Apple’s range of portable video media devices has expanded massively over the last few years. The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad all feature powerful video playing capabilities, while the Apple TV allows you to watch iTunes content via your television. The iTunes Store features a wide range of video content to purchase and download, but sometimes you want to add video to your iTunes Library from other sources, such as your DVD collection or digital video files in unsupported formats.
HandBrake Lite is a free, simple to use program, used to create iPod sized movies from DVDs. If you know what HandBrake is, HandBrake Lite will do the same thing, but HandBrake Lite is easier to use, as it automatically applies the settings you need to make iPod sized movies, and saves you the time of setting everything up yourself.
This is where comes in. This powerful freeware Mac OS X application allows you to convert video from DVDs and a comprehensive range of digital formats into a media file that you can then transfer to your portable Apple device. In this article, we’ll take you step by step through using handbrake to prepare video material either from a DVD or another digital file so that it will play on any Apple product. Using Handbrake to Convert a DVD to a Video File Firstly, we should note that Handbrake does not possess the ability to convert material from a commercial encrypted DVD without the free video player also being installed in your Applications folder. Once both programs are on your Mac, follow these steps to create a video file from one of your DVDs: 1.) Insert the DVD. If the OS X DVD Player is set to begin automatically upon insertion of a DVD disc, you will need to Quit that application ( ⌘-Q). 2.) Open Handbrake by clicking on it in your Applications folder.
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You will be presented with a screen like this: 3.) Navigate to the DVD using the Finder Sidebar, click on the VIDEOTS folder on the DVD and click on Open: 4.) Handbrake will scan the DVD to find video files that are present. Usually it will default to selecting the longest file in the assumption that it is the main feature. You can use the Title drop-down menu in the Source section to choose individual movie files such as DVD extras, or you can elect to convert individual Chapters of a film. In this example, we have chosen to convert the music video that is included as an extra on this DVD: 5.) Handbrake can convert DVD files to a multitude of video formats. Helpfully, the developers have included a selection of Presets configured to give the optimum results for Apple devices. These can be accessed by clicking on the Toggle Presets button on the top right of the interface.
In this example, we have chosen the ‘Apple Universal’ Preset: 6.) You can rename the resulting file and choose its destination on your hard drive by clicking and typing in the Destination field: 7.) To begin converting to your selected format, press Start in the top left of the interface. Handbrake will begin the conversion process. Depending on the length of the original video, the chosen Preset and the power of your CPU, this process may take some time to complete. The modern Intel range of processors in Macs dating from the last few years are far quicker at video conversion than earlier models, and any CPU from a Core 2 Duo on will handle the process with ease. You can Stop or Pause the conversion at any time. When the process is complete, Handbrake will present you with this pop-up window: 8.) The resulting Apple-compatible video file is waiting on our Desktop, ready to be dragged-and-dropped into our iTunes Library and transferred to a portable device: 9.) Handbrake can batch-process several video files in one go if you for instance want to convert several features from a single DVD.
At step 7 in the process above, press Add to Queue and repeat steps 3-7 for each file you wish to convert, then click Start. The Queue window will open to show you all of your selected files: 10.) For advanced users, Handbrake features a plethora of options for you to tweak: When you are first starting out with Handbrake, though, we recommend sticking with the in-built Presets. How to Convert Video Files from One Format to Another with Handbrake Handbrake can also be used on a wide variety of pre-existing digital video files to convert them into an Apple-compatible format. To convert a file, simply navigate to it using the Source Dialog Box as you would a DVD’s VIDEOTS folder and press Open: Then proceed to follow steps 4 to 8 as outlined above to convert the file. Handbrake is an essential tool for any movie fan using a Mac and portable Apple players to enjoy their video content. Make it a part of your Applications folder today.
When you say 'rip' do you mean you want to do an ISO rip to preserve the original disk structure (so that you can re-burn if need be) or do you want to generate an.mp4 (or whatever) file to stream? I like to keep the original.iso image or vob structure of my DVD's or Blu-Rays around in case I want to make an extract from a video for my portable devices using Cinematize Pro or Cinematize Pro HD. I learned this the hard way. I can't find my original Lady Gaga Monster Tour Blu-Ray and I only kept part of the.iso so I don't have the crucial.m2ts file to extract one of the songs for my portable devices. For the original rip I've used MacTheRipper for years with few issues (other than the somewhat convoluted way of obtaining it - see rip different.com). $10 donation suggested. Mac DVDRipper Pro (which was available on a MacUpdate Promo bundle a while back) also seems to work.
MakeMKv for Blu-Rays. Where it gets tricky is what you do with it afterward. In my case I stream to an Oppo BDP-105D which handles all media conversions that I throw at it (such as DTS-MA) so I don't have to worry about doing any transcoding on the server. I moved to the Oppo after getting fed up with the Playstation 3 I was using. It kept giving either DNLA errors or unknown media type errors. Are you planing to watch on your computer, or on your home theater? The major problem I still struggle with is the Media Server on the Mac side to provide the streaming.
The best and most reliable server I have used for years is the playback server. Just point it to the directory and it goes. However, it has been discontinued. I am currently working with the Plex server but haven't totally made up my mind about it. It doesn't recognize the.vob or.bdvm structures so I have to do some manipulation so they're seen by the server.
And when you make a change updates take forever before you see them, even on an extremely fast machine. Click to expand. What did you eventually end up using to rip.
I'm in the same boat. 10.6.8 FOR LIFE!!! Not many people understand how precious/powerful that OS is even still today. I'm done with CrApple. I've got two machines on 10.6.8 in case one ever stops working, both super fast and responsive. I rip using 'Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate' to 'ProRes Proxy or LT' for my DVD backups when space is not an option and when I'm trying to maintain high quality on standard def tv shows, but the files sizes and 2-3Gb per 25min program, which is too large for a tv series that has 145 episodes. Anything smaller than 2-3Gb looks like compressed junk.
I need a good ripper that deinterlaces and doesn't compress the footage all to heck.