Help using MacTheRipper

[jfunkmaster]

Anyone use this?

I have this and Toast and I can't figure out how to burn a dvd to my hard drive.
I have limited space in my life and I want to digitize my entire personal collection.

I need step by step instructions as I am not very computer saavy for this type of thing.

Can anyone help me?

 

[sushi]

Here is what I do to create a DVD that will play on a DVD player (or computer):
1. MacTheRipper --> To duplicate the DVD contents on the HD.
2. DVD2OneX --> To shrink the image down to DVD5 size, if needed.
3. Toast --> To burn the DVD.

Note, DVD2OneX allows you to batch convert.

Here is what I do to create a digital version (mp4) to play via iTunes/iPhone/touch:
1. MacTheRipper --> To duplicate the DVD contents on the HD.
2. HandBrake --> To change the VOB files into an mp4 file.
3. Import the mp4 file into iTunes then delete the original.

Note, some DVDs you can just use HandBrake to get the content from DVD to mp4.

I like using iTunes to play my DVD movies so I am in the process of creating mp4 files of my favorite movies.

Hope this helps.

 

[jfunkmaster]

Here is what I do to create a DVD that will play on a DVD player (or computer):
1. MacTheRipper --> To duplicate the DVD contents on the HD.
2. DVD2OneX --> To shrink the image down to DVD5 size, if needed.
3. Toast --> To burn the DVD.

Note, DVD2OneX allows you to batch convert.

Here is what I do to create a digital version (mp4) to play via iTunes/iPhone/touch:
1. MacTheRipper --> To duplicate the DVD contents on the HD.
2. HandBrake --> To change the VOB files into an mp4 file.
3. Import the mp4 file into iTunes then delete the original.

Note, some DVDs you can just use HandBrake to get the content from DVD to mp4.

Hope this helps.

Will this allow me to copy a decrypted copy? The government says it is illegal but I figure if I own and have paid for the movie I should be able to transfer it into a different format.

 

[spinnerlys]

Mac The Ripper is for ripping/copying the contents of a video DVD, and removing the copy protection, to your hard drive.

Open Mac The Ripper, insert DVD (be sure to set "When insert video DVD" to Ignore in System Preferences > CDs & DVDs), wait til the Go button can be clicked (your DVD is scanned) and the click on the Go button.

The you will be prompted to set a location on your hard drive(s) where the data will be copied to. Do that and click Save/Ok, and wait til the ripping process is completed.

After that you have an exact copy of your DVD on your hard drive.

I don't know what you wanna do with Toast though. Burn to another disc, or what?

But know that one entire DVD can be 8 GB in size and it will also take the same amount on your hard drive.

Does that help somehow?

 

[jfunkmaster]

Mac The Ripper is for ripping/copying the contents of a video DVD, and removing the copy protection, to your hard drive.

Open Mac The Ripper, insert DVD (be sure to set "When insert video DVD" to Ignore in System Preferences > CDs & DVDs), wait til the Go button can be clicked (your DVD is scanned) and the click on the Go button.

The you will be prompted to set a location on your hard drive(s) where the data will be copied to. Do that and click Save/Ok, and wait til the ripping process is completed.

After that you have an exact copy of your DVD on your hard drive.

I don't know what you wanna do with Toast though. Burn to another disc, or what?

But know that one entire DVD can be 8 GB in size and it will also take the same amount on your hard drive.

Does that help somehow?

No I suppose I have no need for Toast. I thought I needed that for the process. So if I only want to put it on my hard drive I only need MacTheRipper?

Is there a way to shrink the 8GB to a smaller size without sacrificing quality?
I also have a HDMI to DVI(?) cable. Will I then be able to hook up to my TV and play the movie on my HDTV?

 

[sushi]

No I suppose I have no need for Toast. I thought I needed that for the process. So if I only want to put it on my hard drive I only need MacTheRipper?

If you only want to copy the DVD to your HD, then you can use MTR.

However, as was mentioned above, each DVD copy will take up the space that the DVD takes.

There are two types of common DVD sizes; DVD5 and DVD9. A DVD5 will hold around 4.3GB of information. A DVD9 will hold around 8.5GB of information. A DVD9 is also known as a dual layer DVD.

