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I have three simple questions about rewritable DVD's, but cannot find a definitive answer on the internet.

I recently bought a DVD of the Warner Archive Collection. These are written on DVD-R (or On Demand as they say) and I have my doubts whether I received a legitimate copy or not. The vendor claims it is 100% genuine.

1. Can DVD-R's technically have copy-protection (CSS, APS, UoP, etc.) like "normal" DVD's?
2. If it is technically feasible, is there any possibility a movie company would sell DVD-R's without copy-protection?
3. If the cover has the copy-protection symbol



on it but MakeMKV shows there is none on the disc, may I then draw the conclusion it is probably not genuine?

It is complicated te determine the authenticity of a DVD, especially DVD-R.

The big studios do produced DVD-R discs. They do not have CSS copy protection. I've gotten a few dual layer DVDs and a small number of burned Blu-rays.

This is their "manufactured on demand" effort.

Scanning my notes: Warner, Sony, Fox, MGM, TCM, Universal have all done it.

So, there actually is no way to tell it's a counterfeit or not.

For items picked up from ebay, etc: it is hard. You can look for clues in the quality of the disc label or box art, but those can be expertly duplicated.

I had a bootleg where the file dates were way too recent, the dual layer original had been compressed to one layer, and the audio codecs were non standard. All good clues.

I've gotten DVD-R singles and box sets directly from Warner's wbshop; pretty sure those are good.

So, the DVD-R’s from the Warner Archive Collection don’t have any copy protection [CSS, APS, UoP) because it is technically impossible or because the publisher doesn’t bother to protect them?

It is technically not possible to have CSS on burnable media. I don't know what the others are.

The owners have calculated a trade-off: how much do we lose by piracy vs what is the advantage of keeping these titles in print (on demand)?

The ones I have seen are all deep catalog and classics. Probably an older demographic not into piracy.

wmcclain wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:25 pm

It is technically not possible to have CSS on burnable media. I don't know what the others are.

And there is no alternative protection method that works on DVD-R?

Like this?
https://www.protect-software.com/en/sol ... vdr-dvd-r/

Used by 4 of the 6 leading Hollywood Studios as they claim.

I just can’t imagine they sell their DVD-R’s without any copy protection. There would be no way to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit anymore. Anybody can copy a cover and write a DVD-R.

There are thousands of movies in the Warner Archive Collection.
https://www.warnerbros.com/collections/warner-archive

Would they just give that away?

Curious - what makes a "DVD-R" "RE-writable"?

It's officially "DVD-Recordable", so it doesn't have a re-writable quality. It is entirely possible to put copy protection on them, just not the type where a disk is manufactured with purpose-generated bad sectors, like was common years ago. That mostly went away with DVDs well over a decade ago.

Woodstock wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 20, 2024 11:30 pm

Curious - what makes a "DVD-R" "RE-writable"?

It's officially "DVD-Recordable", so it doesn't have a re-writable quality.

You’re right, I mixed things up. I wrote rewritable, but I meant recordable. My mistake.

Still wondering whether these DVD-R’s (i.e. recordable DVD’s) from what they call the vault collection are released with copy-protection or Warner just doesn’t bother because there is no high demand for them.

Anybody with a DVD from this collection?