Solved! Ripped DVD Collection

[Conspiracy5]

I've had enough of the DVD's all over the living room. I have a Samsung 7100 smart TV, a 3TB Toshiba external hard drive, WinX DVD Ripper Platinum 8.5. The software seems feature rich but no real explanations for a n00b like me. I want to be able to watch the movies on the TV and also load onto tablets for car trips and such. I need chapter menus for some of the kids homeschool videos so they can navigate to the appropriate lessons. That's the hardest part for me right now. The rest is maybe just what format to rip to. I have no apple devices if that helps. Is MP4 my go to? if I "Copy DVD to ISO Image" will my TV be able to read that? Thanks.

 

[Supahos]

Not legal to rip DVDs even those you own. So I'll personally stay away from this post

 

[photonboy]

Legality is somewhat confusing, but for personal use it's generally "who cares"...
https/www.winxdvd.com/resource/dvd-copyright-infringement-laws.htm

"The law makes no explicit grant or denial of a right to make a "personal use" copy of another's copyrighted content on one's own digital media and devices."

I use the tools "DVD Decrypter" to extract the files then drag the folder into "Handbrake" (both free software).

For Handbrake I use these settings for DVD's (not BluRays)...write them down:
1. drag folder or video in
2. MKV (MP4 if MKV won't play on device), then Automatic
3. Decomb, Default, Default
4. H.264
5. FPS (same as source)
6. Variable framerate (99% sure.. whatever is there by default under FPS)
7. Avg Bitrate: 3000Kbps (can experiment but probably great quality for DVD)
8. Optimise (Medium), Tune (Film, Animation as applicable.. animation is probably cartoons)
9. Encoder Level 4.2 (I don't go higher for compatibility reasons on various media devices.. same reason I do not use H265)

10. Audio: AAC 128Kbps perhaps but sometimes has poor audio so I just use "Passthru" and choose an original English track if space not much issue
11. Subtitles? (just "X" out if not needed)
12. Chapters (use or not.. I use them)

*Note that for DVD's you should use Anamorphic which means the video is encoded at something like 720x480 then stretched by the device you play on back to the proper RATIO... you can choose NOT to use Anamorphic then mess around getting the proper ratio but you'll lose information that way (i.e. encodes at 720x400 with no need to stretch)

Anamorphic should be used then unless the media device it plays ON can't properly stretch the file back to its proper size (most or all now should work fine).

*This seems confusing at first maybe but it's pretty easy once you get going.
**If you extracted a bunch of DVD's to separate folders you can "Add to Queue", then setup another DVD to convert, finish the setup then start them all (so you can do several overnight or when leaving for work).

 

[photonboy]

Update: Chapter Menus won't work with Handbrake.

Just quickly looking at the program WinX DVD though I'd concentrate on:
1. MKV
2. H264
3. avoid the hardware acceleration like Intel and NVidia tools which speed things up but are usually MUCH lower quality (unless time is a big issue)… so if you avoid the GPU accelerated stuff your CPU does all the work to decode then encode
4. 1500 to 3000Kbps (varies by video type how much that matters) if you have a choice

*If space isn't an issue then just rip the entire disc. That's probably going to be a simple "ISO" file (DVD Disc to ISO) which your device may or may not be able to play.

That's the best I can help since I don't use that application.

 

[photonboy]

Update 2: I downloaded the DEMO so..

1) for menus etc looks like you need to copy the entire thing: DVD Backup-> Full Title Backup
(so will be up to 7.95GB in size)

I don't think this program can COMPRESS while keeping menus

2) for JUST the main movie I'd use either DVD Decrypter or WinX DVD's DVD Backup->main Title Content Copy, then use my settings for Handbrake.

alternatively, I'd first CHECK "Intel" and "NVidia" (Hardware accelerator), then check "Use High Quality Engine"

(Intel or NVidia DECODES the video so can't affect quality, however the 2nd part ENCODES the video using the CPU so make a HIGHER quality video but it takes longer)

Then:
a) "DISC" to scan the disc
b) General profiles: "MP4 Video"
c) "HQ" (Slow) selected

Handbrake again does the same thing for main movie without menus etc but you have more control but can also make mistakes easier (I still prefer it by far).

*Some discs may mix up video order though that's not common (not for full copy just main movie as sometimes there are directors editions etc that mix things up and confuse these programs).

 

[jsmithepa]

will my TV be able to read that? Thanks.

That's a big FAT NO. TV have minimum facility to play videos on their own, u will need a dedicated box, an old but not too old PC oughtta do it. Am doing that and running Win7 Media Center (there are other front ends), and as long as I rip the DVD in their respective 2 folders, MCE just treat them like optical DVD with menus and everything. NOT BR, that's another totally different ball of wax.

 

[photonboy]

ISO on Android should work via VLC (VideoLAN) but I can't test it myself:
https/www.videoconverterfactory.com/tips/play-iso-on-android.html

Your SMART TV may even have VLC or another suitable app to play this available to download if the built-in one does not work.

Of course you could just buy a cheap DVD or BluRay player instead. I bought the Sony BDP-S3700 for my sister then my parents. It's really small, inexpensive and works fine. It's not a 4K BD player though but I can't justify the cost of those.
https/www.amazon.com/Sony-BDPS3700-Streaming-Blu-Ray-Player/dp/B01AT6B0DK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547172294&sr=8-1&keywords=bdps3700

Amazon continues to have messed up reviews where the same product gets different scores, and you get different product reviews under the same product (like DVD sets under BluRay sets or similar but different TV models). All I can say is both of them have worked great for a year and cost $70USD.

KIDS love the dedicated NETFLIX button. I just leave it set in settings to Standby or whatever it's called when powered off then NETFLIX button takes you right to Netflix within two seconds, and TV button (see manual to assign your TV) can turn on TV and you can change video INPUTS and control VOLUME (so can do everything you need from this remote for Netflix).

Your HDTV manual lists a lot of video, audio codecs and containers etc and what restrictions there are. H.264 at UHD up to "Level 5.1" and H.264 FHD up to "Level 4.1" for example (seems backwards to me that a 1920x1080 file would only go up to a lower level than a 4K file but whatever... those are selectable in Handbrake... basically the codec keeps getting updated and improved so if your media player can play "H264" it can still only do so up to a maximum Level which is why I personally use 1080p, H.264 Level 4.2 for BluRay rips as it works fine even on my really old Western Digital TV LIVE HUB.

*To be clear, I see no "ISO" option so the TV with its basic video playback app or non-app software likely can't play the ISO format (DVD as a file), however it's very possible again that a program like VLC could handle that just fine.

 

[ceciliacc]

So you mean you want to digitize all your DVDs and store on the Toshiba hard drive?
You have two recommendations from me:

1 - For those kids DVDs you wanna keep the chapter menus, do choose "Copy DVD to ISO Image" under DVD Backup profile to maintain all the original content (menus included), and then play the ISO on computer with media player that supports ISO, say VLC.

2 - For those DVD movies you'd love to enjoy on your smart TV or tablets for car trips, you're suggested to convert them to MP4 (H.264) video files. WinX the ripper enables you to control the quality and size of it when choosing target format.

You can't play ISO on TV or any mobile devices.
In other words, you can only "rip DVD to video for watching on TV/tab with no menus" or "copy DVD to ISO image with menus to watch on computer ". No such "menus + TV/tab" option unless you quit the ripping...

 

[andy2019]

I think handbrake and wonderfox dvd ripper pro are good for ripping dvd collections.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Just be sure to have a backup readily available. The last thing you want to happen is to spend hundreds, if not thousands of hours creating your library only to lose it all due to a hard drive failure.

-Wolf sends