Print Screen button enables HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc duplication

Recipe for RSI?

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

7th July 2006 15:51 GMT

HD DVD movies can be copied, and all it takes is the presses of a single button on any PC's keyboard. Well, lots of presses. Lots and lots of presses. Lots and lots and lots of presses.

Yes, keep hitting that Print Screen button and, according to Germany's c't magazine, one the movie's finished playing, you'll have enough screen grabs to reconstruct the film - illegally of course - in all its high resolution glory.

And in case you think Blu-ray is any safer - the c't guys tried the same technqiue out on a Sony Vaio fitted with a BD drive. The HD DVD unit was in a Toshiba Qosmio G30. Both computers were running bundled copies of WinDVD.

That said, it's a tiresome way to copy a movie, much like photocopying a book page by page. But c't warns it's possible to automate all that furious Print Screen pressing. Until, of course, Intervideo patches WinDVD. ®