Your Home Videos Are at Risk

DVD - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If I have a DVD burner in my computer, can I make DVD copies myself?

As long as you have the appropriate software, yes.

WARNING: Here are the most common problems you need to be aware of that have actually happened to people who have duplicated DVDs.

A. They used the wrong format of DVD and it won't play in some players.

B. They use cheap blank DVDs that start falling apart within a few years.

C. Most people who make their own DVD copies have been using press-on labels

If the labels are not perfectly centered on the disc, the DVD will be unbalanced, causing it to "wobble" during playback. This can lead to read errors by the DVD player that may keep the disc from playing correctly.
Labels make the disc thicker than a normal DVD and some DVD players, like the ones in laptop computers, don't have enough room for the extra thickness and the disc will get stuck in the player with the disc being unable to spin, rendering it unreadable. There's also a possibility of damaging the disc when you attempt to remove it from the player.
After several plays, some labels have started to separate from the disc. Since the disc spins at several hundred RPMs (revolutions per minute), the label may separate even more while spinning inside the player. This increases the possibility of the label getting snagged inside the DVD player. If this happens, it will not only ruin the disc, but could damage the DVD player as well. Sometimes, just the separation of the label from the disc can cause the disc to become unreadable by a DVD player. Once a DVD is damaged, there is no way to fix it.

D. Some people choose to use a marker to label their DVDs. The chemicals in markers have actually reacted with the materials in some discs causing the materials in the disc to break down to the point of becoming unreadable in a DVD player. For this reason, WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE THE USE OF MARKERS ON THE FACE OF DVDs and CDs.

Can I edit the video from the DVD?

If you were to take one of your movie DVDs and put it into your computer and look at the file directory, you would see several folders. Within these folders you'd find files containing the extension suffix of .VOB designating their file types as VOB files. Unfortunately, most editing programs do not recognize these file types and don't know what to do with them. If your editing software program doesn't recognize these file types, then you won't be able to edit the video directly from the disc. If you have the ability to connect a DVD player to your computer and capture the footage while the DVD is playing, then you could edit the video using this method to import the video footage into your computer.

What if the DVD-R disc won't play in my DVD player?

If you happen to have one of the few DVD players that won't play a DVD-R disc, then you may want to consider purchasing a new DVD player that does. They can easily be found for less than $50. It makes the most sense to use a DVD format that is compatible with the most brands and models of DVD players and you should have a player that is compatible with this format.

Your Home Videos Are at Risk

Watch NBC 7/39's news story to find out why.

DVD - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If I have a DVD burner in my computer, can I make DVD copies myself?

Can I edit the video from the DVD?

What if the DVD-R disc won't play in my DVD player?