Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ripping Your DVDs the Quick, Easy and Free Way
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "ARTICLE" @ 08:00 AM
The term 'Ripping your DVDs' has been around so long now it's worked it's way into our everyday language to the point that even people who don't use computers know what it means. The idea of ripping a DVD to watch on your Pocket PC or laptop has become as commonplace as ripping a CD was five years ago. However, that isn't to say it's become as easy or widespread as ripping a CD has become. In fact, ripping a DVD is nowhere near as clear as ripping a CD. Many tech-savvy people don't do it because it's just not obvious how to do it. It's not like Window Media Player has a 'Rip DVD' button.
This is, of course, because the movie studios and the DVD industry don't want you to rip their (your) DVDs. They've even gone so far as to outlaw the ripping of DVDs in many countries, including the United States. They're afraid that giving us the ability to rip DVDs would promote movie pirating, and they might even be right. I'm not going to argue the silliness of outlawing something that's OK to do with CDs or go into the inherent evility of denying our freedoms to secure profits – I could write an entire article on that alone. No, for the purposes of this guide, I'll simply state that I find nothing wrong, immoral or unethical about ripping my own DVDs to files that I can watch on my laptop or Smartphone or convert to play on my Zune.
The question is then how? Well, there are hundreds of different methods out there and innumerable programs that tout 'one-button DVD ripping'. I certainly haven't tried all of them, or even most of them, but I can tell you my method is straight-forward, painless, flexible and didn't cost me a dime. Interested? Read on…
The Programs
My method requires two programs: DVD Decrypter, used to decrypt the DVD and copy it to my hard drive; and Auto Gordian Knot (AutoGK), which is used to convert the ripped files to a useable .AVI file. DVD Decrypter is banned in several countries, and it's technically illegal for me to tell you where to get, so I can't provide a link. It is, however, freely available with a quick Google search. I get it from a certain .org page in the UK. :wink: AutoGK can be found here. Install both DVD Decrypter and AutoGK with the default settings. AutoGK actually installs and runs a number of different programs, so don't be alarmed when it takes you through the installation of those. If you want to create DivX files from your DVDs, you can do so, but AutoGK only supports the older DivX 5.2.1 (sadly, not yet version 6.x), so if you don't already have that installed, you'll need to do so. I found a mirrored link here. The free, open-source Xvid codec is included with Auto GK, so if you want to transcode to Xvid, you won't need to install anything further.
Once you have everything you need installed, select the DVD you wish to rip and put it in your drive. For this guide, we'll use my beloved copy of Aliens (Special Edition). After dismissing the auto-annoy dialog, launch DVD Decrypter.
This is, of course, because the movie studios and the DVD industry don't want you to rip their (your) DVDs. They've even gone so far as to outlaw the ripping of DVDs in many countries, including the United States. They're afraid that giving us the ability to rip DVDs would promote movie pirating, and they might even be right. I'm not going to argue the silliness of outlawing something that's OK to do with CDs or go into the inherent evility of denying our freedoms to secure profits – I could write an entire article on that alone. No, for the purposes of this guide, I'll simply state that I find nothing wrong, immoral or unethical about ripping my own DVDs to files that I can watch on my laptop or Smartphone or convert to play on my Zune.
The question is then how? Well, there are hundreds of different methods out there and innumerable programs that tout 'one-button DVD ripping'. I certainly haven't tried all of them, or even most of them, but I can tell you my method is straight-forward, painless, flexible and didn't cost me a dime. Interested? Read on…
The Programs
My method requires two programs: DVD Decrypter, used to decrypt the DVD and copy it to my hard drive; and Auto Gordian Knot (AutoGK), which is used to convert the ripped files to a useable .AVI file. DVD Decrypter is banned in several countries, and it's technically illegal for me to tell you where to get, so I can't provide a link. It is, however, freely available with a quick Google search. I get it from a certain .org page in the UK. :wink: AutoGK can be found here. Install both DVD Decrypter and AutoGK with the default settings. AutoGK actually installs and runs a number of different programs, so don't be alarmed when it takes you through the installation of those. If you want to create DivX files from your DVDs, you can do so, but AutoGK only supports the older DivX 5.2.1 (sadly, not yet version 6.x), so if you don't already have that installed, you'll need to do so. I found a mirrored link here. The free, open-source Xvid codec is included with Auto GK, so if you want to transcode to Xvid, you won't need to install anything further.
Once you have everything you need installed, select the DVD you wish to rip and put it in your drive. For this guide, we'll use my beloved copy of Aliens (Special Edition). After dismissing the auto-annoy dialog, launch DVD Decrypter.
