If you ’ve go a 5th - generation iPod ( “ with video ” ) , one of the things you probably require to do is put picture on it . After all , despite the small screenland , picture show really do attend bully on the iPod , and it ’s a lot easier to carry around than a laptop or portable DVD thespian .
The trouble is that commercial DVD are copy - protected , which means you ca n’t “ rip ” them in iTunes as you may a medicine CD . So you postulate a special tool that removes this copy protection as it extracts the video content ; if that tool can then convert the video to a format suited for playback on your iPod , even better . ( And by the manner , I ’m not speak about picture you ’ve engage or borrowed ; I ’m talking about moving-picture show you really own . )
My favorite tool for accomplishing this task is Eric Petit and Laurent Aimar ’s free ( and open - source)HandBrake 0.7.0 , which our sister sitePlaylistrecently named a2005 Plays of the Yearrecipient . In fact , last calendar month , Playlistshowed you howto use HandBrake to rive your DVDs for watch on your iPod . But using HandBrake requires you to select the right setting , which some masses have find frustrative ; after all , given how extended the cognitive operation of exchange a videodisk to an iPod - quick movie can be , it ’s a hassle to get all the way to the end only to discover that your picture file wo n’t play on your iPod .
To make the process easy , Tyler Loch ( developer of theiSquintvideo conversion tool ) has take HandBrake , stripped it of all the confusing preferences and selection , and released a new edition that anyone can utilise , no matter of their layer of proficient expertise : HandBrake Lite 0.7.0(;download link ) . Unlike the standard version of HandBrake , which requires you to choose a issue of dissimilar options , such as TV size , frame charge per unit , bit charge per unit , audio sample distribution rate , video and audio formatting , and so on , HandBrake Lite make all those choice for you : The resulting video file is automatically resized for an iPod ’s sieve , using compression setting that are a proficient via media ( size vs. quality ) for on - iPod observation .
Using HandBrake Lite could n’t be much gentle . You enclose your videodisk — one youown , of row — and then launch the app ; in the dialog that appear , prefer DVD Drive . Alternatively , if you ’re converting a DVD you ’ve already ripped to your hard parkway using a public utility such as MacTheRipper , opt VIDEO_TS Folder or Disc Image and then navigate to the movie ’s VIDEO_TS folder . Click Open and HandBrake Lite will scan the contents of the videodisk or VIDEO_TS brochure .
Next you perform the other two necessary steps : First , you choose which trail to rend from the DVD ; it ’s ordinarily 1 , but you generally want to choose the longest cut or the one that best matches the movie ’s length . Then you choose where to save ( and what to name ) the result iPod - playable video file .
Click Rip … and then wait … and wait … and wait . gravely , press and converting video is a deadening operation . To give you an idea of how retentive it involve , I coverted the DVD of 2003 ’s “ Monster , ” which clock in at 1 time of day 49 minutes , on two unlike Macs . The process took about 1 minute and 11 moment on my Power Mac G5 dual-2GHz . On a slow computer — a 1.42GHz Mac miniskirt — the total prison term was 2 hour .
When conversion is end up , simply sweep up the resulting .mp4 movie file into iTunes , and the next sentence you synchronise , the motion picture will be copied to your iPod .
Although HandBrake Lite is very dim-witted to use , it does set you . For deterrent example , if you want to use H.264 encryption , high spot rates , or bigger frames to make the resulting video file look better on a telly , you ’re out of chance ; you postulate to use the received version of HandBrake . But for the distinctive iPod possessor who wants to easy put their DVD motion-picture show on their iPod , HandBrake Lite is the best putz I ’ve yet seen .
( take note that some DVDs ca n’t be rip by products such as HandBrake Lite , HandBrake , or MacTheRipper . I ’ve follow across only a few over the past few years , but they ’re out there . )
Is this legal ?
Some readers may be wondering if using a pecker such as HandBrake Lite is legal ; here ’s a inverted comma fromMacworldeditorial managing director Jason Snell , taken from the DVD - rend article metioned above :
HandBrake Lite works with Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher .
Update 1/9/06 : This article was primitively publish with an incorrect Mice rating ; the current ( 3.5 ) military rating is the right one .
