SlickO's Site - DVD Ripping

Please note copying DVD's is illegal, and is subject to applicable laws, this article is for general information only - this is not the athority to reproduce movies for general consumption. This guide is intended as a backup strategy in case of theft / fire etc. of your original copies. Please read this entire page before asking questions somewhere else! The three programs you will need are: DVD2AVI, SmartRipper and TMPGEnc. These can be downloaded from www.dvdripguides.com , where this guide originated...

1. SmartRipper (put the dvd in your dvd-rom and decrypt to your hard drive)

Note: For this entire procedure, you're going to need plenty of hard drive space. DVD movies are anywhere from 4 to 10 gigs, and u also need the space that the resulting MPEG will occupy, which can be an extra 1 to 2gigs.

Before running it, please play the movie in a software dvd player for only a couple seconds and then close it. This will "authenticate/unlock" the drive.

When you first run SmartRipper, it will go through a series of IFO files and prepare to actually parse the DVD the way it should be played in a standalone.

It will automatically start with the movie section and select the MOVIE.

Keep in mind that using IFO parsing (the movie section of the program) you are completely going to not worry about any multiangles or any other weird problems... such as a music video intermission between your movie files.

(For example: Trinity's double kick in "The Matrix") Those kinds of things will just automatically be left out of the VOBs while it rips.

1. First... if the program opens into Stream Settings, click on the Input tab. I also suggest you click: Settings --> Key Check to only ONCE and set File splitting by every vob-file. Hit OK to go back to the movie menu. [PLEASE Do not enable Stream Processing]

2. Your movie length should already be highlighted in the "IFO -> Title -> Angle" window, if it isn't, please select it.

3. Please select the proper target folder at the bottom, SmartRipper will also check for available space. The start button will now appear under the settings button.

2. DVD2AVI (frameserves the VOBs into TMPGEnc for us)

Put the latest DVD2AVI.exe and the vfp plugin in the same folder together and run the exe.

[Update: v1.5+ has started to remember the settings used from the last time you ran the program, please check all your settings! especially forced film!]

Proceed to File --> Open and select your first VOB and press Open (add). The others should be automatically detected.

Go to Help --> VFAPI Plugin, this will enable the use of the .VFP file in the same folder (make sure it is checked).

If you know that the audio track is not Track No. 1, then change it now in Options -> Audio Demux -> DD Decoding.

DVD2AVI has added a wonderful Auto-Detect for AC3/MPEG or PCM tracks (most of the time, PCM audio is the sound on Music Videos), the only thing you need to make sure of is the TRACK NUMBER and have Dolby Digital set to decode.

Press F5 to run the preview for a couple seconds. Here you also want to notice what framerate AND type your movie source actually is. For those of you that do not know, Region 1 (US and Canada) is NTSC (29.97fps), all other regions are PAL (25fps). Also, take note of the aspect ratio and remember it. 16:9 or 4:3 ?

1. Notice the info on the VOB's and their resolution on the title bar.

2. A quick explanation of "Forced Film" is that it basically will take your HYBRID movie and convert it to a SYNCHED, non-interlaced, progressive stream where no long Inverse Telecine needed. Just encode to beautiful 23.976. I myself have used it flawlessly with several films, and it is a GREAT tool. The movies I have tested are 100% smooth and synched, but I want to warn you that there may be some movies that do not work. If it's choppy, then turn off Forced Film and apply Inverse Telecine in TMPGEnc. I sincerely suggest you try it this amazing new feature!

Note: DO NOT have Forced Film ON for PAL sources only for NTSC!

Go to File -> Save PROJECT (not AVI) and select a drive with space on it.

1. This information is important, for NTSC sources it will display 23.976 if you have chosen to enable "Forced Film". Here you MUST remember the aspect ratio in order to encode it properly later.

2. If there is no audio information here... you either are not processing audio, OR you have selected the wrong Audio Track (very likely).

3. When DVD2AVI is done, this box will display FINISH.

When completed, you will have a small .d2v project file and a nice beautiful .wav corresponding with the audio track that was selected. But remember, you can't delete or even change the path name to those movie VOB's until you are done. The .d2v is only a "map" to the exact byte locations of those VOB files. (Try opening the d2v file in Notepad). They are still going to be accessed when you encode.

3. TMPGEnc (powerful encoder)

1. At the bottom of program next to Video source, select browse and find your .d2v file from DVD2AVI.

4. Press load and select one of my SVCD templates already customized for NTSC or PAL sources and press Open. (Please make sure you select the correct one.. NTSC or PAL.)

If you had "Forced Film" ON in DVD2AVI, then load an SVCD NTSC template and click on Configure. Please do not change any of the settings in the main tab (23.976fps with 3:2 pulldown should be checked). Go to the advanced tab and use these settings below, after you set them, you may go to the bottom of the page.

If you had "Forced Film" OFF in DVD2AVI, then you will also need to check ON "Inverse Telecine". [If you had Forced Film ON, please ignore this step and move on down past PAL.]

This new window opens up.
[1]. The FPS there should be 24.
[2]. Click on Auto-Set on the left. And in the OTHER window that opens up, choose "Automatic (Remove Horizontal Stripes)" and Deinterlacing should be "None".

[3]. Press "Start" .. and this will take a while depending on length of movie (HOURS!). When it's done with the process, press OK.

