I purchased the software and did not receive my license key, what should I do?
If it has been more than 48 hours, send in a support request using our support form with your full name, email address you used when you purchased and what registration service you used.

When will I receive my product?
As soon as your payment is received your license key is sent to you by email immediately (even if you have ordered the backup CD). You can download the latest trial version from the download section and use your unlock key to unlock it. If you have specifically ordered a backup CD (additional cost and only available through Avangate), the delivery time for the CD is the following:

I lost my license key, can you send it again?
In our support section you will find the option to retrieve your license key.

My email address has changed, what information do I need to send to have my registration information updated?
Send in a General support request stating you want your information updated and include: Name of the software, your full name, old email address, new email address, postal address, order ID, date of purchase.

I have lost the software, how do I get it back?
You can download our software at anytime from the download section. If you need a specific version please contact our support team and explain why you need that version in particular.

My unlock key does not work, how do I fix it?
Make sure your computer's date and time are set correctly. If your key is older than 12 months it will not unlock new releases of the software (see next question).
If your key is less that 12 months old, your system date is set correctly and it still does not work then you should send in a technical support request with the order details. If you are upgrading from one major version to another, you may need a new license key. Please contact the support with your order details and we will send you a special upgrade offer. Depending on your purchase date, you may receive this upgrade for free.

What is your upgrade policy?
Each license allows one year of free upgrades beginning from the date of purchase. After this year, you should contact us to receive a special upgrade offer, or continue to use the last working version. The version does not expire after one year. If you have a license problem after one year, contact us and we will provide you with the last working update for your license.

How do I unlock the software?
For older products (CopyToDVD 3 and BlindWrite 5) just double click the .B5L or .REG file and click Yes in the dialog that opens to add the license to your registry.

Note for users running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
You may have to perform additional steps to extract the ZIP file correctly:
- save the ZIP file to a directory of your choice
- right-click the ZIP file and select "Properties"
- at the bottom of the window click "Unblock", then "OK"
You are now able to extract the ZIP file as usual. If you have any problem, contact our support.

For ConvertXtoDVD, PhotoDVD, CopyToDVD 4 and BlindWrite 6:
When you use the unregistered software you will be presented with the "Trial reminder" screen, in this screen you need to click the "Unlock" button and enter your text key then click OK.

Why should I register your product?
Most of our trial versions are time limited. By registering you unlock the application, so it can be used without time limit and you can contact our technical support team in case you have problems.

Can I order the software on CD?
If you place your order with Avangate (not ShareIt or PayPal) you have the option to add to your order a "Backup CD". A key will be sent to you by email once your payment has been received and the delivery time for the CD is the following:

Can I buy the product with in a store?
Our products are only published in some countries like Germany, UK, Japan and more to come. Please contact us for more information.

Is there a functional difference between the trial and the registered version?
Most trial versions are not limited in their function. We highly recommend to test before you buy, to make sure your hardware is compatible with the product you want to obtain.

I want a lifetime registration and pay only once!
You should take a look at the goldmember subscription at our online shop.

Why is my burned disc jumpy, blocky, skips etc when played?
There are many reasons why the playability of a disc may not be smooth. The disc could be simply dirty, scratched, etc. It is possible that the type of disc you burned is not a format that is accepted by your player (for example not all DVD players read +R or RW media). There is a lot of poor and good quality media on the market and not every player will read any media. For the last two cases above a computer should be able to play these discs without any playback problems and it is possible on a different player the disc would read back fine, it is just a matter of player/disc compatibility. Some brands we recommend are Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden.
Another reason why a disc is jumpy, skips, etc. can be low burn quality. Burning at reduced speeds can increase the quality of your disc and make it more readable.
If your disk contains video and the playback is not smooth or in black and white, check to see that you have the correct region set for your DVD player (PAL, NTSC or Automatic) and then check to see what format you burned your video. The format of your video needs to be the same as what your DVD player is capable of reading.

I get an error "Playback prohibited by area limitation", how do I fix it?
Each Region has its own format. If the DVD was not made with the correct format then your DVD player may give you this error. Some DVD players can read both formats, for some you need to specify what format you want it to read. NTSC is for North America and some parts of Asia (Japan). NTSC standard is 29.97 FPS (frames per second). PAL is mostly Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South America. PAL standard is 25 FPS (frames per second).

Why does it take so long to convert my file?
Conversion time and speed varies from system to system. As a general rule of thumb the playing time of the video file is the time it will take to convert the file. If converting takes considerably longer, make sure that your system is updated, hard disk is defragmented, hardware is functioning well (not suffering from overheating), sufficient free space is available, and system is free from any virus, trojan, etc.

