So I think I just successfully ripped a DVD... But I'm not sure. I used RipIt4Me and DVDDecrpter. I did get an error message, but it appears not to matter.

(Can someone tell me what this means and if it's an issue? "Failed to set data for DVDDecrypterPlayDVDMovieOnArrival")

Anyway, now what? I've got a bunch of files in a directory, that appear to be important. How do I turn that into an avi? It told me to open it in DVDShrink... But I have no idea why. And looking through DVDShrink, I have no idea what it even does, or where to go from here.

Help. (When you reply to this thread, please speak to me as though I am the Japanese Forrest Gump who just learned to speak English.)

I don't think I can help much with the conversion (I have an enterprise product I use), but, if I remember correctly, the data you ripped from the DVD is too large for a standard DVD (I think the media industry has some kind of special DVD they use that has a larger capacity). I think the purpose of DVD Shrink was to "shrink" (duh) the data so that it could be burned to a standard DVD.

Yeah, they typically use dual-layer dvds. that much I know. But I don't want to put it onto another DVD. I want a digital copy on my hard drive.

(Note: If there's a commercial program I can get for say under $60 that makes this easier, please let me know about it. I'll go to Best Buy today and get it.)

Or if the process from here is rather simple, just say so and explain what I do, cause up to now hasn't been difficult at all.

If you've got the video_ts folder all ready, then all you need is Handbrake. Point it to the folder, tell it what device/format you'd like on the presets, and it'll do it all.

some tips for using handbrake

set format to mkv file (you'll have to double check this before you click start because sometimes it jumps back to something else)

under picture quality set cropping to automatic this will remove any letterboxing or pillarboxing from the image and encode only the image information also set anamorphic to strict for the various filters usually you can leave these off

in the video tab video use h.264, framerate same as source, 2 pass encoding, for the quality section i suggest an average bitrate between 1500 and 2000kbps

in the audio tab select your language and subtitles (note: subtitles will be encoded as part of the image and you will not be able to turn them off so only for movies where you need the subs) and for audio format pick AC3 so you can keep your 5.1ch audio in the event of a mono or stereo track on the DVD mp3 or aac is fine (would be nice if handbrake had a direct stream copy option)

you can leave the other tabs alone

also if you use something like anydvd you can rip directly from the disc with handbrake otherwise you need to use dvddecrypter first

Note that just about everything DrkJedi mentioned can be done in one fell swoop with a preset (usually the high quality one under movies).

my post is more of a "double check these things" list

the "film" preset does it all

but i still suggest manually selecting your audio track and subtitles

Very very helpful info, DrkJedi82. Thanks very much...

But.. explain this part a little more thoroughly pls?
"also if you use something like anydvd you can rip directly from the disc with handbrake otherwise you need to use dvddecrypter first"

handbrake won't rip directly from a copy protected disc
anydvd bypasses copy protection (and region coding)

The only movies I've experienced Handbrake borking on was Sony DVDs, all the others are fine.

aybe it was some other ripping program... it's been a while since i tried handbrake without having anydvd installed

Handbrake lost the ability to decrypt DVDs with the latest version. Older versions used to decrypt.

Why don't you just DVD Decrypter to rip the movie, then use AutoGK to encode it to AVI using Xvid codec?

because handbrake is a one stop shop for ripping and encoding

it doesn't seem to be working.

When I hit the button to rip it, a dos prompt comes up and it says Encoding and has a 0.00% which never changes. (I let it sit for about 3 hours)

i've had that problem trying to convert h.264 to xvid (for hd on the orig xbox) with the new version of handbrake in both linux and windows :/

If you having issues with the Decypting, make sure VLC is downloaded as well and installed, then you have no problems at all. Ive just ripped , all my DVD's (500 or so) and TV DVD's boxsets, and are all good. Also anything over 1600 bitrate not only makes the file size HUGE but is pretty pointless according to most of the Devs on Handbrakes forums.

for a 2 hour movie just for the video (audio tracks will add to the file size)
1600 = 1.37GB
2000 = 1.71GB
2500 = 2.14GB
3000 = 2.58GB

not all that huge... average bitrate for most DVDs is 4-6Mbps (4096-6144Kbps)

So... I'm trying to get handbrake working... is it supposed to encode at 5 FPS? :/ Also, what are the best settings/formats to use since I want these to work on my 360?

Yeah it took half an hour to encode a 5 minute video... awesome.

It really does depend on the machine, Im currently ripping Season 3 of CSI at the moment on My Mac Pro duel 2.66, 9Gb Ram, 512Mb GeForce, on two superdrives each pulling off about 80fps rip, MacBook Pro 17 new 2.66Ghz 4Gb on better graphics, doing about 70fps, Macbook Pro 2.53 4Gb 46Fps, Mac Mini Core Duo 1.83 2gb 33fps.

It just depends on the machine of course, but for TV shows, normal setting is fine ripped at MPEG-4 (FFmpeg) as a MP4 file seems quite happy to share over the network on the 360.

Its currently taking 8 mins to rip an episode on my mac pro, 24 mins 17", 32 mins 15", and 43 mins on Mac mini

I just got Magic DVD Ripper and so far it works without a hitch. Solid program.

I don't think I like Magic DVD Ripper and I certainly am not paying for it... but it's faster. Maybe I should just reformat.

I used to do an entire movie in about an hour and a half, so reformat, Vin.

Then again, I do have a stupidly fast CPU (4Ghz).

Well this is like 2ghz (it's a little old), but it hasn't been reformatted in like 5 years.

The quality of all the DVD's I've ripped is great, and you can set the audio quality to whatever you please. I usually rip audio at 320.

It has the same profile system as handbrake, and the ability to create custom ones as well.

As for paying for it, depending on how much you use it, it could be worth the money. On my 2.1 ghz 32 bit processor it takes 1:15 to 1:30 to rip a full movie. It also has its own built in compression for multi layer DVDs to be converted into single layer while its ripping.

The only thing it doesn't do is make copies and burn to DVD. Thats another program by magic, but if you just want digital copies for ipods, zunes, PSPs, whathaveyou then its great.

You can always search around the net, if you've got a little captain in you. -cough-

This wins. I just downloaded the trial last night, and it worked perfectly on my first movie. I'm gonna do a few more and as long as it continues to work, I will purchase this program. A couple pros:

1) VERY SUPER INCREDIBLY EASY TO USE. I know literally very little about ripping DVD's. But you just put the dvd in the drive and click the button. (you can adjust settings if you want, but there's already profiles that seem to have appropriate settings for the most part). Wait two hours and you're done.

2) Video and sound quality was very good with expected file size.

took a look at magic dvd ripper...

will not rip working full resolution videos for PSP (480x272)
audio bitrate options for PSP are very limited (96Kbps max)
will not allow selection of DTS as the source audio for conversion

on the backup side... will output a single vob file that can be converted by other programs and will allow you to select DTS tracks

and after doing just that and sending that vob file through SUPER... a little something for CM....

hooray. Congratulations for sticking it to the man with HARDCORE JPG PROOF. :p

The PSP limitations mean nothing to me, as I don't own one, and don't ever plan on owning one.

Ripped a 2nd dvd, and once again the process went flawless. Top notch.