Not long ago, we reviewed the basic version of Movie Clone 4, and came to the conclusion that copying movie discs is fraught with difficulties and pitfalls.

The main snare is that it's illegal to copy shop-bought discs of any kind, if they're under copyright, which most are. X-oom Movie Clone 4 Gold can't be used to do that, out of the box, anyway, which means there's not much point buying it, as copying unprotected discs (such as home movies) is possible with most disc-burning software.

That's not all, though. Coyly, the manufacturer points out that there's a way round the copy-protection: download a particular file from the internet and install it. It even, helpfully, tells you the name of the file, although not where to find it (which a quick internet search will remedy).

Movie Clone Gold does much the same thing as the basic, with one or two nifty extras. It allows the copying of discs to various portable formats such as one suitable for iPods, or even for mobile phones.

There are several quality settings and an expert mode, which allows for very detailed tweaking and even editing.

It's a comprehensive application for getting media onto other formats, but it's stifled by the fact that it won't copy every type of DVD out of the box.

Also consider
Roxio Easy DVD Copy 2 Premier
Good for those who want an easy-to-use DVD copying package, but it lacks advanced features

Intervideo DVD Copy 5 Platinum
A program devoted to burning DVDs, plus a whole lot more

All DVD copying software reviews