"Ripping" DVDs

SCCutler

SCCutler

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Spike Cutler
No, I don't want to pirate them or anything of that sort. But, I would like to store a few movies on my hard disk so we can watch them in the Aluminum Death Tube on the way to/from Seattle (long flight).

I don't care if the quality is not DVD (I understand that), just be nice to be able to watch the flick with headphones plugged in.

Any tolerably-priced apps (free would be nice) to do this? Also, caveats?

Thanks in advance.
 
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Ive used IMGBurn at home for a few applications (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called). The price is right (free). It's pretty easy to use, I was using it to backup a data DVD.

I'm sure there are others out there.
 
mikea said:
The MacBook is too big. You carry the movie on your iPhone.
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Sadly, Mike, the iPhone cannot sync with our calendar and contact management system, so iPhone ain't happening for me just now, much as I'd like to have one.

Irony: The only "workaround" way to get it to sync, is to buy a copy of Outlook for each user.

If I was using Outlook, I would not need a contact and docket management system (although the docket system does vastly more than Outlook ever could...).

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Edit: But assume I wanted to put the movie on an iPhone: how would I do that?
 
SCCutler said:
Sadly, Mike, the iPhone cannot sync with our calendar and contact management system, so iPhone ain't happening for me just now, much as I'd like to have one.

Irony: The only "workaround" way to get it to sync, is to buy a copy of Outlook for each user.

If I was using Outlook, I would not need a contact and docket management system (although the docket system does vastly more than Outlook ever could...).

---

Edit: But assume I wanted to put the movie on an iPhone: how would I do that?
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FWIW - if you ever get a Windows Mobile phone from T-mobile (presumably others as well), they come with a license and a copy of Outlook on the Device CD.
 
Where is a good place to get DVDs/movies pretty cheaply? I just joined netflix but there are some movies I'm sure I would like to just have on hand and would rather get 'em cheap.
 
Spike--

DVDShrink works pretty good on a PC. It is made to rip the dvd and burn another copy of it--but I presume there is a way to have it save it to your hard disk for viewing.

(I think I've done it...DVDShrink saves the DVD to a VIDEO_TS folder or something like that and then inside your DVD software you can open a file in that directory to watch it)

You could probably reencode the dvd files to a better format, like DIVX, but I haven't done this in years. Funny how its easier to just steal movies off the internet then it is to copy your own, huh?
 
woodstock said:
Where is a good place to get DVDs/movies pretty cheaply? I just joined netflix but there are some movies I'm sure I would like to just have on hand and would rather get 'em cheap.
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I buy used DVDs from Blockbuster 4 for $20. The problem I've had is you get a limited warranty so you should make sure they play ASAP. One group I got was missing a disk. Good disks usually and you sometimes get the premium "unrated" cuts.
The other cheap rack is the local grocery store/pharmacy bargain table.
 
woodstock said:
Where is a good place to get DVDs/movies pretty cheaply? I just joined netflix but there are some movies I'm sure I would like to just have on hand and would rather get 'em cheap.
Click to expand...

The Pirate Bay is pretty cheap....
 
Not free, but I have heard that various products from Cucusoft will do what you are asking, with a decent track record of stability (read: audio in sync with video), and in a format that would allow viewing with a portable device that accepts .mp4 files.
 
For my money, uLead's Video Studio. Not free (~$70), but it will do everything I am seeing here and much much more.

Read in dvd and create .mpg files of each included title on your PC.
Has the most useful, useable video editor I have seen.
For rolling your own, has 3 audio sound tracks each independently editable and volunme adjustable (by frame)
Multiple output formats.

You can find it off the Corel.com site.
 
The Old Man said:
For my money, uLead's Video Studio. Not free (~$70), but it will do everything I am seeing here and much much more.

Read in dvd and create .mpg files of each included title on your PC.
Has the most useful, useable video editor I have seen.
For rolling your own, has 3 audio sound tracks each independently editable and volunme adjustable (by frame)
Multiple output formats.

You can find it off the Corel.com site.
Click to expand...

Does it decode DRM?
 
AVS is good stuff, Axe. Spike, did you settle on or try anything here yet? What were your conclusions?
 
I wish I would have known about handbrake before I bought Wondershare!!
 
CrashAxe said:
DVD43 will decrypt your DVD. It is freeware. www.dvd43.com
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This is what we have been using for years, but our old Windows XP computer just broke and DVD43 won't work with our other computers with 64 bit.

What programs would you all recommend (to very simple minded people) now (sorry this is an old thread ;) )?
 
alaskaflyer said:
It's nice but doesn't crack DRM.
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Of course it does. Not by itself, of course, but it invokes libdvdcss.

However, I found Handbrake an incredible pain to build on anything except Mac. It uses scons, so any adjustments require major learning session, and for what? And getting its GUI to work is plain impossible.

These days I just run VLC to get title and chapter numbers, then run mplayer|ffmpeg. Even that is simpler than getting Handbrake to work.

I am paranoid about ripping all my DVDs ever since my precious Tenchi Muyo OVA center-flaked.
 
alaskaflyer said:
It's nice but doesn't crack DRM.

Did I mention Cucusoft?
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It does if appropriate libraries are installed, according to the documentation. (In other words, it doesn't do it but if it finds the appropriate tools on your hard drive, it'll use them. It used to do it in old versions, but the authors removed it rather than mess with the legal issues.)
 
zaitcev said:
However, I found Handbrake an incredible pain to build on anything except Mac. It uses scons, so any adjustments require major learning session, and for what? And getting its GUI to work is plain impossible.
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Why build it? They have working binaries on their website. Waste of time.

As far as the GUI goes, that's just personal preference.

Most folks don't want command-line solutions even though you and I both know that learning those tools is better for the brain in the end.

I never push folks toward the command line, though. People who know why they'd want it, typically aren't the folks asking questions about what tool to use. Their Google-Fu is strong. ;)
 
I used to use DVD Shrink but it struggles on some of the newer DVDs.

DVDFab costs money but will rip almost anything. Between the two you can probably achieve higher than 99% success rate.
 
Diana said:
What programs would you all recommend (to very simple minded people) now (sorry this is an old thread ;) )?
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Well, we decided to buy 123CopyDVD Gold and it seems to do what we want, so far. We're still trying to figure it out.
 
SCCutler said:
No, I don't want to pirate them or anything of that sort.
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It's easier and faster to download movies off the internet than it is to take a DVD and turn it into a miniaturized video file viewable on your electronic device.
 
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