Home Forums Mac Software Mac Applications Best app for transferring video from DVD?

Any recommendation with is current Best app for transferring video from DVD to hardrive? IN terms of easy and speed? Thanks!

I asked the same question a coupl'a years ago, and V1 posted instructions for doing it with Disk Utility...without a 3rd party utility. I can't locate the pertinent thread, but I found his instructions duplicated in How to rip a DVD or Blu-ray Disc to Mac - Macworld UK. (Note that the instructions are for ripping UNprotected DVDs. Protected DVDs are a-whole-nother animal.)

I followed them myself, and the process was quick and easy.

By the way, I ran the DU procedure against HandBrake, which is perhaps the most widely recommended 3rd party app, and there was virtually no time difference.

Thanks will test, later today....

Artie, worked thanks.

But now what.. nothing open.. need app?

https://postimg.cc/hzx48sPj

PS Sony dvd recorder, I think just pulled form DVD which itself was pulled from orginal device recorded, on. don't think that means anything

It looks like you've got two options:

1. Play a DVD movie file stored on your Mac

In the DVD Player app on your Mac, Choose File > Open DVD Media.
Navigate to the VIDEO_TS folder that contains the movie file you want to play, then click Open.

Sourced from Play a DVD or DVD movie file in DVD Player on Mac - Apple Support

2. Download VLC Media Player (Donationware), hit File > Convert, and fill in the blanks to convert what you've got to an MP4.

I don't think the VLC instructions are correct, so get back to me if you can't open your file with DVD Player, and I'll do some more research.

VLC has the option, but I"m not quite certain how to exercise it at the moment.

I got a VIDEDEO_ TS folder, and in there were vob files, and downloaded, El Media Mac vob player, and quality was horrible.

Is that other option, going to convert to Quicktime.. REally it need mp4 that opens in quicktime any ideas.

VLC much better than garbage El Media Vob, sound fine, but picture dark and grainy. Hence: REally it need a converter that opens in quicktime any ideas?

Macs own DVD player not work at all, but I got the folder from disk utility, just need that to go Quicktime, best..

Or best create mp4, not this Video ts folder with Vobs, which disc utility made.

Take a look at Handbrake. It is free, works well, and will convert DVDs into MP4 format which will play almost anywhere. How fast it is depends on the quality settings your choose and the speed of your computer, but the conversion process takes a [b]LOT]/b] of CPU cycles so it may take an hour or more to convert a one hour DVD.

Thanks for that. I was aware of HandBrake, and it sounds like precisely what kevs needs, but I somehow managed to overlook it in the crunch.

The current version of HB is for macOS 10.12, so if kevs isn't there yet, he'll have to figure out which of the archived versions is appropriate for him.

Thanks Joe took awhile but yet Handbrake, much better: mp4 and Quicktime. So still have to do all the rigormorale first what ARtie outlined correct in Disk Utility to get that TS folder right?

That said, still nowhere near as good quality as watching on DVD (of which it originated) on a DVD player with TV screen:

-- video more jumpy
--video too contrasty and grainy.
Sound is ok though!

this is normal?

( I suppose I could even take all original camcorder tapes into a shop and have then make mp4 right from tape but DVD I made from those tapes.. 10 years ago, sound great but just don't look great when digitized to mp4s_ I could live with it.. only watch these every blue moon and only a couple of dozen.

Also, can one edit post here?

I opened the mp4, nice just now, in QT and there were cool large thumbnails on left clickable. Closed gone. Can't figure out how get them back! Looked all over.

Nope, HandBrake can do the whole job on its own, working from just the DVD...

If you'd like to take one more shot at getting better quality, you can d/l Mac DVDRipper Pro. (It offers a 5 DVD free trial.) I believe it will generate .iso files which will not play in QuickTime but will play in VLC Media Player. I'm very happy with the results I got from it.

You used to be able to edit posts for 24 (48?) hours, but that's been reduced to 30 minutes, because people were missing edits. The idea is if the edit is really important, you've now got to post a new post which everyone will be aware of.

Did you try View > Show Clips?

