So what do you recommend? - sprindle1

Since you want H.264 mp4 video, not DVD copies, Handbrake alone will do the job most of the time. Underline most. Plus it's free.

Reply to This

Friday, May 02 2008 @ 11:31 AM PDT

So what do you recommend? - vt256

Get MacTheRipper and Handbrake because they're free, and then buy VisualHub, making it average out to something like $8 each.

Handbrake does a lot of good stuff, but sometimes you want to just duplicate a DVD, or you find you need to put it into some other format, not just H.264 all the time (which isn't even the default in Handbrake). For example, to put video onto certain set-top boxes, or convert into certain MPEG formats, or convert video to import into iMovie.

There are other tools I've tried, like D-Vision and ffmpegX, but VisualHub is the easiest, most reliable and idiot-proof. eg: it actually defaults to preserving the aspect ratio, which is often not the case in some other applications.

There's no reason not to have Handbrake and MTR around, but both of them are kind of one-trick ponies. VisualHub is well worth a go for everything beyond just populating your iTunes/iPod.

Reply to This

Friday, May 02 2008 @ 02:25 PM PDT

So what do you recommend? - jspectre

The latest version of MTR is not free but requires a $40 "donation" and is tied to one computer. MTR is also great for ripping but not converting a DVD. Handbrake will rip and convert, is free, and has great presets. Visual Hub will transcode video between formats, great for converting AVI files pulled from the net into native formats for iPods, iPhones, etc. For what it does and how much it is it's an amazing deal, get it along with Audio Hub and you can convert all your audio and video.

So they each have their uses, and prices. I can recommend all three and have bought all three.

Reply to This

Friday, May 02 2008 @ 07:31 PM PDT

So what do you recommend? - jtrowbridge

Another reason for Handbrake - if you ever want to watch a DVD on your iPod Touch/Video in silence (while at a long boring meeting at work, for instance), Handbrake is the only app that will allow you to include subtitles. As many times as we've all requested, Visual Hub still does not handle subtitles from ripped DVD's!

Reply to This

Wednesday, May 14 2008 @ 01:16 PM PDT