How do I copy DVDs to my Mac?

Question

Level 1

4 points

How do I copy DVDs to my Mac?

I have a Hard Drive video camera. I thought I would be able to download my video to my Mac but apparently you need a later version of iMovie than my G4 will support.

So I had to pay to get 2 years worth of videos downloaded from my video camera and burned onto discs. Now I would like to copy those discs onto my computer but I haven't been able to.

I get the message "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items."

does that mean the disc is protected? The guy who made the discs thought I would be able to load them onto my computer.

is there something I should be doing that I'm missing?

2002 Quicksilver, Dual 1.6 Ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.11), User is a dope

Posted on Nov 14, 2010 10:04 AM

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Answer 1

Niel

Community+ 2026

Level 10

743,693 points

Nov 14, 2010 10:08 AM in response to obbay

Use MPEG Streamclip and Apple's MPEG-2 playback component to import the VOB files on the DVD into a format you can use elsewhere(DV if you're importing to iMovie.)

(54848)

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Answer 2

obbay Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 14, 2010 10:12 AM in response to Niel

Cool!
Now where would I find the 2 applications that you mentioned? can I use either one or is it a two-step process?
thanks!

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Answer 3

Niel

Community+ 2026

Level 10

743,693 points

Nov 14, 2010 10:15 AM in response to obbay

can I use either one or is it a two-step process?

You need to use both. The Apple component provides the capacity to read unprotected DVDs, while MPEG Streamclip handles the conversion.

(54850)

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Answer 4

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Nov 14, 2010 10:31 AM in response to obbay

Another option is to use something like DVDxDV at http://www.dvdxdv.com
It offers a free trial version(s) and if you go with the regular version, it's not that much more expensive than having to buy the QuickTime MPEG-2 component ($19.99 vs. $29.00) and will be a lot simpler to use.

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Answer 5

obbay Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 14, 2010 1:23 PM in response to F Shippey

THANK YOU!
I forgot that I had asked this question for different reasons months ago. At that time I was directed to DVDxDV where I downloaded the trial version. it worked great and I forgot to buy it!

I just bought it and am 5 DVDs into the copying and saving to HD.

Thanks!

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Answer 6

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Nov 14, 2010 1:36 PM in response to obbay

The other approach (MPEG Streamclip and the Quicktime MPEG component) certainly works (it's one approach I use) but it's not very user friendly for beginners.

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