I just bought a new HD TV and I want to encode my 400+ DVD collection to play from my Mac Mini using Frontrow through a DVD -> HDMI connection.

My question is, how can I get the best quality rip from my DVDs to display on my HDTV?

I want to encode so I get quality (if possible) like when I use a upscaling DVD player.

Thanks!

Just fyi, there's ripping and then there's encoding, two different things: ripping a dvd defeats the various copy protection schemes and leaves you with an unencumbered, perfect copy of the disc, in a format called a video_ts file; encoding is what you might choose to do TO that file (after you've defeated the copy protection) to transform it into another format.

I want to encode so I get quality (if possible) like when I use a upscaling DVD player.

First off, you can't equal the quality of a standalone upscaling dvd player with your Mac mini and OS X.

Second, you can't encode something already compressed, like a video_ts file, into something else, and see any improvement. Those who encode or transcode do so for various reasons--most often to save hard drive space or to convert to a different format that is recognized by the software or hardware they plan to use (i.e. Front Row and aTV not supporting video_ts files.) But this isn't done to improve, and often doesn't even maintain, whatever quality was originally present.

how can I get the best quality rip from my DVDs to display on my HDTV?

MactheRipper (r14d is the latest iteration.)

Lots of threads here about this subject, look into those mentioning things like Handbrake, Visualhub, and especially DVDAssist, since you're interested in using Front Row. Start with a combo of MTR to rip, then Front Row with DVD Assist to get you going.

Mac The Ripper is what you would want to use. That rips it in full A/V quality. I don't believe any upscaling-ripping program exists.

You would then want to use a program such as DVD Assist to play the ripped Video_TS files in Front Row (see the thread on that program).

For full A/V quality through your mini, MTR is probably your only choice. Though ripping 400 DVDs in full quality will require around 2.8-3 TBs of HD space. To save space you could use Handbrake or something, but that would not be equal quality.

Mac The Ripper will suit your needs. And its gonna ba faster too because your mini will essentially just copy the DVD, no compression/decompression.

You might want to try Mediacentral. It plays ripped DVD's in the most straightforward manner, with digital 5.1 audio to boot. You can make aliases of your drives with the DVD's and it will find your DVD. No need for workarounds like you have to in Front Row.

I think what you're looking for is a way to store DVDs in a way that's almost DVD quality. In my experience, when playing back high quality dvd rips on a computer, they are better than DVDs for these reasons:

1) In my tests, a computer is the best upscaling DVD player. Period. Doesn't matter if you're playing x264 encodes or the real DVD - either one from a computer is better than a DVD.
My bias: I had a Toshiba upscaling DVD player, which (according to reviews) upscaled like crap. However, other reviews and personal experience show that a computer's output is very nice :D

2) You can skip all the previews and stuff and go right to the movie

3) Once you store the movies, they're on your HD. No scratches, no skips, no losing the discs. I moved over to x264 rips because my 400+ library was too hard to manage.

For Mac, here's what I recommend:
1) Rip the disc using MacTheRipper. Find version 3.0. I believe you must pay for it, but it's worth it.
Note: This is actually optional using the program below, but it's a step I believe is worth it - you'll want to do 2 pass encoding from the DVD, and ripping the dvd first will make it easier to

2) Use MediaFork (formerly Handbrake) to compress the movie to AVC format, and keep high quality audio. It's very easy to use. Aim for 2000-2500 kbs if disc space isn't a problem. Experiment with 1000-1600 if it is. Don't resize the movies.

3) Play back the files :) They should be iTunes, Frontrow, and QT compatible.


Downsides:
MKV and MP4 format can handle AC3 audio, chapters, and on/off subtitles, but this program (MediaFork) cannot. So you'll lose all of them. (You can get compressed 5.1 audio though).
If you want those options, you can do two things:
1) Rip the DVD and don't encode it. Play back from the Video_TS folder
2) Use Windows and compress the movies there (using MeGUI)

Hope this helps!

[QUOTE=iRobie]Downsides:
MKV and MP4 format can handle AC3 audio, chapters, and on/off subtitles, but this program (MediaFork) cannot. So you'll lose all of them. (You can get compressed 5.1 audio though)./QUOTE]

MediaFork/Handbrake handles AC3 audio just fine. To take advantage of it, you need to use an AVI file format/wrapper. So select AVI as your file format, then H.264 (or MPEG-4) as your encoder. You will need to use VLC to play the movie because there is no AC3 support in Quicktime. At least none that will output an AC3 audio stream.

Some help I hope. I use use ffmpex to encode.
http://kilofoxtrot.bravehost.com/index.html

For Mac, here's what I recommend:
1) Rip the disc using MacTheRipper.
2) Use MediaFork (formerly Handbrake)
3) Play back the files :) They should be iTunes, Frontrow, and QT compatible.

