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

Marco123

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 14, 2012
693
190
I have lots of movies on DVD yet I can't get them onto iTunes so I can put them on my mini.
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.
Can this be done on android?
 
I have lots of movies on DVD yet I can't get them onto iTunes so I can put them on my mini.
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.
Can this be done on android?

Try using Handbrake to rip the DVDs to your computer and convert them to MP4 or another iPad-compatible format.
 
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.?

Handbrake is the answer. The cause is timing. When CDs were created, no one imagined what computers would end up doing. DRM (what's blocking the DVD copy) was added to DVDs precisely because they saw what was happening to CDs (the copying) and wanted to prevent it.
 
I have lots of movies on DVD yet I can't get them onto iTunes so I can put them on my mini.
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.
Can this be done on android?

You can use Magic DVD Ripper to convert the format compatible to iPad then transfer through iTunes...
 
Handbrake works great. I've been using it to rip my DVD collection. It does take a bit of time to rip them, but I've saved up so much shelf space ripping them.

They look great on the iphone. I don't have an iPad but I'm sure it's just fine.
 
Hello,

I have done this using handbrake on both Apple Devices (iPhone, Ipad, via iTunes) and android (Nexus 7 via android file manager app). I like to watch them on the Android device because of the 16 x 10 aspect ratio. Works fine on the apple devices, I just prefer the aspect ratio of the Nexus for this.
 
There's a way to do it, but there's a long workflow involved. Check out the Apple TV and Home Theater section for more help.

https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/100/

There's not a long workflow. It's very simple. I have hundreds of DVDs in my collection done this way.

1. Put the DVD into your Mac's hard drive.
2. Rip the DVD using handbrake.
3. Drag this mp4 file into iTunes.
4. Sync your iPad.
 
There's not a long workflow. It's very simple. I have hundreds of DVDs in my collection done this way.

1. Put the DVD into your Mac's hard drive.
2. Rip the DVD using handbrake.
3. Drag this mp4 file into iTunes.
4. Sync your iPad.

Be careful you do not have the movie file on your hard drive TWICE. Takes up lots of room. I have all my movies in a movie directory, and then add to itunes. Once they are copied to ipad via synch, you can actually delete from hard drive.

But, to answer the original question, Apple does not provide a way to do this. They want you to buy it on the itunes store. And, I hope, pray, beg y'all to not start a long discussion about this. BUT, there is an argument that nevers ends about making copies, even for yourself. Some say no. Some say okay. This argument, like guns, abortion, etc will never be settled. Just be aware of it.
 
Be careful you do not have the movie file on your hard drive TWICE. Takes up lots of room. I have all my movies in a movie directory, and then add to itunes. Once they are copied to ipad via synch, you can actually delete from hard drive.

But, to answer the original question, Apple does not provide a way to do this. They want you to buy it on the itunes store. And, I hope, pray, beg y'all to not start a long discussion about this. BUT, there is an argument that nevers ends about making copies, even for yourself. Some say no. Some say okay. This argument, like guns, abortion, etc will never be settled. Just be aware of it.

There is no argument. DVDs are copy protected for a reason and Apple cannot provide tools to circumvent this because that would be breaking the law.

What anyone does with their personal collection and underground / foreign tools is their business. When providing info to others, all of the facts should be laid out so an individual can make an informed decision. Not "Apple wants you to buy from the iTunes Store". If that was the case why can you rip music?
 
There is no argument. DVDs are copy protected for a reason and Apple cannot provide tools to circumvent this because that would be breaking the law.

If it is illegal for Apple to let us rip DVDs in iTunes, how come handbrake can do it? :confused:
 
If it is illegal for Apple to let us rip DVDs in iTunes, how come handbrake can do it? :confused:

Apple isn't "letting" us rip DVDs, so to speak. Apple allows media files, in a specific format, to be added into iTunes. Handbrake (not an Apple program) simply converts the DVDs into that format.

I love that iTunes allows us to drag in our own content. I have all of our family videos in iTunes in their own category (Home Videos). Our family can watch all of our home videos just like any other iTunes content. That is likely the intention of Apple for allowing other video content. After all, when you drag in a file that has no metadata, iTunes automatically files it in the Home Videos category.

Importing DVD rips is taking advantage of that ability. It may not have been Apple's intention for people to rip their own DVDs. Or they may not care. Either way, it's more work for the consumer to do that.
 
If it is illegal for Apple to let us rip DVDs in iTunes, how come handbrake can do it? :confused:

Handbrake.fr is part of your answer (skirting US law) and the removal of CSS decoding in later versions is the other. At least that's what I'm reading when I look at wiki info on them.
 
Apple isn't "letting" us rip DVDs, so to speak. Apple allows media files, in a specific format, to be added into iTunes. Handbrake (not an Apple program) simply converts the DVDs into that format.

Thanks, but that wasn't my question. My question was, if Apple didn't build DVD ripping functionality into iTunes because it is illegal, then isn't it illegal also for handbrake to rip DVDs?

Mr. Buzzcut did answer my question, at least partially.
 
Thanks, but that wasn't my question. My question was, if Apple didn't build DVD ripping functionality into iTunes because it is illegal, then isn't it illegal also for handbrake to rip DVDs?

Mr. Buzzcut did answer my question, at least partially.

Here's a better answer: It's not illegal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#Laws_regarding_DRM

"Under the Act, circumvention of a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work is illegal if done with the primary intent of violating the rights of copyright holders."

