Ripping loads of DVDs (2024)

Not sure if this goes in here or Software Colloquium, but here goes.<BR><BR>To go along with the shiny new front-end I've got in the works and the massive storage box I've got scheduled after that, I'd like some advice on the best way to rip DVDs into playable formats. Basically, I've got a whole lot of DVDs which I'd like to store on the back-end box and play over the network on the front-end on my TV. To do this, I've got to get the DVD content onto the back-end.<BR><BR>The DVDs are a mix of movies and TV shows. I'd like ot try to keep them in some sort of format which retains the chapters/scenes (for easy skipping around). The intended output is an NTSC TV, and the DVDs themselves are (almost entirely) NTSC, so we're not talking about terribly high resolution.<BR><BR>I don't really know anything about this sort of stuff (other than to go to Doom9), so I was hoping the Hive Mind might be kind enough to suggest both storage formats and the proper tools and procedures to accomplish that. I wouldn't be in any sort of rush, but efficiency would be nice.

These days I think the easiest option is to just rip the DVDs as .ISO files and leave 'em as that. Don't re-encode them or anything, and choose a front-end that can handle the disc images as-is.

My solution, which after having tried damn near every method I have heard about I am quite satisfied with, is this:<BR>My gear: MacBook Pro, AppleTV<BR>1. Use AnyDVD/CloneDVD running under windows in Parallels for the ripping. Hands down the easist and most effective way to actually rip the DVDs and strip all the unwanted crap.<BR>2. Store the ripped files in a drive accessible by the Mac side.<BR>3. Use Handbrake and its "AppleTV" setting to convert to MP4. This setting allows preservation of chapters and now allows full 5.1 sound preservation as well. These were major sticking points for me before. I wanted no visible deterioration of the DVD experience. <BR>4. Stream through Itunes and AppleTV. Maybe I'm just not discerning enough visually, but I honestly can't tell any difference between the results this way and playing the DVD directly on an upscaling player. I like the fact that i can save some amount of storage space (movies come out to 1-2 GB usually at top quality, vs the 7-ish of a stored .ISO rip...). For reference, I watch on a 42" plasma screen.<BR>5. For stuff I already had in other formats, VisualHub has not encoutered anything it can't convert to the same AppleTV format...

What front-end will you be using? If you've posted another thread I don't recall. <BR><BR>As for ripping, I use DVD-Decrypter or AnyDVD and do a direct copy of my DVDs and Blu-Rays to my media server (an 8+TB WHS box.) My front-end is a Vista HTPC, with MyMovies installed. <BR><BR>I found it easiest to install AnyDVD and the MyMovies backend/database on yet another computer, which has easy KVM and DVD-Rom access, in order to update it. <BR><BR>So the process is: Rip with AnyDVD>Copy to Media Server>Add rip to MyMovies>Launch MyMovies on HTPC and pick a movie. <BR><BR>This keeps all of the chapters and special features, as well as the quality. MyMovies integrates nicely with Vista (and XP MCE 2005, I've heard) although if you're using a different front-end OS then this post is not as helpful.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I use AutoGK to compress to XVid, takes barely a few clicks and I put all my 2 hour movies at 800MB avis, and 44min TV shows at 375MB. I use pretty normal settings of 640 resulotion, VBR MP3. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>2-pass encoding/VBR audio gets attention because it was once needed to fit a movie onto a CD or save a little file transfer time. However I don't believe the setting used to save a few bytes are appropriate for dvd encoding for home use. Constant quality encoding (Q3) and CBR MP3's will produce better quality and more compatible AVI's at the cost of only 10-20% larger file. (900MB per 2hr movie instead of 800MB). <BR><BR>If you ever need to re-create a DVD from the avi (say to give a relative an episode), vbr mp3 in an avi container will cause some encoders (TMPEG) to ignore the audio or cause others to have audio sync problems. 224kbs CBR mp3 only takes a few dozen megs extra over a 128 VBR. Considering the video is going be 800-1Gig in size it's unecessary to compromise compatibility.<BR><BR>With constant quality encoding, a nice side effect is that the encoding is faster because you don't need 2-passes. The video has the correct quality the first time instead of possibly having a scene that looks bad or have a movie that is uncessarily large because you tried to force it to a particular size.<BR><BR>I used to use 640x352 resolution but last night I tried 832x448 to be closer to keeping the full 480p and be mod32 to keep decoders happy. Yeah that meant I stretched 720 out to 832, but it also means I didn't go from 480p all the way down to 352 lines. I like the results better and it only cost an extra 100mb. So my encodes are now ~1GB per movie and don't significantly compromise quality or compatibility.<BR><BR>:edit, fixed typo/clarity

I rip using DVDFabPlatinum to folders, just removing alternate languages and the pre-menu stuff, like the FBI warning and commercials/trailers/studio splashes. They mount on the front end using My Movies in Vista Media Center.