Ripping DVDs
Ever since the iPod first supported video formats we’ve been ripping videos for our clients. Often they simply want to be able to watch their home movies on their iPods, sometimes its getting video films put onto a central server, with or without ipod support.
Ripping DVDs is a more complicated process than you might think, particularly if you’re familiar with CD ripping in iTunes. It certainly takes much, much longer to rip a DVD that it takes to rip a DVD.
Ripping Video – an overview
Although a CD looks the same as a DVD, the structure of data on a DVD is very different. There’s also so much more entertainment time – a music CD will run for about an hour, a DVD could be 2 hours.
A DVD contains both sound and vision. A film on DVD might also contain a set of subtitles in several languages, a set of menus, maybe some additional bonus footage or directors outtakes.
When you open a DVD and look at the various files on the disc you’ll see maybe 10 or 12 files, only one of which will be big enough to handle all the data that entertains you for 90 minutes. Of course if you have a set of TV show episodes you’ll see longish files, one for each of the shows on the DVD.
The process of ripping DVDs involves identifying the key file and then using a DVD ripping program to convert that into the right type of file for your iPod or home entertainment system.
What’s the best DVD ripping software?
We use products from Xilisoft, and have done for many years. The programs rip DVDs very well, they rip to iPod and many other platforms, they’re as fast as any other offering and Xilisoft’s technical support on DVD ripping is excellent.
Xilisoft offer both Mac DVD ripping, iPod DVD ripping and Windows versions.
Free DVD Ripping Programs
Many DVD programs are offered on a free trial basis, but typically they only allow you to rip the first few minutes of your DVD. If you want a DVD ripping program that is completely free try Handbrake. This is free, and you can get a version for Mac ripping as well as Windows.
Why does DVD ripping take so long?
Whether you’re working on an Apple or a Windows computer ripping DVDs takes a very long time. As we’ve said already, you’re probably handling 90 minutes of entertainment. The real number crunching involves taking each DVD video frame, converting that into the digital format you’ve specified, then taking the associated sound clip, converting that to MP3 or AAC, then merging the two together. That has to be done something like 26 times per second of film. That’s an awful lot of computing. You can expect an hours video to take anything from 45 minutes to two hours to rip.
You only know the DVD ripping exercise has worked when you get to the end and try to play the movie. If its failed, and this does happen, there’s nothing to be done other than to go back to square one.
Best DVD ripping options
When you try a ripping program, Handbrake or Xilisoft, you’ll find a bewildering array of options. If the source movie is one you’ll want to edit you might go for AVI in a Windows environment or ASF; for Mac try QuickTime.
Then you can set the video quality at normal, high and higher. Similarly the sound can be converted at various bit rates. I would opt for 128 kbps, but you can go higher. Just remember that every time you up the sound or video ripping option you add considerably to the elapsed DVD ripping time.
podServe and DVD Ripping
We can rip DVDs for you. Our practice is to rip the main contents of a disc, your main film, rather than any menu structure you have or any other DVD video content. We agree which is the best data file structure for your purposes, your movies are ripped to that standard. The cost of ripping a DVD is £5 per DVD.
We will return your ripped movies on a hard drive, supplied at cost. This should be used as a back up device so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a second hard drive.
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Just imagine, all your CDs on your iPod. All done for you.