Click on the Presets icon on the HandBrake tool bar and you will find options for output quality in terms of speed (very fast, fast, HQ, Super HQ), image size (1080, 720, 576, 480), frames per second (30, 25), and whether or not to include surround sound. The higher the quality the longer it will take to render the MP4 and the larger the resulting file. Choosing a higher frame rate should take care of the jumpy image and a larger image size the graininess. But be aware that higher quality rendering may take several times longer as there is just that many more pixels that have to be rendered. The same would be true for any image rendering application. You can also change the encoding in the presets. Apple is pushing H.265 encoding as opposed to MP4 because it produces higher quality images in smaller files, but MP4 is more universally recognized at this point in time. The highest quality image would be under Devices > Apple 2160p60 4K HEVC surround but unless you have a 4K monitor it may not be worth the processing time.

Artie thanks, no way going back that VL media whatever. QT way to go with MP4. Yes did do view show clips and that brings up a scroll bar at bottom which is great. But have not found that large left pane clickable thumbnail drawer, only saw it once, tested it, and poof gone.

JOe thanks:

Ok so you recommend redoing my first DVD, with Handbrake, not unbearable quality, what I got with DU, but .......

And I don't care about surround sound, don't use that, but short of that; disc space not issue, (as have Terabyte drives).. What highest quality you'd select in handbrake, short of surround to create a new MP4?

And... no idea on the vanishing clickable left pane large thumbnails I saw once? (think in QT) So nice, but now gone, can't find it and not the view show clips, which is nice in itself (bottom scroll not clickable or thumbnails). This was left pane large thumbs and clickable

( or maybe? ? the view show clips is coming up now as a bottom not clickable, stream to scoll but could be changed ot the left pane clickable, large thumbs I saw before?) just guessing.

As the saying goes, there aint no free lunch so doubling the frame rate (60 vs 30) roughly doubles the file size and processing effort. Going from 1080 to 2160p doubles them again. So 2160p60 takes four times the processing effort required to produce a 1080p30 rendering which is an often used standard. Therefore, If it were me, I would choose Super HQ 1080p30 Surround or HQ 1080p30 Surround the principle difference being the amount of data compression and compression does reduce quality although not as much as reducing the image resolution or frame rate. Since your source material was not recorded with surround sound that will make little, if any, noticeable difference in the final product. If you have a 4K monitor and the source video is of very high quality then Apple 2160p60 4k can yield eye popping, almost three dimensional, images.

I can't help you with your thumbnails.

I got to thinking about your "clips" and remembered iMovie uses clips extensively and can be used as a viewer as well. Is it possible you opened the file in iMovie?

Joe thanks, don't think imovie. It's not in the dock, not even sure how to bring in a MP4 or Folder TS into that to play.

Bad news creating the mp4s with Handbrank, I tried 2 different DVDs, after reboots, and the mp4s look nice on desktop but wont play in QT . Get error 50..

Yet the mp4 that was made in Handbrake, from the Folder TS (created by DU), plays fine in QT.

Just to be sure of what I was saying, I used Handbrake to convert some old DVDs to MP4s playable with Quicktime. I selected MP4 as the format and for the Preset Fast 1080p30 or Apple 2160p60 HEVC Surround sound. As source I selected the mounted DVD not the Audio-TS or Video-TS folder on the DVD. The original source DVDs were commercial products. Two out of the three I converted worked perfectly and played beautifully with no graininess or jerkiness and good audio quality. The third DVD is copy protected and even though Handbrake ran the resulting MP4 reported as unplayable — which was what I expected as Handbrake states very clearly that it cannot and will not convert copy protected source material. I am using Handbrake Version 1.4.2 (2021100300) on an M1 Mac mini and my source drive is a MATSHITA BD-MLT UJ265: in a Newertech Max Mini enclosure.

As I am unable to replicate your failure I can only guess the DVDs you attempted to convert were copy-protected material.

Joe, thanks, no, homemade videos no protection. Settings as you recommended. mp4 look fine, nice thumbnail on desktop but then get error 50 on QT play. Tried two DVD twice. Wish were not so, but with Apple Mac usually annoying glitch some point.

Think solved it Joe, tested without surround sound at 1080 fast. Then played ok.