Want to to create iPod movies from your DVDs? Don’t want to spend an arm and a leg in the process? Converting DVDs into iPod movies doesn’t have to cost you a dime, my friends. You just need to know where to look for iPod movie creation software. Or who to ask. Case in point … I was floored last week when my 12-year old had the answer for his old man …
“We need to download HandBrake, Dad,” he said.
“That’s it?” I asked. “It’s free?”
“Yup,” he replied. “I read about it on an iPod movie website.”
The boy went bonkers looking for movie downloads the moment the iPod Video landed at Ranchero Indebto. I suggested that he cool his jets and start out by converting his favorite DVDs into iPod movies. We approach all downloads with caution, round these parts. Suffice to say, I have the kids relatively well-trained not to download software without having me check things out first.
I checked things out and liked what I saw …
HandBrake is a GPL’d multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter. HandBrake was originally available on the BeOS, but now has been ported over to MacOS X and to GNU/Linux. A Windows port is being worked on.
We opted to go the easy route and chose to download Instant HandBrake (IHB), “the stripped-down, iPod/PSP-dedicated version of HandBrake.” (IHB appears to be OSX-only at the moment.)
The software proved to be stunningly simple to use and the results were impressive.
The only downside? It takes a good number of hours to rip a DVD into an iPod movie on our G4 (tablelamp) iMac. This is processor-intensive work. Consequently, we’ve taken to running the task overnight, for the time being. I’m looking forward to trying it out on one of the new Intel-based Macs, one of these days …
Related: CD Ripping Service