--- Forwarded Message from Judy Shoaf <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:41:05 -0400
>From: Judy Shoaf <[log in to unmask]>
>User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.9 (Windows/20071031)
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum   
<[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #8970.1 Video clips
>References: <[log in to unmask]>
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>


 > So is it circumventing the coding to take the analog output of a DVD 
player
 > and send it to a digital media converter to capture the video with or
 > without subtitles?  I know the quality is slightly lower but by the 
time you
 > compress it it shouldn't make any difference.-- Tom Browne

The encoding in question is installed to prevent copying (or, in the 
case of regional encoding, to prevent its being played on a different 
region player. I believe the anti-copying encoding is called RSS. In 
order to "rip" a clip from a disk with RSS, one needs a program or 
player which circumvents the anti-copying/regional code. It is not 
difficult to do this but it is illegal.

The ruling allowing film and media instructors to circumvent these codes 
implies that the act of creating a short clip for classroom use 
(face-to-face teaching) from a piece of media that does *not* have this 
encoding is legal.

That is to say, the reformatting necessary to make a video clip from a 
VHS or DVD falls under fair use. As you note, the original will look 
better, but sometimes clips are more convenient.

I should add that some DVD companies on the videolibrarians' list 
(notably Kino) think it is fine to make a clip from their videos for 
classroom use, whether or not it involves circumventing a RSS code.

Judy Shoaf


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