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iPod Ripping DVDs to 5G iPod (iPod Video): Steps That Work!

Thanatoast said:
Pardon me if I'm repeating, but my method is thus:

Rip to MP4 in Handbrake at 100% quality. I cranked the sound quality up too on the off chance it might help. Then I re-encode in iSquint (optimize for tv and H.264 and "go nuts" quality). I've been very pleased.

Just another method others might want to try. In fact, lemme know if other ways work better. :)

Beer :)
Click to expand...

The Handbrake part is a waste of time, scaling and quality. Even though it's 100% quality every digital encoding has a loss of quality.

A much better way to do it is:

1) Extract the DVD into a single VOB file using Mactheripper or OSEx and then use iSquint to convert the VOB file to H.264.

or

2) Grab the early-alpha version of Handbrake that does 640x480 H.264 (It doesn't rip straight from DVD yet).

Joshua.
 
I've just found this over at the Handbrake forums.

http://handbrake.m0k.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1894

Dudes, this method rocks! Next best thing to handbrake...

So I've done this using isquint (free unlike visual hub, although VH is an awesome program) and OSEx for five movies now (braveheart, point break, training day, pirates of the caribbean and good will hunting) and it works fine. In OSEx I just uncheck the languages I don't want (thus leaving only "en" (english) and extract. Then drag the .vob to iSquint and convert away! It takes a few hours but it does h.264, 640x width and a little over 1500 kbps... man the movies look very good on my imac and iPod (I'm yet to watch them on a tv, but I expect dvd quality).

Great alternative to handbrake until the new universal realease comes out!
Makes my new 80GB worth the dough!!!!

So two programs, about 3 total hours (actually iSquint took a little longer with training day for some reason, I let it run over night) and plenty of movies for your iPod. - THIS is the email I had been looking for, I hope it can help someone else on a similar quest! Enjoy...
Click to expand...

I'm assuming when they said this OSEx, that this is the program.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9830

I'm going to give it ago see how it turns out.
 
Just a quick word how two videos with the same bitrate setting in the encoder can turn out different sizes: if your Qmin is high, the quantizer will skip detail, meaning you never actually reach the maximum bitrate you specified. The default quantizer settings for MPEG-4 vs. H.264 might be different. I'd assume that the H.264 file ended up larger because that codec's Qmin was set much lower, thus it was pretty much always filling up that 1500kbps. The MPEG-4 Qmin might've been set much higher, meaning it didn't ever actually hit 1500kbps for the encoded video stream, resulting in a file that's smaller.
 
killmoms said:
Just a quick word how two videos with the same bitrate setting in the encoder can turn out different sizes: if your Qmin is high, the quantizer will skip detail, meaning you never actually reach the maximum bitrate you specified. The default quantizer settings for MPEG-4 vs. H.264 might be different. I'd assume that the H.264 file ended up larger because that codec's Qmin was set much lower, thus it was pretty much always filling up that 1500kbps. The MPEG-4 Qmin might've been set much higher, meaning it didn't ever actually hit 1500kbps for the encoded video stream, resulting in a file that's smaller.
Click to expand...

So true. Now that I read it properly :)

Joshua.
 
please explain why we shouldn't use handbrake, because i did it with MI3 last night and it did just fine. full ipod compatible quality, and it looks great. i don't know how long it took, and might have to try it out with another movie sometime, but the origional estimate was just about 2 hours, but i wanted to go with the higher quality 2 pass encoding, so i would guess 4, if the estimates worked out alright. (and there was nothing else going on, so i don't see why they wouldnt)
 
theres no real reason not to use Handbrake other than the fact that the version that supports the new H.264 Baseline 3.0 LC (the one introduced in the newest iPod update) standard isnt fully functional yet. parts of it are broken or buggy. the latest official Handbrake 0.7.1 will not produce working H.264 files higher than 320xXXX. the latest alpha build 0.7.1a supports H.264 files up to 640xXXX.
the most notable problem in 0.7.1a is that direct ripping from an encrypted DVD does not work. but, if you rip the Video_TS folder off of it using Mac the Ripper or some other DeCSS app 0.7.1a works just fine.
if you dont use H.264 and just want to use MPEG4 then the 0.7.1 build of Handbrake will work just dandy.
the OSex/iSquint method was just posted as an alternate method.
right now i use MtR + HB071a for my DVD conversions and i use iSquint for everything else.
 
