reddirt14

I'm a neophyte with my Macs - this is my first one (a Macbook Air). What is the best way to copy a DVD onto my Mac to watch on the plain later. I'd prefer to have the movie loaded onto my laptop than carry the external DVD with me. Does this require "ripping" or some sort of conversion or can I perform a simple "drag and drop"...and wait for a long transfer?

I appreciate any advice you guys have and any recommendations software I should get, if it's required.

dyung

The easiest way is probably to just rip the DVD. I would recommend using Handbrake to do the job. Keep in mind though that ripping can generally take a while, so be sure to leave yourself plenty of time before your flight.

ksandness

If it's a movie that you don't already own and is fairly recent, just download it from iTunes.

deniah

handbrake is easy as cake to use

AlaskaAir738

^ Another vote for Handbrake. Simple one-step process to rip and convert from the DVD to an iTunes/QuickTime file. Built-in presets allow you to easily adjust video quality.

Braindrain

Handbrake doesn't just rip, it also converts - which seems to do far more than the OP is suggesting.

From what I can see on Handbrake, it doesn't get updated with the latest "copy protection" for ripping. Meaning, there are going to be some movies that you probably just can't rip with Handbrake.

From the website:
What you need is just a good, dedicated ripper.

LIH Prem

I think you get that by installing handbrake & vlc. (handbrake uses vlc's css support).

-David

reddirt14

Thanks - that's getting me started in the right direction. So for starters, I can't just copy the data from the DVD onto my harddrive - that seems to be what a "ripper" does. If that's the case, is it possible to do the "ripping" on my PC desktop and put the movie on a fast (level 6) SD card that I can plan on my Mac? I'd rather run production stuff on my PC where the DVD drives are stationary, cheap to fix, etc. Not to mention I don't plan on retaining movies on the Mac (just not enough harddrive space to be using it as an archive). I just want to use the Mac as a player.

AlaskaAir738

^ I have not had much trouble at all with HandBrake and VLC. A few older DVDs have not ripped properly but that's about it out of the hundreds that have worked successfully.
The data on the DVD is not single movie file itself, but a bunch of files that HandBrake will convert into a single file readable by the video player.
Yes, you can run HandBrake on your Windows PC and then transfer the completed video files to your Mac.

deniah

you want to rip AND convert (handbrake does both)
ripping will yield a 5gb file. you can convert to a ~700mb (CD-sized) video that is absolutely watchable on a computer, or a 1-2GB HD video that, displayed on my 58" 1080p plasma, looks as stellar as the real thing

2nd the recommendation for using VLC as general media player on both computer platforms

Braindrain

Certain DVD's (notably Sony and Disney) goes far beyond CSS for copy protection and cripples Handbrake and other lesser rippers.


Yes, use DVD Fab Decrypter on your PC. It's a FREE program that's updated all the time with the latest copy-protection. Then, just transfer the resulting file structure (VIDEO_TS) to your Mac.

I'd suggest the OP doesn't want to do that. Converting will add tons of extra time on the process and I'm guessing all he wants to do is watch them on the plane and them delete. Ripping takes about 10 min. Converting could add several hours, depending on the quality of the product.

Unless the OP has a severely tiny HDD, just leaving it in ripped form is good enough.

Braindrain

For the Handbrake gang....

It's worth noting that Handbrake (and other encoders) actually uses a separate x264 encoder to do the heavy lifting.

All Handbrake does is give you a pretty GUI and some presets. (Nothing wrong with that as I use XVid4PSP which uses the same encoding engine.)

But, if you truly wanted full control over the process...

AlaskaAir738

I do not find the processing time from DVD to .m4v in HandBrake more than an hour and a half for a film on a laptop, much less (45 min. or less) on a good desktop. The OP from what I understand would not be interested in a video quality that would need "several hours" to convert.
If the OP is interested in archiving his digital copies somewhere (external drive or another PC), the .m4v files would be easier to work with (in an iTunes library) than the VIDEO_TS folders.

I am just looking at this from an ease of use and organization perspective as someone who has archived all my personal DVDs into an iTunes library using HandBrake. From here, they can easily be shared over a network, placed on a flash drive (or SD card), or synced to an iPod, iPhone, iPad, ect. As for the OP's case, the resulting .m4v video file could be transferred via flash drive to the Mac, viewed, and deleted when finished.

lydia

I have yet to find a movie could not rip (and I have MANY), even the new Sony movies. Handbrake generally takes an average of 45 minutes.

Lydia

Forgot, I thought Handbrake would not work on a PC. My son tried it on his about 1-1/2 -2 years ago and it wouldn't work. He now owns a MAC. Does it now work on a PC?

Also, the MAC Air doesn't have a DVD slot. The OP would have to transfer from another computer to the Air.

reddirt14

Thanks to all - I'm learning a lot. Seems like there are a couple routes I can go and all work pretty well. I haven't thought about the iTunes library idea. My first thought was to put a copy of a movie, from a DVD, onto my computer. If it's possible I may try to put it on a fast SD card so that I minimize the space usage on my laptop...Macbook Air's don't have large drives, but if used wisely, they seem like they are big enough.

I do have a superdrive so I can read a DVD directly onto my laptop without using another computer. But initially I thought I would use a PC to "rip" the DVDs onto a portable media.

Is their anything unique about the formats that limit one or the other for use via a flashdrive or an SD card?