Tip for Mac Users Regarding DVD Decrypter

[AShillingNoMore]

If you're using a Macbook as I am, and don't want to spend the 30 bucks to get Mac the Ripper, you may be tempted to try to use DVD Decrypter in a Windows virtual machine. It won't work.

During my many attempts to do so, DVD Decrypter always took quite long. So long in fact, I was (and still am) quite unsure if it would finish in my lifetime, or perhaps even within the lifespan of the universe itself. I spent ages tweaking the settings, trying to think of what was configured incorrectly.

Fast forward a month or two, and I had purchased an old Windows laptop for unrelated reasons; it had absolutely awful specifications, but worked as a webserver. One day, out of mere curiosity, I attempted to use DVD Decrypter on it.

What it took 3 hours to accomplish in the virtual machine (5% of the first file), the laptop accomplished in less than a minute.

(Although I specify DVD Decrypter in the title, I did try other ripping software during the VM testing period, they all had the same problems, which is strange, since VirtualBox is normally quite good at handling DVD drive passthrough)

[Spicy Cabbage]

So what's the tip? Buy an old windows laptop?

Seriously though, a FREE alternative of DVD Decrypter for us Mac users might be MakeMKV. I just found out MakeMKV can rip to ISO a few months back.

[lordsmurf]

I don't remember MakeMKV being a rip software, only a re-encode software.

Note that "rip" has a very specific jargon meaning. You essentially take data from a container-less system, or an alternate file system (like UDF for DVD-Video), and store it in a containerized file like WAV, AVI, or ISO (BIN/CUE, etc). Re-encoding is not ripping.

Too many people misuse the term.

[johns0]

Makemkv is a ripping software,it just puts the unencoded video into a mkv container file,it does no re-encoding.

[AShillingNoMore]

So what's the tip? Buy an old windows laptop?

Yes and no. You can if you want, but I find it works well still on a semi-recent version of Windows (Server 2008) or a Wine (set to Windows XP compatibility) if you are able.

[lordsmurf]

Makemkv is a ripping software,it just puts the unencoded video into a mkv container file,it does no re-encoding.

That's still not ripping, as it alters the data.

[johns0]

It doesn't alter the data,it's still a ripping software that gives you the exact video in another container.That's like saying mkvmerge alters the data by putting it in another container.

[lordsmurf]

It doesn't alter the data,it's still a ripping software that gives you the exact video in another container.That's like saying mkvmerge alters the data by putting it in another container.

It's not true because the disc data is formatted to an authored standard (DVD-Video, BDAV/BDMV).

Ripping must be bidirectional.

- I can rip/transfer ("capture" is misnomer) a DV tape (extract non-containized DV data), saved into a AVI/MOV file. But then I can go the other way, easily write the file back to tape.
- I can rip an audio CD to WAV/AIFF, burn it back to CD-R. (Very minimal changes happen, so it's only 99%+ to original.)
- I can rip a CD/DVD/BD to ISO/image, and burn it back.

When you use MKVMerge to remove an asset from within the disc formatting (DVD-Video, BDMV/BDAV, etc), it's lost. You lose menus, you lose structure. It cannot be burned back to an original media (recordable disc). That's the difference.

"Rip" is a jargon that has been heavily misused over the years.
People want to
- "rip" (CAPTURE!) videotapes
- "rip" (RE-ENCODE!) CD to MP3
- "rip" (SELECTIVELY REMOVED DATA!) DVD/BD to AVI/MP4/MKV/whatever

But it's more accurate to "rip a fart" than to "rip to MKV".

[crjackson]

Would extract content be a more accurate description?

It’s not free, but I use Mac-DVDRipper-Pro

Honestly, if you can’t afford a few simple tools, you should probably wait until you can IMHO.