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Before you start paying for software, why not try VLC[^]? It's free, and will let you rip a DVD to an MP4 file fairly easily.
Media ⇒ Convert/Save... ⇒ Disc
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Thanks, the price is right 
I'll look at it tomorrow.
// TODO: Insert something here Top ten reasons why I'm lazy
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It won't handle copy protected disks, though. Maybe some protection schemes, but not all.
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Have a look at this
Handbrake
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Thanks, I'll have a look at that as well.
Interesting, the main screen is almost identical in both products, but Handbrake looks like it has more options for rippping.
// TODO: Insert something here Top ten reasons why I'm lazy
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I second Handbrake. I've used it before, and it just works.
There is only one Vera Farmiga and Salma Hayek is her prophet!
Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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I use Handbrake a lot for generating MP4 files: Lots of my friends never had a BD player; they went directly from DVD to streaming, and then they threw out even the DVD player. I want to bring a movie to them on a memory stick (as I will tonight - we always watch "Rare Exports Inc." on winter solstice!), all that their TV sets can read are MP4 format.
Handbrake is very flexible with formats, and can produce "any" format from "any" original. It also lets you select which sound and subtitle track you want to convert. And if you want to stress test your CPU, it is great  It is the only software I've got that can keep all 12 cores of my CPU at 99% utilization for half an hour without a glitch ...
BUT: It is a well behaved program. Read: It makes no attempt at all to break through any region / copy protection.
You can use a less well behaved program to break copy protection to make a DVD directory image on your hard disk, and them use Handbrake to create an MP4, if you need that. (Most PC DVD/BD readers can play a DVD directory image directly; you don't need to make an MP4 unless you want to play the movie on a device that won't play the directory structure. This applies to a lot of TV sets.)
(I've got a small pile of DVDs and BDs with copy protection that I have found no PC software to handle. As far as I can see, they all are burnt with bad checksums in a few essential sectors. The plain movie players just go on, assuming that if there really was an error on the disk, it will just cause a brief glitch in the image. Copy programs insist on checksums being correct. I haven't found one that behaves like a player. Besides, I suspect that the code actived during playing will insist on finding a bad checksum. If I make a sector-by-sector copy program, ignoring bad checksums, writing an ISO image with good checksums, they playing will probably stop. So I need a copier/ripper that ignores bad checksums and at the same time creates a new (say) MP4.)
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DVD Decrypter - Wikipedia[^]
Caveat Emptor - I haven't used it for ages, but it always worked for me - produces an ISO File from a physical DVD Disk . .
A few are great.
I am small.
Together we are the Universe.
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I was lucky and got a copy before the developer removed it. I used to backup the kids DVDs all the time, it saved me a small fortune in replacements. It was great in the day but has not been supported for many years and doesn't work with modern encryption.
I heard a rumour that the movie companies paid him enough to retire (rumour only, not confirmed).
// TODO: Insert something here Top ten reasons why I'm lazy
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If you want to try the hardware route, you can take the HDMI output of the DVD player through a HDMI cable splitter to remove the copy protection signal and then feed into a good (not cheap but under $100) video capture card such as the one from BlackMagic. The resulting file will be about 1gig per hour of video, and you will have to convert the output to the final desired format. But the final file will be of quality equal to the original.
Pound to fit, paint to match
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Always amazes me the number of solutions we can come up with within our community.
I'm on the other side of mid 50's, so with my sight & hearing, quality is not really a factor.
// TODO: Insert something here Top ten reasons why I'm lazy
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I got into it a number of years ago to digitize my video tapes of my daughter from 30+ years ago. My memory was that pure software conversion solutions were always 1 or more steps behind the copy protection schemes. Conversion using the cheap USB converters (< $50) was only acceptable for standard definition video due to throughput limitations. Evidently a HDMI signal splitter strips out any copy protection signals, and a 4K BlackMagic PCI video capture card does the heavy lifting on digitizing the input signal. It outputs an uncompressed videos and audio file, which must be further processed into the final file format such as MP4. And time consuming, as it takes 2 hours to digitize a 2 hour video, and then more time to convert the raw video and audio file.
