Looking to liberate the movies in your DVD collection from the confines of their charge card - and - metal prison house so you may delight them on your iPhone , iPod , iPad , and Apple tv set ? Well look no further — all you need to do is get some free software and conform to a few footstep .

( mark that this templet pertains only to DVDs . To get a line more about dealing with HD phonograph record , read   our narrative aboutwatching and rip Blu - beam of light discs on your Mac . )

Step one: Install the software

To rend a videodisc with HandBrake , you require todownload the free software . The latest version works on 64 - bit Macs go o X 10.6 or afterwards . But HandBrake does n’t admit the software needed to decipher commercial-grade DVDs , so you also require to installlibdvdcss , an clear - source library that can circumvent the Content Scramble System ( CSS ) used on DVDs . ( You should , of course , only rip DVDs that you ’ve purchased . )

The first time you launch HandBrake and attempt to read a videodisk , the software package will inform you that you need additional decrypting software system and will offer to send you to a pageboy where you may download the libdvdcss installer ( currentlyversion 1.2.12 , although you may always find the latest versionhere ) . Run that installer , and it will put libdvdcss where it belongs on your drive . Now you ’re ready to rip .

or else — and peculiarly if you encounter problems aim HandBrake to work with your DVDs — you’re able to apply a separate app to decrypt your DVDs , leaving you with a Video_TS folder contain unencrypted filing cabinet that HandBrake can then deal with easily . Some secure choices are The Little App Factory ’s $ 25RipItand DVDSuki Software ’s $ 25Mac DVDRipper Pro . ( Both can also do some TV conversion . )

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Step two: Insert a DVD and pick what to rip

Now insert your DVD into your Mac ’s DVD drive and launch HandBrake . By nonpayment , the app opens a dialogue corner and require you to pick out the videodisc mounted on your Mac ( you may turn over off auto - suggestion in theGeneralpane of HandBrake ’s preferences if you favor ) . take your DVD and clickOpen , and HandBrake then scan the videodisc for the titles it contains . Once the scan is complete , HandBrake choose what it thinks is the primary title , but you may click the crop up - up fare next to Title and choose the item you need to encode . by and large talk , the form of address with the longest duration is the DVD ’s main feature .

need to ensure you ’ve choose the correct title before you start encode ? Pick the one youthinkyou want , then dawn thePreview Windowbutton and a unexampled window opens up . From there you could scroll through ten still images from the title or , if that ’s not in force enough , choose to encode and watch 15 to 240 seconds of the title ( in 15 - 2nd increase ) .

If you meet problem such asHandBrake quit or go down when it run down your videodisc , or aDVD with 99 claim of almost the same length , you ’ve go into copy - aegis scheme signify to thwart rip . In that shell , plunge Apple ’s DVD Player app , and navigate through the warning , advertizing , and prevue until you ’re play the main feature . Then chooseGo > Titlefrom the fare prevention , and discover the form of address with a chek mark next to it . In HandBrake chooseFile > Open Source ( Title Specific ) , select your DVD , and enter that title number in the box and clickOpen Title .

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If you require to convert several items — all the episodes on a TV show DVD , for example — you may pick out one point , chatter theAdd To Queuebutton , and then repeat the process for each point until you ’ve added them all to the encoding queue ( you ’ll desire to adjust your encryption configurations prior to adding the items to the waiting line , however , which I ’ll talk over in the next step ) . Rather than worry about overwrite item in the waiting line if you leave to rename each before tot them , you may go to theGeneraltab of HandBrake ’s preference and chooseUse Auto Naming ( uses DVD name and title numeral ) , which make certain each form of address has a unique file name . You might even find it easier to chooseFile > total All Titles To Queue , which as you might wait summate everything to the queue . From there you’re able to delete any title that you do n’t want to rip by clicking theXto the rightfield of each title ’s name .

Step three: Choose a preset

Now that you ’ve decided which title(s ) to rip , you take to pick out your encoding configurations found on the gadget(s ) on which you plan to view the mental object . Although you could tweak every aspect of encoding , HandBrake include ready to hand presets that make it much easier . Generally talk , I advise using them .

