DVD ripping question

[jayhackett03]

i started off by finding this link... http://lifehacker.com/software/ipod/...pod-235150.php

in a nutshell, this link talks about how, in 2 steps, to rip dvd's and then convert the data so they will work with itunes and ipods.
i have successfully put the movie Elf onto my iTunes using this procedure, but i have more questions.

(random note: after the decrypter rip the dvd is about 3 gigs, but after the itunes convert program, its about .6 gigs)

my ultimate goals are:

A) to put my dvd collection onto my new 250G 2.5" external hard drive and be able to watch them on any computer i want whenever i want using Windows Media Player. this should not require me to use the ipod convert program, i don't think. but i need to know how to watch them.

B) to put my dvd collection onto my ipod, which will require me to use that iconvert program in that link.

now, i have 2 questions:

1) are Netflix dvd's protected so that they do not decode with DVDdecoder? i am unable to decode the dvd "Crank", which i believe i bought from Netflix used.

2) when i decode my dvd's with DVDdecrypter, it makes them into 2 files (audio and video), how can i watch these in Windows Media Player?, both on my computer and other peoples computers.

 

[Trashman]

Different DVDs use different protection and it's being "updated" all the time. If DVDdecoder doesn't work with something, you might try a newer version of AnyDVD, which is, flat out, the best protection remover and it gets updated all the time.

I'm not familiar with DVDdecrypter, but I'm guessing the two files are Audio_TS and Video_TS? These are DVD files and won't play on Windows Media player, as far as I know. They'll play with Nero Showtime, though.

How large is the "Elf" file that you put on your iPod? If it's one of those 400mb-ish files (or smaller), it might not look so good on a larger screen. I'd suggest you find a ripper that will rip to Xvid or Divx, and then use AnyDVD (which runs in the background) with it to rip your movies to your hard drive in Xvid or Divx form. Phillips makes some DVD players with USB inputs, too, and if you format the hard drive in Fat32, you can just plug it into the DVD player and access your movies straight from the TV. (The Phillips DVD (Divx enabled) players with USB ports will only read FAT32 formatted drives)

Also, Xvid and Divx files will play in Windows Media Player if you install the codecs, which are free and readily available on the net.

Uhhh....now that I think about it, doesn't the Elf file you put on your iPod play in Windows Media Player?

 

[jayhackett03]

Different DVDs use different protection and it's being "updated" all the time. If DVDdecoder doesn't work with something, you might try a newer version of AnyDVD, which is, flat out, the best protection remover and it gets updated all the time.

I'm not familiar with DVDdecrypter, but I'm guessing the two files are Audio_TS and Video_TS? These are DVD files and won't play on Windows Media player, as far as I know. They'll play with Nero Showtime, though.

How large is the "Elf" file that you put on your iPod? If it's one of those 400mb-ish files (or smaller), it might not look so good on a larger screen. I'd suggest you find a ripper that will rip to Xvid or Divx, and then use AnyDVD (which runs in the background) with it to rip your movies to your hard drive in Xvid or Divx form. Phillips makes some DVD players with USB inputs, too, and if you format the hard drive in Fat32, you can just plug it into the DVD player and access your movies straight from the TV. (The Phillips DVD (Divx enabled) players with USB ports will only read FAT32 formatted drives)

Also, Xvid and Divx files will play in Windows Media Player if you install the codecs, which are free and readily available on the net.

Uhhh....now that I think about it, doesn't the Elf file you put on your iPod play in Windows Media Player?

(i'll reply to each paragraph for simplicity)
1. AnyDVD, i've heard of it. guess i'll hafta learn about it.
2. i remember seeing the Video_TS and Audio_TS somewhere. If i open Windows Media Player and then try to File>Open a dvd, my option look s like... "VTS_10_0".
3. You are absolutley correct about Elf being 400MB "ish" and looking bad on a 19" monitor. hopefully it will look good on my ipod. so you say rip my dvd AND THEN use AnyDVD? i thought you said Any DVD was a ripping program? why are you saying this is 2 steps?
4. i'm not very familiar with Xvid or Divx. well, any formats for that matter.
5. The Elf that i put into my itunes with itunes converter after dvddectrypter, plays [poor quality] within my itunes. i have not yet put Elf on to my actual ipod.

i would like to have full quality videos on my external hard drive and whatever quality videos on my ipod. so, long story short...you suggest the program AnyDVD for this?

 

[jayhackett03]

update:
i just decrypted (step 1) AND converted (step 2) the movie "16 Blocks". everything went fine.

the decrypted (4G, high quality) version of 16 Blocks plays in Media Player Classic very well. The converted (the 668MB, low quality) version made it into my iTunes.

i am able to play both the high and low quality versions of 16 Blocks within Media Player Classic, but only the low/converted version plays in Windows Media Player.

I cannot remember if i could play a high quality version of Elf in Media Player Classic, i deleted the high quality version of Elf before i tried it.

what if i just ran AnyDVD in the background and copy/pasted a dvd onto my external hard drive. probably a stupid question, huh?

 

[jayhackett03]

now when i try to copy the high quality version of 16 Blocks over to my external hard drive it says i don't have enough space on the drive. Its 250G and i just bought it today!!! i have 247G of free space. wtf? i just decided to decrypt again, but this time put it directly onto my external drive. i think this has to do with FAT32 and the 4G maximum file limit. dangit, another problem, now how do i get around that???