All of this is really too much for just copying a couple DVDs (or video tapes). But if you have lots of videos to digitize and quality is a consideration, this may be a viable option.
Pound to fit, paint to match
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Yes, it’s a testament to how, there not being one all-encompassing solution, there are many options.
I use DVD Shrink (http://www.dvdshrink.org/) and DVD Decrypter. And occasionally VLC. DVD Shrink will remove region codes.
Side note: I had to chuckle at the thought of backing up DVDs in preparation of not having a DVD device.
Time is the differentiation of eternity devised by man to measure the passage of human events.
- Manly P. Hall
Mark
Just another cog in the wheel
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lewist57 wrote: he resulting file will be about 1gig per hour of video, and you will have to convert the output to the final desired format. But the final file will be of quality equal to the original.
Sure. 1GB per hour. So a 2-hour, 40GB Blu-ray gets turned into a 2GB file with "quality equal to the original".
What's the other 38GB for, extreme redundancy?
[Edit]
While I'll agree there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to bitrate...I'll need some extra convincing for this one.
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Well this method is more practical for digitizing video tapes (ironically onto DVDs). If I want a backup of a commercially available DVD, I would buy a used one on eBay for usually less than $5.
Pound to fit, paint to match
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I struggle with this also.
Ripping them to disk, means you have to buy a multi-terabyte external drive(s).
OK Fair enough. Maybe $100 or less.
If you are real paranoid, you might even duplicate that drive for a "backup backup"
Ripping DVD's is a Royal Pain.
I found in the end: If I want to watch a movie, 99% of the time, I can find it streaming somewhere.
"Precious (hard to find) Items" :
If you cant find it streaming online, perhaps some eclectic movie, you can buy a copy and limit
the amount of DVDs to rip.
But I have not gotten over my "Pack rat" Mentality.
I still covet some movies on disk.
Handbrake is the best DVD Ripper I have used.
Keep It Simple, keep it moving.
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I use MakeMKV [^]
Using the Backup feature will create an ISO from a DVD or will decrypt a Blu-Ray to files that can be made into an ISO (using some files -> ISO tool: I use Virtual CD for that).
Or it can create mkv files from the individual videos on the DVD/Blu-ray. Like, for a movie disc, the main feature, the previews, the special features, etc. etc. etc.
I think the paid version is $30 or $35 (I'm at work and the site is blocked here)
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+1 for MakeMKV. It appears to me to do zero transcoding, unlike some other ripping tools. This makes it relatively fast, and you get quality identical to the original source.
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I"ve been using DVDFab for years. The US version is a bit crippled but they have versions for other countries that don't have DMCA.
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I've used their Mac version for years. It works great. They'll keep offering you upgrades but I'll bet you never need one.
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@DaveAuld
Have as good a day as you can, considering everything else that is going on in your life at the moment. ![Rose | [Rose]](https://www.codeproject.com/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Cheers Griff,
Another lazy day in the hotel, might go for a walk to the Royal Plaza mall which is just along the road and see if there is anything in the computer shop worth buying.
Treated myself to a new phone yesterday as the one I use in Qatar was on its last legs. New one to replace my UK/Cyprus one, which itself will move to the Qatar one. It's like handing down things between siblings. Make it last longer!
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Ouch! A hotel in a dry country for your 50th and Christmas with your family 7,000Km away? Fun ...
I assume that airlines won't touch you until you are certified fit to fly? That's about 10-21 days for a small one, isn't it?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I have access to booze should I want it, but think its too early for that since the event!
The neurologists at both medical centres and company medical team have basically agreed a short 3 hour flight to Cyprus should be fine after 14 days from the event. So probably get back to Cyprus the same day my wife and youngest return from UK.
Thing is, the airlines probably have no way of knowing, I guess it is just the 'risk' of something happening, I could go book a flight, walk out the hotel, jump on the plane and no one would be any wiser.
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