"Reverse engineering of existing systems is expressly permitted under the Act under specific conditions. Under the reverse engineering safe harbor, circumvention necessary to achieve interoperability with other software is specifically authorized."

Basically, from what I gather, you can't create and market a program to pirate DVDs, but you can create and market a program that assists legal owners of DVDs with converting their movies into MP4 files so they can use "to achieve interoperability with other software," or in this case, iTunes. :)

What's the difference, you ask? Very little, which is why you might see some of these companies explicitly state what their software is to be used for. They do this to cover themselves.

As for why iTunes isn't capable of ripping movies, I don't have an official answer on that, but I have some guesses:
- Apple never added the feature because they didn't want to tick any studios off, who as many of us have seen take this whole copyright thing pretty seriously. All it takes is one studio to get angry that iTunes is enabling users to "steal" movies and Apple can lose a lot of revenue. iTunes got some flak from record companies back in the day for similar reasons, and (again, I'm just guessing here) they probably didn't want to take any more risks with the video side of things.
- We probably won't see Apple implement this in iTunes in the present or future since they're trying to move away from physical media.

As others have said, use Handbrake. It's a great program.
 
If it is illegal for Apple to let us rip DVDs in iTunes, how come handbrake can do it? :confused:

Did you REALLY ask this?

Really?

Apple is a great company. But, they are not the government. They are not your Mother. They are not the Gestapo. They are not the Church (pick you choice here)


By the way, you can hit somebody over the head with your ipad and kill them. Not sure how Apple would allow you to commit a felony.
 
Did you REALLY ask this?

Really?

Apple is a great company. But, they are not the government. They are not your Mother. They are not the Gestapo. They are not the Church (pick you choice here)


By the way, you can hit somebody over the head with your ipad and kill them. Not sure how Apple would allow you to commit a felony.

I think you are taking my question the opposite way from what I intended. Yes, Apple is not the government, so how come they are dictating how we can use our DVD, by not letting us copy them? Or more exactly, by making us go find a third-party program to do this?
 
I think you are taking my question the opposite way from what I intended. Yes, Apple is not the government, so how come they are dictating how we can use our DVD, by not letting us copy them? Or more exactly, by making us go find a third-party program to do this?
Probably because Apple doesn't want to get sued by the companies that supply media for the iTunes Store. It's your computer and you can do what you want with it, Apple is not stopping you. iTunes was not designed to rip DVDs because Apple would rather you buy movies from them, not to mention that any software that allows you copy DVDs finds itself unfortunately in a gray area. This is why some promising software has been pulled from the market, the MPAA lobbies to ban any kind of software that allows you to copy DVDs outright, and why it takes more than one program to make dvd copies(usually handbrake+VLC).
 
I think you are taking my question the opposite way from what I intended. Yes, Apple is not the government, so how come they are dictating how we can use our DVD, by not letting us copy them? Or more exactly, by making us go find a third-party program to do this?

Okay, let's try again.

Apple is not giving the means, capability or program to copy a DVD.

Apple is not STOPPING you from copying. They just not are giving you a means to do it.

Big difference.

Let me try again.

Apple is not facilitating or allowing or giving you permission to copy DVDs.
They are not making you go to a third party to do this. If you find a way, then that is your issue, not theirs.

Why is this so difficult to understand.
 
I have lots of movies on DVD yet I can't get them onto iTunes so I can put them on my mini.
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.
Can this be done on android?

Its the same for anything, be it to copy it to your computer, iOS, android, win mo, bb, etc. It has a lock (DRM) so that you can't copy it and make it digital because you don't own the content outside the DVD medium.

You can break the DRM code w/ certain software though.

----------

I think you are taking my question the opposite way from what I intended. Yes, Apple is not the government, so how come they are dictating how we can use our DVD, by not letting us copy them? Or more exactly, by making us go find a third-party program to do this?

what? are you just debating just to debate things you clearly seem to understand?
 
I think you are taking my question the opposite way from what I intended. Yes, Apple is not the government, so how come they are dictating how we can use our DVD, by not letting us copy them? Or more exactly, by making us go find a third-party program to do this?

Even though you drifted right over my previous answer to your question, I'll respond again.

Apple is not dictating anything, except what iTunes (their program) does. Just like Taco Bell is not dictating what food you can eat because they don't serve hamburgers. They are not disallowing you to copy DVDs, they just don't feel like implementing that feature (for reasons why, go back to my previous response that you chose not to read.)

Yes, it's annoying and silly that we can't rip DVDs within iTunes (although understandable why.) But Apple isn't "making" you do anything, nor are they dictating what you can and cannot do with your computer. They designed iTunes, it's up to them what features get added (whether we're happy about it or not) and if you don't like it, use Handbrake.

This really isn't a difficult concept to grasp.
 
The MPAA doesn't even believe you should be allowed to rip the DVD to make a backup copy. (They don't agree with joshdammit) If you have an iPad or want to watch via iTunes on your Mac, they expect you to buy another copy just for that. I know this is stupid and illogical, but this is the way the MPAA thinks. They don't go after individuals who only backup or rip to watch on their iPads though.
 
I have lots of movies on DVD yet I can't get them onto iTunes so I can put them on my mini.
I don't understand why I can do it with music but not cinema.

Legalities. The studios etc haven't given apple legal permission for such an action.

There are outside programs which others have mentioned
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.