[Macworld]

Post your comments for When HandBrake won't rip your DVDs here

[JohnHowelljl8s]

Luckily here in the free world outside the USA we are still allowed to make personal copies of DVDs and blurays we own. We are also still allowed to curcumvent encryption and DRM for personal use.
And a ripped bluray still loads much faster and without all the ads and copyright crap of the original disk. Thank god for cheap harddisks, freeNAS and PLEX.

[chevyorange]

I have found that TVs app RipIt has been bulletproof when backing up my DVD library.

Of course Hsndbrake is free and I think I paid $40 for a bundle thru a MacHeist. Been super pleased with its simplicity even though I don't do much ripping anymore.

[ahasver]

depends on where you live. Here in Germany it is pretty much the same situation as in the US. BTW I like to make an image first with Ripit and then use Handbrake for creating the mp4. Never have problems with this workflow. (Ithink that is because Ripit gets rit off the copy protection)

[tennisguy]

If you rip a Netflix DVD and keep the file, you've still paid for it via your Netflix subscription. As long as you don't share the file, I see nothing wrong with this.

[himbo]

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If you rip a Netflix DVD and keep the file, you've still paid for it via your Netflix subscription. As long as you don't share the file, I see nothing wrong with this.

What's wrong with it is that you did not at any point pay to keep the file forever. That is called a purchase. The licensing agreement you enter with Netflix when you subscribe does not grant you the right to circumvent the legal requirement to actually buy any movie you wish to keep, and if you are not granted license to do it, that does in fact make the practice wrong.

[tennisguy]

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...that does in fact make the practice wrong.

Saying it's wrong is a moral judgement. It may violate the EULA, but that doesn't make it wrong. Let me ask you this: is it right that copyright terms keep getting extended every time the copyright on Mickey Mouse is set to expire? The laws are written by those in the pockets of Big Hollywood, for no other reason than maximize their profits. That IS wrong, and the public has a duty to violate unjust laws.

[Chris Breen]

tennisguy, on 25 February 2013 - 09:59 AM, said:

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...that does in fact make the practice wrong.

Saying it's wrong is a moral judgement. It may violate the EULA, but that doesn't make it wrong. Let me ask you this: is it right that copyright terms keep getting extended every time the copyright on Mickey Mouse is set to expire? The laws are written by those in the pockets of Big Hollywood, for no other reason than maximize their profits. That IS wrong, and the public has a duty to violate unjust laws.

This is a pointless argument. It's not a question of wrong or right because it's easily sluffed off with "well, I don't think it's wrong" and there you are -- nowhere.

So, let's classify it this way: legal or illegal. It's clearly illegal to rip DVDs you don't own. And no, your Netflix subscription doesn't make it legal.

[hayesk]

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...that does in fact make the practice wrong. Saying it's wrong is a moral judgement. It may violate the EULA, but that doesn't make it wrong.

No, what makes it wrong is that you did not pay the price requested by those who own the copyright. Much like if your boss only paid you for a day when you worked for two weeks.

[himbo]

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Saying it's wrong is a moral judgement. It may violate the EULA, but that doesn't make it wrong.

You can say "EULA" like it turns this into some obscure legalese issue, but we're not talking about some fine detail of your agreement here. It's very straightforward; you pay Netflix for the right to borrow and return movies, and that's not what you are doing when you make copies to keep forever. Your monthly fee would be substantially more expensive if the agreement included a stipulation for you to keep anything you feel like, and I think you know it.

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Let me ask you this: is it right that copyright terms keep getting extended every time the copyright on Mickey Mouse is set to expire? The laws are written by those in the pockets of Big Hollywood, for no other reason than maximize their profits. That IS wrong, and the public has a duty to violate unjust laws.

For what it's worth, I agree with you on this. The perversions being enacted on copyright law are gross. With that said, however, I find it laughable that you are attempting to use them to justify your actions. There's a vast gulf between petty theft and civil disobedience.

[Spongiereggae]

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the public has a duty to violate unjust laws.

Where do you get that, Thoreau? Last I checked, he's not part of the U.S. Constitution or the U.S. legal code. The public has the right to protest laws they consider unjust and to vote out of office those who support them, but breaking the law is not something you have a right or duty to do, except perhaps as part of your own moral code.You don't get to make that decision for the rest of us.

[tennisguy]

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tennisguy said
...This is a pointless argument. It's not a question of wrong or right because it's easily sluffed off with "well, I don't think it's wrong" and there you are -- nowhere.

IMHO, the moral question is the only interesting one. Anyone can read the license or quote the law; I'm not debating that. Why do you think so many people share files online? [Which I don't do and am not advocating] Because they don't think it's wrong; they recognize the law as written is screwing them, and they're thumbing their noses at the man.

I'd rather live in a society where people do the right thing, even if it violates the law, than one in which everyone sticks to the letter of the law while engaging all sorts of immoral acts.

[Chris Breen]

tennisguy, on 25 February 2013 - 11:31 AM, said:

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tennisguy said
...This is a pointless argument. It's not a question of wrong or right because it's easily sluffed off with "well, I don't think it's wrong" and there you are -- nowhere.

IMHO, the moral question is the only interesting one. Anyone can read the license or quote the law; I'm not debating that. Why do you think so many people share files online? [Which I don't do and am not advocating] Because they don't think it's wrong; they recognize the law as written is screwing them, and they're thumbing their noses at the man.

I'd rather live in a society where people do the right thing, even if it violates the law, than one in which everyone sticks to the letter of the law while engaging all sorts of immoral acts.

Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. The man with a sludgy moral compass and a misdirected sense of entitlement who hides behind the spirit of revolution. So, so very brave.

[NickS9quf]

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Luckily here in the free world outside the USA we are still allowed to make personal copies of DVDs and blurays we own.

We get to own firearms.

Checkmate.