The majority of DVDs released today, are DVD9s. So 100 movies would take about 800GBs of space on your HD.

If you want to make a backup of a DVD, which is what I do when I am traveling so I don't hurt/damage my original DVD, is to do the first process that I mentioned above.

You will need Toast, or some other software, to burn a playable DVD.

Is there a way to shrink the 8GB to a smaller size without sacrificing quality?

The way to maintain the best quality is to burn your DVD to a DVD9.

However, DVD9s cost a lot more than DVD5s. So if you want to shrink your material to a size that will fit on a DVD5, one program that you can use is DVD2OneX which does a good job of maintaining the quality of the video. It will sacrifice the quality of the menus and other non movie DVD material.

Another way to shrink content is to use Handbrake which can convert the DVD files into a mp4 or other file of various quality, for example use on the iPhone/touch platform. These files will take up much less space on your HD. However, they cannot be burnt to make a DVD that can play in a DVD player.

So it all depends on what your goad is, be it to make backup copies of your DVDs, to store DVD content on your HD or to convert DVD files to another file format such as mp4 or avi.

I also have a HDMI to DVI(?) cable. Will I then be able to hook up to my TV and play the movie on my HDTV?

Since you have the cable, the TV, and the computer, why not give it a shot to see if it works?

 

[jfunkmaster]

If you only want to copy the DVD to your HD, then you can use MTR.

However, as was mentioned above, each DVD copy will take up the space that the DVD takes.

There are two types of common DVD sizes; DVD5 and DVD9. A DVD5 will hold around 4.3GB of information. A DVD9 will hold around 8.5GB of information. A DVD9 is also known as a dual layer DVD.

The majority of DVDs released today, are DVD9s. So 100 movies would take about 800GBs of space on your HD.

If you want to make a backup of a DVD, which is what I do when I am traveling so I don't hurt/damage my original DVD, is to do the first process that I mentioned above.

You will need Toast, or some other software, to burn a playable DVD.


The way to maintain the best quality is to burn your DVD to a DVD9.

However, DVD9s cost a lot more than DVD5s. So if you want to shrink your material to a size that will fit on a DVD5, one program that you can use is DVD2OneX which does a good job of maintaining the quality of the video. It will sacrifice the quality of the menus and other non movie DVD material.

Another way to shrink content is to use Handbrake which can convert the DVD files into a mp4 or other file of various quality, for example use on the iPhone/touch platform. These files will take up much less space on your HD. However, they cannot be burnt to make a DVD that can play in a DVD player.

So it all depends on what your goad is, be it to make backup copies of your DVDs, to store DVD content on your HD or to convert DVD files to another file format such as mp4 or avi.


Since you have the cable, the TV, and the computer, why not give it a shot to see if it works?

Once I rip using MTR what do I play the file on?

 

[sushi]

Once I rip using MTR what do I play the file on?

MTR basically puts a copy of the DVD on your HD.

So you can use the built in Apple DVD player. After launching the Apple DVD player, go to the FILE menu, select OPEN WITH DVD MEDIA and then navigate to and select the VIDEO TS folder that you want to play.

IMHO, this is a terrible way to play DVDs.

A much better way is to use Handbrake and convert the DVD to a mp4 file, then add to iTunes. When you want to play the movie, you open up iTunes and select the movie. Also, this way saves a huge amount of space on your HD and you can stream to different computers on your network. With a 1TB HD, I could store about 117 DVDs or around 800 plus mp4 movie files.

 

[jfunkmaster]

MTR basically puts a copy of the DVD on your HD.

So you can use the built in Apple DVD player. After launching the Apple DVD player, go to the FILE menu, select OPEN WITH DVD MEDIA and then navigate to and select the VIDEO TS folder that you want to play.

IMHO, this is a terrible way to play DVDs.

A much better way is to use Handbrake and convert the DVD to a mp4 file, then add to iTunes. When you want to play the movie, you open up iTunes and select the movie. Also, this way saves a huge amount of space on your HD and you can stream to different computers on your network. With a 1TB HD, I could store about 117 DVDs or around 800 plus mp4 movie files.

