We are constantly being reminded to back up our data in order to avoid the problems that could arise from system crashes and the like. Even the most conscientious user could suffer such problems. Several companies provide products designed specifically to carry out this task either activated manually or as part of a scheduled task. Unfortunately the concept of promoting backups is not one that is accepted by certain sectors of the market. To some, making a backup is regarded as an anti-social, if not criminal, activity and is the first step towards piracy. To this end developers use various forms of copy protection to stop users from making back-up copies of their legally purchased software.

While this conflict between the needs of users and the rights of developers to protect the fruits of their labours is an issue that will run and run, it is not the subject of this article. It is merely a way of introducing a product that sets out to copy DVDs – unprotected ones it should be emphasised – rather than provide general back-up facilities.

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The product in question is DVD Copy 4 Platinum from InterVideo. This software promises to allow users to “copy movies fast & easy…from anywhere.” Again it has to be emphasised that the developers of this product expect it to be used solely with unprotected DVDs and any content that the user holds the appropriate copyright such as would be the case with home movies. Installing DVD Copy 4 Platinum requires the entry of a 15-character serial number. Options are available to include Apple Quick Time, Google Toolbar and Google Desktop Search bar as part of the installation.

As with previous versions of this software, DVD Copy 4 Platinum allows you to copy and convert between various formats with the minimum of fuss. While ease of use and a wide range of supported formats were, and still are, of paramount importance, InterVideo has added some new features to sit alongside the product’s ability to copy and burn using a three-step process.

With the introduction, and popular acceptance, of PVP (Personal Video Players) units and 3G phones, it is not surprising that InterVideo has added support for these types of devices. You can copy favourite movies on to Sony memory sticks (capacity permitting) in order to view them on hand-held devices – great for long journeys but I’m not too sure about any legal consequences. DivX 6 and DivX Media formats are supported for adding interactive menus, multiple subtitles and alternate audio tracks.

MPEG-4 and 3GPP/3GPP2 standards are also supported bringing iPod and 3G broadband phones within the scope of the product. Whether copying direct from the physical media, content on your hard disk or from an Internet source (copyright issues not-with-standing), DVD Copy 4 Platinum has the options covered as you select the source, destination and format before starting the burn process. Compatibility with a wide of CD/DVD burners goes without saying as DVD+/-R, DVD+/- RW, CD-R/RW. DVD-RAM and DVD+/-R DL are all supported.

DVD Copy 4 Platinum was able to cope with all the tasks I set it. With its well set out interface, the program is easy to use and should cause no problems. Minimum requirements for this product are a Pentium III 600MHz with 128MB Ram, 50MB hard disk space for program files (with up to 17GB for working with various disk formats), an appropriate burner and Windows 2000/XP. DVD Copy 4 Platinum has been reasonably priced at £29.99.

http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/InterVideoDVDCopy_Profile.jsp