Converting DVD to iPod movies using Handbrake

If you want to skip to the pictures scroll down further.

I spent the last few hours of the evening sorting out this iPod video thing. The first thing I have been struggling with is whether to let iTunes auto sync everything or to manually manage my playlists etc. For the past few years I have always manually managed my iPod so I did'nt need to keep everything on the computer. But now that I have a larger Lacie external hard drive I thought it might be a better way to go. Bottom line is manually managing has its advantages.

Anyway - back to using Mac the Ripper and Handbrake to get your (paid for of course) DVD's rocking in iTunes.

Firstly the basic settings:

When you open Handbrake you can leave most of it as it is - assuming you are happy to use MP4 and not H.264. You only need to change a couple of variables.

First put in your DVD and open Mac the Ripper. Once Mac the Ripper is open simply rip it to your computer. This step doesnt require any tweeking so don't fuss. Just rip away.

Once this is ripped open Handbrake. Click on the find by folder option and find your ripped DVD folder. The benefits of ripping with Mac the Ripper first is that it makes Handbrakes job faster. You can rip straight from the DVD fine so it is up to you.

After opening Handbrake:

1: Make the Average bitrate 400 kbps. This is fine for viewing on such a small screen.

2: Rename the name of the file from movie and where you want it to save it. (not even essential)

3: Click on the picture settings button and using the top right size option reduce the width to 320. If it is a wide screen movie the height will adjust itself. So just because Apple say 320X240 is the size you need for iPod, it will play 320X176 (for example) just fine and larger resolutions (topic for another blog thread though). You can play with these settings to your hearts content and Handbrake will preview it all so you get an idea of what it will look like.

The file format should be MP4 File by default and the Codecs should be MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio by default also. Depending on the DVD the language should default to English.

That's it for the basics.

Click RIP and depending on how fast your computer is will depend on how long it will be before your file is done. If you keep using the computer for other tasks it will make the ripping process slower as it takes a fair chunk of CPU and RAM to make it rock along. For me running a G4 iBook with 768 RAM and 1.07GHz it can take about 3-4 hours if I leave it and twice that if I keep using the computer to do other stuff. You can see the average frame rate which lets you know how it is going. Oh how I long for a G5 dual processor...

Once the file is done drag it into your iTunes Library and make sure your iTunes syncs with your iPod. If you are manually managing your iPod you can select the iPod in the left menu of iTunes and drag the movie into that instead of your library.

These images show it in mid rip so you can see the frame rate going and it shows all the settings I have used which you can copy.