Downsides:
MKV and MP4 format can handle AC3 audio, chapters, and on/off subtitles, but this program (MediaFork) cannot. So you'll lose all of them. (You can get compressed 5.1 audio though).
If you want those options, you can do two things:
1) Rip the DVD and don't encode it. Play back from the Video_TS folder
2) Use Windows and compress the movies there (using MeGUI)

Hope this helps!

Questions:

1) Assuming I have the disk space and want to use Video_TS files for my DVDs (so I can keep menus, chapters, better sound, etc), iTunes is no longer an option. DVD Player works great on my Mac Mini, but what do you recomend for the Apple TV? I also want to not ignore ease of use for my wife.

2) If I went the MeGUI option, I assume I could use Parallels. How easy is this software to use, and how time-consuming. Goal would be to convert in Windows and then do everything else Mac side.

If you want playability on the aTV, Handbrake is your answer. This will lower the quality though as it "compresses" your DVD file...

as far as i know, there's no DVD support for aTV, and i dont think there will be one soon.

Did anyone miss the fact that he specifically mentioned iTunes/Front Row?

Handbrake is the way to go. It will convert most DVD's to MP4 for addition into iTunes and then accessability to Front Row. Some movies many need to be ripped first to the HD via Mac the Ripper (14d) then converted via Handbrake to MP4. Any blank cells in the VOB will crash Handbrake and you won't get the full conversion.

For Handbrake settings just search the forums but use a bit rate of at least 1800 KBPS for a good quality file that will be close to DVD (like Apple says but better than Apple for sure).

Did anyone miss the fact that he specifically mentioned iTunes/Front Row?

Handbrake is the way to go. It will convert most DVD's to MP4 for addition into iTunes and then accessability to Front Row. Some movies many need to be ripped first to the HD via Mac the Ripper (14d) then converted via Handbrake to MP4. Any blank cells in the VOB will crash Handbrake and you won't get the full conversion.

For Handbrake settings just search the forums but use a bit rate of at least 1800 KBPS for a good quality file that will be close to DVD (like Apple says but better than Apple for sure).

Thanks for the responses, but I am still hoping to find a way to get movies into iTunes that have AC-3 sound and chapters. Handbreak loses both. Somebody mentioned MeGui, which I have unsuccessfully tried to run with Parallels. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the responses, but I am still hoping to find a way to get movies into iTunes that have AC-3 sound and chapters. Handbreak loses both.

Handbrake does not lose AC-3 audio if you use the correct settings. Neither iTunes or FrontRow will play back AC-3 audio on their own, but plugins are available that will downconvert to 2 channel audio. That said, Handbrake will still put AC3 audio into an encoded movie.

Handbrake does not lose AC-3 audio if you use the correct settings. Neither iTunes or FrontRow will play back AC-3 audio on their own, but plugins are available that will downconvert to 2 channel audio. That said, Handbrake will still put AC3 audio into an encoded movie.

I clearly agree, as I have encoded a series of movies with Handbrake and AC-3 embedded. Problem is that movies will not play audio on aTV. Is there a plug-in to use? For example (my situation), I ripped American Graffiti with MTR and my Video TS files play perfectly with DVD Player. I then used Handbrake to convert to MP4. Video looks fine and credit play fine. Chapter 3 goes silent, however, in iTunes or aTV playback.

What plug-in can I use for iTunes? Also, what can I do to get file to play with aTV (if anything)?

Personally, I wouldn't run MeGUI in Parallels. I would use Boot Camp instead. x264 encoding is pretty processor intense.

Also, I'd find settings in MediaFork that will make you happy, rather than trying to encode in windows. If you still want to try MeGUI, you can follow many guides from VideoHelp. The trick is to install Aviscript 2.5 first, then download the CE-Quicktime profile when it updates automatically. Then run D2V Creator, put that into AVIScript Creator, then use Auto-Encode to create your DVD.

For the AppleTV, I've heard of two solutions for you:
1) You can put Perian on your AppleTV, which supports AVI w/ AC3 audio. No idea if this outputs in DTS/DD at all; I've heard it doesn't

2) You can also put full OSX on your aTV. That would support the audio, but again don't know if it outputs audio correctly. Also, don't know how hard this is or if it's legal or not. I assume if you purchase OSX and purchase aTV, it would void the warranty, but wouldn't summon Steve to your house.

2) You can also put full OSX on your aTV. That would support the audio, but again don't know if it outputs audio correctly. Also, don't know how hard this is or if it's legal or not. I assume if you purchase OSX and purchase aTV, it would void the warranty, but wouldn't summon Steve to your house.Full OS X on the aTV has the same problems as Mac OS X, in regards to audio. Your assumption about purchasing OS X is wrong, though, as there is no commercially available copy of the Intel version of OS X to purchase. So the question remains as to the legality of moving a copy of OS X from your Intel Mac to the aTV--most likely it violates your license. But then again, Apple's recent comments on hacking the aTV seem to indicate that is willing to tolerate user mods, with the caveat that it will void the warranty. If that tolerance includes copying Mac OS X over hasn't been addressed yet.

