Best DVD Ripper for PC iTunes?

[explanade]

Millions of people have ripped DVDs and Blu Rays.

They're not going to know, unless they somehow get your hard drive and compare to your disc collection.

Only way they would know is if you file-share it. They hire consultants to find the IP address of people sharing copyright content and they will try to make examples of some egregious offenders.

They come up with some kind of trumped figures for economic damages in those cases.

But even then, the pirating is so widespread that they can only hope to target a small percentage, again to try to grab headlines and make examples out of them.

I've ripped maybe one or two DVDs, just to play around with it. I don't bother to load movies on my mobile devices. I did used to have a couple, thinking I'd watch them on flights or on vacations. Never did, so deleted them.

More useful would be transferring recordings from my DVR to my devices but they made that tough. And any law that says you have no right to place-shift or device-shift is bankrupt and I will not have the slightest sense of guilt in doing it.

That said, it's practically impossible to copy the DVR recordings outside of what they allow (most TV shows can be downloaded from my Tivo to my iPad's Tivo app but most premium shows from HBO and Showtime can't be but I'm okay with that because they provide apps. that let me stream any of their shows, just a hassle to switch apps for different shows).

I also have a cheap Slingbox imitation that lets me stream shows from my DVR by capturing the component video (analog output) instead of the digital HDMI output. In that case, I can capture any content on my DVR including premium content.

I have absolutely no guilt about doing this. I pay good money for premium channels. Now when I cut the cord, I won't be able to do this but until then, I'm paying for the content.

Or if I buy box sets, I won't have any moral issue ripping them to put on my mobile devices, if that turns out to be a more convenient way to view these expensive discs.

The networks would like you to pay for the subscription, pay for the box sets and pay for digital downloads for the mobile devices. That has nothing to do with morality or protecting the artists. It's about maximizing revenues.

 

[Dimsumkid]

This guy has decided to test the system re:copyright violations. Apparently, he figured no rules apply to him starting w/failing to yield to an ambulance. I caught this story on CBS local news last night and they mentioned he had many current still at the theaters hits on DVD ready for sale.

Traffic stop leads to bootleg DVD bust - chicagotribune.com

 

[Midpack]

The networks would like you to pay for the subscription, pay for the box sets and pay for digital downloads for the mobile devices. That has nothing to do with morality or protecting the artists. It's about maximizing revenues.

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that it's about anything other than "maximizing revenues" for the industry. If any industry feels threatened with a revenue decline of 50% (like music), they would also seek to protect/maximize revenue!

However, morality and protecting artists are two different things. Given how things played out for the music industry, where artists and the music industry have clearly been financially harmed, it's no surprise at all the other content industries (TV, movies, DVDs, etc.) are doing everything they can to defend their status quo.

The battle between physical books and eBooks is another facet...

 

[explanade]

Is there evidence that TV and movies are seeing declines in sales, revenues, profits?

There certainly was for the music business even back in the days of Napster.

 

[Midpack]

Is there evidence that TV and movies are seeing declines in sales, revenues, profits? They're understandably trying to be proactive and avoid the same fate as music. If they wait for a decline, it'll probably be too late...

There certainly was for the music business even back in the days of Napster. Not sure what your point is here. Many say Napster was the main catalyst that began the decline for the music industry. Napster made it's debut in 1999, look at the chart above with that year in mind.

 

[MichaelB]

Interesting OpEd in the NY Times this morning http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/opinion/how-to-define-fair-use.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
A snippet

The complex and intricate rules of copyright law increasingly become a trap for the unwary, now that computers automatically make copies (often just temporarily) of all the data they process, from DVDs to MP3s to web pages. (A reader viewing this letter on nytimes.com is making a reproduction of this copyrighted work.)

Fair use is, among other things, an essential safety valve that prevents the law from making infringers of us all.

The last line is a view I'd not seen expressed 'til now and coincides with some of the views in this thread. Food for thought...

 

[explanade]

The mere act of ripping DVDs does not threaten sales or the business model.

It's sharing that causes people to not go to the movies, stop subscribing to cable, etc.

These businesses are not suffering. There is cord-cutting momentum and subscriber churn but Comcast and others are in good shape, buying both content and other cable companies.

Pirating movies is much harder because of the size of the files involved. Plus, movies and TVs are priced better. You can often get Blu-Rays of movies under $10 a year or so after initial release to video.

I got the first 4 seasons of Mad Men on Blu Ray for less than $9 each.

Record companies charge $15 or more for CDs, which would take maybe a couple of minutes to download?

Big difference.