DVD to video file

[macmichael01]

Hello I am seeking a way to covert my dvd's to a video file fomat. I am looking to use mp4 (b/c I herd it was good for streaming) or divx unless there is a reason that I should not use these formats. Also I want a format that will generally be cross platform compatible. When I am converting my dvd's is there a way to keep all of the different audio and languages intact within the file in case I decide to change those features from a player? I thought that you could only choose one audio format for the file. Is that true? Also whatever format that I decide to go with I would like to have the best compression with no loss. If that is not possible then a video file format that I can use to simplify wrap the entire video in and not compress at all. Finally what programs would I use to do all this with? I use dvdshrink, dvdfab, and sometimes mactheripper to grab my dvd content and store it as an ISO or folder structure with the vob files and stuff in it.

Thanks in advance

[wfrantz]

In the USA it is illegal to circumvent the copyright protection found on most commercial DVDs. However, if you have an unprotected DVD, you can use DivX Converter to convert the DVD to a DivX file.

For example, I have a DVD from my wedding. I paid the videographer for the footage and he gave me an unencrypted DVD. I put that DVD into my computer and look at the contents of the discs. In one of the sub-directories, I find a set of large files with names ending in VOB.

Drag and drop the VOB files into DivX Converter, select the "Home Theater" profile, wait a while, and you'll get a file out with a name ending in divx that is about one quarter the size of the original VOB files. Converter automatically stitches the VOBs together into one file. Take that divx file, burn it on to a CD-ROM and you can watch it on any DivX Certified DVD player. There are many models to choose from starting from as little as $40.

Go to www.divx.com for the software. The DivX Converter software is free, but you'll need the optional ($10) MPEG2 plug-in to read VOB files. If you are converting lots of videos, consider upgrading to DivX Pro ($20) that will convert files faster and/or provide better quality.

Beware of software that says it creates "DivX" files but is not actually certified by DivX or does not use the DivX encoder. There are lots of free converters out there, many based on FFMPEG, MENCODER, and/or XVID that do not use the fast, high-quality DivX encoder. I only use DivX Converter, Dr. DivX, StreamClip or VirtualDub. I avoid ffmpegx, handbrake, etc.

[setarip_old]

@wfrantz

Hi!Beware of software that says it creates "DivX" files but is not actually certified by DivX or does not use the DivX encoder. There are lots of free converters out there, many based on FFMPEG, MENCODER, and/or XVID that do not use the fast, high-quality DivX encoder. I only use DivX Converter, Dr. DivX, StreamClip or VirtualDub. I avoid ffmpegx, handbrake, etc.While you're certainly entitled (as we all are) to express your preference for a specific commercial program, I'd suggest that advising someone to "beware" of well-established freeware (and other) programs that you choose not to use is both alarmist and inappropriate, since they are safe to use. Such a comment is likely to be found offensive by both the authors and users of these excellent programs...

[Ranguvar]

Yeah... LOL...

mencoder and Xvid are both EXCELLENT tools. And Xvid has beaten DivX in pretty much any subjective quality test you could care to find... your post comes off as an ad for DivX, frankly.

When they say they create DivX files, they mean DivX-compatible. DivX is just an encoder, remember, not a format. DivX, and Xvid, and mencoder, and ffmpeg, can all encode to MPEG-4 ASP, which can be decoded by Xvid, DivX, ffdshow, etc. etc...