----------------------------------
Title : DVD ripping 101 v.01
Author : Eggy the ripper
Date : 8-17-2001
----------------------------------
Intro : This is just a simple tutorial of how to rip DVDs. This is by no ways
complete and assumes you already know a little about the subject. Here are some
really nice sites to get you started :
http://www.digital-digest.com/
http://www.divx-digest.com
==============================================================================
Tools : Smartripper 2.35, Virtual dub 1.4.7, FlaskMpeg 0.594, DivX codec, Radium
MP3 codec
Hardware : Pentium class PC (the faster the better), DVD drive
===============
Ripping the DVD
===============
As you all know, the motion pictures companies have invested a good amount of
money in encrypting their DVDs. Not soon after, some computer geek found an
agorithm to crack the code, hence starting the DVD ripping craze that has hit
the net. Some of the older DVDs did not incorperate the encryption, so for those
few, you can simply copy the .vob files to your hard-drive. The next step will
cover ripping the DVDs to your hdd.
1. Start SmartRipper.exe. The proggie should autodectect the video files and
check them for you.
2. Select the files you want to rip. This can be done by checking the Chapters.
For multi-episode disks, each episode is usually divided into titles, which
needs to be ripped seperately. Note that not all DVDs have the same structure,
so you might have to experiement. For most movies, the chapters should already
be selected for you.
3. Specify a target for your files to be stored in the "Target" box. The .vob
files can be as large as 5+ Gigs, so make sure you have enough space. If your
vob is bigger then 4 Gigs, click "Settings" and up the max file size.
4. Click the "Start" button. This process typically takes around 20-25 min for a
full movie depending on your hardware.
==================
Converting to Divx
==================
Once you have all your vobs ripped, you can start your encoding...
1. Startup FlaskMPEG.exe
2. Click "File->Open File". You will see in your folder a list of vobs numbered
in increasing order. These files together comprises your movie. For example, you
might see something like :
VTS_01_0.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB
VTS_01_4.VOB
VTS_01_5.VOB
Select the very first vob (VTS_01_0.VOB). Flask should automatically select all
the files that comprise the movie. It will also ask you which audio track you
want to rip (if there are more then one). These are just for the languages you
want to encode with your movie.
3. Click "Options->Select Output format" and choose "AVI output".
4. Click "Options->Global Project Options". In the "Video" tab, you will see a
bunch of options. Here you can choose the frame size. Notice that most DVDs
today are made in 4:3 dimensions (including widescreen), so whatever width you
choose, be sure that that your height=width*4/3. You could probably stray from
this a little, but you'll notice your video will seem kinda skewed if you go
overboard with it. There are certain dimensions that will cause your Divx file
to have an excess of interlacing (which occurs when the proggie has to "guess"
on the video output). Even at "720x480" (DVD video's resolution) this sometimes
occurs. You will have to test out the resolutions yourself to see which is best.
When I encode, i usually use "352x288", "512x384", or "640x480", which minimizes
most of the interlacing. The "Time Base (fps)" should be set to your DVD's fps,
which can be either "23.976" or "29.97". Leave "MMX iDCT" checked and select "Deinterlace
video" only if you want improved deinterlacing.
5. Select the "Audio" tab. Check "Decode audio" and check "Same as input". It is
extremely important for you to encode your audio the same frequency as specified
on the DVD, otherwise you may encounter syncing problems (Video doesn't not
match audio).
6. Select the "Post Processing" tab. Check "HQ Bicubic Filtering". You can also
choose to crop your video (optional) by unchecking the "No crop" and pushing
"Show Output Pad".
7. Select the "Files" tab. Choose the path of your Divx file in the "Output
Video file" box.
8. Select the "General" tab. Here you can choose to encode the whole file or
encode only a few seconds of it. It is always recommend that you test your
encoding before you start on the whole file. Note that "Compile whole file" will
encode all the video/audio after your initial position in the "Player" mode
(listed below).
9. Press "OK".
10. Click on "Run...->Player". Click "Play" to view your video. Move the slide
to the position you want to start encoding. Click "Stop" and then Exit.
11. Click "Options->Output Format Options".
12. Click "Select Codec" for your video. You can choose any codec you like. I
usually pick the "DivX ;-) MPEG-4 Low Motion" codec because it produces some
really nice results. Click "Configure". You can change the Keyframe (which is
basically the indexing of the video for fast foward/reverse) and control the
Smoothness and Data Rate of your file. Your smoothness should be set to 90-95%.
The data-rate will depend on how big you want the file. Anything above 1000 kbps
is good, but you may want to adjust this if you want to fit the movie on a CD.
There are many tools that you can use to do this, including a handy one called "Bitrate
calculator". When you're done, click "OK".
13. Click "Select Codec" for your audio. Choose PCM "44.1 khz, 16-bit" or PCM
"48 khz, 16-bit" depending on your vob file. Press "OK" twice to get back to the
main menu.
14. Click "Run...->Start conversion". You may get a prompt saying your audio
output sample does not match the DVD's, so you will have to go back to step 13
to change it. You can choose to view the output video if you want, but leave it
off for faster processing. The conversion typically takes around 4-5 hours on a
850 Mhz computer for a 2 hour movie, so be patient ^_^.
15. After you have a nice little Divx file, you will need to compress the audio.
We did not do this on the previous step because flask has a habit of unsyncing
audio when doing on the fly audio compression. Open VirtualDub.exe.
16. In VirtualDub, click "File->Open Video file..." and choose your newly
created DIVX file.
17. Click "Video->Direct stream copy".
18. Now click "Audio->Full processing mode". Then "Audio->Compression...".
Choose the "MPEG Layer-3" codec. Select the bitrate and frequency that matches
what you set for your DIVX file. Press ok and go to the main menu.
19. Click "File->Save as AVI". Create a new AVI file and press ok. It will only
take 10-30 min to compress the whole file.
20. You should now have a nice DIVX file to share with your friends. Enjoy ^__^.
- END -