Wasn't there some federal court decision last week, stating copying DVDs even that you own for "archival purposes" was illegal??

It was decided that software could not be sold to circumvent copy protections.

Considering the courts already told Real that circumventing the DRM on a DVD (even if you place new DRM to ensure it is only a single backup copy for the user) is piracy. Period. End of Story. Can't legally do it.

Thus, I doubt Apple is dumb enough to do the same thing. At most, I bet the import DVD is to import a digital copy available on select DVDs.

..but it still can't play Blu-ray.

If it exists, it will be to import unprotected DVDs, like home movies and such. There is no way the movie studios struck some sort of deal with Apple that would let Apple import movies. Although Steve Jobs is quite charming...

I am not 100% sure how CSS works but I am curious why a direct copy of the contents can't be made?

If the software to break CSS can't be sold, then Apple doesn't have a problem because iTunes is free. If this is the case then Real and Kalidascape have some ammunition to sue the MPAA and DVD CCA.

I can't see a reason the MPAA and DVD CCA would object to breaking the CSS and applying a stronger encryption to the new file.

Audioee, it is not just that the software can't be sold. It can't even be created. At least not without permission.

The reason the MPAA objects, even if the new file has stronger encryption, is because they don't care so much about piracy. They know piracy will happen anyway. What they care about is the control of the distribution. They saw what happened to audio CDs. CDs' lack of encryption has meant that the market dictated how consumers bought music. Turns out consumers want cheap single song downloads.

Why the MPAA is stupid is that they are resisting what the consumers want. iTunes is the second largest music retailer in the US (Walmart is #1). The MPAA should see that there is the potential for a whole new market. Preventing existing movies from being ripped prevents the formation of the new movie marketplace. One of the main reasons why mp3 players became such a hit is that people could rip and use their existing CD collections; they didn't have to buy their stuff all over again. If people could rip their movie collection, we would have a whole new industry of movie playing devices, movie distribution, etc. But, the MPAA fears a lack of control. So no (legal) ripping.

Those screenshots have been reported to be fake I'm afraid.

I bet $100 it has DRM.

@gimpy1... absolutely spot on, drm has never been about the prevention of piracy, its always been about control of the distribution channel and methods of distribution. You are right in that if you allow people to do what it is they want to do, then you can create a new market around that once a particular habit becomes the "norm"..

iTunes being "locked" to only ipods has more to do with this wish by the labels to "control" the distribution channel rather than apple's un-willingness to allow 3rd party devices. However apple being a hardware based compony (they make the bulk of their profits from selling hardware..) this iTunes - iPod exclusivity has served them well along the way..

I do believe that if indeed itunes 9 allows 3rd party hardware access freely, then it will have been a bigger leap for the labels than it has been for apple...

allowing 3rd party devices to use itunes will not be a big deal to apple as they've always been comfortable with charging more for their hardware over other manufacturers as they are happy that their products offer a better end-user experience. (i.e. ipods are better than most if not all other mp3 players) whether that justifies their higher price tag is another debate.

The same with the iphones, the "exclusive" network deal is more to do with how the mobile operates do business than it is with apple, apple are very happy that their phone stands up well against anything else in the market.

I have the same question. Why does the DVD have to be imported as a video file, why can't the contents of the DVD just be copied over, and played from the harddrive instead of the DVD? Does CSS prevent even the simple reading of the data, or just its playback?

...and can it play Crysis?

This is great! It will revolutionize the industry.

at hellwig

you can create a direct copy and then mount that copy in an emulator and play it as though it was a DVD however there are other copy protections in place that prevent your computer from copying a DVD in the first place.

its apple though....

Great! Now let's see them come up with an easy way to rip Blu-ray and convert it to 720p so I can watch it on my laptop! Something I could REALLY use

I had been using an extra tool to deal with my ipod. Its name is 4videosoft ipod mate. It can rip dvd and convert video for ipod users.

If the MPAA feels it can't operate if this software exists, then they should just stop making movies.

We don't know yet of iTunes will not be able to play Blu-Ray.


No, iTunes will not play Crysis (unless they make a movie out of it). I mean, software playing software? Crazy!

I heard ITUNES is adding a feature to end poverty and fight Brock Lesnar in the next UFC PPV

I'd still prefer using Aimersoft DVD Ripper to help me copy DVD to my iPhone. Actually it can rip all kinds of DVD's to various video/audio formats for playback on iPod, iPhone, Zune, PSP, BlackBerry and a lot more portable player.

Here is the step by step tutorial you may take for your reference:

http://www.softdiggs.com/howto/rip [...] it-dvd.php

Because the key to decode that DVD is written to the "lead-in" of the DVD, which is not normally read as data. It's not impossible to copy the lead-in along with the rest of the DVD and write it to a blank DVD, but it requires software and hardware capable of doing so.

Simply copying the encrypted data to the HD doesn't allow playback unless a DVD with the appropriate key is in the drive because that's where the playback software expects to find the key.

wow, i would like use http://www.pavtube.com/dvd_ripper

I have been tried 4Easysoft MP4 Converter
http://www.4easysoft.com/mp4-converter.html
It can directly convert video for playing on Zune, iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, PSP etc.
has powerful video editing functions including video cropping, video trimming and video joining and can convert other video formats to MP4, AVI, MP3, M4A, AAC,AC3, OGG, WAV, etc.
Really nice.