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The question of whether it's okay to make back-up versions of copy-protected DVD movies is in legal limbo, but that hasn't stopped scrappy 321 Studios from developing streamlined software that lets consumers copy even the longest movies onto a single disk.

321 Studios has released a new version of its popular but notorious disk-copying program. The $50 DVD X Copy Express differs from the full-featured DVD X Copy, released last year by copying only the movie and soundtrack. It does not copy the menus, multiple language tracks, or all the special features now packaged with most Hollywood movies released on DVD.

A free 14-day trial version is available for download. This version lets users copy about 1GB of a DVD, or roughly 30 to 45 minutes of a movie.

Meanwhile, the company is scheduled to square off against its movie industry antagonists in federal court this week. It filed suit more than a year ago against the major movie studios. The company wants to preempt a potential ban on its right to give consumers a tool to make personal copies of DVDs and other materials covered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard Thursday.

Condensed Version

Meanwhile, 321 Studios is open for business.

The company developed the Express version because customers "said they wanted something with audio and video quality that was perfect, but they didn't like splitting a lot of movies over two disks," says Robert Moore, founder and president of 321 Studios.

Moore says his company has developed a patent-pending algorithm that modifies the bit rate used in the copying process. The result: The new software can make a one-disk duplicate of any DVD movie of any length, including extra-long movies like Titanic or Pearl Harbor.

A platinum version of DVD X Copy Express, which will allow users to include menus and selected special features on back-up copies, may be released as early as June, Moore says.

"That technology [for the platinum edition] is a lot more complicated," he said. "Express is a very simple-to-use product. We've tried to make it so simple that even monkeys could run this program. It is really one or two clicks and you are done."

InstantCopy Alternative

321 Studios isn't alone in this market. Pinnacle Systems has released another DVD copying product, InstantCopy, priced at $50.

InstantCopy users can copy and store just about any type of unencrypted video, audio, photo, and data to disk, according to Pinnacle Systems. Like DVD X Copy Express, InstantCopy can copy movies onto a single DVD, but it works only with movies that don't have copyright controls in place.

The product doesn't just copy DVDs. It pretty much copies anything--data, audio, and games, too. Whatever gets copied, however, cannot be copy-protected material.

"If it has copy protection in the software, we won't bypass it," says Brian Lane, a Pinnacle senior product manager.

But the software gives consumers more power to maneuver past some of the extra features found on many DVDs, Lane says. For example, you can copy just a single language track and gain more control over other content, including those pesky FBI warning messages and unwanted previews.

"You can turn off those restrictions so you can fast forward or skip any of that," Lane says.

Pinnacle expects to release a free upgrade on August 1 that enables Instant Copy users to remove selected video tracks.

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