 

[tiktok 22]

i think this has to do with FAT32 and the 4G maximum file limit. dangit, another problem, now how do i get around that???

Reformat your drive into the NTFS format. And by the way ANYDVD ROCKS!!! You also might try DVD shrink, DVD Decrypter and DVD fab decrypter. Super is also a great program for converting your files after they have been ripped. All these programs are free(accept ANYDVD).

 

[James S]

best, one step tool for converting your DVD collection to play on an iPod or just on the computer (or appleTV or other movie player or windows media thingy or whatever) is HandBrake. Newer versions run cross platform so everyone can enjoy. Can convert any of the tracks on a DVD to a movie suitable for high resolution playback from the computer or the perfect size to cram as many as possible into the available space on your iPhone. And no, netflix DVD's aren't anything different than what you'd buy at the store.

http://handbrake.m0k.org/

and it's a free tool too.

 

[Secur1]

Tools that i use:

DVD Decrypter or AnyDVD for decrypting.
DVDSrink if i want to fit a dual layer (9gig) disc into a 4 gig one for backup, as i don't want to lend out my original discs.
WinAVI video converter if i want to re-code a dvd into divx or xvid for use on my portable 2.5" screen media player.

All of the above are very user friendly programs, so you just need a bit of time to get used to them.

 

[jayhackett03]

Tools that i use:

DVD Decrypter or AnyDVD for decrypting.
DVDSrink if i want to fit a dual layer (9gig) disc into a 4 gig one for backup, as i don't want to lend out my original discs.
WinAVI video converter if i want to re-code a dvd into divx or xvid for use on my portable 2.5" screen media player.

All of the above are very user friendly programs, so you just need a bit of time to get used to them.

very helpful, thank you.

when you say you use dvd shrink to convert dual layer to a 4g size...do you mean a single layer dvd disk...or what?

does WinAVI convert with poor quality or something? is that why you only watch those formats on a small screen?

 

[jayhackett03]

Reformat your drive into the NTFS format.

i researched this with google. i found that i just type convert K: /fs:ntfs
and then the name of the drive WD Passport. but once i did this, it says the drive is dirty and cannot be converted. wtf?

 

[Secur1]

Volume is Dirty means there is corruption on something you have on the drive, or if you have nothing on it, that windows is being a PITA
Either way it's nothing to worry about.
Just back up anything you might have on the drive before formatitng it and use the following easy step by step guide:

Assuming that you are running WinXP:

Go to
Start
Settings
Control Panel
Open Administrative Tools
Open Computer Management
Expand Storage and then select Disk Management
Select the drive you want to format, by right clicking on it and pressing Format.
Select File System NTFS
And press Start.

when you say you use dvd shrink to convert dual layer to a 4g size...do you mean a single layer dvd disk...or what?

Yes that is correct, from dual layer to single layer.

does WinAVI convert with poor quality or something? is that why you only watch those formats on a small screen?

With WinAVI, as well with any good converter software solution, you can select the output format and quality depending on the end use. Now there is no point in making a high quality = big size encoding if your intention is to see it in a small screen. So you can adjust your encode accordingly.
Still you need to experiment between different codecs and aspect ratios untill you find what is perfect for you.

 

[jayhackett03]

i'm formatting my external right now. so, do i need to worry about deleting the autorun software that came on the drive? is that stuff important?

 

[Secur1]

No not really, but even if you need them in the future for what ever reason, you can download them from the WD site.
The only chance you might want to backup software that comes with an external HD is if that HD is a multimedia one ie: has a small OS that allows for direct TV media playback.
And again that's only if the HD doesn't have the above mentioned mini OS in a ROM chip instead of the physical HD.

 

[jayhackett03]

No not really, but even if you need them in the future for what ever reason, you can download them from the WD site.
The only chance you might want to backup software that comes with an external HD is if that HD is a multimedia one ie: has a small OS that allows for direct TV media playback.
And again that's only if the HD doesn't have the above mentioned mini OS in a ROM chip instead of the physical HD.

guess we'll find out in about 13 minutes...

 

[jayhackett03]

well, immediatly after the format of my external, it immediatly converted to NTFS. hmm, i was expecting to have to type that stuff in again in COMMAND in order to convert it to NTFS. oh well.

gentleman, by the way, thanks for taking the time to help me learn.

 

[Secur1]

You are welcome

Glad to see that it worked out for u.

PS: Following the guide i provided, you formatted your drive using the NTFS file system.
Windows file systems
FAT16 (old 16bit, now obsolete)
FAT32 (most commonly used 32bit file system with a single file size limitation ~4gig, i can't remember the exact number)
NTFS (Originated from WinNT for networks, thus the size limitation of FAT32 is not applicable)

 

[jayhackett03]

another issue:
i used DVDFab HD Decrypter (the free version) to decrypt "Crank" from the dvd disk. at this point it divided the dvd into 4 parts.

i found a complete file that is the entire movie Crank, but Videora Ipod converter is unable to convert that particular on to iTunes format.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Linky number one: a recent thread about this topic.

Linky number two: my DVD ripping guide.