InterVideo DVD Copy 2

Software that allows you to 'easily' copy DVDs has a ring of fantasy about it, especially when you're constantly reminded about the market pirate trade. However, InterVideo's second installment of DVD Copy is aimed at backing up discs rather than making illegal duplicates of copyrighted movies.

To that end, the software has a built-in copy protection that instantly recognises copy-protected DVDs and prevents you from copying them. For DVDs that you've created yourself, though, this is one nifty piece of software.

The method is simple: launch the program and a small menu screen appears with three stages. The first relates to the 'source' - the material you want to copy, such as a DVD or digital video on your hard disk. The second refers to the 'destination' - where you want to copy it to. The third and final stage is what format you'd like to use. Here, you can chose to create a DVD, VCD, SVCD, 'rip' the source video into DivX format or merge multiple DVDs onto one disc - a technology called M-DVD.

Although this product is aimed at those with recordable DVD drives, you can still get a lot out of it even if you only have a recordable CD drive.

DVD video can be created across multiple VCDs and SVCDs, which can then be played back in most domestic DVD players and DVD-ROM drives.

You can also indulge in a spot of simple chapter editing. This is great, as it allows you to select specific chapters from a range of DVDs and put them together on a single disc. Another strength is the excellent DivX compression utility, which can squeeze a 9.4Gb DVD movie onto a 650Mb CD.

DVD Copy 2 is designed for use with two removable storage drives (DVD and CD) but it can also be used with only one - you just have to store files to the hard disk first. Its main strength is undoubtedly its ease of use but £57 is quite pricey for a product of this type.

Contact: Intervideo
www.intervideo.com