Is it legal to backup my DVD onto Harddisk?

Some Playon! DVR TV users have asked me this question. The short and simplified answer is yes, you can backup / copy DVD discs that you own onto Harddisk for your personal use.

After you copied it onto your harddisk, if you share it with your friends, family or upload it on internet…. then that’s clearly not allowed, pure illegal. Copying a rented or borrowed DVD to keep is also clearly illegal since you have no right to keep it.

For Commercial DVD, as long as you are copying your own DVD onto your own harddisk for your own personal use, the general interpretation is that this is “fair use”.

• Making a backup of DVD so that if your DVD disc is scratched or lost, you still have the movie / video / software / content
• Watching the Harddisk copy of your DVD is fine too, in other words your DVD disc becomes the “backup”.
• Interesting to note that Canadian law (we don’t know if any other country applies this too) states you can only watch one copy at one time – meaning you can watch only the Hardddisk version OR the DVD disc version but not both at the same time.

Here we are talking about Commercial DVD. For other types, other rules apply such as your aunt’s DVD home movie (ask her for permission), free for distribution DVD (says it all – free for distribution) etc.

We suggest that you keep ONE and only one copy of your DVD disc on the harddisk of Playon! DVR TV and from your Playon! DVR TV you can now enjoy your DVD discs without discs. Keep the discs in the cupboard for safe-keeping.

It’s a relief to hear you’re not breaking the law by copying your DVD to Harddisk? Ready to start backing up your DVD discs? Backup DVD disc onto Harddisk using DVD Decrypter.

** This article serves as a reference that reflects the common information in the community. It is not to be used as a legal reference.