Rip DVDs to AVI and MP4 Format using WinX DVD Ripper
With the multiple formats for digital video files, there are many choices when it comes to media conversion. Taking a movie from a DVD to a digital has become easier with the advent of better conversion utilities and quicker with increased DVD drive speeds and improved computer hardware.
Something like this can be accomplished in a matter of a few minutes compared to previous conversion rates, which could drag a conversion on for up to (or more than) an hour.
Thankfully, necessity being the mother of invention, developers continued to refine and improve methods of transforming movies to compatible file formats. AVI, MPEG, WMV were some of the more common formats. Then as more portable devices came into the consumer technology scene, software was again honed to accommodate items such as the video iPod and PSP.
Finding a program that can take an entire DVD and push out an MPEG or AVI file is not difficult. Surfing websites like Download.com and Snapfiles.com will turn up a decent selection of titles allowing you to perform this type of conversion. However, if you are someone who needs a larger list of file types for creation purposes, then a program like WinX DVD Ripper Platinum (found here) may be a good choice.
Looking at the main graphical interface, the first thing one will notice is the three-step instructional set. A DVD conversion can actually be accomplished in a matter of three steps. Simply do as the steps imply, and you will have converted your DVD to your chosen file format. We will do a walk through and add a little more detail though.
After loading a DVD disc into your DVD drive, and clicking on the silver Disc button, you will be prompted to choose the appropriate drive. Not to worry, WinX DVD will detect if you have more than one drive. Click on the drive and then click on Ok.
When the disc has been read, you will then click on the type of file in the set of tabs in the lower portion of WinX DVD. At this point, depending on the file format you select, there are other options that appear. If you are new to this type of software, you may to experiment with a couple of the more common file types to watch the process work.
For this setup, we selected MPEG, because it is a very common format. For the time being, let’s leave the Output Image Setting as it’s default selection. Keep this area in mind should you want to return and tweak the audio and video quality though.
Also inclusive of this area is a volume adjustment slider. This is another section where you may want to experiment with increasing, or reducing, the finalized file’s volume. For instance, for a DVD with less volume output quality, this may be one time where you want to boost the volume setting prior to conversion. Right now though, click on the large Start button to kick off the process.
Keep in mind that while the website makes mention of a five minute process, this is dependant on the type of processor, amount of RAM memory, hard drive speed, and DVD read speed that your computer has.
It also depends on what type of compression and quality (audio and video) is being used by your starting selections. The default settings for an MPEG file, with no altered options, took about 40 minutes; on a 4-year old Windows XP test machine (3.0 GHz Intel HT Processor, 1 GB of RAM, 7200 RPM 80 GB hard disk).
When completed, we have an MPEG file playable by most software media player programs. At the time of the test, the output file was 1.61 GB in size for a movie that was two hours and thirteen minutes in length. Again, you will want to do a few trial runs to see what works best for your computer, and your portable devices you wish to put movies on.
At a price tag of $30, there are some people who not desire to turn out the cash for this program with many freeware titles available on the Internet.
This is not the end all, be all of media conversion software, but it is a fairly sturdy program for people that put movies on portable devices, digital hobbyists, and those who want to preserve digital copies of their DVD collections.
Something like this can be accomplished in a matter of a few minutes compared to previous conversion rates, which could drag a conversion on for up to (or more than) an hour.
Thankfully, necessity being the mother of invention, developers continued to refine and improve methods of transforming movies to compatible file formats. AVI, MPEG, WMV were some of the more common formats. Then as more portable devices came into the consumer technology scene, software was again honed to accommodate items such as the video iPod and PSP.
Finding a program that can take an entire DVD and push out an MPEG or AVI file is not difficult. Surfing websites like Download.com and Snapfiles.com will turn up a decent selection of titles allowing you to perform this type of conversion. However, if you are someone who needs a larger list of file types for creation purposes, then a program like WinX DVD Ripper Platinum (found here) may be a good choice.
Looking at the main graphical interface, the first thing one will notice is the three-step instructional set. A DVD conversion can actually be accomplished in a matter of three steps. Simply do as the steps imply, and you will have converted your DVD to your chosen file format. We will do a walk through and add a little more detail though.
After loading a DVD disc into your DVD drive, and clicking on the silver Disc button, you will be prompted to choose the appropriate drive. Not to worry, WinX DVD will detect if you have more than one drive. Click on the drive and then click on Ok.
When the disc has been read, you will then click on the type of file in the set of tabs in the lower portion of WinX DVD. At this point, depending on the file format you select, there are other options that appear. If you are new to this type of software, you may to experiment with a couple of the more common file types to watch the process work.
For this setup, we selected MPEG, because it is a very common format. For the time being, let’s leave the Output Image Setting as it’s default selection. Keep this area in mind should you want to return and tweak the audio and video quality though.
Also inclusive of this area is a volume adjustment slider. This is another section where you may want to experiment with increasing, or reducing, the finalized file’s volume. For instance, for a DVD with less volume output quality, this may be one time where you want to boost the volume setting prior to conversion. Right now though, click on the large Start button to kick off the process.
Keep in mind that while the website makes mention of a five minute process, this is dependant on the type of processor, amount of RAM memory, hard drive speed, and DVD read speed that your computer has.
It also depends on what type of compression and quality (audio and video) is being used by your starting selections. The default settings for an MPEG file, with no altered options, took about 40 minutes; on a 4-year old Windows XP test machine (3.0 GHz Intel HT Processor, 1 GB of RAM, 7200 RPM 80 GB hard disk).
When completed, we have an MPEG file playable by most software media player programs. At the time of the test, the output file was 1.61 GB in size for a movie that was two hours and thirteen minutes in length. Again, you will want to do a few trial runs to see what works best for your computer, and your portable devices you wish to put movies on.
At a price tag of $30, there are some people who not desire to turn out the cash for this program with many freeware titles available on the Internet.
This is not the end all, be all of media conversion software, but it is a fairly sturdy program for people that put movies on portable devices, digital hobbyists, and those who want to preserve digital copies of their DVD collections.
