Back in January 2006 , I reviewed HandBrake Lite 0.7.0 , a tool for convert videodisk ( or VIDEO_TS folders on your hard drive ) to MPEG-4 files desirable for play on a information processing system , iPod , or other compatible twist . As I say back then :
The trouble is that commercial-grade DVDs are copy - protect , which means you ca n’t “ rip ” them in iTunes as you could a euphony CD . So you ask a special tool that removes this copy protection as it extracts the video content ; if that tool can then convert the video to a data format suitable for playback on your iPod , even good . ( And by the way , I ’m not talking about movies you ’ve rent or borrowed ; I ’m speak about motion picture you in reality own . )
Since that time , Apple has released the Apple TV and the iPhone ; improved the picture - playing capability of thefifth - coevals iPod ; and increase the amount of hard - campaign blank space in the ship’s company ’s laptop computer — giving us even more reason to desire to commute our videodisc to widely - playable video file cabinet .
The main Handbrake interface screen.
HandBrake , HandBrake Lite ’s full - featured sib , can do just that . Although the full rendering of HandBrake worked well back in early 2006 , it was n’t the easiest app to expend ; HandBrake Lite offered the functionality most mass needed with a simple interface . But thing have commute quite a number since then . HandBrake Lite is no longer develop , andHandBrake 0.9.0 (; free ) , the latest full version , is both much more capableandmuch easier to use . Besides an improved interface , adaptation 0.9.0 put up better picture timbre , better performance , useful conversion presets , and wad of innovative features ; there ’s even acommand - line versionfor Terminal - fuck type .
strangely enough , despite the many times we ’ve recommended HandBrake over the preceding dyad years , we ’ve never actually rated it . Well , I adjudicate to get that — and to give myself a URL I can allow whenever the question of converting DVDs for iPod / iPhone / Apple TV / laptops arises ( which it does ofttimes ) .
What a riptide
When you first establish HandBrake , you ’ll see Mac OS X ’s familiar Open dialog . To change over a DVD , merely select the videodisc itself ; to convert a videodisk you ’ve already ripped to your hard crusade ( using a puppet such as MacTheRipper ) , choose the VIDEO_TS booklet that resulted . ( For what it ’s deserving , the developers of HandBrake commend ripping a DVD to your hard ride first and then converting the resulting VIDEO_TS pamphlet in HandBrake . However , I in person do that only when HandBrake has a job rive the original DVD . )
The main Handbrake user interface filmdom .
After a scan of the videodisk or VIDEO_TS folder , HandBrake will display its main cover , where you choose your conversion options . First , via the Title dada - up , you prefer the surgical incision of the videodisc you want to convert . For movies , this will generally be the longest introduction ; for telecasting - show DVDs , each instalment will be a dissimilar entry . you could normally leave the Chapters selections alone . ( Although I ’ve visualize a few TV - show videodisk where each instalment is a different chapter in a unmarried title ; in these cases , you ’ll need to change over chapter 1 to 1 , then 2 to 2 , and so on , separately . )
Next you choose a name and the terminus for the leave picture file . ( An option in HandBrake ’s predilection can automatically name the data file for you base on the videodisc name and title turn . )
Finally , you choose your output setting : the filing cabinet format , the codecs used , and the specific configurations for both . This is one area where recent version of HandBrake make the physical process easy for those not schooled in the pitch-black art of video conversion . A handy Presets drawer render groups of preferences optimise by the HandBrake developers for particular devices ; these admit the Apple TV , the iPhone , and the iPod . snap on a preset and HandBrake ’s various preferences are mechanically configured for that gimmick . penetrate Start and the conversion process begins .
If you know what you ’re doing , you’re able to instead go through the various Video , Audio & Subtitles , Chapters , and Advanced scene and choose the accurate options you want to use . And there are many pick usable , including frame charge per unit , moment pace , video recording size and dimensions , audio quality , number of audio channels , and a screen full ofreallyadvanced setting that most people should n’t affect . Most Mac user will want to take MP4 formatting and either MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio or AVC / H.264 Video / AAC Audio for Codecs .
Note that some recent DVD include a new technique for preventing rend ; a few of these DVD can prevent HandBrake from rip them . HandBrake exploiter haveposted a list of such disc with run commentary and update , along with some workarounds . One approach is to use the latest 3.0 beta ofMacTheRipper , useable to those who have contributed to the MacTheRipper project , to rip such movies to your unvoiced campaign ; this rendering is unaffected by most recent anti - copying efforts . ( I covered an earlier version of MacTheRipper back in 2005 . ) You would then use HandBrake to commute the resulting unencrypted moving-picture show to MP4 files . As HandBrake ’s developersnote , “ HandBrake ’s more about telecasting conversion than stripping copy shelter . For best results , you should feed HandBrake unprotected video . ”
Possible tweaks
Overall , the quality of converted video using HandBrake ’s presets is very good ; grant to the developer , each preset is designed to offer an appropriate compromise between video lineament , speed of rip , and file size of it given the target gadget . Perhaps more of import , the resulting moving-picture show are sure to work with those equipment — no wasting hour converting movies only to retrieve that they wo n’t play .
However , there are a few utile options you may need to consider . For example , I ’ve get HandBrake’sDeinterlace setting(in the Picture options windowpane , accessible via the Video tablet ) to be utilitarian in pass the line of business - ish artifacts that fall out when converting some movies and idiot box show . I use the Slow setting , which provide good results without slow up down the conversion process too much .
