I am not a lawyer but I know that every owner of an electronic recording
has a right to make an archival copy for himself or herself. This
applies to tapes as well as DVDs. What is illegal is to copy a
recording without owning it.
The fact that it may have a copy-prevention "feature" is irrelevant.
In the case for Macrovision, early VHS players are immune to this copy
protection. If I remember correctly, it shows itself as a periodic
brightening and dimming of the video image when the tape is played. If
you don't have one already, see if you can find a VHS player dating from
about the year that stereo audio was first introduced for VHS or earlier.
Failing that, you can simply find an old analog TV with both analog
input and analog output jacks. Play the tape to the TV and record on
another VHS recorder from the output jacks.
b_s-wilk wrote:
A friend asked if I could convert a few VHS tapes to DVD. I've done
many, so I said OK. One tape he gave me is a commercial
movie--obscure, but one of his favorites--and it's never been released
as a DVD. It has Macrovision.
Is there a legal way to do this conversion without buying expensive
equipment like EyeTV? It's for a tape that he bought for his own use
and wants to convert to a newer format for his own use. So far, our
JVC VCR to Samsung DVD recorder doesn't work. We also have a cheap
Philips VCR, a pro model Panasonic SVHS PV-S4990, and a VHS camcorder
ca. 1985, and Canon Elura DV camcorder that we will try.
Help! Did this issue fall through the cracks of the DMCA?
Betty
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