How do I put DVD movies in the cloud?

April 24, 2012 2:36 PM

Is there a good way to rip movies from DVDs, put them in the cloud and watch them on my iPad?

I bought the 16GB version of the new iPad because almost everything I need is in the cloud now. The only thing is, I like to watch the "Two Fat Ladies" while I cook. I have them on DVD, but I would love to have them at the ready on my iPad without taking up so much room. Sadly, the episodes aren't available on iTunes.

I have seen software that says it will rip DVDs to the iCloud for you, but it's not clear how well they work. I also don't mind using something other than the iCloud - maybe I should wait for the new Google Drive?

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Also, I have RipIt to do the ripping, if that means anything.

posted by theuninvitedguest to technology (10 answers total)

There's Handbrake, but you'd have to move the files to iCloud yourself.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:03 PM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Do you have a digital copy of the DVDs? Like you would get with Bluray discs? Because then you can just download them directly into iTunes through your computer's DVD drive, and they'll be available on iTunes to move where you want.
posted by misha at 3:37 PM on April 24, 2012

Qvivo does exactly this, plus streams to your iphone, pc, mac, android, etc.

It's still beta so some things are kind of clunky, but the UI is gorgeous and it pulls metadata from the interwebs.
posted by softlord at 4:36 PM on April 24, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you don't need the cloud and would work on your local wireless network, Air Video is amazing (but requires a Mac/PC to stream from).
posted by wongcorgi at 4:49 PM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

I switched from AirVideo to Buzz Player for streaming video directly from my shared drive to my iphone. It seems to take pretty much any format etc. This is over home wifi though, no clouds.

Use handbrake to rip the dvds.

Oh, BuzzPlayer HD is for iPad
posted by defcom1 at 4:56 PM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

I use Handbrake to rip movies to my desktop computer, then GoodPlayer to stream them off the desktop. You don't necessarily even have to be running a media streamer on the desktop, although I do (Serviio).

As far as the iPad is concerned, my desktop is part of "the cloud". You're going to be watching things while you cook? Then you don't really need to worry about whether you can get to your desktop from places other than your home wireless network, and for that, your desktop is cloud-y enough.
posted by hades at 4:59 PM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Boxee app (free) will let you play files over your home network. Use Handbrake to rip the DVDs to a smaller size files
posted by backwards guitar at 5:26 PM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Second or thirding using Handbrake to rip the DVDs to movie files. You could load these into iTunes to sync to your iPad.

However, you're not going to be using iCloud to do what you describe. At least so far, iCloud doesn't support storing your ripped movies online; it'll only have movies and tv shows you purchased from iTunes, or "digital copies" downloaded through iTunes.

I use Plex to do basically what you're describing though. It's a great app for organizing and watching your movie files on your Mac or PC, and for streaming them from your computer at home to your iPad anywhere. The computer-side software is free, and the iPad app isn't terribly expensive. It's allowed me to have a huge library of movies on my computer at home and to be able to watch them anywhere with a minimum of hassle.
posted by raygan at 8:44 PM on April 24, 2012

I highly, highly recommend AirVideo for streaming video from your computer to your iPad (or iPhone).
posted by robcorr at 4:44 AM on April 25, 2012

I had never heard of Qvivo! That sounds perfect. I don't mind streaming from my computer, but I have a laptop that I don't have powered on that often so it's kind of a pain to have to go turn my laptop on and set it up in some other room just to watch a movie. Sometimes I get home after work and I just want to press play.
posted by theuninvitedguest at 7:45 AM on April 25, 2012