I also generally enable Chapter Markers in the Chapters tab ; this setting give MP4 chapter marker wherever an actual DVD chapter occurs , letting you alternate between chapter on an iPod , iPhone , or Apple TV using the Forward and Back buttons . And HandBrake now offersanamorphic encodingwhen convert a movie for see on a widescreen display such as an Apple TV or Sony PSP . ( You should n’t use this setting when commute picture for iPod or iPhone . )
last , one feature of speech you ’ll find useful when ripping private TV - show sequence from videodisk is HandBrake ’s waiting line . Without the waiting line , you would need to choose an installment from the Title papa - up ( or , as noted above , the Chapters dada - ups ) and rip it ; choose the next episode and rip it ; and so on . With the queue , you choose an episode , give it an appropriate name ( e.g. , S2E11 for “ Season 2 , Episode 11 ” ) , and then cluck on Add to Queue . Then choose the next installment , give it adifferentname , and click Add to Queue again . After adding all the episodes on the videodisc to the queue , tap Start and HandBrake will pull all the instalment at once , each to a unlike data file .
A setting you may be tempt to use is 2 - straits encryption , which — in possibility — offers better video quality at a exchangeable filing cabinet size compare to the default single - pass . However , harmonize to the HandBrake developers , you wo n’t see much of an improvement if you only select one of the survive presets and then enable 2 - pass encoding ; the presets have been tweaked so to offer like caliber via single - pass encoding . If you want to utilize 2 - pass encryption with the same pinch , be certain tocheck out the HandBrakeforums for instructions on how to do so . )
You may also be tempted to take advantage of HandBrake 0.9.0’ssupport for surroundings - sound audio . Unfortunately , only two - distribution channel surroundings encoding — Dolby Surround and Dolby Pro Logic II — study on a Mac or Apple TV ; choosing “ 6 - channel discrete ” from the Track Mix dad - up , for example , simply increase the sizing of your resulting flick filing cabinet .
Whatever preferences you choose to use , you could create your own presets of saved mise en scene ; you could then access those presets with one chink in the Presets draftsman .
look , see
The downside to this excellent video recording - conversion functionality is that it takes time . Alongtime . ( To be fair , this is the case with all video recording - conversion software . ) For deterrent example , I ripped a videodisc bear eight episode of the TV showSports Night — a totality of approximately 3 hours of video — using the Apple tv set preset on a quadruplet - core 2.66GHz Mac Pro . The summons took approximately 1 hour , 45 minutes . “ less ” Macs — especially G4 Macs , but even G5 - base models — will take much longer . A progression bar at the bottom of the windowpane let you supervise the rip ’s progress , although it ’s not something you want to sit down and check ; that ’s the digital combining weight of look out paint dry . ( Note that HandBrake at time appears to get stuck at the 100 % mark . In most case it is n’t actually cling ; it ’s just that the last step sometimes take a long time . )
What if you ’ve already buy the excellent VisualHub ? You could use MacTheRipper to rip your videodisk and then use VisualHub , which also has an Apple television conversion preset , to exchange the resulting VIDEO_TS folder to MP4 files . To see how HandBrake and VisualHub compare , I used various combination of HandBrake , VisualHub , and MacTheRipper 3 to exchange the 1 - hour , 42 - mo movieLittle Miss Sunshine : HandBrake to both rip and convert ; MacTheRipper to rip and HandBrake to convince ; and MacTheRipper to rip and VisualHub to change . In both HandBrake and VisualHub , I used the build - in Apple telecasting transition preset .
MacTheRipper rip the moving-picture show to a VIDEO_TS folder on my difficult campaign in 15 second , 30 seconds ; HandBrake converted that folder to an H.264 video file cabinet in just over 59 minutes , for a full physical process metre of approximately 1 time of day , 15 minutes . VisualHub converted the same VIDEO_TS pamphlet in 45 minutes , 43 seconds , for a total time of just over one hr , one moment . HandBrake rippedandconverted the DVD in exactly one hour — astonishingly , only a minute longer than it call for to convert the already - pull version from the arduous campaign — making a HandBrake rip - and - convert the fast of the three processes by a slight margin .
await at the leave videos , the HandBrake conversion was 1.9 GB in size , compared to 863MG for the VisualHub variation . In other words , HandBrake ’s Apple video predetermined createsmuchlarger files than VisualHub ’s . And the accuracy is , neither looks considerably better than the other at full - screen size on a 1680 by 1050 showing , although HandBrake grow a straight widescreen telecasting ; VisualHub gives you a standard image with inglorious taproom on the top and bottom . ( Of course , you’re able to pull off the configurations in either app to grow larger or minuscule file sizing . )
I brake for HandBrake
Although not the only effectual method acting for getting your own videodisk into a format that play on your digital devices , HandBrake offers the simple process , thanks to its sporting port , ready to hand presets , and power to ripandconvert . And , as you may have noticed by the copiousness of links in this article , the developers render circle ofdocumentation , which include a telephone number of useful tutorial . Even if you do n’t own an Apple TV or watch movies on your iPod or iPhone , HandBrake is utilitarian for putting a few movies on your laptop before locomotion — you wo n’t have to worry about lose or damaging your original videodisc , and watching movies from your hard drive uses less battery power than playing the actual discs .
As someone who likes using the moviesI’vepurchased onmyvarious playback equipment , HandBrake has become one of my must - have apps . And many of my fellow editors are just as enamor with it .
P.S. Is this effectual ?
Some readers may be wondering if using a pecker such as HandBrake is legal . Here ’s the quote from Macworld editorial director Jason Snell that I used in my review of HandBrake Lite last year :
So what ’s an iPod proprietor to do ? As far as we ’re concerned , moving video from your DVDs to your iPod is an dead fair use of the video on DVDs you ’ve bought . But because the law is still not completely clear on this matter , every iPod user will need to in person tax the risk of infection involved in ripping DVDs .
HandBrake 0.9.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher and is a Universal double star .
update 12:10PM PST : Added corrected Presets screenshot and information .
