How to copy DVDs to a file

[flibberdipper]

So, to expand my on-demand movie collection, I would like to rip a bunch of my DVDs to .mp4s. But I don't know how to do this, and I'm about to head to bed. I was hoping you guys could shed some light on free software that will do this with good quality.

[Aniallation]

Handbrake

[TheGeeker]

Handbrake

I used this for copying simpsons to a laptop for a trip to europe. 

[CameronDSetty]

So, to expand my on-demand movie collection, I would like to rip a bunch of my DVDs to .mp4s. But I don't know how to do this, and I'm about to head to bed. I was hoping you guys could shed some light on free software that will do this with good quality.

I use Make MKV to rip them off the disk and then Handbrake to change them to whatever file type I want. 

http://www.makemkv.com/

https://handbrake.fr/

[flibberdipper]

Handbrake

Any tips to make the output look as nice as possible?

[Murdoch]

Any tips to make the output look as nice as possible?

 

X264 settings are more of an art form than a science. On the "advanced tab" copy and paste these settings there's a box at the bottom, these are good for standard live action films.

 

ref=9:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=6:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=9:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=24:deblock=-2,-2:rc-lookahead=50:aq-strength=1.2:b-pyramid=2

 

In the Video tab, make sure Video Codec is set to H.264 (x264) and Framerate is Same as source. Then select Constant Quality  - the RF number dictates the bitrate that is thrown at the encode, the smaller the number the larger the bitrate. For standard definition you should use a value between 17.5 and 19.5, usually start in the middle. What I generally do is make a few encodes of a 30 second clip of the movie, and see how much loss there is at certain values, and pick something that is acceptable.

[dalekphalm]

I use Make MKV to rip them off the disk and then Handbrake to change them to whatever file type I want. 

http://www.makemkv.com/

https://handbrake.fr/

+1 this. I did this combo when I ripped several of my DVD shows.

 

X264 settings are more of an art form than a science. On the "advanced tab" copy and paste these settings there's a box at the bottom, these are good for standard live action films.

 

 

 

 

In the Video tab, make sure Video Codec is set to H.264 (x264) and Framerate is Same as source. Then select Constant Quality  - the RF number dictates the bitrate that is thrown at the encode, the smaller the number the larger the bitrate. For standard definition you should use a value between 17.5 and 19.5, usually start in the middle. What I generally do is make a few encodes of a 30 second clip of the movie, and see how much loss there is at certain values, and pick something that is acceptable.

I would also add that when converting DVD's in Handbrake, ALWAYS make sure to enable Deinterlacing. Some playback software will auto-deinterlace when you play the video clip, but most won't, so it's best to just hardcode deinterlace - the results will be better anyway.

https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/DeinterlacingGuide

 

I specifically recommend using the "Decomb" feature, since it scans every frame for interlacing, and only deinterlaces frames that actually have interlacing - deinterlacing frames that aren't interlaced can have some negative quality side effects. Using Decomb will avoid the negatives.

 

Also, for a DVD, I'd wager that he could easily go as far as RF 20 and still have almost indistinguishable results. I used RF 20 for my DVD collection and RF 18 for my Blu-Ray collection, and both turned out pretty much identical to the eye to the source.