Lucky guys! he he, you don't have to put up with all this nonsense. Ok, load up one of my SVCD PAL templates, click on Configure and go to the advanced tab. The settings should be the same as the picture of the Configuration up top EXCEPT for [3] Source Aspect Ratio. This should be either PAL 4:3 625line or PAL 16:9 625line

Ok, you made it this far. Congratulations. Just a quick explanation for NTSC users: The goal of this guide is to burn the video 23.976fps, NOT 29.97... 23.976fps has higher quality, is faster to encode (less frames) and is smoother if done properly. For this reason, I highly recommend using Forced Film in DVD2AVI.

Now you have a decision to make... do you want great quality? or INCREDIBLE quality? In the VIDEO tab of the configuration, you can either use TMPGEnc's Automatic VBR OR You can take the time to use 2Pass VBR! It does take twice the time, but the quality is great. If you don't have the time, I suggest you go with automatic and maybe some day try 2Pass if you're bored.

The other option is "Motion Search" at the bottom of the Video tab when you go to Configure. Trust me, High Quality (slow) is INCREDIBLE! (I do not recommend "Highest - Slowest" because there is almost absolutely nothing different than High but about 6-7 more hours of encoding.)

Finally, check the setting for your output file, make sure you have plenty of space on the partition/drive it is going to.

Press Encode on the top left corner and once again.... sit back, and relax for a lllooonnnnggggggg time.

4. Calculation and Cutting

UPDATE: There are now TWO ways to cut SVCD. The one stated below is the OLD, horrible way.... BUT it is the only way to be able to properly OVERLAP a couple of seconds in your cuts.

Now you have a pretty big file in front of you, beautiful quality. How do you burn it to play it on a DVD Player? Well, we can use the tools in TMPEG by going to File -> MPEG Tools, but first, we should do some calculating.

First of all, you CAN fit a maximum of 738megs on a 74min CD by burning in Mode 2/XA, which is what Nero will burn in automatically. I recommend using 74mins because other lengths/sizes will most likely not work in your player, but only you can test to find out.

So let's say you have a 2.1 gig SVCD file for a 2hr movie (This is just approximate). You will obviously need 3 CDs, as is the case for most SVCDs. Please note that in TMPGEnc you can only type in the time interval in seconds. So a 2hr movie (7200 seconds) would be cut into 3 like this...

        Part 1 -     0 -> 2405 seconds
        Part 2 -   2400 -> 4805 seconds
        Part 3 -   4800 -> 7200 seconds (end of movie)

Notice that I repeated 5 seconds to allow for error and being cut off in the middle of a sentence. If you've made it this far, you can certainly do your own calculations.

IMPORTANT! The SIZE of the mpeg file DOES MATTER...the maximum amount of MB that you can fit in MODE2 (when burning VCD/SVCD) is 10 times the number of minutes. So 740megs of VCD or SVCD fit on a 74min CD, and 800megs of VCD or SVCD fit on an 80min CD.. and so on.

Now... let's actually do it. Go to File -> MPEG Tools, and click on the last tab, "Cut/Join". Click the add button and select your 2.1gig SVCD file and from the scroll down menu select "MPEG2 Super Video CD (VBR)".

If at this point you are in tremendous need of space, go ahead and delete your orginal VOB's and/or DVD2AVI project file, but I DON'T RECOMMEND it.

Double click on the filename or click on Edit. Updated: Press PLAY for a second then press PAUSE again in the bottom right corner. Sometimes this helps prevent TMPGEnc from crashing before you can change the range. And for range set from "0" to end of your first cut, in my example would be "2405". Press ok. At the bottom of the window select your Output and remember to label it PART I, don't try to overwrite the file you're using! Press start.

For second cut, double click on the filename of the mpg again, set the beginning to, as in my example, "2400" and end to "4805". Press Ok, CHANGE OUTPUT TO PART II, then press start.

Repeat for however many parts you have remembering to change your output file. You should now have files big enough to fit on your CD.

5. Nero Burning Rom

If you just installed Nero, as soon as the program starts, click on "Close Wizard" and from the left Column, select Super VideoCD.

In the VideoCD TAB "Create standard..." should be checked and you should use MPEG2 as your folder, not MPEGAV.

In the File Options TAB Settings should be:
    ISO LEVEL 1
    ISO9660 for Character Set
    Both Relax ISO Restictions checked
    *ANY OTHER OPTIONS SHOULD BE GRAYED OUT, OTHERWISE YOUR NERO IS TOO OLD*

In the Volume Descriptor TAB, choose a title. Do not put anything else into the other text boxes.

In the Dates TAB, select "Use Date And Time from Original File"

In the Burn TAB, Only "Write" should be checked, I also suggest you burn at a MAX of 4x, burning any faster may make your CD not work in a standalone dvd player due to the quality of the laser. (Not exactly that of an expensive cd-rom...)

Last note: DISC AT ONCE SHOULD NOT BE USED!! (This is for maximum compatibility with other standalones only)

Click NEW/OK on the right top corner of the window. Now, find the proper .mpg file you want to burn and drag it from the Files Window to the Compilation window UNDER the track listing!

IMPORTANT! The SIZE of the mpeg file DOES MATTER...the maximum amount of MB that you can fit in MODE2 (when burning VCD/SVCD) is 10 times the number of minutes. So 740megs of VCD or SVCD fit on a 74min CD, and 800megs of VCD or SVCD fit on an 80min CD.. and so on.

If Nero complains after checking the VCD you have done something wrong while making your movie. Most likely just burning it anyway will work..

If everything is ok and you get no error prompts, go to File -> Write CD and click on BURN on the top right corner.

Congrats!!!...You're done. Now you can watch beautiful mpeg2 quality in a standalone DVD/VCD player or your PC at home.

At this point I think I would like to make a suggestion when it comes using DVD2AVI with NTSC movies. Why not just always have Forced Film on? It works beautifully!