I just ripped my first DVD via handbrake, but cannot get it to play in iTunes. What is the secret? I have copied the file to the correct location and tried adding it via iTunes, both with no luck.
Well, I tried Rip It and it worked just fine. Although, I did get two copies for some reason. I may have to shell out for Rip It, as it seemed to work very easily, although not so quick. Now to figure out the artwork piece.
Just to be clear, using Meta-X or similar programs is entirely optional. If the file is iTunes compatible, you can import it directly and add any details you want through the Get Info menu in iTunes (though that only labels it in iTunes, it doesn't alter the file with tags.)Also run the file through meta-x before dropping the file in the 'Automatically Add to iTunes' Folder http://www.kerstetter.net/index.php/projects/software/metax
So another question: after using rip it, what am I doing with Handbrake? After rip it everything seems to work fine. Does Handbrake then compress the files more? What is this next step and what are the advantages? Thanks again.
My next question and this seems like it should be simple. As I rip all my DVD's I want to store them on an external HD. How does this work with iTunes. I have a 2009 Mac Book Pro, with 113gb of music, and now 15gb of movies and that will grow very quickly. My internal HD is only 250 gb, and is rapidly getting very close to capacity. If I move all my movies to an external HD will iTunes just recognize that external when I plug it in, or are there steps I need to take to make sure it sees the files? I also have a TM and have read a few threads that suggest I could plug in my externals to it and have access to the files through streaming through the TM.
There should be no need to use RIpit. I use handbrake all the time with itunes
and the files play fine.
There are really only 2 reasons to use RipIt in the process:
1. Unless you have a quad core cpu, Handbrake is going to take a long time (~1.5-2 hours for my 2.4GHz Mini) to rip/encode and that means your dvd drive spinning that entire time. RipIt takes 20-30 minutes to rip a dvd so much less strain on the drive.
2. Because RipIt takes less time to rip, I can use it to rip a "batch" of dvd's and then queue them in HB and let it run all night long without needing user input.
You can achieve a similar result by using makeMKV and then run HB on the resultant . mkv file.
So another question: after using rip it, what am I doing with Handbrake? After rip it everything seems to work fine. Does Handbrake then compress the files more? What is this next step and what are the advantages? Thanks again.
RipIt gives you an exact 1:1 copy of the entire dvd and is quite large in file size, usually 6-9GB. That would take up way too much space when storing and is not really needed. Handbrake, with the ATV2 preset, gets rid of all the extra crap that is not needed and gives you only the movie, along with shrinking the file size to about 1-1.5GB.
What I did was when my iTunes library got too big for my internal HD, I moved the entire iTunes Library folder onto an external HD solely dedicated to iTunes (500GB). Granted I have it hooked up to my Mini which is on 24/7, but you could do roughly the same thing it's just a tad less portable as you have to carry it with you. You said you have a TM, do you mean you have a Time Capsule? If so, then yes you can plug the external HD into the TC and iTunes can access it wirelessly.