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

Grakkle said:
Ah, good. I've heard good things about VisualHub - never tried it, though. Anything you don't like about it?
Click to expand...

Not so far. The biggest problem I've had so far is having to manually set the highth and width of a particular video due to the strange nature of the way it ripped in 0Sex. I haven't tried dragging the DVD straight to the program yet, but it got done what I needed, so I'm pleased.
 
Does visualhub support 720 wide movies yet with h.264? Is there any OSX app that can encode to that format?

There was much talk about it awhile ago with some people saying they were able to create these and play them from an iPod. Was that just a mistake or is it really possible? It would be nice to rip DVD's and keep the original pixel dimensions.
 
You can tell VH to encode in whatever Heighth/Width/Format you want. I use the default "optimize for ipod" settings and autocrop when needed. It's got options for PSP, iPod, all sorts of stuff. When it gets Nintendo DS format, then it'll win.
 
Thanatoast said:
You can tell VH to encode in whatever Heighth/Width/Format you want. I use the default "optimize for ipod" settings and autocrop when needed. It's got options for PSP, iPod, all sorts of stuff. When it gets Nintendo DS format, then it'll win.
Click to expand...

Has it been confirmed that the 720 movies it creates in h.264 work on a video ipod?
 
milo said:
Does visualhub support 720 wide movies yet with h.264? Is there any OSX app that can encode to that format?

There was much talk about it awhile ago with some people saying they were able to create these and play them from an iPod. Was that just a mistake or is it really possible? It would be nice to rip DVD's and keep the original pixel dimensions.
Click to expand...

VisualHub can make 720x*** H.264 movies but they won't work on the iPod. I don't know if anyone was able to get them to play at one point. From what I understand, it's a restriction imposed by iTunes.

Joshua.
 
My difficulty is in finding what part of the movie I want to rip. I wanted to rip the short feature Boundin' from the 2nd DVD of The Incredibles. I got a different feature that took hours to create.

How do I pull the short that I'm interested in?
 
clintob said:
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.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. iSquint can convert a VOB file from a DVD. It's pointless to convert something with Handbrake only to encode it again with iSquint. Use OSex or Mactheripper to rip the DVD into a single VOB and then convert it in iSquint.

Joshua.
 
Howard Brazee said:
My difficulty is in finding what part of the movie I want to rip. I wanted to rip the short feature Boundin' from the 2nd DVD of The Incredibles. I got a different feature that took hours to create.

How do I pull the short that I'm interested in?
Click to expand...

Use OSex or MacTheRipper to rip only the title you are reffering to. If you don't know what it is, find out the length of the clip and see if there is a matching title in the ripper and then rip it.

Joshua.
 
MacinJosh said:
Use OSex or MacTheRipper to rip only the title you are reffering to. If you don't know what it is, find out the length of the clip and see if there is a matching title in the ripper and then rip it.

Joshua.
Click to expand...


I don't know what it is. How do I find out the length of the clip? The clip that has the producer talking through the movie would be the same length as the clip of the movie without them talking.

I did notice that the ripper created two folders (one for each disk), with the same name, and with a bunch of clips in the folders. I only selected the folder (I messed up and selected the same folder twice) - I infer that I could have selected a file within the folder, and Handbrake them until I found the one I wanted. Handbrake is pretty slow, this might take a while (if it is possible)

I didn't download iSquint.
 
Howard Brazee said:
I don't know what it is. How do I find out the length of the clip? The clip that has the producer talking through the movie would be the same length as the clip of the movie without them talking.

I did notice that the ripper created two folders (one for each disk), with the same name, and with a bunch of clips in the folders. I only selected the folder (I messed up and selected the same folder twice) - I infer that I could have selected a file within the folder, and Handbrake them until I found the one I wanted. Handbrake is pretty slow, this might take a while (if it is possible)

I didn't download iSquint.
Click to expand...

Well, you could extract the whole disk with the ripper like you probably did and then use Handbrake to select the title.

If you're trying to rip a short feature from the second DVD then you should know roughly the length of the feature and then select the title in Handbrake accordingly.

Joshua.
 
milo said:
A while back people reported getting wider movies to work. Were they just wrong?
Click to expand...

The MPEG4 encoder allows bigger resolutions and creates playable files for the iPod and the Apple TV. I use it all the time to copy my DVDs and import them to iTunes.

The number of Pixels is important here, not the actual resolution (unless you are using the H.264 encoder). Normally a DVD film has a resolution of 720 x 304, so encoding the film with the MPEG4 encoder just works! It is much faster than H.264, doesn't create dark movies (like the H.264 does) and has the benefit that it allows for the native DVD resolution.
The 640x480 resolution gives a total of 307200 pixels whilst the 720 x 304 218880. When copying the film with Handbrake always check the output size and do the math. If the output has as many or fewer pixels than 307200, then the film will be playable on the 5G iPods and the Apple TV. This of course applies only to the MPEG4 encoder. The H.264 doesnt allow that...