I've been trying to rip a TV show from a disc using Handbrake 0.7.1, and I can't get the whole title to finish. It's a 51 minute show, and the most I get is 18 minutes. None of the settings are any different, but each time I try to rip it the process just stops. The files not corrupted or anything...just incomplete. Anyone had this problem before?

Thanks.
 
reubs said:
I've been trying to rip a TV show from a disc using Handbrake 0.7.1, and I can't get the whole title to finish. It's a 51 minute show, and the most I get is 18 minutes. None of the settings are any different, but each time I try to rip it the process just stops. The files not corrupted or anything...just incomplete. Anyone had this problem before?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Maybe try ripping first with Mac The Ripper then convert the VIDEO_TS folder with HB.

Joshua.
 
all the steps of the software are the same?

hello. I have download a software called xilisoft suggested by friends. but do you think all the steps of the software are the same?
i do not know.
 
Just gotten a 60 GB iPod this past saturday and today i found this thread but the "video" section is stumping me on what settings to use .. :confused:



On the screen size i got 320x128
 

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iPhil said:
Just gotten a 60 GB iPod this past saturday and today i found this thread but the "video" section is stumping me on what settings to use .. :confused:



On the screen size i got 320x128
Click to expand...

Actually, if you use OSEx to rip and iSquint to encode you'll get the high quality format that Apple now uses. Make sure to set iSquint to "optimize for tv", "h.264 encoding" and "go nuts" quality. Movies come out about a gig.

On a very related note, some DVDs I've tried to rip have been ripped with large black bars at top and bottom, like the studios stuck extra blank space on there. Is there an easy and free way to ditch this? I've seen that Visual Hub can auto-crop, but this being Christmas I'm a little tapped.

Thanks for the consideration :)
 
Hello,

Sorry if this has been already covered but...

I've been using Handbrake 0.7.1 for the last few weeks to rip DVD Movie to put them onto my iTunes. Anyway, I've come across a couple of DVD that won't work. (Lost Season 2 and The Devil Wears Prada)
Handbrake scans them and they says "no valid title found"?

My DVD region drive is 2, and the DVDs I'm trying to rip are R1. - That maybe the problem, but I've already ripped 9 R1 DVDs without a problem.

Why just stop at these two?
Any ideas or solutions.
THANKS
 
Need some helps with my H.264 file

I downloaded some video clips which formatted as DVD H.264.. when I tried to load it to my ipod video .. the video played it all white, but the time line is still moving. I played it on my mac within the VLC mac version program. I have tried the QT Pro, Flip4Mac, Divx Player, Real Player on mac.. they all only showed the white screen with no sound either.. how can this be?! and how would I be able to load it to my ipod?!! if someone knows, please help me out. Thank you very much!! Happy New Year to you all!!!!!!!!!!
 
I find using isquint works really well. I've had trouble with handbrake in the past, and this is an excellent alternative.
 
Melkor said:
I find using isquint works really well. I've had trouble with handbrake in the past, and this is an excellent alternative.
Click to expand...

iSquint and Handbrake do entirely different things. Handbrake is software for ripping DVDs to your hard drive (at various levels of compression, etc) and iSquint is software that encodes (prepares) any video file for use on your iPod.

iSquint can not rip a DVD directly. You need to rip with Handbrake and then encode with iSquint. It is possible to skip the iSquint step and use Handbrake's settings to encode for your iPod, but this is the part that many users have trouble with, as it can be cryptic. iSuint adds a step to the process, but it's a simpler alternative with guaranteed results.
 
