Converting a DVD

donalh087

I'm a small bit stuck. I got a present of a set of DVDs from 2005 that contain every page of every issue of The New Yorker, from its February 1925 inaugural issue to the February 2005 issue.

It is on 8 DVDs.

My problem is my PC does not have a DVD player. I have an old PC with a DVD player, could I copy the files onto a memory stick and use that?

mordeith

It's likely there is some sort if proprietary software with a search function on the first DVD but the individual pages could be just single jpegs or pdfs. Likely you could copy those alright but not the included software. You could burn that ad an iso and mount it using a virtual drive but might run into trouble with the multi discs

VanHalen

In principle the answer is yes. Have you used the old pc at all recently? First thing that’ll happen is it’ll hunt for windows updates which could take ages to download and install and basically slow it down. Have it disconnected from your network before you do anything.
The next issue you’ll have depends on what format the newspapers are stored in. If they’re something like pdf then no problem. You may find that you have to run some kind of program or app to actually view them. On the other hand if they will transfer to the usb stick then no problem just load the app on the new computer.
DVDs are about 4.6gb each so depending on how many you will either need a USB stick with plenty of storage or repeat the process several times.

JoyPad

donalh087 wrote: »

My problem is my PC does not have a DVD player.

Just buy an external DVD player. It costs about 30 euro in Curry's or online. Attaches to PC via USB, as needed.

If the DVDs do not have any copy protection, you can use a PC with DVD to read the contents into a disc image (.iso or similar), which can be copied on USB drive to another PC and mounted by Windows as a virtual drive. However, this will not work if the discs have copy protection, for reasons we won't discuss here.

Atlantic Dawn

Have a look at the reviews here, don't think it will be possible to extract the files from the DVDs because of the obsolete format they are in, additionally it may not even be possible to play them in a modern PC running Windows 7 or better...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-New-Yorker-DVD/dp/1400064740

B.A._Baracus

A inexpensive solution could be to buy an external DVD drive from amazon.co.uk. I bought one brand new for 25 euro last year. Usb connected.

Would save you the hassle of potentially having to download dvd ripping software etc. Not to mention going forward, what ever pc you may have in the future, you can always look at it whenever you wanted.

donalh087

Thanks for all the help. Just ordered an external DVD drive. Definitely the most pain free option.