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byau
Joined: 06 Oct 2005
Posts: 635
Location: Pasadena, CA
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 Posted: Sun 01/24/10 6:56 pm Post subject: DVD ripping software for Windows? |
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Any suggestions on reliable DVD ripping software for Windows?
I have Amigo DVD and it isn't "reliable" (sometimes misses the ending, sometimes skips, though that could be my DVD drive also).
I use Handbrake and Instant Handbrake on my mac which I really like a lot.
I'd like to have it rip to mp4 format and I'd also like to be able to rip to DVD quality or near DVD quality (in case I play on the tv)
Any recommendations/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Eli
Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 973
Location: Irvine, CA
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| Posted: Sun 01/24/10 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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I've used Nero for that. You can download a free trial if you want to give it a try.
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Capt Morgan
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 285
Location: California
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| Posted: Sun 01/24/10 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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I find that I get a better product if I rip a DVD image to my hard drive first, then make additional copies from that hard drive file.
If I go directly to the DVD I sometimes get some of the same errors you mentioned.
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byau
Joined: 06 Oct 2005
Posts: 635
Location: Pasadena, CA
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| Posted: Tue 01/26/10 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Eli - someone else who does a lot of video stuff also recommended Nero.
Morgan, I'm looking to create mp4 instead of ripping the DVD to a file format (you mean like the VIDEO_TS kind of thing?)
Basically our tv is old and probably going soon and I am anticipating our new TV will have VGA port so I plan to hook up a computer and play mp4 movies (mp4 so I can also play on ipod) as well as netflix instant play. So I'm looking to rip movies and be able to adjust the quality to try to get good quality while keeping disk space to a minimum.
I'll take a look at Nero - thanks!
_________________
I AM LINDY HOP: http://iamlindyhop.com
Weekly Lessons: http://one2swing.com/lessons_groups.php
Monthly Dances: http://thirdsaturdayswing.com
NEXT DANCE: June 19 with our June Jack and Jill Competition
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Mr. JJ
Joined: 07 Nov 2005
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Mon 03/01/10 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Why not handbrake for Windows? Works fine for me. |
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mantom
Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 23
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| Posted: Tue 03/02/10 1:16 am Post subject: |
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| byau wrote: | Thanks Eli - someone else who does a lot of video stuff also recommended Nero.
Morgan, I'm looking to create mp4 instead of ripping the DVD to a file format (you mean like the VIDEO_TS kind of thing?)
Basically our tv is old and probably going soon and I am anticipating our new TV will have VGA port so I plan to hook up a computer and play mp4 movies (mp4 so I can also play on ipod) as well as netflix instant play. So I'm looking to rip movies and be able to adjust the quality to try to get good quality while keeping disk space to a minimum.
I'll take a look at Nero - thanks! |
Generally speaking, you always want to rip to a master format, then make your derivatives from that. In plain english - rip DVD to harddrive 'as-is', then get a conversion program to convert the DVD format to whatever you want as output.
You do this for a few reasons:
1) Speed. ripping from an external device such as a DVD drive is very, very slow compared to other operations the computer can perform. If you're converting as you rip, it'll only get worse.
2) Reliability. The further the data is from the CPU, the more hoops it much jump through to be processed. Every hoop is another opportunity for something to go wrong. This the most common cause of failure when burning CDs and DVDs. You'll try to do something else while the burn is active, and another process interferes with data flow going to the burn (much like a train crossing where traffic has to stop to accomodate the train). The burning software gets antsy, and after enough interrupts it just gives up because it cannot rely on the stream of data it's being fed (or not being fed to be more accurate). If you rip straight to harddrive, you can spend the bulk of the time converting your data rather than cursing at your DVD drive and network cables when the rip goes bad because it missed a few bytes in the middle corrupting your file(s).
3) Organization. Rule of thumb with any media based edit workflow is to separate your master copy (input) from your edit copy (output). You do this so you can make multiple attempts should the first attempt go bad, or if you change your mind and want to make adjustments such as trim, add titles, add special FX, color correct, etc... If you convert on-the-fly from DVD straight to .mp4 and the compression isn't to your liking, then you have to re-rip - which is very slow. If you rip to harddrive, then convert to .mp4 and it goes bad, you only have to redo the conversion, not the rip.
