Dvd Rips

[oneandoneis2]

So I want to do a little guide for ripping from DVDs to your GP2X. As part of it, I'd like to have some actual samples of some well-known DVD to illustrate what I'm talking about.

So I'd like to know:

- Does normal "fair use" stretch to five-second clips of a movie being made available for download, or would the MPAA want me extradited to the US for piracy?

- Would ripping the trailers for the DVD, frequently available as a special feature, normally be OK with the industry since it's essentially free advertising for them, or would they once again be baying for blood?

Failing both the above, does anybody know of any films available on DVD that are either out of copyright or under a Creative Commons type license?

I guess I could write a guide without any examples, but I'd rather have at least something to show other than text. . .

 

[AireTamStorm]

The posting or upping of any content from any DVD is asking for trouble. As for the trailers, I wouldn't worry at all about that, they're distributed everywhere.

As for derivative works, its less black-and-white. Depending on just how much content you copy you may or may not be violating copyright. Usually with derivatives this is always the case, but not many people complain as long as credit is given where it is due.

Also, distribution of such content should be decentralized, (like BitTorrent) with a nice disclaimer saying that you can only grab the stuff if you have a license to grab it. No, don't try this with a full DVD (CLEARLY illegal) but rather derivative works, and the trailers.

Then nobody should complain.

 

[Hanz™]

- Does normal "fair use" stretch to five-second clips of a movie being made available for download, or would the MPAA want me extradited to the US for piracy?

- Would ripping the trailers for the DVD, frequently available as a special feature, normally be OK with the industry since it's essentially free advertising for them, or would they once again be baying for blood?

Yes and Yes.
Don't push it any further than 5 seconds or so though.
If possible write an email to the MPAA about what you want to do and ask them...

 

[abigsmurf]

I'd actually advise not asking, they almost certainly won't give you permission and that would look very back should they decide to sue...

clips are covered by fair usage though, but your have to say it's for journalistic purposes

 

[Chip]

Movie trailers (like commercials) are protected by copyright, but are generally considered to be "fair game" for open distribution. That is, the owners of the trailers have the right to go after you, but none ever has and probably never will.

Trailers make excellent test clips because they contain lots of action and fast cuts. These are the hardest things to encode. If you can get an action movie trailer encoded with good picture quality, you can be sure that any movie encoded with those same settings will look damn good.

 

[oneandoneis2]

Trailers make excellent test clips because they contain lots of action and fast cuts. These are the hardest things to encode.

Good point!

I think I'll go with trailers - they'll take up rather more space than five-second clips, but they'll illustrate the quality issues better, and probably be less copyright-nazi hassle.

I'm not overly worried about the MPAA myself, since I'm non-US, but I believe my web page is hosted under their jurisdiction & I don't want my site taken down by them serving notice.

Cheers all! I'll let you know when the page is up