This is topic Making a DCP from a non-US region Blu-Ray...possible? in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-03-2014, 06:49 PM:
 
I didn't know whether to put this question in this forum or the Afterlife forum so I just flipped a coin and here we are.

A discussion on Facebook led me to seek out the movie "Slap Shot" on Blu-Ray -- which I found, but it's region-encoded such that it apparently won't play in the USA.

So could I use MakeMKV and DCP-o-Matic to make a DCP out of this Blu-Ray so it would play in the theater?
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-03-2014, 08:51 PM:
 
The issues are more legal than technical. Technically, there are loads of packages out there that will decrypt BDs for you. DVDFab is the only one I've used in any detail: it works, and can certainly turn your BD into a file that DCP-o-Matic can then use.

However, my understanding (which may be wrong) is that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, you're committing a federal offense simply by cracking a digital video encryption system, even if you're doing so with the permission of the owner of the content you're decrypting. I suspect that the chances of your being on the receiving end of any legal action are close to zero in the situation you describe (i.e. you've booked a license to play the movie in your theater legitimately, and are simply doing this to get hold of screening media), but the issue exists, nevertheless.

Might buying an all region player be an easier way to go, and simply hooking that up to your projector or scaler via HDMI? You can get 'em for around $300.
 

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 10-04-2014, 02:27 AM:
 
Technically, just the act of ripping a DVD (which also contains a primitive version of copy protection) or Blu-Ray is a federal offense already, according to the DMCA. It doesn't even matter if it's from your region or not.

It's not an offense anymore, if you've got the explicit permission to do so, from the copyright holder. But yeah, you never get that.

It's a nice example of copyright gone wrong. We had a whole topic about that .

There are a few exceptions: Schools and libraries are exempt for example, they may legally copy a DVD or Blu-Ray without consent of the copyright owner and as long as it's fair use. They even can legally use ripping software. Every three years, parties like RIAA and MPAA join a formal hearing to determine what remains exempt and what doesn't. Time and time again they push for more "content control". This is how you're supposed to LEGALLY copy a DVD according to them...

But getting back to the question: Once you rip this thing to an MKV, the region protection is a thing of the past. So, this DCP you make out of it should just work fine, as nothing of the original protection will be left.

And like Leo already put it, the chances of the copyright police storming in are rather minimal.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 10-04-2014, 10:01 AM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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A discussion on Facebook led me to seek out the movie "Slap Shot" on Blu-Ray -- which I found, but it's region-encoded such that it apparently won't play in the USA.

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