Newbie Needs Help RIPing DVDs

If you mean DVDs, what I ended up doing was first breaking CP using DVD Decrypter, and then using DVD Shrink to trim the fat and write the movie into a plain-jane TS-VIDEO folder - which W7MC recognizes just fine.

Try DVDFab or Anydvd, they both have free trials.

dvdshrink + anydvd

all you need.

I'm with you proslepsis... it has gotten mind numbing for me trying to figure out what method is the best to go with. I've got about 300 standard DVD's I want to start ripping, but I refuse to start until I'm satisfied with an option. Just when I think, "yea, I'm going to rip them all as iso's"... But I'm having mounting problems... then I start reading about the TS_FOLDER options... and think "ok, i'm going that route"... then someone re-recommends a mkv container option... my head starts hurting ... i walk away thinking "screw it for now". ... and God forbid you start thinking about sound options and how you will be able to get the best sound (7.1 via hdmi) from the HTPC rips to the receiver. I just don't have the time to look into all these and am shocked that it really hasn't been standardized at this point.

When I got my Win7, and started tinkering with Media Center for the first time, I was excited about the possibilities. But after reading all the different ways people did their setups, I've become frustrated and annoyed. I've tried all the posted programs and methods and perhaps it's just my ignorance of all this, but I too just can't settle on one way or the other or even get some things to work ... easily.

For as long as HTPC's have been around, I really expected most of these simple things to be standardized. Perhaps its Hollywood and the DRM crap preventing it to happen. It's a shame. HTPC's are a beautiful thing when set up well.

I wish I had time (and money) to do what I'd like to do. Maybe this winter... maybe...


On a side note, I would like to thank everyone on these forums for all the input one "could" get if one had the time to read it all... I've lurked these forums for years hoping to get involved one day, and I'm finally nearly there... nearly, but yet so far so it seems.

AnyDVD is all you need.

DVD Fab! It is free and will do what you want. I have been ripping just the "Main Movie" with a single audio source to save on disc space (no compression though, still 100% quality) and it is working great! easy to use too.

+1

But HDD's are getting cheap. Just get AnyDVD HD, rip the whole movie and be over and done with it, couldn't be easier.

true, but have you watched a disney dvd lately? the ads/trailers/warnings/crap on some of them are almost as long as the movie itself! even with "fast play" you still are forced to watch this stupid stuff.

for me, the main movie is the only way to go.

What software will you use for playback? VIDEO_TS folders are natively supported and work pretty well with Windows 7 Media Center.

DVD Shrink + AnyDVD HD is a good combination for ripping DVDs to VIDEO_TS while trimming the fat.

I think I use dvdfab I am not at that pc so I cant tell you for sure. But there is a special option that you can check that when you rip it you can select to have it start at the main menu or the start of the movie. I rip them so it starts on the menu. Couldnt be easier. I never have to watch that crap at the beginning. They have a setting to remove pgcs as well.

technically you only need anydvd for dvds.

I agree, try chapter select, it's faster than FF.

Lol, forgot they had a non-HD version. The only reason I switched to AnyDVD was for the Blu-Ray stuff. For regular DVDs, I have yet to encounter a disc RipIt4Me couldn't handle.

you still need to push the button, though.

OP wrote
The thread has been active for <2 hrs. Already there are 7 suggestions, all valid, and there are about another dozen that also work! In another day you will be back where you started, with information overload. My suggestion is stop reading, pick one and just do it!

BB

+1 for dvd shrink + anydvd and rip to video_ts folders.

Not too long ago, DVD Shrink was all you needed however development has stopped on it and it cannot handle newer dvd encryption techniques. That's why people also say AnyDVD. It handles the decryption (you still use DVD shrink to rip straight from the disk and only pull out the pieces you want. anydvd does its job in the background as soon as you insert the disk). Yes, AnyDVD is a commercial product but so many of us have it anyway because of Blu-Ray (the HD version of it that is).

As said above, there are tons of ways to rip DVDs and all are valid. I wouldn't bother with mkv files for DVDs unless you have a specific reason for it. Video_ts folders are widely supported.

DVD Shrink will still work by itself, without AnyDVD, on tons of DVDs. I'd download it and try it out. It's not hard to use. I'm sure you'll figure it out. If not, just ask for step-by-step instructions and there will be plenty here who can help.

I know it can be very confusing, but in my completely honest opinion, NOTHING, can beat using ANYDVD and DVDSHRINK to rip to Video TS files, with just the main movie and the soundtrack of your choice. I have never had a problem with playback on any machine, and the quality is perfect and best of all, the learning curve is miniscule. The only thing that is a bit of headache can be forced subtitles, but there is a very easy work around for that, and is only a problem on a few disks. For as long as I continue to buy DVD's, I will use this method. I do convert to MKV for Blu-Ray, but that is only because there is not as nice a solution as dvd shrink. I would much rather go with a folder format, but that is still too buggy for BR.



Ding, ding, ding... we have a winner. That is exactly why it is more difficult than it should be for newbies

Thanks Davdev... that's the method I've been leaning to anyway, So I think you just sold me on it. .... Although, I do like the idea of having the original iso's available should I feel the need to burn to disk and take with me... dagnabit! ... here i go again... haha

If you have the DVD ripped in a folder structure, you can burn a copy of the DVD with about a zillion different apps.

BB

Just need to clarify for those needing help...

Anydvd- This program will run in the back ground. This program breaks the copy right that prevents a DVD from being copied. standard DVD.(can also Do Blu Ray&HD as well but not with the free Trial).

To copy the actual DVD, I use Clone DVD. This also has a free trial from sam place as AnyDVD.

These programs run at the same time. AnyDVD stays running in the background(opens up DVD in the Tray)

CloneDVD copies to a TS_folder or to a ISO file. TS_folders seem easier to play back. With this I mean can be played directly through Windows Media Player and most any other player. ISO files need to be put into a Virtual Disk drive to play.

Rob

Hope this helps I have spent the last few months figuring this out as well.

Thanks Rob... that's the kind of post I've been looking for. Someone who has tried and looked into the options to break it down for us newbs.

Still a newbie myself.... Just found a nieghbor that new what he was doing to teach me!