simple instructions for DVD ripping

[Jefferyd32]

Hi, I have been pouring through threads on DVD ripping, and am thoroughly confused.

My goals: I want to take my roughly 300 or so DVD's and rip them onto a HD for easy access. I have an Apple TV2 so having the DVD's accessible through iTunes is a must. I would like everything to work as seamlessly as possible. It would be nice to get movies onto my iPod as well.

Input needed on the following:
1. It looks like there are many programs available, but Handbrake seems to be the easiest to use, can do everything, rather than having to use another program, and is free.
2. organizing DVD's. Is this easy? Is it as simple as naming files?
3. Watching DVD's on iTunes. Is it possible to just plug in my external HD and watch the DVD's? Or do I have to move the movie I which to watch over to my internal HD to have it work. How does iTunes interact with files on an external HD.

Eventually I want a Mac Mini to use mostly as a sort of HTPC, but first must settle for a good external HD (suggestions being taken) to use with my Macbook Pro (2.53 Core 2 duo 4GB)

I am sure this is covered in many threads, and I have read many, but am having a difficult time figuring out simple instructions to get this done.

Thanks for the help.

 

[davidwarren]

my workflow is to rip the movies with ripit, and encode with handbrake. A DVD will take about 30 minutes to rip in ripit, and then you can line a couple up overnight in handbrake. Otherwise, if you have handbrake rip and encode, you have to wait for each to finish and then switch out the disc. It is much faster with a secondary ripper. Ripit is the best I have used.

 

[slothrob]

I like to use iTunes to move the iTunes media folder to an external drive (under iTunes>Preferences>Advanced).

You need to decide if you are going to use separate software to get the original video onto the hard drive or just Handbrake (and VLC to actually open the file, allowing Handbrake to transcode it).
After that decision is made, you open the files or folders in Handbrake, then select the title you want to transcode.
Using the iTunes filing system, you can then just browse to the Automatically Add To iTunes folder on the external drive and name the file as you want it to appear on the aTV.
Select the aTV2 preset and hit Start.

The video will be transcoded into a file compatible with the aTV2, then iTunes will add it automatically and file it away.

If the video was originally made for TV, you will probably need to change the Handbrake settings, under the Video tab, to add Detelecine and Decomb.
If you want to add special sound tracks or subtitles, you'll need to make adjustments under the other appropriate tabs.
If you want to add a movie poster image to display on the aTV, add a description, or fine tune where the aTV displays the video, such as in different genre groupings or as a Movie or TV, you'll need to edit the Get Info window in iTunes, or use a separate program designed specifically for that.

 

[will waters]

Handbrake is the way forward

Use handbrake for the whole encoding and then import it into iTunes, this is the best way I find. If you happen to have an external disk drive use this as well, however it will be a long process ripping all the films, it has taken a few weekends to do nearly 100+ on my less powerful macbook

 

[harpster]

One word... PLEX
Plex works awesome on the ATV2 - you have to jailbreak the ATV2 and install Plex but it's not that difficult. YOu also need Plex Media server (PMS) running on a computer Mac or PC to do the transcoding (streaming to the ATV2). Plex organizes all your movies - I have 300+ ripped and it's so nice to be able to find and play them easily.

I don't care to watch movies on the iPAD or iPhone so I rip the DVD with AnyDVD/CloneDVD (Windows Pgm) but you can use RipIt on a Mac. Then you encode the ripped DVD with Handbreak. A typical DVD movie is reduced from approx. 7GB to 1.5GB when encoded as a MKV at a quality level of 19 in Handbreak. MKV is just an H.264 container and it works great for my purposes but you may want to encode to a MP4 format if you like watching movies on your iPhone... I prefer my 50" Plasma.

 

[soundguy15]

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If you're going to be ripping that many movies I would recomend using the Elgato Turbo.264 encoder. It will allow you to convert movies to h.264 much quicker.

 

[cwindsor]

See this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/805573/

 

[harpster]

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If you're going to be ripping that many movies I would recomend using the Elgato Turbo.264 encoder. It will allow you to convert movies to h.264 much quicker.

Much faster than what? Can you give us some comparisons. My iMac i7 will encode a DVD movie in handbrake in about 30 minutes. That is an mkv file at a quality setting of 19.

 

[soundguy15]

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I don't own one yet, but from what I've read it averages around 2x as fast as the i7 (not sure if that is quad or dual core) with SD video and even faster with HD.

 

[harpster]

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I don't own one yet, but from what I've read it averages around 2x as fast as the i7 (not sure if that is quad or dual core) with SD video and even faster with HD.

Well you can spend the money is you want... it sounds interesting enough. With Handbreak I just add my movies to the Queue and let it encode all night long (or all day long if I'm working) so saving a little time even 50% is not all that important to me. I guess if your in a hurry something like that might make sense.

 

[Omne666]

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If you're going to be ripping that many movies I would recomend using the Elgato Turbo.264 encoder. It will allow you to convert movies to h.264 much quicker.

I'd actually recommend against it. I've had both, and yep, it sure does speed things up for the older Mac models. The new i7s and i5s dont really need it though.

And the amount of issues I've had with both models of the device has stopped me using it over 12 months now. The main issue was sound sync with video. Horrendous problems there. And the help from Elgato was of no value.

If you've got one of the late model Macs, save your dough. If you have an older model mac, put the dough into an upgrade!

 

[peterjcat]

I also would recommend against the Turbo.264, especially these days. It's fastish but there are compromises in the video quality. You can speed up Handbrake by a similar amount, with arguably better results, just by turning off the advanced x264 options.

It also can't read VC1 video which is a hassle if you're converting Blu-rays (or HD DVDs if anyone remembers those).

 

[dynaflash]

You can speed up Handbrake by a similar amount, with arguably better results, just by turning off the advanced x264 options.

It also can't read VC1 video which is a hassle if you're converting Blu-rays (or HD DVDs if anyone remembers those).

Completely true. Unless your on an old ppc mac or maybe a single core intel machine you are just as fast using HB and nerfing the advanced options and set the quality lower. Same speed and same crappy quality at that point

The x264 encoder in HB is so maximized for cpu encoding speed that unless you are on one of the above mentioned machines, your just as fast if not faster without the elgato with the added ability to get better quality encodes if you don't mind waiting a bit longer just using HB. So in that case save your money.

 

[Jefferyd32]

This has been helpful, but I am still confused. I downloaded Handbrake, and am looking to rip my first DVD: However I get the message that I do not have the correct VLC. So I click on get VLC and download it, and yet it still will not rip it.

Is there a thread with handbrake settings and instructions? I am a complete novice, so I need step by step instructions. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[jmor]

I've been fine using handbrake but I'm trying to do entourage season three and I can't get it to work for the life of me. I also have ripit that I've never used before but I tried that, so I put in the disc and it ripped me a copy to play in iDVD but I can't get it to work in handbrake it won't scan the source. I don't know if I'm using ripit right or how to then out it in handbrake. Anyone have any suggestions or the same problems with entourage season three? (everything elsenis fine including other seasons)

 

[Jefferyd32]

So I could not get V for Vendetta to rip at all, but threw in Fever Pitch (happened to be upstairs and out at the time) and it ripped just fine. Now I am trying to get it to play in iTunes. What do I need to do? I have copied the file into the same group as the rest of my digital copies, and tried adding it via the iTunes menu and still nothing. Any help?