Storing All of Your DVDs on Your Computer
With computers becoming cheaper and more mainstream than ever before, many people have begun to rely on their Home Theater PC (HTPC). These computers are great for eliminating the need for several devices, such as a DVD player and Cable Box. However, the act of having to swap a DVD in and out of the system can be tedious after a while. HTPCs generally have hard drives large enough to store recorded television and movies – why not make use of that space to store your DVD collection? Handbrake is freeware that allows you to rip a DVD into an AVI file. Although it does not decrypt the movie (a program such as DVD43, AnyDVD, DVDDecrypt is needed for that), Handbrake allows you to backup and store the video on your computer for the future.
How-To:
1. Download the appropriate version of HandBrake for your system, and install it.
2. Run HandBrake. Make sure the DVD is in the drive.
3. Hit “Source” in the upper left corner, and select your DVD drive – not the folders on the disc, but the disc itself. HandBrake will not scan the titles available on the DVD.
4. Under ‘Title’, select the movie (the longest one). Also, select where you want to rip the video to, and what format to use. Additionally, you can change the settings so they fit your needs (high quality, smaller file size, etc.). Here are my settings:
5. Click ‘Start’ in the upper left. If you want to check the progress, open up the ‘Activity Window’.
6. The conversion will take roughly 2 hours with the settings I used above. If you have multiple DVD drives in your system, you can also queue up additional titles to run one after the other. Once its all done, HandBrake will give you a completion message. Enjoy your video!
