Created on 2/6/08
I've plucked a lot of good info from various forums, so I thought I would give back with my $.02 and hopefully help someone else...
Goal:
Migrate/Backup my collection of DVD's (~300 discs) to Itunes so that the movies would be playable on our shiny new Apple TV. Full collection of encoded movies resides on a wireless-g networked PC running Itunes with an external USB 500GB drive. Encoding is done balancing quality AND file size (slight emphasis on quality).
Step 1: Rip DVD with "DVDFab HD Decrypter 4.0.5.5 (Jan 23, 2008)" (free)
- Download at http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm and install.
- Insert DVD, run Decrypter program.
- Select "Main Movie"
- Use common sense to verify it correctly identified the full movie and has your language of preference selected. (use "play time", "aspect ratio", and description to make this determination)
- OPTIONAL: Uncheck any audio tracks you do not want to minimize file size.
- Click "Start", and wait for 10 to 30 minutes as DVD is ripped to target directory.
Step 2: Encode DVD VOB files into smaller H.264 file with "Nero Recode 3" (part of Nero 8 - $80)
- Download at http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero8-trial.php and install.
- Run "Nero StartSmart", then launch "Nero Recode"
- Select "Recode DVDs and Videos to Nero Digital" (Nero Digital is H.264)
- Select "Import Files", navigate to the Ripped DVD from Step 1, and click "Add Title"
- Select "Close" (Multiple rips can be selected before closing for batch processing)
- Select a movie, then use the following settings - each movie has to be configured this way one at a time (If not mentioned here, leave at default):
- Select "Next", then "Burn". A 2hr movie typically takes about 3.5hrs to encode on my AMD64 3800 dual core machine, and ends up at about 2GB file size.
* Step 2 Commentary:
I typically will rip 5 or 6 DVD's before batch encoding them all at once. I start the encoding right before bed, and let it work through the next day until I return home from work. I'll come home to 5 or 6 encoded movies ready to add to Itunes!
I know some of you will balk at the $80 Nero price, but it's actually fairly reasonable for what you get (and cheap compared to the value of 300 DVDs). The download has a 15 day evaluation period so you can see if you like it before buying.
Step 3: Add encoded movies to Itunes Library:
- Open Itunes
- Select File, "Add file to Library", and select encoded Movies.
Step 4: Add DVD artwork and info to encoded movies
- Go to http://www.findmycover.com/ and download artwork of your choice for your movies.
- From inside Itunes, Right click on a movie file and select "Get Info".
- Enter as much data as you want on the "Info" tab. (I only enter "Name")
- Select the downloaded art file in the "Artwork" tab.
That's it... Following this procedure gives me Movies in Itunes & Apple TV with viewable name and artwork. The movies play well on the PC and Apple TV. I currently have the ATV playing through a 32" 720p LCD and can only tell a VERY slight quality difference between the encoded movie and source DVD.... your mileage may vary. I've transfered about 40 DVDs this way so far with 100% success rate. Audio sounds great through the TV's 2 speakers (HDMI connection), but I have not tested to see if Dolby 5.1 would work if I used the optical output.....feel free to chime in with your experience.
All movies work great so far streaming to the ATV with only ~5 sec of buffering and no stuttering. I've not been motivated to synch any since the Itunes PC runs 24/7.
Apologies in advance if I've mistakenly omitted a step or setting.... Please reply with successes/failures or alternative/improvement suggestions if you have any.
Good luck,
William
I've plucked a lot of good info from various forums, so I thought I would give back with my $.02 and hopefully help someone else...
Goal:
Migrate/Backup my collection of DVD's (~300 discs) to Itunes so that the movies would be playable on our shiny new Apple TV. Full collection of encoded movies resides on a wireless-g networked PC running Itunes with an external USB 500GB drive. Encoding is done balancing quality AND file size (slight emphasis on quality).
Step 1: Rip DVD with "DVDFab HD Decrypter 4.0.5.5 (Jan 23, 2008)" (free)
- Download at http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm and install.
