i just signed up for a trial netflix account, was doing research about netflix, peoples’ experiences with it, and came across this really nice dvd-ripping thread at lifehacker. i’m not recommending you illegally burn dvds, but there’s no way i’m letting anyone tell me i can’t backup something i have bought with my own money. (i understand netflix rentals don’t fall under that category, fyi). especially given how hard i am on anything electronic i own; i can’t tell you how many cds i spent money on have become unusable after long-term storage. i am a tasmanian devil when it comes to my gear.
anyhow:
recommended to rip dvds on a mac: mactheripper.
all the rest of these are windows:
AnyDVD works in the background to automatically remove the copy protection of a DVD movie as soon as it’s inserted into the drive, allowing you then to backup the movie using a DVD backup tool such as CloneDVD and CloneDVD mobile. You can also remove the RPC region code, thereby making the movie region free and viewable on any DVD player and with any DVD player software.
DVD Shrink is software to backup DVD discs. You can use this software in conjunction with DVD burning software of your choice, to make a backup copy of any DVD video disc.
auto hotkey this seems interesting, i want to check this out a little later, i’m always looking for ways to customize and streamline my computer using experience. specifically for this topic, in the lifehacker article he listed autohotkey scripts he’d written that you could download for ripping dvds
RipIt4Me is a freeware utility that helps you backup your copy protected DVDs. Recently released DVDs are now very often equipped with stronger copy protections – such as ARccOS and RipGuard DVD. Programs like DVD Shrink or DVD Decrypter cannot handle these types of discs. RipIt4Me is fully automated and the wizard will guide you through all the necessary steps involved.
a forum someone mentioned on the lifehacker thread; they said the forum includes helpful tips about dvd ripping
ImgBurn is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit!
It has several ‘Modes’, each one for performing a different task:
* Read – Read a disc to an image file
* Build – Create an image file from files on your computer or network – or you can write the files directly to a disc
* Write – Write an image file to a disc
* Verify – Check a disc is 100% readable. Optionally, you can also have ImgBurn compare it against a given image file to ensure the actual data is correct
* Discovery – Put your drive / media to the test! Used in combination with DVDInfoPro, you can check the quality of the burns your drive is producing
DVD43 is a free decrypter. This site will help you find DVD43 so you don’t have to pay money for a decrypter. At the bottom of this page you will find links to several sites which host DVD43, a list of software that works well with DVD43 and a list of DVD copy review sites in case you are looking for a DVD copy program. DVD43.com does not host DVD43 and is not affiliated with the authors of DVD43.
this entry is to compile notes; i’m assuming that if i follow those links at a later point, i’ll find out other possibilities as well.
here’s an interesting thread about the “ethics” of dvd ripping: Duh: Report Says DVD Ripping Is A Lesser ‘Threat’ Than File-Sharing
All my DVD’s get ripped to a central NAS box in my basement and piped to Xbox Media Center’s or PCs in the house on demand. Non-technical visitors to my house are starting to understand that their entertainment media is just zeros and ones now – and finally they start questioning why their more expensive, off-the-shelf PVR’s, DVD players etc. don’t offer the same flexibility.
Slowly the general population is starting to understand that the inherent advantages offered by technology are be artificially restricted by large corporations.
this line, from this article, “I See Dead People to Rip Off“, busted me up laughing:
I recently started a membership with Netflix, the company that sends you rental DVDs by mail. It’s fantastic. I don’t have to go any farther than my mailbox across the street. I’m another step closer to my ultimate dream: never again having to interact with another human being.
oh, my people.
