For home use only....

[Ric]

I keep thinking about getting an Eye TV or similar so that I can hook up my asssortment of Mac's to my big TV, for showing pictures etc, so with that in mind I have started investigating how to get my 300+ DVD's converted onto the Mac.

Two pieces of software seem to be working well at the moment, MacTheRipper and HandBrake. Both work well on Tiger.

I have two cupboards full of DVD's and some never get watched because you have to take the chlid locks off the cupboards route all the way to the back etc...it would be a lot nicer to just click point ... oh lets watch that !

I would like the cupboard space back !

I am not going into the legalities of 'copying' DVD's...my theory is, that these are all legally owned and bought DVD's and that I am making a backup, which I think you can do. The DVD's will then get stored in a big box in the attic !

I am going to RIP first DVD tonight to see what the praticalities are !

If anyone is already doing, (has done) this let us know.

Regards

Ric

 

[Danster]

I watch alot of dvds on my mac, mostly my collection of comedies such as 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'The Office'. After a long period of getting them out of the box, switching dvds I decided to install them into my Mac's HD to save time and ensure my dvds won't get scratched.

I've been using 'mactheripper' for Ripping my dvds onto my mac for some time now and personally think it's the best out there for the mac.

I also used a program called Roxio Popcorn to make a copy for my brother, it saves me lending my dvd to him and as he ruins them. It's a very good program, very similar to toast titanium but is specially created for dvd burning.

on the hole they work very well together if yo want to make a back-up of your dvd, say for instance you've got a limited edition dvd and want to keep it in pristine condition or you dorky bother/sister wants to borrow your dvd, simple.

Use the above mentioned programs to make a backup copy and your flying

 

[Ric]

Thanks D:

What settings do you use in MTR, I have just done one DVD earlier tonight, but there is a lot to choose from...what works best for you.

I have Toast Titanium, but rarely use it nowadays...is Popcorn good !

I take it the files have to go through MTR first and you can't do a straight copy with Popcorn ??

regards

Ric

 

[Ric]

Should have said used MTR to Rip this DVD then I used Hand Brake to squash the DVD to 700Mb..plays nice on the laptop haven't tried reburning yet though !

Ric

 

[Danster]

I use the 'movie only' extraction for mac the ripper as I don't need or really care for all the extras.

I had Toast Titanium for burning my ripped dvd but now use popcorn as it's much better for making dvds as you can just stick the video_TS folder into it and your good.

Popcorn also compresses the file to fit onto the dvd so there is no need for Hand Brake.
So it's a very useful little app

 

[Ric]

So on D's say so off Ric goes for some instant gratification...

...why we love the Internet....

Hope it's good !

regards

Ric

 

[Danster]

let us know what you think of it.

 

[Ric]

MacTheRipper is currently ripping Disk 1 of the office, first series !

The Hackers TOS that I ripped earlier, Popcorn didn't like !!

regards

Ric

 

[Ric]

Stage 1 complete...

7.79GB extracted, in 34 minutes whilst doing other stuff !

Now onto Popcorn...

 

[Ric]

D: the MTR file that is on the hard disk...do you not compress that in any way ?

The file I did earlier "Hackers" the movie was 6Gb ish and I used MTR to rip it then used Handbrake to squash it down to 700mb...plays more or less perfectly on my PB.

Do you leave your Ripped DVD's as is (size wise) that are stored on your hard drive ?

regards

Ric

 

[Danster]

the MTR file that is on the hard disk...do you not compress that in any way?

No, because I have the space atm and like to watch my dvds in the best quality you can get. But you say you squashed a 6GB file to 700MB and the quality is almost the same..... that's pretty impressive. (your not on your wifeys 12in are you?)

Do you leave your Ripped DVD's as is (size wise) that are stored on your hard drive?

Well I leave them for a bit then use popcorn to burn them to dvd and stick them in my dvd wallet, currently has about 20 of my dvds in it such as The Simpsons, The Office, OFAH, Phoenix Nights and many more collections that I'd rather keep nice and un-damaged

btw

How are you you finding popcorn to use?

I've never worked with TOS files or any other on it. (sorry didn't mention that)
I only use Video_TS files or sometimes I just tell it to make a duplicate of the dvd that's inside.

 

[Ric]

Ahh I see... I suppose if I had the space...the simplest option would not be to compress any further and keep them at 'pure DVD' quality...approx 300 DVD's x on average 6Gb...that's 1.8Tb (1800Gb !) LaCie have a 2TB Drive for $2,299.00 ! I'll have two..one for expansion...on saying that give it a couple of years and they'll be $200.00 each !! If I add up all my personal drives, (not including Tivo and Sky+) I have about 1.2 Tb (1200Gb !) Still not quite enough...I like it how on the Apple store website they are selling the Eye TV with a 160Gb Hd 'special offer' !

Gotta compress...still trying to find the best options, H.264 seems the logical way to go but still reading up on it !

I used HandBrake to compress the file (still routing around for other options), still playing with all the settings, so not sure as yet my preferred setup. Best to get a 1 Min DVD clip and keep testing that, then you're not waiting for hours to see the results.

The 6Gb to 600mb plays well at the 'sampled size' see pic below...and doesn't look too bad from a couple of feet away. I like it at that size because I can surf or do somework and have the movie playing as well, the joys of having a 17" PB...(Don't thing Wifeys iBook would even attempt a bit of 'sampling'....way to slow !

Haven't had time to try Popcorn yet, have opened it up and had a quick look, but I am in the process of converting a load of 'Camcorder Tapes' so PB is tied up !

Still having a good look for the best workflow, have downloaded a few more Apps and I am in the process of testing them now...

 

[Ric]

Just to let you know...

I am in the process of using Mac the Ripper, to Rip 5 assorted DVD's from those I intend to check the sizes to see what they average out at and then I am going to try and encode them using H264...

...once that is done it should give me a bit better idea on how much space will be required for my 'media entertainment center'.

Ripping in progress...

 

[trouch]

For home use only

soundmax-windows xp 64....i have been using windows xp 64bit for a week now...my problems is that my soundmax application wont start...i have no problems with my audio but i just cant use the full capabilities of my 6 channel audio codec...do i still need the soundmax application or just use the windows speaker configuration? please, can anyone help me?