless you actually are living in the USA. The law here in the UK is the copyright, design and patents act 1988 which is very different to the DCMA and makes different things illegal compared to the DCMA.

I'm making an assumption that the posters on this thread are UK based and so the only laws we should actually be looking at are UK laws. Nothing else has juristiction here (except for EU and International laws obviously). The number of times this law has been quoted to me in the past as being a UK law is quite worrying and simply shows how US-centric the internet is when researching things.

BritRael

isofa wrote: »

...If they are copy protected with something such as Macrovision, then essentially under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) you are breaching the terms....

This is the problem that I currently have.

I've just bought a DVD HDD recorder, and want to use it to copy VHS to it and then get it to my laptop. They are my own original videos but when I try to copy, some give a 'copyright protected' error message on the DVD recorder. Not watched 'em for years (but would like to), will not be selling the copies, I just want to watch them while at work (overseas, where I do not have access to a VCR).

So... is it possible to get around this copyright protection when going from VCR to DVD HDD recorder?

TIA