I can't tell you how many DVDs I have had in the past, that I no longer can play in a DVD player. This is mainly because they were dropped or scratched and are no longer readable. So I did some experimenting, and found out how to create backup DVDs for all of your favorite movies.
*Note* It is illegal to make copies of commercial DVDs that you have not purchased or own. It is also illegal to copy commercial DVDs and then sell them. I am not advising you to illegally pirate films, the advice in this article is for backup purposes only. So don't go getting yourself heavily fined by the government because you wanted to save a measly $14.
Before we get started there are four main components to doing this. Keep in mind there are other ways, but the way I will show you will consist of using these applications, MacTheRipper, which is free, and Toast Titanium from Roxio, which can be a little chunk of change but for which there are numerous uses. You will also obviously need some blank DVD's. You can purchase these at any place that sells electronics, Wal-Mart, Target or Best Buy, just to name a few. Of course finally, you will need the DVD that you wish to make a backup of. Remember, you must own it or it's technically stealing.
Due to the increase of pirating activity, DVDs are becoming more and more complicated to rip. Newer DVDs have little tricks built into their data that prevents applications from ripping and burning to DVD. A title I purchased, and immediately wanted to backup was The Dark Knight, one of the greatest films in a long time. As I attempted to rip it, I got errors saying there were VODS that were disrupting the rip, so you'll see not all DVDs especially newer ones, can be ripped.
So you have all of the things above, now it is time to get to backing up all of your favorite DVDs.
