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    Help With DVD Ripping/Compressing/Viewing

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by The_Shirt, Jan 4, 2009.

  1. The_Shirt

    The_Shirt Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi all,

    I have searched many times and can't quite seem to find a definitive answer to this question:

    What would currently be the best file type to rip to to save some space but still have quality video/audio on my MBP late 2008?

    I've been playing around with some different dvd rippers and they seem to offer some different types of formats to convert to (although there are many the same in each program). For example, some have DIVX and some don't.

    I am trying to copy some of my movies to my hard drive for travelling, but would like to shrink the file sizes somewhat so as not to fill up my hard drive space (have to have games after all)!

    Feel free to recommend what you think is best ripper out there (don't mind purchasing software).

    Thanks in advance for any assistance...bill
     
    The_Shirt, Jan 4, 2009
    #1
  2. diggy

    diggy Notebook Deity

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    I use MacTheRipper and set it to only copy the main feature (sometimes saves a gig or two of space). Dont think it does much for compression, but from what I've tried, its the best and easiest to use
     
    diggy, Jan 4, 2009
    #2
  3. cdnalsi

    cdnalsi Food for the funky people

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    cdnalsi, Jan 4, 2009
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  4. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    Usually if you want a divx/xvid file, or mp4, the lowest i would go is 700mb. Decent quality, is around 1.4gb. Some programs have a slider and you can just change it to what file size you want, and it will do the calculations for the audio and video bitrate.

    But like cdnalsi mentioned, theres handbrake, and theres also visual hub.
     
    sulkorp, Jan 4, 2009
    #4
  5. circa86

    circa86 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    handbrake is the way to go to do any type of ripping, I have never ripped a DVD but I know a lot about video encoding. H.264 or x264 is the way to go in terms of codec, and .mkv is a popular type of container, as it can store multiple audio tracks, etc.

    and overall file size doesn't really mean anything. The actual data rate is what determines all of that. If you are uploading something to the web, 1300/kbps or 3000/kbps is common, an Apple 1080p trailer is encoded in h.264 at around 10mbps, which any modern machine should be able to play back, and you likely aren't encoding 1080p content.

    I would just stick to handbrake and keep in mind h.264 is a great video codec, and AAC at 128 should get you great results in terms of quality and efficiency. You will need to play around with it to get exactly what you want though.
     
    circa86, Jan 4, 2009
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  6. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    HandBrake is very good and free.
     
    ZaZ, Jan 4, 2009
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  7. Underpantman

    Underpantman Notebook Virtuoso

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    +1 for H.264 and acc
    and
    +1 for handbrake
    I would have suggested visualhub but unfortunately that program is now no longer available... real shame as it was the best encoder I had come across..
    a
    :)
     
    Underpantman, Jan 5, 2009
    #7
  8. Marcham93

    Marcham93 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes handbreak is the perfect software you are looking for in combination with H.264 and ACC
     
    Marcham93, Jan 5, 2009
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  9. The_Shirt

    The_Shirt Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks all for the replies!
     
    The_Shirt, Jan 5, 2009
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  10. dlhuss

    dlhuss Notebook Consultant

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    If I'm not mistaken, the latest version of Handbrake doesn't rip DVDs.

    handbrake.fr:

    "No more internal DVD decryption

    Yeah, we know, no one reading this is going "Oh wow, no more DVD decryption--what a great new feature!" but...deal.

    HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, and if you're on Linux, and you want to live on the wild side, you can install libdvdcss on your system and get the same effect.

    Translation of the last paragraph from nerdese:

    We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone. If you're on Linux, all you have to do is install a library."


    ---Need VLC too.
     
    dlhuss, Jan 5, 2009
    #10
  11. Marcham93

    Marcham93 Notebook Evangelist

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    Your mistaken. :p Handbreak (any version) rips DVDs.
     
    Marcham93, Jan 5, 2009
    #11