Most DVD films dont use the full 720x576 resolution (actually I haven't found any that does!). So, this setup works like a dream!
I encode at 2000kbps and the output is a very very good quality...The only disadvantage is the bigger size, but when you consider the better quality, the better resolution and the faster encoding times, I think the MPEG4 encoder is a winner here...
 
HelixOmnimedia said:
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.
Click to expand...

Reduce the Audio Rate to 160 and the Video bit rate to 2200-2300 and it will work great.
 
MacinJosh said:
H.264 is definately worth the extra encoding time and it doesn't take that long on my intel iMac. I usually leave all the encodings running through the night and while I'm at work so I get 2 DVDs encoded to H.264 (2-pass) in a day if I want. I just don't know why we can't get higher resolutions of H.264 than 640x***. Maybe someone will figure a workaround.

Joshua.
Click to expand...

Why do you say it's worth it? Because of the smaller size or because of the quality?
I have been playing a lot the last days with both encoders and in my eyes the MPEG4 is much better in quality than the H.264.
 
petvas said:
Why do you say it's worth it? Because of the smaller size or because of the quality?
I have been playing a lot the last days with both encoders and in my eyes the MPEG4 is much better in quality than the H.264.
Click to expand...

It's worth it because of the quality and smaller size. When you say MPEG4 looks better than H.264, do they have the same bitrate? Because H.264 has better quality/MB than MPEG4.

The undeniable fact is that a 1500kbps H.264 file will look better than a 1500kbps MPEG4. The whole point of developing H.264 (it is in fact MPEG4 AVC) was to get better quality/MB.

However, a 2500kbps MPEG4 will probably look better than a 1500kbps H.264. Also, you get a slightly higher resolution support (720x***) on the iPod for the MPEG4.

Joshua.
 
petvas said:
The MPEG4 encoder allows bigger resolutions and creates playable files for the iPod and the Apple TV. I use it all the time to copy my DVDs and import them to iTunes.

The number of Pixels is important here, not the actual resolution (unless you are using the H.264 encoder). Normally a DVD film has a resolution of 720 x 304, so encoding the film with the MPEG4 encoder just works! It is much faster than H.264, doesn't create dark movies (like the H.264 does) and has the benefit that it allows for the native DVD resolution.
The 640x480 resolution gives a total of 307200 pixels whilst the 720 x 304 218880. When copying the film with Handbrake always check the output size and do the math. If the output has as many or fewer pixels than 307200, then the film will be playable on the 5G iPods and the Apple TV. This of course applies only to the MPEG4 encoder. The H.264 doesnt allow that...

Most DVD films dont use the full 720x576 resolution (actually I haven't found any that does!). So, this setup works like a dream!
I encode at 2000kbps and the output is a very very good quality...The only disadvantage is the bigger size, but when you consider the better quality, the better resolution and the faster encoding times, I think the MPEG4 encoder is a winner here...
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but you're a bit off in a few of your statements.

1. PAL Widescreen/Fullscreen DVD resolution is 720x576, always.
2. A DVD does not have a resolution 720x304, never. (The only time you'd get this resolution is when you encode a letterboxed widescreen DVD, which in itself is always 720x576, and crop the black bars out. But the DVD is never 720x304.)

I've established this many times in these forums but somehow it doesn't get noticed.

720x576, which is the native resolution for a PAL DVD (720x480 for NTSC) is either 4:3 or 16:9 but always 720x576. Now, you say "But wait a minute! 720x576 isn't a widescreen resolution!! What gives??" Well, if it's a widescreen DVD, most likely it's anamorphic (rarely letterboxed). This means that to display the anamorphic DVD on a widescreen TV, the picture has to be stretched horizontally to display it in the correct aspect ratio. Thus, the picture effectively (not actually) becomes 1024x576.

Now, to get the most pixels out of the DVD when ripping which is the 576 vertical pixels, one would have to rip the DVD in the following resolutions:

720x576 for 4:3 (some call it fullscreen) material
1024x576 for 16:9 material (stretched horizontally to maintain full vertical resolution)
1024x432 for the 2.35:1 material ( stretched and cropped to remove the black bars)

To read more about this stuff go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreen

Joshua.

EDIT: Small clarifications here and there...
 
MacinJosh said:
It's worth it because of the quality and smaller size. When you say MPEG4 looks better than H.264, do they have the same bitrate? Because H.264 has better quality/MB than MPEG4.

The undeniable fact is that a 1500kbps H.264 file will look better than a 1500kbps MPEG4. The whole point of developing H.264 (it is in fact MPEG4 AVC) was to get better quality/MB.

