Best tool to rip DVDs with a foreign region code?

[sandyjmacdonald]

I've been using mac.jedi's amazing Automator actions to rip and encode all of my DVDs for streaming to my Apple TV, but I have lots of DVDs with foreign region codes (i.e. not region 2, where I am). Fairmount doesn't seem to like ripping them, and VLC no longer seems to play them either.

Any ideas on how to rip and/or play them on my iMac?

There's a separate issue of ripping some other DVDs (like Wall.E and District 9) with funky copy protection. I end up with a MASSIVE rip that is completely useless. Anyone got any ideas on this?

My current machine is a late 2009 Core 2 Duo (3.06) 21.5 inch iMac with 4 GbRAM and a 1 Tb hard disk, running Lion.

 

[aarond12]

Handbrake should work just fine.

http://www.handbrake.fr/

In short, if VLC can play the DVD, Handbrake can rip it, even with a foreign region code.

http://www.videolan.org/

 

[Futhark]

Handbrake should work just fine.

http://www.handbrake.fr/

In short, if VLC can play the DVD, Handbrake can rip it, even with a foreign region code.

http://www.videolan.org/

By working with a different region DVD in my MacBook Pro with handbrake will this use up one of the DVD Region changes of my drive?


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[sandyjmacdonald]

Handbrake should work just fine.

http://www.handbrake.fr/

In short, if VLC can play the DVD, Handbrake can rip it, even with a foreign region code.

http://www.videolan.org/

Yeah, trouble is that the more recent versions of VLC won't play foreign region code discs. This is my trouble.

 

[peterjcat]

Most Mac internal optical drives are RPC-2 region locked within the drive itself, so there is no way to play or rip them without using up one of your region changes.

If you're lucky you may have a drive whose firmware can be reflashed to an RPC-1 version; search for your drive model plus RPC1 and see. If you don't want to chance that then an external drive may be your best bet.

 

[sandyjmacdonald]

Most Mac internal optical drives are RPC-2 region locked within the drive itself, so there is no way to play or rip them without using up one of your region changes.

If you're lucky you may have a drive whose firmware can be reflashed to an RPC-1 version; search for your drive model plus RPC1 and see. If you don't want to chance that then an external drive may be your best bet.

Hmmm... external drive. Good idea. I'll try that. Don't want to risk reflashing my internal one.

Thanks.