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Hi, I've just discovered torrents. After many hours of trying, I was finally successful in downloading a movie and my ultimate goal is to save it on a dvd. I've downloaded cd burning s/w but when I try to burn it, I get a message that there is no disc in the drive. (Someone told me that I need a special disc called minus R? or maybe it was minus W)

Anyway, I guess my real question is, how legal is all of this movie torrent stuff? Maybe I shouldn't even be trying to download (upload?) movies. (I'm afraid I'm a bit naive about some things.) I've come across some web sites that insist everything's on the up and up, but maybe they protest too much?

Finally, I'd just like to add that my motivation to learn this isn't just because I'm too cheap to buy the dvd. I just love learning about the internet and all it has to offer.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by PhilliePhan

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A short, practical summary that follows the thread: discovered BitTorrent and wants to burn a downloaded movie to DVD; correctly called out forum rules and warned about malware. Legally, downloading or distributing movies without the copyright owner’s permission is an infringement under U.S. law and carries civil and (in some cases) criminal penalties; statutory damages and criminal-sentencing rules are set at significant levels. (copyright.gov)

Security and privacy risks go beyond legality. Torrent swarms expose IP addresses and many pirate sites or fake torrents carry malware, adware, or credential-stealing payloads. Copyright “troll” monitoring of swarms has produced settlement letters in the past. Treat torrents as high-risk unless the content is explicitly public-domain or permissively licensed. (safetydetectives.com)

The “minus R” confusion is common: recordable discs are labeled DVD‑R (dash) and DVD+R (plus); most modern drives accept both but older standalone players tended to favor DVD‑R. Single-layer discs hold ~4.7 GB; dual-layer ~8.5 GB. A playable DVD is not just a copied MP4 — it must be authored into DVD‑Video (VIDEO_TS/IFO/BUP/VOB) or created as an ISO and then burned. Typical, reliable workflow on Windows: convert/author to DVD‑Video (tools such as DVD Flick or other authoring apps), then burn with a tool that finalizes the disc (ImgBurn is commonly used, but be careful with downloads). If a burner reports “no disc in drive,” common checks are:

  • confirm the disc is blank and writable (DVD‑R/RW, DVD+R/RW) and supported by the drive;
  • try a different brand and a lower burn speed (4x);
  • close/uninstall other burning utilities that install drivers/filter drivers;
  • author the files as DVD‑Video (VIDEO_TS) rather than copying a single movie file. (digitalfaq.com)

Safer, legal alternatives: buy/rent/stream from authorized services or use public-domain sources (Internet Archive, legitimate indie releases). For hobby learning, experiment with freely licensed media or Linux ISOs via torrents instead of copyrighted movies. (copyright.gov)

Member Avatar for PhilliePhan

Anyway, I guess my real question is, how legal is all of this movie torrent stuff? Maybe I shouldn't even be trying to download (upload?) movies.

It is not legal and in violation of our forum rules to discuss/aid/abet copyright infringement and piracy. Sorry :)

I would suggest staying away from torrents for the simple reason that it is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your computer infected with malware. Think about how torrents work and to what you are exposing your computer.....

PP:)

Edited by PhilliePhan because: Spelling
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