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iPod Tip #10
Want to get your DVDs on your new iPod so you can watch a movie on the plane or your commute? Easy and free method is available to Mac OS X users.
Here’s how:
Download Handbrake for OS X. HandBrake is a free, GPL’d multi-platform, multi-threaded 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. There is no Windows version of HandBrake. HandBrake does NOT support single VOB files or .dmg image files.
Use HandBrake to compress the DVD to MPEG4 H.264 for use on the iPod. You will need the new iPod with video playback capabilities for iPod playback.
Please note that some users have reported problems getting HandBrake to work with the new iPod video using H.264. This will probably be resolved in the next release. You can use this re-compiled version of HandBrake found here until then. Another choice is to use QuickTime Pro 7.03 export to iPod function to make sure of iPod video compatibility. See iPod Tip #8: Convert Video For Use on iPod With Video on this website.
Load in your DVD and launch HandBrake.
HandBrake needs to scan the DVD before it can do anything else. The scan dialog shows up on launch so you can pick up a DVD device, or you can browse to folder with VIDEO_TS you might have extracted from a DVD using MacTheRipper.
Scan
Click Open button and HandBrake will start DVD scan. The scan process checks for information about the titles, chapters and languages on your DVD.
HandBrake main window is made up of different panels. Let’s go thru them together.
Source
DVDs usually have one or more titles. For a movie, the longest one is usually the movie itself. This is the one we will want to rip and encode to MPEG4. In the Source panel select the DVD title, the longest is the first of the list. Choose this one.
Destination
In the Destination panel select MP4 file format. Select MPEG-4 / AAC or H.264 / AAC from the drop down menu for use on the iPod and QuickTime. Please note that QT 6 supports MPEG-4 / AAC and QT 7 supports both MPEG-4 / AAC and H.264 / AAC. AVI file format and OGM file format can not be played back using QuickTime or iPod. You can rename the file to something better than “Movie”.
Video
In the Video panel choose the encoder, I suggest FFmpeg instead of XviD, as both are MPEG-4 compliant encoders, FFmpeg is usually faster on OS X.
Set Frame-rate to Default. You should keep the frame-rate the same as the source material.
Select CD Target size for full movie. Choose your Average Bitrate (1024) for movies less than 90 minutes.
Select 2-pass encoding, it will take longer but will give better quality compression. Use it except if you really care about the encoding time.
Subtitles
Select none if you intent to play this on an iPod as the size would be too small to read anyway. If you intent to encode for playback on a Mac, select subtitle language if you want them.
Audio
In the Audio panel select language you want and audio sample rate (default 44100) and Bitrate (default 128).
Picture Settings
Click on Picture Settings button.
The Picture settings window will open.
Re-size Width and Height keeping the aspect ratio. For the iPod 320×240 is fine for 4:3 aspect ratio, this is what the iTunes Music Store uses. Larger sizes are good if you want to play it on your Mac or want to connect your iPod to a TV and want better quality.
The iPod can playback larger sized video than 320×240. Apple says that the iPod video can support MPEG4 file formats up to 480×480 at 30 frames per second. In reality it is related to the number of pixels that are supported. Example: 480×480 = 230,400 pixels. 720×304, keeping the aspect ratio of the DVD, comes to 218,880, which is less. So this can work. But remember that larger size means more space taken up on your iPod and Mac. So choose a happy medium for quality and size.
iPod video specs from the Apple website:
H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320×240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
MPEG-4 video: up to 2.5 mbps, 480×480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
Try these for a guideline
720 x 304 – 2.35:1
624 x 336 – 1.85:1
624 x 352 – 16:9
512 x 384 – 4:3
Crop
Crop image to remove any black outline borders. Using Automatic button usually works fine.
De-Interlace
De-interlaced picture if movie has visible scan-lines. I usually deinterlace all of them as computers use progressive scan and television uses interlacing.
Next button and useless openGL effects, what does it do? It allows you to see select images from the DVD to help you decide on cropping etc. You can try it.
Let-ur-Rip
Click on Rip button to start encoding, a progress bar show encoding, fps speed and time remaining. Go have some coffee this will take awhile.
Encoding can be paused, resumed or cancelled.
Tip:
Make sure to let HandBrake finish encoding. It may say 100%, but its not actually finished, so you must wait until it’s really finished encoding.
After you are finished encoding rename the file if you have not already to something other than “Movie.”
You can “Add to Library” in iTunes, use Get info and add ID3 tag information for name, artist, genre, etc.
Sync to your iPod. These movies can be played in iTunes, in QuickTime player or VLC media player. Try hooking up your iPod video with the Apple AV cable and play the movies on a TV. This is great for traveling, as many hotel TVs have an AV input. Enjoy!
To play back other formats that Handbrake can rip to use like AVI or OGM use VLC media player which is free and available in all platforms.
If you are looking to put TV shows on your iPod, consider Elgato’s EyeTV. This is a “killer” PVR for the Mac that can record TV to MPEG4 for the iPod. See my EyeTV review.
Have some videos you need converting for use on the new iPod video? Check out iPod Tip #8: Convert Video For Use on iPod With Video on this website.
Want it simpler?
See Handbrake Lite Makes DVD-to-iPod Simple
