Does anyone know of a free program (Intel) that will rip DVDs to .dvdmedia format?

[alexreich]

Hey fellow forum goers!

Over the past week I've been looking for a better DVD ripping tool. I've used Handbrake for about a year now, but I would like to have non-compressed versions of my movies as well, for my media center. All of my current DVD imports are in the .m4v format, which is friendly with all of my home's Apple devices.

After a few searches, I've tested and used RipIt and Mac DVDRipper Pro (both are not free, but provide test rips), which output these .dvdmedia files that contain the menus, as well as the film off of my DVDs. After using a few of these, I have found that I love the .dvdmedia files, and the ability to use the menus of my films.

After my experiences, I have decided that I will use the .m4v videos for streaming to my iOS devices, and the .dvdmedia files for streaming to my jailbroken AppleTV from my server.

The only problem is, I have no money at the moment to spend on the software (currently out of a job) that rips DVDs to the .dvdmedia file format.

Does anyone know of a freeware application for an Intel-based Mac that could rip my DVDs into the .dvdmedia format? Any help or recommendations are always appreciated on my part.

-Alex

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You can do it yourself.
Just click on the parent folder of the DVD (where the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders reside in), and rename it by adding .dvdmedia to it.

PS: Know that video DVDs are compressed too, they just use an inferior codec (MPEG-2) compared to the .m4v files (which use MPEG-4 variant H.264), thus the video DVD takes more HDD space than the transcoded .m4v file, while visible image quality is the same (if proper settings have been applied in HandBrake).

 

[peterjcat]

That's fine as long as you have the DVD already ripped and unencrypted on your hard drive. For that you need another program.

An old version of MacTheRipper should work for most DVDs, more up-to-date is MakeMKV which also rips to folders and is free while in beta. There may be other free ones floating around. There are also often sales on RipIt and MacDVDRipper Pro if you look around.

 

[alexreich]

Thanks for the input guys. Just downloaded MakeMKV and will try that out.


Also, I assume that if I wanted to try the non-software solution mentioned above I just drag the files on my DVD's off into a folder on my Desktop and then add the .dvdmedia extension to it the folder can be used for playback? or is there more that needs to be done to decrypt/rip the DVD before simply adding the .dvdmedia extension?

Thanks a lot for recommendations so far.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You need to rip the DVD first, if it is a commercial DVD.

How to backup/copy/rip video DVDs to your HDD and transcode them to another format in Mac OS X.​

 

[marzer]

PS: Know that video DVDs are compressed too, they just use an inferior codec (MPEG-2) compared to the .m4v files (which use MPEG-4 variant H.264)

I think the term inferior would be arguable. If storage space and bandwidth are an issue, then MPEG4 is "preferable." Otherwise, I think MPEG2 will yield a higher quality video.

 

[KevinC867]

Also, I assume that if I wanted to try the non-software solution mentioned above I just drag the files on my DVD's off into a folder on my Desktop and then add the .dvdmedia extension to it the folder can be used for playback? or is there more that needs to be done to decrypt/rip the DVD before simply adding the .dvdmedia extension?

Fairmount is a very simple program which will strip encryption as you copy the disk to your hard drive.

 

[alexreich]

Just downloaded Fairmount and will try that out, after some research that application seems to be the best way to copy DVDs to a computer/server. Personally I don't like the MakeMKV application because the .mkv files cannot be played natively on Apple devices (requires VLC on Mac, and 3rd Party/Jailbreak for playback on iOS), and the rips seem as if they take longer than other apps I've used.

Will probably stick with Fairmount, and create .dvdmedia files to playback the DVDs contents.

Bought Mac DVDRipper Pro. It rips DVDs to the .dvdmedia format for me easily and quickly.

 

[peterjcat]

Ah yes I'd forgotten about Fairmount, it's a good one.

BTW MakeMKV doesn't only rip to MKV, it will also create a complete copy of a DVD in VIDEO_TS format, but you have to press the Backup button instead of the main button.