However, a 2500kbps MPEG4 will probably look better than a 1500kbps H.264. Also, you get a slightly higher resolution support (720x***) on the iPod for the MPEG4.

Joshua.
Click to expand...

I rip at 2000kbps with the mpeg4 encoder and compared to the h.264 at 1500kbps, it is much better. I agree that on the same bitrate the h.264 looks a bit better but if you add the higher resolution plus the fast encoding times, then I dont mind the Hard Drive space taken extra for these mpeg4 files...
 
MacinJosh said:
I'm sorry but you're a bit off in a few of your statements.

1. PAL Widescreen DVD resolution is 720x576, always.
2. A DVD does not have a resolution 720x304, never.

I've established this many times in these forums but somehow it doesn't get noticed.

720x576, which is the native resolution for a PAL DVD (720x480 for NTSC) is either 4:3 or 16:9 but always 720x576. Now, you say "But wait a minute! 720x576 isn't a widescreen resolution!! What gives??" Well, if it's a widescreen DVD, most likely it's anamorphic (rarely letterboxed). This means that to display the anamorphic DVD on a widescreen TV, the picture has to be stretched horizontally to display it in the correct aspect ratio. Thus, the picture effectively (not actually) becomes 1024x576.

Now, to get the most pixels out of the DVD when ripping which is the 576 vertical pixels, one would have to rip the DVD in the following resolutions:

720x576 for 4:3 (some call it fullscreen) material
1024x576 for 16:9 material
1024x432 for the 2.35:1 material

To read more about this stuff go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreen

Joshua.
Click to expand...

You are right about the DVD resolutions, however the almost 150 pixels that go away when ripping with handbrake, are the black lines. I have compared many dvds with mpegs and they have the exact same resolution
 
milo said:
A while back people reported getting wider movies to work. Were they just wrong?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember hearing that. I myself haven't been able to get a 720x*** H.264 to work on the iPod. I've tried every single program out there (for Mac).

But I could have sworn I was able to do it myself at one point but I could've confused it with MPEG4. However, according to some software gurus, it's a software restriction imposed by iTunes and cannot be messed with. Interestingly there was an iTunes update (7.1 I think) just around that time and I couldn't replicate it. It's either:

1. I was mistaken on my part (can't say for others)
2. iTunes was updated and wouldn't let 720x*** H.264 work.

Joshua.
 
petvas said:
You are right about the DVD resolutions, however the almost 150 pixels that go away when ripping with handbrake, are the black lines. I have compared many dvds with mpegs and they have the exact same resolution
Click to expand...

You fail to realize that there are no black bars on anamorphic 16:9 DVDs. The only DVDs that have the black bars are 2.35:1 movies. Now, almost all feature movies are 2.35:1 and a lot of animated movies (Pixar, Shrek, etc)are 16:9.

But the problem with Handbrake is that it doesn't allow correct stretching of the DVD. The highest 16:9 resolution possible on it is 720x400 and incidently the highest 2.35:1 resolution is the 720x304 you mentioned.

So you're not getting the full possible resolution of the DVD using Handbrake.

EDIT: In other words, Handbrake acts as a 4:3 TV and squashes the picture vertically to maintain correct aspect ratio. A widescreen TV would stretch the picture horizontally. Both methods come up to the same correct aspect ratio but the squash method loses pixels in widescreen movies like so:

1024x576 becomes 720x400
1024x432 becomes 720x304

EDIT2: You can even tell by looking at the Handbrake preview box. It's 4:3, not 16:9.

Joshua.
 
MacinJosh said:
You fail to realize that there are no black bars on anamorphic 16:9 DVDs. The only DVDs that have the black bars are 2.35:1 movies. Now, almost all feature movies are 2.35:1 and a lot of animated movies (Pixar, Shrek, etc)are 16:9.

But the problem with Handbrake is that it doesn't allow correct stretching of the DVD. The highest 16:9 resolution possible on it is 720x400 and incidently the highest 2.35:1 resolution is the 720x304 you mentioned.

So you're not getting the full possible resolution of the DVD using Handbrake.

Joshua.
Click to expand...

Ok, I understand that. On 2.35:1 films though, if someone removed the black bars, what would the resolution be?
Isnt that exactly that Handbrake does?
 
petvas said:
Ok, I understand that. On 2.35:1 films though, if someone removed the black bars, what would the resolution be?
Isnt that exactly that Handbrake does?
Click to expand...

Ok, you caught this before I edited the previous post. Just to recap:

On 2.35:1 films the resolution should be 1024x432 to get the full benefit of the vertical pixels. And that's when the bars are removed. Yes, handrake does remove the bars but only after it squashed the picture (see my previous edited post). That's why you only get 720x304 in Handbrake.

But, obviously these files/resolutions wouldn't work on the iPod with either H.264 or MPEG4.

Joshua.
 
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