The problem I have with handbrake is the configuration.... It is waaaaay too complicated for me to figure out. What will give me optimal viewing? I dont need to play on a ipod or iphone. Will handbrake allow me to have the menu? Not important but would be nice

 

[sushi]

The problem I have with handbrake is the configuration.... It is waaaaay too complicated for me to figure out. What will give me optimal viewing? I dont need to play on a ipod or iphone. Will handbrake allow me to have the menu? Not important but would be nice

There are presets that you can try. You have to decide what level is good enough for your tastes.

If you toggle the PRESETS icon on Handbrake, it will provide you a list of common compressions such as Apple TV, iPhone/iPod touch, Television.

I suggest that you take one of your favorite movies, and then compress it using various methods to see which one you like best.

 

[jfunkmaster]

There are presets that you can try. You have to decide what level is good enough for your tastes.

If you toggle the PRESETS icon on Handbrake, it will provide you a list of common compressions such as Apple TV, iPhone/iPod touch, Television.

I suggest that you take one of your favorite movies, and then compress it using various methods to see which one you like best.

Wow....this takes awhile huh?

Is an output of 720x384 going to fill my entire 46" HDTV screen? Won't it look all blotchy?

PS- You guys are awesome for all of your help. I travel a ton so it would be great to bring a 500GB ext drive with me so I have my movie collection with me

 

[sushi]

Wow....this takes awhile huh?

Ripping using MTR and then using Handbrake will take some time.

Is an output of 720x384 going to fill my entire 46" HDTV screen? Won't it look all blotchy?

You'll have to try and see for yourself.

Not trying to be evasive. The key is to figure out what you like. Then try it and see for yourself. You can compare the original DVD to the various mp4 file versions that you create and then decide.

Of course the less quality the smaller the file. Conversely, the better the quality the larger the file.

PS- You guys are awesome for all of your help. I travel a ton so it would be great to bring a 500GB ext drive with me so I have my movie collection with me

In the past I carried an external HD. The quality of the file really matters. I like NCIS so I've been DL'ing the episodes from iTMS each week when they become available. NCIS is available in both HD and SD formats for $2.99 and $1.99 respectively. I DL the SD version which is fine for me. I notice that the SD files are about 1/3 the size of HD files. IMHO, the extra quality is not worth the file size increase. However, I do realize that some on this board would probably consider that incredulous. That is why it is important for you to determine what works for your needs and tastes.

Instead of an external HD, I decided to upgrade my internal to 500GB. I am looking forward to the day 1TB laptop drives are available can become affordable.

 

[jfunkmaster]

MTR basically puts a copy of the DVD on your HD.

So you can use the built in Apple DVD player. After launching the Apple DVD player, go to the FILE menu, select OPEN WITH DVD MEDIA and then navigate to and select the VIDEO TS folder that you want to play.

IMHO, this is a terrible way to play DVDs.

A much better way is to use Handbrake and convert the DVD to a mp4 file, then add to iTunes. When you want to play the movie, you open up iTunes and select the movie. Also, this way saves a huge amount of space on your HD and you can stream to different computers on your network. With a 1TB HD, I could store about 117 DVDs or around 800 plus mp4 movie files.

Is there anyway to rip to my HD and still be able to utilize the chapters and menus? What program would I need to run on (rip and play)?

 

[jfunkmaster]

Wow....this takes awhile huh?

Is an output of 720x384 going to fill my entire 46" HDTV screen? Won't it look all blotchy?

PS- You guys are awesome for all of your help. I travel a ton so it would be great to bring a 500GB ext drive with me so I have my movie collection with me

Here's a good question for ya:

If I want to stream to my PS3 to play video from my mac (with MediaLink), can I close my MacBook screen without it shutting off and going to sleep?

 

[Delameko]

Is there anyway to rip to my HD and still be able to utilize the chapters and menus? What program would I need to run on (rip and play)?

For chapters, they can be copied to some formats (such as .m4v and .mkv), Handbrake will do this for you. Menus - only if you keep it in the ripped DVD format.

But personally, I find the menu's just slow me down. I use Plex as a media centre (http://plexapp.com), and it's lovely piece of software that can replace your need for menus.

 

[Jethryn Freyman]

2. DVD2OneX --> To shrink the image down to DVD5 size, if needed.

Toast can do this.