DVD ripping software for fast, easy backup.
May 7, 2015 6:43 PM Subscribe
Somewhere, hidden among thorny brambles, lies software to save my kid's DVDs from being loved to death. Help me find it!
If that kid gets his jammy fingers on his discs any more they're going to be utterly ruined. We have a TV that can play files from a USB stick so our current plan of attack is to rip them and pop them onto the stick. I've been using VLC but it's slow and buggy and really inefficient.
What we need is:
-Will rip episodes to individual files;
-Will do this from a single start point - VLC requires me to rip each episode one at a time, so a disc with eight episodes means I have to start the process eight times. I do not have time for this (see also, toddler);
-Cheap or free for preference. Anything pricey will need to have sterling references for me to even think about shelling out for it.
We're running Windows Seven on most of our machines but also have a Linux build available, but I'd prefer not to use that as the pc in question has an external optical and I also do not have time to make the hardware play nice.
If that kid gets his jammy fingers on his discs any more they're going to be utterly ruined. We have a TV that can play files from a USB stick so our current plan of attack is to rip them and pop them onto the stick. I've been using VLC but it's slow and buggy and really inefficient.
What we need is:
-Will rip episodes to individual files;
-Will do this from a single start point - VLC requires me to rip each episode one at a time, so a disc with eight episodes means I have to start the process eight times. I do not have time for this (see also, toddler);
-Cheap or free for preference. Anything pricey will need to have sterling references for me to even think about shelling out for it.
We're running Windows Seven on most of our machines but also have a Linux build available, but I'd prefer not to use that as the pc in question has an external optical and I also do not have time to make the hardware play nice.
You can very easily rip DVDs in native format with AnyDVD. The files end up as a folder that plays just like a disc, although I don't know if your TV could play them. VLC and Windows Media Center handle them fine. I do this to all my Redbox discs. Free to try, not cheap, but on sale now. Pair with DVD Shrink (free) to reduce space.
posted by achrise at 6:55 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by achrise at 6:55 PM on May 7, 2015
Seconding Handbrake. Rip this disc. Rip this title. Rip this chapter. Rip from 1:15 to 3:32. Make it MKV / MP4. Use H.264 / MPEG4. Keep the sound as Dolby Digital, convert to stereo MP3, whatever. Or don't tick anything at all and just go with the default. It just works.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:58 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:58 PM on May 7, 2015
Seconding HandBrake. I ripped my whole collection via HandBrake, not to mention a number of films rented from the Dreaming Ant in Bloomfleld, Pittsburgh PA (the last place I ever rented a DVD from). It's the cat's meow.
posted by dis_integration at 6:59 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by dis_integration at 6:59 PM on May 7, 2015
Freemake
posted by Freedomboy at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by Freedomboy at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2015
Response by poster: I'm going to give Handbrake a go - sounds just what I needed. Thanks!
posted by Jilder at 7:36 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by Jilder at 7:36 PM on May 7, 2015
AnyDVD plus CloneDVD allows you to make an exact copy of a DVD, minus any copy protection.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:05 PM on May 7, 2015
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:05 PM on May 7, 2015
Best answer: On Windows, you're probably going to need another piece of software to decrypt the DVD alongside using Handbrake. From the Handbrake features page: "Handbrake can process most common multimedia files and any DVD or BluRay sources that do not contain any kind of copy protection".
AnyDVD works great to break the encryption on DVDs or Blu-Rays, and works transparently with Handbrake. AnyDVD basically makes the DVD available to Handbrake without the encryption.
posted by dforemsky at 6:11 AM on May 8, 2015
AnyDVD works great to break the encryption on DVDs or Blu-Rays, and works transparently with Handbrake. AnyDVD basically makes the DVD available to Handbrake without the encryption.
posted by dforemsky at 6:11 AM on May 8, 2015
There are a couple different concerns here.
First and foremost: are you trying to put the rip back onto a DVD... or not? Because that can get complicated.
Generally, rip only will be the easiest, i.e. ripped to a directory on your computer's HD. So, Handbrake as suggested earlier, and sometimes, the free DVDFab Passkey, which helps your DVD drive read the last copy protection stuff.