Thanatoast said:
On a very related note, some DVDs I've tried to rip have been ripped with large black bars at top and bottom, like the studios stuck extra blank space on there. Is there an easy and free way to ditch this? I've seen that Visual Hub can auto-crop, but this being Christmas I'm a little tapped.
Click to expand...

Any widescreen DVD is going to have black space top and bottom on a monitor, just because of the pixel ratios of the film. That's the difference between widescreen (i.e., wider and narrower, as for a plasma TV) or fullscreen (more rectangular, traditional TVs or computer monitors).

I suppose you might be able to get rid of it by cropping, but then you'll lose a lot of the picture on either end. I've never tried that myself.

Incidentally, if you play a widescreen DVD - from the disk - you'll get the same black space.
 
I know that this thread is for Ripping Video to iPod, but it'll eventually go into the iPod - whenever Apple release a new one.

Anyway...
My question is regarding Jurassic Park.

I've used Handbrake to rip Jurassic Park and added it to iTunes, mainly to play through the :apple:TV I've got ordered. But the file (i think and compared to others) is HUGE.

Jurassic Park 2.23gb

The Quality Average Bitrate is 2500.
Audio Sample Rate 48000 and Bitrate 320
Picture Setting - not reduced.

This is the same that I've been using for other movies added to iTunes. They look FANTASTIC on 52" Plasama TV.
Other files and longer moives like Superman Returns is only 1.65GB and I thought that was good for a movie with fantastic quality.

Have I done anything wrong with Jurassic Park?
Are all the other movies I've added going to work with iPod/:apple: TV based on the settings mentioned above?

Thanks for any help and pointers.
 
Grakkle said:
Any widescreen DVD is going to have black space top and bottom on a monitor, just because of the pixel ratios of the film. That's the difference between widescreen (i.e., wider and narrower, as for a plasma TV) or fullscreen (more rectangular, traditional TVs or computer monitors).

I suppose you might be able to get rid of it by cropping, but then you'll lose a lot of the picture on either end. I've never tried that myself.

Incidentally, if you play a widescreen DVD - from the disk - you'll get the same black space.
Click to expand...
I didn't say it plays with black bars, I said it encoded with black bars. So I get a ~4:3 movie that plays in quicktime, 1/3 of which is black on the top and bottom of the encoded movie.

But I solved the problem anyway by buying VisualHub, the pay-for software sold by the makers of iSquint. I rip the movie using 0sex and encode the resulting DVD file in VisualHub which autocrops the bars off of the top and bottom. VisualHub works great, I highly recommend it. Only $23 US.
 
HelixOmnimedia said:
The Quality Average Bitrate is 2500.
Audio Sample Rate 48000 and Bitrate 320
Picture Setting - not reduced.

This is the same that I've been using for other movies added to iTunes. They look FANTASTIC on 52" Plasama TV.
Click to expand...

Someone just e-mailed me to tell me that the setting I'm using in Handbrake won't allow the videos to work in the iPod Video.
Is this correct? I was told that the above settings were the best for watching then through a TV and on an iPod.
I know that it works with TV, but will it also work with the new :apple:TV?

I don't have a Video iPod anymore, I lost it September, and was waiting until Mac World San Fransisco for a new "true video" iPod - but none came. So I can't try it myself.

Why won't the settings allow the stuff I've ripped play on a video ipod?
What are the correct settings I should be using?
Will the new iPhone or rumored "Video iPod" allow me to play the settings I've been using - just that I have 15 movies and 8 (22eps) TV Shows, and I don't want to re-rip them.

Thanks for any information.
 
Thanatoast said:
But I solved the problem anyway by buying VisualHub, the pay-for software sold by the makers of iSquint. I rip the movie using 0sex and encode the resulting DVD file in VisualHub which autocrops the bars off of the top and bottom. VisualHub works great, I highly recommend it. Only $23 US.
Click to expand...

Ah, good. I've heard good things about VisualHub - never tried it, though. Anything you don't like about it?
 
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