Rip to mp4 or avi

[robbie1965]

i have a season of a tv show that i want to rip to mp4 or avi,, what the best way for me ,, i am new at this so i need the easiest way ,,

thanks

[transporterfan]

DVD, Bluray, or are they files you have recorded and just want to convert to a different format?
Is this is a commercial disc? If so, it will have protection which needs to be counteracted.
I'm afraid you need to be more specific before anyone can help.

[robbie1965]

yes it is a store disc not bluray and i think it is protected
thanks

[transporterfan]

OK. My favoured method at the moment is DVDFab but it's expensive.
For free, one method is rip with BDlot DVD ISO Master. This will produce an ISO file and remove structural protection.
An ISO contains a duplicate of the DVD files, menus and structure. If you have a good HDD media player it might play this directly.
To break it down into separate titles try loading the ISO into video.Net. Each main title will be displayed as a video file.
Set it so it ouputs MP4 and not MKV.
Check the title you want to convert (if it's a series there will be a number of volumes of about the same size) and press 'start'.
Repeat for each of the episodes.

Good luck.

[redwudz]

robbie1965, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time. From our rules:

Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.

Thanks,
Moderator redwudz

Most all commercial DVDs/Blu-rays are encrypted. First you need a decrypter. DVDFab HD Decrypter is a basic freeware program that can do this.
Then you have to convert the ripped DVD file to the desired format. The format depends on what you intend to play it back with and how large a file size and quality you want. You don't need to create an ISO.

For MKV or MP4, you might try Handbrake.

[v491138]

Give a DVD decryptor and thus the unprotected DVD filesl on your HD and a plan for producing the individual episodes, what format would one want to rip to, MP4 or AVI. That was the initial question and I'm interested in that as well.
As for how I would get to that point, I'd use DVD Smith Movie Backup and DVD Shrink or Decryptor to get the episodes.
From there, where do I go? MP4 or AVI or something else? Note that until this step I only dealt with VOB DVD files and not compressed anything since I have HD space to burn. Thanks.

[robbie1965]

ok what i did was run dvd shrink and got all the vob files ,, then i run xilisoft video converter and a mpeg4 file ,, i started with 801,780KB and got 935Mb ,, is that good ???

thanks robbie

[transporterfan]

Depends. If you're happy that's all that matters.
I would be looking for something at the same visual/audio quality at half the size of the original.

[robbie1965]

well i got dvdfab was able to rip it straight into a mp4 ,, but seems like the quailty is a little bad ,, should i do something different is h264 better ??? or what is better ??

thanks

[transporterfan]

Quality depends on a number of factors. Generally the bitrate is what determines the quality. A higher bitrate means more information, means better quality. Try adjusting this until you get something which suits you. Trial and error on your part. And read up on it. There is no golden setting. These will need adjusting to suit different projects.

There is another active thread here you can look at:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/342547-Complete-newbie-help-in-converting-DVDs-to-avi-mpeg-mkv

There is much to learn before you get it 'just right' for you. Most here have been backing up for years...and are still learning new tricks.

[robbie1965]

thanks i will look into it ,, but i think dvdfab is the best way for me ,,,just 1 step

thanks again

[Hoser Rob]

well i got dvdfab was able to rip it straight into a mp4 ,, but seems like the quailty is a little bad ,, should i do something different is h264 better ??? or what is better ??

thanks

That's been my experience with dvdfab. I only use the free part (dvdfab hd decrypter), which works well. Unfortunately the encoding looks like it has a ton of options but it doesn't really have enough. Like 2 pass encoding, which you need to get the best picture. Those sort of programs always tell you they're fast but they never tell you the cost of that in quality.

You're taking a variable bit rate source and compressing it. Converters can't figure out the optimal bit rate on the fly. This is why your dvdfab rips look pixelated (and maybe choppy) when the scenes change quickly (I'm guessing but I think it's a fairly educated guess). So you introduce another step so that the program can figure out how to handle the rate changes. Yes, it takes longer, but if you want to keep the video, what's the point of compromising quality?

Mind you, if you just want to rip to something you're going to be watching on a small mobile screen, this may not be a problem. For a TV or good sized monitor screen it is.

What I use is dvdfab hd decrypter to DVD-9 output. Just removes the copy protection. Then Handbrake or Avidemux to convert.

While I'm liking Avidemux more these days, for someone new to this I'd recommend Handbrake. Highly.

There's a real compromise between ease of use and functionality with these kind of programs. Basically you're dealing with a lot of video formats/containers. And a pitiful lack of standards. This is why I don't really want to be a digital video geek. The godawful standards are too frustrating.

I've tried a bunch of easier to use converters and editors. They all worked badly. And yes, the really powerful and functional programs are harder to use.

Handbrake has the best combination of power and ease of use I've seen. And the output is excellent. Use 2 pass mode, selecting the file size you want. It only outputs mp4 or mkv files but to most people that's not a serious limitation. And it makes the program a lot easier to use.

Read the docs too. They're amazingly good for open source. Most programs that you pay for don't have docs that good. They explain what you're doing, and why.