On my converted videos there is a message in the middle of my screen, referring to your website. How do I stop that from being put on my videos?
To stop the watermark being added to the output you need to purchase a license for the software, once unlocked all future conversions will not have the watermark added to the output.

I bought a license for ConvertXtoDVD but the watermark still shows when I play my DVDs, why?
Only conversions done after the software has been registered will not have the message (message is printed on video during conversion process). You would need to re-convert your original files as the watermark that is added with the trial version cannot be removed.

Why am I receiving access violation errors?
Access violations often occur when using an illegal version of our software. The program code in these illegal versions has been tampered with and therefore may prevent the software from functioning correctly in certain cases. If for any case you are receiving an access violation and you are using a trial or registered version, please make sure you are using the latest version of the product first, then contact the support team for analysis, and explain if you get the error under all circumstances or just with one particular file. Make sure your computer is free of any virus which could be another reason why the software is malfunctioning.

How do fix audio/video synchronization problems in ConvertXtoDVD?
If you have burned the result to DVD, see if the result of the converted file (before it was burned to DVD) has the same synchronization problems in order to make sure that the audio problems are not due to bad media. You may have to redo the conversion with the option "Burn result to DVD" and/or "Delete folder after successful burn" unchecked (in settings under "Burning" tab). Use the latest version of VLC (www.videolan.org) to watch the result. If the unburned result also has the problem, you can check "Don't check/fix audio discontinuities" (in settings under "Audio" tab) redo the conversion and see if the result is any better. If you still cannot get a decent result you can try to the get the file from another source; this might be your best option. If the file has been made by yourself with software such as Adobe or Pinnacle Studio 8 you may want to try saving the output with the original software in a different format that ConvertXtoDVD may handle better. Of course you can always submit the file to VSO, so we can test the file to see if a correction can be made to the software.

Why does my computer shut down or reboot when trying to convert a file?
This can happen if your system is overheating, suffering from another malfunction, or signs of being infected by a virus.

How come there are no subtitles on my DVD?
If you have added subtitles to your project but you cannot see them, press the "subtitle" button on your DVD player's remote control. This should activate the subtitles.

Why is there no image or video preview?
If the preview window is blank then you need to install or reinstall the latest version of DirectX. DirectX can be downloaded for free from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx

Why is the "burn" button grayed out and I cannot click on it?
If your burner is recognized by the software, but you cannot click on the burn button that is because your burner does not recognize the media that is inserted in the drive, or it will not accept to burn onto that disc (because it is not blank). If the disc is blank, make sure that it is the type of disc required for your project (CD if you are trying to burn an audio CD, DVD if you are trying to burn video, etc). It can be that the burner simply does not like that type of disc, try another type or brand of media. Making sure DMA mode is activated and that you are using the latest firmware available will increase the compatibility of your burner with various media (see manufacturer's website).

I get the error "Patin Couffin not present or up to date" or "Can't connect to hardware access layer" when using a product. How can I fix it?
Click Start > Programs > VSO > Drivers and click on Remove, then reboot your computer. Now do the same but click on Install and reboot again. Or you can simply re-install the software.

My files to burn are 4.38 GB (or bigger) and I am using a 4.7 GB DVD disc, why won't it fit on the media?
A 4.7 GB disc will only hold 4.37 GB of data, the computer sees 1 GB as 1,073,741,824 bytes.
The disc manufactures see 1 GB as 1,000,000,000 bytes. So for them a 4.7GB DVD disc holds 4,700,000,000 bytes. That divided by 1,073,714,824 (a real GB) makes 4.37 GB of real data storage.

You say I can only put 4.37 GB of data on a DVD, so how do I put larger movies on a disc?
Either you transcode the DVD to reduce its size or you use a Double Layer media, which holds 8.5 GB, if your writer supports that.

What is a transcoder and where do I get one?
A transcoder is used to compress a DVD movie to fit it onto a normal 4.37 GB media. Visit this page to download such products: http://www.vso-software.fr/dvdvideo.php

Why won't my backups made with BlindWrite work in other computers?
You should download and install EZ-Play (formerly know as Autoplay) on that computer. EZ-Play is installed when Blindwrite is installed. For more information please see: http://www.portmac.com/modules.php?name=BlindWrite6_Guide&file=EzPlay

CopyToDVD and BlindWrite do not handle encrypted DVDs. What can I do?
In some countries bypassing the copy protection is illegal, that's why we did not include this feature. You can try to find some tools to make this possible such as DVD Decrypter, DVD43, or DVDIdle. Please keep in mind this may be illegal and we take no responsibility for the legal consequences this might cause to you. Here are some products that may work for you: http://www.vso-software.fr/dvdvideo.php