Bootlegs 101

By Michael O'May

Its official, I’m out of shape. I spent the good part of today moving a sectional couch containing a hide a bed and a recliner into an apartment that had doors about a foot too small to allow the couch in. My arms feel like they are made of wood, the simplest task like wiping my ass is difficult, yet here I am typing away so you the lovely reader can learn the ins and outs of bootleg movies.

Lesson 3 - Do It Yourself

  With the invention of computers and DVD recorders making your own bootleg is pretty easy if you’re willing to spend a few bucks to get the proper equipment.

  I’m not going to go into recording directly on your computer because it’s still a pain in the ass and the average Joe can’t afford a computer capable of doing that. But they are out there and it is tricky so good luck hombre. Also I am not going to get too specific in this because essentially I’m showing you how to do something illegal. It’s a crime no one has ever been convicted of but I don’t feel like being the first. Having said that the fair use act states you can back up a VHS  or other to DVD if you own it, which I recommend because now a days buying a VHS is about the same price as renting it.

You need 3 things:

1. Your main source (example a VCR, a BETAMAX VCR, or a laserdisc player.)
2. A device called a Digital Video Stabilizer,
3. And a DVD recorder.

  DVD recorders can be expensive but you can always find a good black Friday deal or an open box unit at places like BEST BUY, which will save you considerable amounts of money if you’re willing to camp out at a store or buy a used piece.

  Back in the 80’s movie companies were scared shitless people would refuse to pay their insanely high prices to own a home movie and instead would just copy the VHS tape using the old 2 VCR trick. There answer to this was magnetic copy protection inserted into most commercial VHS tapes that the VCR’s were supposed to recognize and stop you from copying using the before mention 2 VCR trick. The funny thing was 90% of VCR’s released back in the day were made cheaply and the magnetic copy protection readers were left out. Fast forward into the future and we now have devices called DVD recorders that can not only tape TV shows onto recordable DVD’s they can also record from other external sources such as VCR’s thus making it possible to record movies from old tapes. The DVD recorders don’t skip on the magnetic detection, so if you tried to record a commercial VHS tape you would get audio but you wouldn’t get visual.

   The Digital Video Stabilizer essentially catches the magnetic signal before it makes it to your DVD recorder to fuck up your recording fun. Without the stabilizer your shit out of luck, good thing for you most home electronics stores sell them, Circuit City for example. Once you have purchased a Stabilizer all you need to do is connect the Main source to DVD recorder with the stabilizer in between. You want to let what ever you’re recording in its entirety, especially if you’re doing so from laserdisc, you will need a DVD for each side of the Laserdisc and don’t forget the extra features that may be after the movie.

  The recording process differs from recorder to recorder but once you’re done you will have a basic DVD with chapters. If you want more bells and whistles there are DVD authoring programs out there that will let you edit, add menus, the works if you’re willing to do the work. Once you’re finished with the actual DVD it’s not too hard to scan the original cover and make your own for an empty DVD case.

  In the end it’s a pretty easy process that can be a rewarding end to an extensive search for movie that is more than likely in a fragile state in its current format.

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