- Insert DVD, run Decrypter program.
- Select "Main Movie"
- Use common sense to verify it correctly identified the full movie and has your language of preference selected. (use "play time", "aspect ratio", and description to make this determination)
- OPTIONAL: Uncheck any audio tracks you do not want to minimize file size.
- Click "Start", and wait for 10 to 30 minutes as DVD is ripped to target directory.
Step 2: Encode DVD VOB files into smaller H.264 file with "Nero Recode 3" (part of Nero 8 - $80)
- Download at http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero8-trial.php and install.
- Run "Nero StartSmart", then launch "Nero Recode"
- Select "Recode DVDs and Videos to Nero Digital" (Nero Digital is H.264)
- Select "Import Files", navigate to the Ripped DVD from Step 1, and click "Add Title"
- Select "Close" (Multiple rips can be selected before closing for batch processing)
- Select a movie, then use the following settings - each movie has to be configured this way one at a time (If not mentioned here, leave at default):
Profile Category: Nero Digital
Profile: Nero Digital AVC
Encoding Method: Fast (1-pass)
Fit to target: NOT CHECKED
Video Quality Slider: 2.0 Mbps (my personal choice for quality & size)
Video tab, Settings, Resize: Automatic, with "Square Pixes / Letterboxing" CHECKED
Video tab, Encoder, General Settings: Encoder Precision = Best
Video tab, Encoder, Encoding Tools: Weighted Prediction UNCHECKED
Video tab, Encoder, Visual Enhancements: Picture and Macroblock both UNCHECKED
Audio tab, Source: Your choice of audio file here (I always leave the default Dolby Digital 5.1 selected)
Profile: Nero Digital AVC
Encoding Method: Fast (1-pass)
Fit to target: NOT CHECKED
Video Quality Slider: 2.0 Mbps (my personal choice for quality & size)
Video tab, Settings, Resize: Automatic, with "Square Pixes / Letterboxing" CHECKED
Video tab, Encoder, General Settings: Encoder Precision = Best
Video tab, Encoder, Encoding Tools: Weighted Prediction UNCHECKED
Video tab, Encoder, Visual Enhancements: Picture and Macroblock both UNCHECKED
Audio tab, Source: Your choice of audio file here (I always leave the default Dolby Digital 5.1 selected)
* Step 2 Commentary:
I typically will rip 5 or 6 DVD's before batch encoding them all at once. I start the encoding right before bed, and let it work through the next day until I return home from work. I'll come home to 5 or 6 encoded movies ready to add to Itunes!
I know some of you will balk at the $80 Nero price, but it's actually fairly reasonable for what you get (and cheap compared to the value of 300 DVDs). The download has a 15 day evaluation period so you can see if you like it before buying.
Step 3: Add encoded movies to Itunes Library:
- Open Itunes
- Select File, "Add file to Library", and select encoded Movies.
Step 4: Add DVD artwork and info to encoded movies
- Go to http://www.findmycover.com/ and download artwork of your choice for your movies.
- From inside Itunes, Right click on a movie file and select "Get Info".
- Enter as much data as you want on the "Info" tab. (I only enter "Name")
- Select the downloaded art file in the "Artwork" tab.
That's it... Following this procedure gives me Movies in Itunes & Apple TV with viewable name and artwork. The movies play well on the PC and Apple TV. I currently have the ATV playing through a 32" 720p LCD and can only tell a VERY slight quality difference between the encoded movie and source DVD.... your mileage may vary. I've transfered about 40 DVDs this way so far with 100% success rate. Audio sounds great through the TV's 2 speakers (HDMI connection), but I have not tested to see if Dolby 5.1 would work if I used the optical output.....feel free to chime in with your experience.
All movies work great so far streaming to the ATV with only ~5 sec of buffering and no stuttering. I've not been motivated to synch any since the Itunes PC runs 24/7.
Apologies in advance if I've mistakenly omitted a step or setting.... Please reply with successes/failures or alternative/improvement suggestions if you have any.
Good luck,
William
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