But the larger question remains: why move Mac OS X to the aTV (outside of the hacker creed)? If it is only to save the $300 or so, and to try and bring additional functionality, then it is an extensive undertaking. A mini serves as a much better starting point, and you can move the aTV front end to it, if you prefer it over Front Row. But both avenues are less than ideal for those who just want to plug in a box and have it work optimally. I'm afraid that we'll have to wait for a better solution from Apple, in the guise of an upgraded Mini or aTV. And Leopard may bring the aTV front end improvements to Front Row.

As to upconversion, no one knows what the next generation Macs/aTV will bring when Leopard is released in the next two months. I, for one, am waiting until Apple shows its hand with the next generation OS and hardware before I make any purchases or ripping decisions that I may regret. 400 DVDs is a lot of time and effort. I'd plan it out fully before taking it on.

Full OS X on the aTV has the same problems as Mac OS X, in regards to audio. Your assumption about purchasing OS X is wrong, though, as there is no commercially available copy of the Intel version of OS X to purchase. So the question remains as to the legality of moving a copy of OS X from your Intel Mac to the aTV--most likely it violates your license. But then again, Apple's recent comments on hacking the aTV seem to indicate that is willing to tolerate user mods, with the caveat that it will void the warranty. If that tolerance includes copying Mac OS X over hasn't been addressed yet.

But the larger question remains: why move Mac OS X to the aTV (outside of the hacker creed)? If it is only to save the $300 or so, and to try and bring additional functionality, then it is an extensive undertaking. A mini serves as a much better starting point, and you can move the aTV front end to it, if you prefer it over Front Row. But both avenues are less than ideal for those who just want to plug in a box and have it work optimally. I'm afraid that we'll have to wait for a better solution from Apple, in the guise of an upgraded Mini or aTV. And Leopard may bring the aTV front end improvements to Front Row.

As to upconversion, no one knows what the next generation Macs/aTV will bring when Leopard is released in the next two months. I, for one, am waiting until Apple shows its hand with the next generation OS and hardware before I make any purchases or ripping decisions that I may regret. 400 DVDs is a lot of time and effort. I'd plan it out fully before taking it on.

I completely agree with this. Like 90% of the users on this forum, I debated the HTPC choice:

1) aTV.
I wanted this to work. I am a big Apple fan. Perhaps fanboy status. But the aTV wouldn't work for a 400 DVD collection DVD-jukebox. (That's the number I'm cataloging as well...)

2) Xbox 360/Xbox.
Don't remember what turned me off to this specifically. Probably that I'd have to build a new PC for MCE anyway, and might as well get an HTPC

3) Mac Mini
Less expandable than Windows based, home built. I don't need HDTV-PVR now, but what about next year? And installing an HD or BR drive when they are affordable. What if I wanted AVC hardware decoding? For the money, I could build a nice Windows based unit.

4) Windows HTPC
This is what I went with. The downside is I spent $700, and have no HD or Blu-Ray player. But it upconverts DVDs better than my previous player.

Not to mention - how is the aTV at browsing 400 movies? Can you sort by genre, actor; can you search for a title?

Sorry for hijacking this thread. Just wanted to say I agree; aTV isn't mature enough for my tastes yet.

For those early adopters who want to try aTV, I'd suggest using MediaFork. I've heard aac muti-channel audio is very good. I'm more an audio-purist than a video-purist, so even though I've tried video compression using different profiles and bitrates, I refuse to re-encode the audio.

For the AppleTV, I've heard of two solutions for you:
1) You can put Perian on your AppleTV, which supports AVI w/ AC3 audio. No idea if this outputs in DTS/DD at all; I've heard it doesn't

2) You can also put full OSX on your aTV. That would support the audio, but again don't know if it outputs audio correctly. Also, don't know how hard this is or if it's legal or not. I assume if you purchase OSX and purchase aTV, it would void the warranty, but wouldn't summon Steve to your house.

So I am looking at four options:

1) Stay with the aTV and install Perian. Question - if I do that, will I beable to hear multichannel output, or even stereo output, output using BackRow on aTV /iTunes? Assume this means no DTS/DD

2) Install Mac OS X on aTV and try to run DVD Assist / DVD Player on my Video_TS files off my shared harddrive. Does anybody know if this will output AC-3 and DTS/DD as it would on a mini? If yes, seems like this is worth the cost saving versus the mini

3) Just go with MacMini instead of aTV

4) Do nothing for now and wait until June and see what Apple makes available