Processing Movies for iPhone/iPod Touch

[mjgkramer]

I have been successful putting some of my DVDs on my iPhone by ripping them with RipIt, DVD2One, etc and then formatting and compressing them using Roxio Crunch, with Crunch outputting the files into iTunes. A friend has asked me if there is a way to process the ripped files using one of the Apple apps, such as iTunes, QuickTime, or whatever, avoiding the need to buy an application to do it?

[Gareth]

Apple apps, no. But Handbrake is free and will process the ripped files. You can also use Handbrake & VLC to rip the DVD's for free too, though I haven't tried that myself.

[mjgkramer]

Thanks Gareth. I keep reading that Handbrake can be used to rip copy protected DVDs as long as VLC (how about Fairmount?) is installed but so far not found HB to be straightforward enough for casual use. What I need to find is a free app that is as easy to use and powerful as DVD2One.

[H1N1]

HB output to h.264
why fairmount?
also iSquint'

[mjgkramer]

DVD2One requires Fairmount to run before it will work. I think Fairmount does the same thing as VLC with respect to allowing copy protected DVDs to be ripped.

[Winston]

The people who make Fairmount also make something called DVDRemaster, which looks like it does what you want. And Fairmount is apparently just a front-end which uses VLC.

http://www.metakine.com/products/fairmount/

Free & open-source DVD decryption

Fairmount is a free tool which allows on-the-fly decryption of DVD content for convenient access. Fairmount does not perform the actual decryption, it simply forwards the data to VLC Media Player, which is used for the decryption. Hence, VLC Media Player must be installed for Fairmount to work.

Using Fairmount is easy. After installing VLC Media Player, simply download the latest version and launch Fairmount. It will work its magic automatically, replacing the original DVD on the desktop by a decrypted disc image of the DVD. To eject the original disc, simply eject the decrypted image. Upon quitting the application, the original disc will reappear.


Once Fairmount is launched, making a backup of a DVD is as simple as dragging and dropping its VIDEO_TS folder somewhere on your hard disk. The resulting copy will be decrypted as it is copied and will be ready for archival.

Fairmount also enables DVDRemaster to work directly on an encrypted DVD. DVDRemaster is an application which recompresses large DVDs so they can be burned on a standard DVD or converts them so they can be watched on your video iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, Apple TV and many others. DVDRemaster accommodates both novices and experts with its simple but yet powerful interface. wrote:

But DVDRemaster is $40, or $50 for the "Pro" version.
http://www.metakine.com/products/dvdremaster/


Good luck.

- Winston

[deckeda]

If you've already got RipIt, keep using it. Handbrake via VLC will only be successful some of the time, whereas RipIt will be successful most of the time, and when it's not they want to know about it.

Handbrake is dead-nuts easy to use. Point it towards your ripped title and it'll find the movie within it. Use one of the presets for your intended player and hit the go button.

If you rip several titles and set them aside you can add each to a queue in Handbrake and let it go all night if necessary. But if you only use Handbrake/VLC you're stuck doing them one-at-a-time because your optical drive will be consumed during the entire process.

[Wailer]

deckeda wrote:

If you rip several titles and set them aside you can add each to a queue in Handbrake and let it go all night if necessary. But if you only use Handbrake/VLC you're stuck doing them one-at-a-time because your optical drive will be consumed during the entire process.

And that's a lot of wear-and-tear on your optical drive compared to ripping and then converting.

I use MTR but a lot of the more recent DVDs I've purchased (Disney) can't be ripped by MTR.

[lazydays]

Handbrake is about as easy as it gets. You start the program, select your dvd, hit the ipod preset, add to queue, start. When it is complete you drag the resulting file to itunes.

[Article Accelerator]

mjgkramer wrote:
I have been successful putting some of my DVDs on my iPhone by ripping them with RipIt, DVD2One, etc and then formatting and compressing them using Roxio Crunch, with Crunch outputting the files into iTunes.

...or you could just do it with Handbrake (freeware).

...not found HB to be straightforward enough for casual use

- insert the disc into the drive
- launch Handbrake and select the iPod preset