Basic DVD Ripping 101

Well, it came time where I got my Wedding DVD, and I had to convert to to Digital Video. I had to dig deep deep into my history, since I used to order DVDs from Netflix back in 2006, Rip them, convert them, and then enjoy them later on.

So, fast forward to 2017, from Windows XP to Windows 10, and awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay we go.

Software Needed

SmartRipper 2.41

Optional: VLC Media Player from http://www.videolan.org

flaskmpeg from http://www.flaskmpeg.net/

XVid codec from https://www.xvid.com

Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec (professional) from the Radium MP3 “copy”.

What to do

  1. Install XVid and the MP3 codec. Fairly straightforward. Without these, you won’t be able to convert your DVD rip to a final copy.
  2. Install SmartRipper and VLC. VLC is only used by SmartRipper to help unlock copy-protected DVDs. Since my Wedding DVD wasn’t copy-protected, I didn’t really need this step.
  3. Extract flaskmpeg. Works out of the box.

Insert the DVD, run SmartRipper. In SmartRipper, you’ll need to isolate the actual film you want, make sure all Chapters and Cells are selected, and Rip. Sit and wait until it’s done.

Load up flaskmpeg, select the .ifo that would contain your DVD. flaskmpeg is smart enough to read it and ask you what you want of it. Select Output and Configure Output Module to select the XVid video codec and the MP3 audio codec, and configure as necessary. Once you’re all configured, FlasK It!.

Without configuring a codec in flask, you’ll get an uncompressed DVD rip. In my initial case, a 1GB MP2 compressed A/V file was 30GB uncompressed on my hard drive, and a laughable matter. After selecting the right options to my taste, a 1GB MP2 turned into a 450MB XVid/MP3 video.

Fruits of the labor

After all that done, I present to you:

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