Alpha Geek: Copy DVDs to your iPod
by Rick Broida
So Apple wants you to pony up $14.99 for Pixar’s Cars when you already own the DVD? Nuh-uh. Don’t think so. Seems like you should be able to copy that DVD right to your iPod.
You
can, provided you have the right tools and some time to kill. With free
software and this tutorial, you can copy almost any DVD in your library
to your iPod for on-the-go viewing. Let’s get ripping.
Lucky Mac users
Mac users have an easy solution in the form of open source gem Instant HandBrake,
which not only rips DVDs but also converts them to the iPod-friendly
MPEG-4 format. (Hurry up with the Windows version, developers!) If you
need help using it, try this tutorial.
The Windows two-step
Windows users will need two programs: DVD Decrypter, which we’ve featured in numerous how-to articles; and Videora iPod Converter.
To
summarize the process, you’re going to use DVD Decrypter to “rip” the
contents of a DVD to your hard drive and Videora to convert those
contents to a format the iPod likes–namely, MPEG-4. When all that’s
done, you’ll use iTunes to copy the movie to your iPod, as you would
any other video file.
Step 1: DVD Decrypter
- Insert your DVD and start DVD Decrypter.
- Click the Mode menu and choose IFO.
- Click the Tools menu, select Settings, and then choose the IFO Mode tab.
- In the Options section, click the File Splitting field and set it to None. Click OK to exit the Settings dialog.
- In the right-hand section of the interface, click the Stream Processing tab and check the Enable Stream Processing box.
- Immediately
below that box, uncheck everything except for the first video and audio
items. In other words, only two boxes should be selected. - Back
on the left side, in the Destination section, click the folder icon to
determine where DVD Decrypter should place your ripped files. (I’m
usually in favor of something like My Documents > My Videos >
Movie Title.) - Finally, click Decrypt and be prepared to wait 20 minutes or so while the software does its thing.
Step 2: Videora iPod Converter
- Fire up Videora iPod Converter.
- Click
Setup, then click Browse next to the Output Videos field. This is where
you’ll choose where to deposit your converted movie. I recommend My
Documents > My Music > iTunes > iTunes Music > Movies, but
only for sake of organization. You can output the movie anywhere, so
long as you know where it’s going to land. Click Save to finish the
operation. - Click Convert, and then click the Transcode New Video button.
- Navigate to the folder on your hard drive containing the movie you just ripped. You’re looking for a file with a name like
VTS_01_1.VOB. Select the file and click OK. - In the Title field, enter the name of the movie.
- Finally,
click Start and be prepared to wait upwards of two hours (the time
varies depending on the speed of your PC, the length of the movie,
etc.). Don’t be concerned if the progress meter gets to 100% and the
software still appears to be running. It’ll finish when it’s finished.
Step 3: iTunes
When
Videora is done, all that remains is to start iTunes. If you followed
my suggestion above, the newly converted movie should be in your Movies
folder. If not, you’ll need to import it. (Here’s how.) From there, just copy the movie to your iPod and start watching!
Before I go, let me pass on a few final tips. First, if you encounter a DVD that gives DVD Decrypter trouble, try DVD Shrink
instead. Second, whenever possible, choose full-frame (rather than
widescreen) versions of the movie. The video iPod’s screen is small
enough already without losing more of the image to letterboxing.
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