If the Presets Drawer is n’t already undecided , click theToggle Presetsbutton at the top of the HandBrake window ( or press Command - T ) . In the drawer , you ’ll see two types of presets : Devices and Regular . In most case , you’re able to just focalize on theDevicessection . There you ’ll find option for Universal , iPod , iPhone & iPod touch , iPad , AppleTV , AppleTV 2 , AppleTV 3 , Android , and Android Tablet .

If you want to observe your movie on an iPhone , for example , chooseiPhone & iPod touchfor the good - quality setting that will work on that twist . The same go for other gadget , based on their playback restrictions . The Universal preset is helpful if you need a file that will work on all current Apple devices . If you find a preset that you contrive to use often , you’re able to coif it as your default ( otherwise , HandBrake defaults to Normal as its preset ) . Highlight the preset you want , then at the bottom of the Preset Drawer click the gear icon and chooseMake Defaultfrom the free fall - down computer menu . You ’ll cognize it worked if your pick out preset now seem in bold . Also note that you cancreate usance presetsfor specific needs , such as after makingany of the tweaks discussed next that you require to use again .

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Step four: Tweak your settings

Once you pick your preset , there are a few configurations you might want to fine-tune , count on your specific needs .

Decombing / deinterlacing : Many goggle box shows you ’ll find on videodisk areinterlaced — that is , each frame displaying on silver screen as even lines and then left over lines ( as controvert toprogressivevideo , which refresh all line in lodge per frame of reference ) that can lead to jagged video recording when viewed on your figurer or portable twist . To have the best this , HandBrake can deinterlace while it rip so that the video will be smoother when you view it . The downside to deinterlacing , however , is that you give some picture quality .

So instead of using the Deinterlace setting in HandBrake , hear the Decomb choice instead . The Decomb filter looks at each pel of each frame of television and deinterlaces only   soma that show visible signs of interlace . That process can slack down the ripping cognitive process , but you should end up with smooth video that put up minimal quality abasement . Only theAppleTV 3preset uses the Decomb filter , so if you want to use it with another preset , click thePicture Settingsbutton and then theFilterstab in the window that appear . Click theDecombpop - up menu and chooseFast(the same setting used in the preset above ) . To see if that does the trick , adjudicate encode a light bit in the Preview Window before and after changing that setting . If the jaggedness disappear with tight turned on , apply that setting . If not , you may wreak around with the other choices . ( Want to really get into the widow’s weeds with decombing and deinterlacing ? tally out theHandBrake Wiki pageon the topic . )

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AudioAltering or removing audio raceway is a great way to reduce the size of your ruined data file . Click theAudiotab , and look at the audio track your preset has choose to include . There may be language tracks you do n’t require , or if your Apple TV is n’t associate to a surround - sound audio system , you may want to off a 5.1 - channel audio track or down - mix it to stereo , for example .

SubtitlesIf your movie is in a strange language , or you have a hearing disablement and need to record the closed caption when you catch , HandBrake ’s Subtitles yellow journalism is the place to look . There you may see whatever subtitle or captioning data comes on your DVD and decide which to include in your pull file . Typically , subtitles must beburnedinto your file , meaning you ca n’t turn them on or off , whereas closed captioning data point is added as a separate text rails that you may choose while follow in QuickTime , for model . you’re able to also add together an external .srt text file cabinet for the movie if you have it ( one you downloaded , say ) .

For the most part , you should n’t have to worry about much of the HandBrake ’s other minutia ( and there is a lot of it ) . But if you ’re funny about other setting , break out Christopher “ Breen ’s “ Beyond HandBrake ’s default option . ”

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When you ’re all set , click theStartbutton and go take a nice pass ; depending on the distance of the files and the speed of your computer , it can take a while to transcode the video .

Step five: Tag your movie with metadata

While this last step is very much optional , append cover art , plaster bandage names , summaries , and the like will make your motion picture or TV show appear and act a lot more like those purchased from the iTunes Store , sorted and grouped correctly in iTunes and on your devices .

Several software program can see up metadata online and tote up it to your file . Rodney Kerstetter ’s freeMetaXis designed for that role ( and HandBrake even has an choice to send nail rip to MetaX straight off ) . But Chris Marrin ’s freeVideo Monkeyand ( my personal dearie ) Jendrik Bertram ’s $ 20iFlicksare video - encoding applications that you may use just to lend metadata . Whichever software system use , once you ’re done , just add the movie to your iTunes library and it will then quick for you to transfer ( or pour ) to your machine .

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