You should also run a few short tests before you commit to output. Example: convert a 2 minute segment instead of the entire DVD. View the output and see if it's up to your standards. If not, change the settings and try again. Rinse, repeat, until you get output you like. Then do the full conversion. In a perfect world, your test segment would contain footage that's difficult to convert/compress so you can account for the worst case scenario that'll be present on the full DVD. That'll leave no surprises when you do the full convert.
4) Flexibility. There are several rippers out there, but they don't have the best options when it comes to handling media. Their focus is convenience. Just like the local 7-11, convenience usually translates to crap when measuring quality. However, most media editing programs such as Pinnacle studio, Avid DV Express, or Final Cut Pro have many options for converting data to your desired format. Asking your ripper to convert is like asking Microsoft to make moves for theatrical release. Do you really want Mr. "I'm a PC" to do your creative stuff?
As for software - best to do a straight rip ('streamed' rip if you see those words on the box - doubtful they advertise it as a feature). A lot of rippers out there, including Nero, will offer the option to "recode" your data as you rip claiming to improve your image and sound in the process - don't do that. DVDs use the Mpeg-2 format which is lossy compressed. A fancy way of saying the data changes slightly each time it's saved because it's an 'approximation' of the original data. It's equivalent to making a photocopy of a document, then photocopying the resulting copy. Each time you go down another generation, the quality worsens because it's approximating what it sees, not doing a true duplication. This is what happens each time you recode/recompress/convert data in lossy formats such as jpeg, mpeg-2 and mp4. If you do a streamed rip without any adjustments, the resulting copy on your harddrive will be 100% identical to the copy on your DVD disc. This gives your conversion program a better master copy to work with so the colors stay true and the noise remains at a minimum. Any file format conversion you do will produce data loss. So the best strategy is to hold off that data loss until the last possible moment - when you write to the output format.
Finally, whatever TV or computer monitor you buy next will most likely have an HDMI or DV-I inputs respectively which is much preferred over VGA. VGA is analog, has limited resolution (800x600) and quite obsolete. Your computer's graphics card should be completely DV-I output by now - this is what will feed the monitor. If not, you have a really old graphics card. The more recent TV's on the market have DV-I inputs as well as HDMI. If your computer doesn't have DV-I output from the graphics card, or HDMI output from the back ports, you can get a USB to DV-I/HDMI at your local best buy or electronics store for about $15.
Summary:
1) rip to harddrive without adjustments
2) test conversion of a short segment until you get quality you like using most challenging part of DVD as test subject.
3) convert your data.
It's more steps, but it will go faster and produces better results with less heartache in the long run. |
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Zenin
Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Posts: 298
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| Posted: Wed 03/03/10 5:59 am Post subject: |
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Pretty much all of that is incorrect. Some is almost correct, most is simply incorrect, and still quite a bit is wildly incorrect. |
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mantom
Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 23
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| Posted: Thu 03/04/10 4:01 am Post subject: |
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| Zenin wrote: |
Pretty much all of that is incorrect. Some is almost correct, most is simply incorrect, and still quite a bit is wildly incorrect. |
And your source is....? |
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Zenin
Joined: 08 Jun 2006
Posts: 298
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| Posted: Thu 03/04/10 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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| mantom wrote: | | Zenin wrote: |
Pretty much all of that is incorrect. Some is almost correct, most is simply incorrect, and still quite a bit is wildly incorrect. |
And your source is....? |
I'm ripping a DVD now, pipelined through an mp4 transcoder, while I type this message to you on a 28" 1920x1200 LCD screen fed by a VGA cable from my relatively old and slow Intel Duo2 2.4ghz computer.
Oddly nothing is slowing down. Nothing is going wrong. I'm not losing any data, and my screen isn't running at 800x600.
Here's the thing:
Ripping is I/O bound, transcoding is CPU bound. Any first year computer scientist can tell you such tasks are ideally suited for pipelining (running in parallel, one feeding into the other), because they don't share enough resources to slow each other down.
The VGA interface isn't limited to anywhere near 800x600. It is, in fact, able to support resolutions beyond what DVI/HDMI can do. Yes, if you have a choice go with DVI/HDMI...but don't spend any money just to do that. "Upgrading" from VGA to DVI/HDMI will gain you absolutely no change in image resolution or quality. There are good reasons to move to HDMI, but resolution and image quality are not them.
----
As a side note, there are valid reasons to limit multi-tasking while burning disks. Even they however, are largely irrelevant with modern hardware buffering that every disk writer includes now. |
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