Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

DJTHEFUNNY

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 2, 2009
98
0
Here is what i want to do:

convert DVDs to my mac for use in iTunes
Convert complete season sets (multi disc)
want to convert them into a small size
keep menus and extra features (For my Star Wars DVDs :D)
Back them all up

so which program would be perfect/close to what i need or does anyone have any other recommendations?
 
You don't need ripit at all for what you want to do. You need VLC from videolan and handbrake. Handbrake uses a library from vlc to read through the copy protection (just like a hardware dvd player can do) and encode the output into a number of different file sizes and quality. I suggest trying one of the presets on handbrake slide out menu. There are presets for itunes, ipod, iphone, apple TV, etc. Pick the one that fits your needs or try a couple of them on the same movie and see which one you like best. It boils down to file size versus picture quality.
 
Okay, so I converted over 800 DVDs to *.mp4's using RipIt and HandBrake. The key is to rip the disks while your at your machine, using little processing power (at least compared to handbrake) and then use HBs excellent queuing capabilities to encode overnight. They work in concert, this is not a versus question. HandBrake will work however it's dependent on the drive speed and you can only do one disk at a time. Also, the 64bit version of VLC is somewhat deprecated and not being updated at the time being. Good luck.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.