With
Handbrake you can rip a DVD so it will look great even on a TV out the iPod's video out port as well as fit on an iPod. This tutorial does not take into consideration the newer larger dimension H.264 files may be made into. But I never use H.264 anyway so here's my brief How-To. Feel free to PM me if you need more detail.
I love the fact that you can study a series of frames from throughout the video and crop the clip accordingly to make sure there is no noise lines on the top of your video as well as black space beyond where it is. I can also get excellent 16:9 video with Handbrake. I use the default FFMpeg setup + 2-pass + 29.94fps (you must manually set this as "same as source" yields 24fps no matter what the source) + 800kbps for SD and 1000kbps for HD. Higher rates won't help. Lower rates will degrade the quality but still look great on the iPod.
I rip from Toast DVD IMAGES (command D) I make from EyeTV HDTV recordings with all the Toast DVD Image Encoding Parameters set on MAXIMUM Quality. Then I open that IMAGE (not buring any DVDs) with Handbrake and set it this way:
Framerate: 29.97
Encoder: Leave on default "FFmpeg"
Check 2-pass encoding
Check Enable Queue (lets you rip multiple shows from one DVD Image encode of multiple shows - two prime time 42 min + one half hour of syndication 20 minutes)
Codecs Leave where it is by default: "MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio"
Browse where you want to put the rip
TIP: You cannot paste titles in this field after you browse to where you want to put a title. So what I do is paste the title next to a number on an empty folder where the target location is and then just type one number in the browse title field before executing the "SAVE" button. then after the rip I just cut and paste the title from the empty numbered + Title folder that the rip winds up right next to in column view to the mp4 file replacing the number with the title in front of the .mp4 suffex. Saves a to of retyping all the time.
Leave all the audio setings where they are. Sound comes out perfect with these defaults.
Picture Settings...
HDTV - 624 wide x 352 high
SD - 544 wide x 400 high
Uncheck the "Keep aspect ratio" checkbox after you get them set to these numbers since when you close the settings window with that box checked those dimensions may change.
Use the Crop: Custom mode to tweak the edges of SD and some HD to get rid of noise on top and black on sides and bottom.
Check Deinterlace picture ALWAYS
Uncheck Useless OpenGL effects since they are. Use next and previous buttons to look at different frames from different parts of your video to make sure your crop is correct.
I target size 43 minutes of HDTV prime time to 350 MB (half a CD) which usually comes out to just over 1000kbps.
NOTE: When you set target size the Average bitrate will display in grey under your size. However the reverse is not true so you can't tell what size an Average bitrate setting will yield. But you can go up to the Target size and tweak it until you see the Average bitrate you want in grey under the size.
Finally Press "Add to queue" Then Pull down next title, change number form 1 to 2 etc. in the File Location window and repeat the process until all the videos in your image are in the queue. Then press rip and watch them go.
Quad G5 with nothing else running can rip at a rate around 100fps. Mac Pro can do it more like 130fps. All the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo Macs should also be able to rip in this speed range as Handbrake doesn't use more than 2 cores so far.
This the way I set my dimensions so it will interpolate up to a TV and still look good while still below iPod maximum dimension settings - can't exceed about 300,000 pixels. I don't use H.264 because a lot of people don't have that and it won't play for them + it makes the files larger.
Please ask all your questions in this thread so I may help everyone else. I have ripped thousands of EyeTV recordings with this technique and am convinced I have a work process that can't be beat. If anyone knows of any other program that can do 2-pass encoding WITH visual cropping tools that let you see frames from throughout the video you are about to rip please let us know. I know of many that offer cropping but NONE that give you live feedback while you are cropping how those cropping dimensions are going to affect your video's look. Do you?