How do you play that back? Well, that's a different problem. :)
You could burn it back to a DVD... However, keep in mind most commercial DVDs are dual-layer and contains lots of stuff so you're looking at somewhere between 5-9 GB's worth of space. Most DVD-Rs you buy in stores are single-layer and only fits about 4.2 GB or so. You can buy dual-layer but obviously they are much more expensive than their single layer cousins.
Other alternatives... depends on what tech you have available. Most reliable will probably be flash drives, pretty hard to break (unless you manage to destroy the connector). Another possibility is get a media player like Roku / Android TV/ Apple TV and such and serve it from the PC through the network with something like Plex server. Chromecast is also a possibility if you have a smartphone / tablet and a local WiFi network. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, well, consult a local geek immediately. :D
posted by kschang at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2015
First and foremost: are you trying to put the rip back onto a DVD... or not? Because that can get complicated.
Generally, rip only will be the easiest, i.e. ripped to a directory on your computer's HD. So, Handbrake as suggested earlier, and sometimes, the free DVDFab Passkey, which helps your DVD drive read the last copy protection stuff.
How do you play that back? Well, that's a different problem. :)
You could burn it back to a DVD... However, keep in mind most commercial DVDs are dual-layer and contains lots of stuff so you're looking at somewhere between 5-9 GB's worth of space. Most DVD-Rs you buy in stores are single-layer and only fits about 4.2 GB or so. You can buy dual-layer but obviously they are much more expensive than their single layer cousins.
Other alternatives... depends on what tech you have available. Most reliable will probably be flash drives, pretty hard to break (unless you manage to destroy the connector). Another possibility is get a media player like Roku / Android TV/ Apple TV and such and serve it from the PC through the network with something like Plex server. Chromecast is also a possibility if you have a smartphone / tablet and a local WiFi network. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, well, consult a local geek immediately. :D
posted by kschang at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2015
You could burn it back to a DVD... However, keep in mind most commercial DVDs are dual-layer and contains lots of stuff so you're looking at somewhere between 5-9 GB's worth of space. Most DVD-Rs you buy in stores are single-layer and only fits about 4.2 GB or so. You can buy dual-layer but obviously they are much more expensive than their single layer cousins.
DVD Shrink fixes this, with a pretty-much-imperceptible (in this application) quality difference
posted by achrise at 9:16 AM on May 8, 2015
DVD Shrink fixes this, with a pretty-much-imperceptible (in this application) quality difference
posted by achrise at 9:16 AM on May 8, 2015
Best answer: I use MakeMKV to rip, then Handbrake to convert to a smaller format that my chromecast also can play via my NAS.
posted by idb at 6:30 PM on May 8, 2015
posted by idb at 6:30 PM on May 8, 2015
Response by poster: kschang, reading the question all the way to the end would have told you I am ripping to a USB to play on a smart TV. I just need to get it to MP4 format, the TV handles those fine from the stick. We have a bunch of MP4s I've ripped using VCL that play just fine, I just need something that does the job more efficiently.
To repeat, I just need something to rip a whole series from a DVD (in this case five twenty minute episodes of Play School) in one sitting, to MP4, preferably with each episode in its own file (so five MP4s). That's it.
posted by Jilder at 11:16 PM on May 8, 2015
To repeat, I just need something to rip a whole series from a DVD (in this case five twenty minute episodes of Play School) in one sitting, to MP4, preferably with each episode in its own file (so five MP4s). That's it.
posted by Jilder at 11:16 PM on May 8, 2015
Handbrake should work fine then.
posted by kschang at 1:51 AM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 1:51 AM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
You'll probably need to install libdvdcss to rip the DVDs with Handbrake if they contain copy protection.
posted by Aleyn at 11:13 PM on May 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Aleyn at 11:13 PM on May 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Yeah, I should amend that Handbrake did not rip very well straight from disc. I've been using MakeMKV to pull the media from the disc and then Handbrake to make the files smaller and more usable.
posted by Jilder at 4:17 AM on May 12, 2015
posted by Jilder at 4:17 AM on May 12, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by General Malaise at 6:54 PM on May 7, 2015 [8 favorites]