Decent DVD-Ripping Solution For Linux?

supersloshy writes "I'm a user of Ubuntu Linux and I have been for a little while now. Recently I've been trying to copy DVDs onto a portable media player, but everything I've tried isn't working right. dvd::rip always gets the language mixed up (for example, when ripping 'Howl's Moving Castle,' one of the files it ripped to was in Japanese instead of English), Acidrip just plain isn't working for me (not recognizing a disc with spaces in its name, refusing to encode, etc.), Thoggen is having trouble with chapters (chapter 1 repeated twice for me once), and OGMRip has the audio out of sync. What I'm looking for is a reliable program to copy the movie into a single file with none of the audio or video glitches as mentioned above. Is there even such thing on Linux? If you can't think of a decent Linux-based solution, then a Windows one is fine as long as it works."

Comments

DVDFab

[Anonymous Coward]

Try running DVDFab under WINE.

Re:DVDFab

[Belial6]

I say that the solution is a Linux solution since the Author supports the application running on Wine. If the Author supports it, then to me it is as much a Linux solution as any other app that uses external libraries.

Re:DVDFab

[frieko]

I can't say I'm an obsessive purist

Then what IS the reason? I run Linux exclusively, and I independently reached the same conclusion as AC: The best Linux DVD ripper is DVDFab.

If DVDFab isn't a "Linux solution" because it requires WINE, then KDE isn't a Linux solution because it requires Qt.

Re:DVDFab

[Ardrad]

OR you could run a program that actually runs native under linux. Download handbrake. I believe the site is handbrake.fr (google to make sure) you also need VLC for dvd decryption, it works perfectly. I have even ripped Howl's flying castle. and many many more.

Re:DVDFab

[TheWanderingHermit]

That could cause problems. VLC is crippled in the latest Ubuntu. While the VLC people blame Ubuntu on their mailing lists, it turns out that the FFMpeg library uses different names for some codes in their newer version -- and on the latest Ubunut (Intrepid), that version of VLC doesn't use the newer names.

I was on both mailing lists for a while (VLC, FFMpeg) and the latter admitted to changing the names but did have all the codecs available under Ubunut. The VLC people claim some of those codecs are not available under Ubuntu (even with extra repositories), but they're there -- just with different names.

Until Ubuntu gets this straightened out, anyone using Intrepid or following versions will have trouble with video codecs, including ripping DVDs and, in my case, trying to read files from my HD camcorder that were easily readable in Ubuntu Hardy, but which nobody was quite sure how to read (or what settings to use) in Intrepid.

After wasting several days of my life on this issue, I gave up, ordered an iMac, and since switching, have spent more time doing what I want on my computer and less time at the computer overall. I no longer have to spend time trying to make sure the tools taht are supposed to help me are set up properly or if I'm using the right settings.

It's nice to have more time for real life than to be spending time adjusting my tools.

Re:DVDFab

[digitalchinky]

QT doesn't need a whole bunch of wrappers and libraries to fake a windows environment, DVDFab does. End of story.

What is it with DVD ripping software anyway, the vast majority of it assumes people are frigging experts at bit rates, codecs, containers, video formats, audio formats, and on and on. Most of it also lets you blindly click away at a hundred options no matter how borked and demented the logic is. While an exceedingly small number of applications might actually tell you your choices wont work out so good, the vast majority of it simply goes off and does the stupid and you only find out it wont work after it's done.

Re:DVDFab

[pjt33]

at least not without sacrificing performance to go with Java

The 1990s called: they want their benchmarks back.

Re:DVDFab

[tsa]

That's Linux for you and the reason why I switched to a Mac. Linux is a fantastic OS but many of the applications that run on it are just not mature enough to be used by laymen.

Re:DVDFab

[Yfrwlf]

If the issue was an ffmpeg or VLC issue, then that would qualify as a dependency issue. The newer VLC should have required the newer ffmpeg. If, however, it was an Ubuntu packaging naming issue, I completely blame proprietary Linux packaging for that.

This is one of the many reasons Linux packaging standards are needed. Distros should be offering the same exact software that you can get easily online. If they want to modify a program, they need to change it's name, but if it's simply distros having different package names then they need to fucking stop it. Metapackages are fine, but fucking around with software names just so you can make your repository be proprietary is wrong. Until Linux users are really free to choose what software to install no matter their distro, and the focus is shifted to making the default software work correctly for all Linux users, you sadly will have more freedom in some ways on a proprietary OS.

Thank you distro wars for giving everyone less freedom and making Linux suck more.

Re:DVDFab

[Shadowmist]

It's probably likely that the problems he was having in this case was the tipping point of a long series of personal annoyances. What this story seems to illustrate is that Linux is still in the rough Harley Davidson stage, in that almost every Harley Davidson owner I ever met was a fairly decent mechanic as the cycles are famous for requiring a lot of mechanic knowhow. One respondent's answer in brief was "compile your own". While this works for a certain group of user, there are a lot of users which it won't. With Mac OSX now having a lot more common with the 'Nix OS's and featuring software which simply "just works". I can understand why he finally made the switch. (OS X even has it's own versions of WINE working for it now that it's main architecture is Intel based.) and OS X has shed most of what made the original Mac OS such a hostile environment to develop for, as seen from the explosion open source code for the platform. "Stuff just works" is a good benchmark on the maturity of an OS as a user system for other than "Harley Davidson home mechanics." OS X is a good example of that benchmark as a UNIX type OS you can give your grandmother to use. Linux's progress towards that goal has slowed down considerably if not stopped altogether.

Re:DVDFab

[NotBornYesterday]

"95% of all Harley Davidsons ever made are still on the road.
The other 5% made it home okay."

- found floating around somewhere on the interwebs

Re:DVDFab

[Yfrwlf]

But why are dependencies a problem? The reason is because *those* packages are proprietary. If a package used a universal naming convention, like the actual names of the programs the developers named them, then a program could simply say "I want this, this, and this" and the manager would know what the hell they wanted and install it all easily. Distro repositories should be nothing more than mirrors of sourceforge basically, for the packages they wanted to support, but it should be able to hook into the outside world to pull dependencies when users wanted/needed those. If I wanted, I shouldn't HAVE to install Firefox updates from distro repos, I should be able to get system updates directly from Mozilla. Bad example as Mozilla actually does have a Ubuntu repo, but that's proprietary, I want universal formats so that ALL Linux users can easily install, remove, and update any and all Linux software they want.

A Mandriva user shouldn't have to install Ubuntu just because OMGAwsomeGame version 5.125.53.325 that they want or need for some reason isn't in Mandriva's repos. These distro companies aren't caring about this problem because they want the size of their repos to *cause* this to happen, for users to switch just for their access to software. That barrier is opposed to Linux's principals and to truly free software. Not to mention, you know, it makes Linux *suck*. Unless you use Ubuntu. But even then, things still suck, and user's freedoms are very much lessened.

And of course again, yeah yeah, you can compile, but only like 5% of users really care about that, and they're mostly developers. Linux needs more features, and this is a big one. Software packages "just work" on Windows and OS X, Linux users can and should have that same freedom, and there is no reason whatsoever that it's not possible and can't be solved through better programming and standards.

Funny you should ask...

[darpo]

Just this morning, Lifehacker posted about this very topic: http://lifehacker.com/5205221/acidrip-for-linux-rips-dvds-with-two+click-ease

Use Handbrake

[SuperNothing307]

You won't find one better than Handbrake, works great for me. Here's a howto I wrote on the topic: http://spareclockcycles.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/handbrake-for-dvd-ripping-on-ubuntu/

Re:Use Handbrake

[forgottenusername]

/agree

I'm really impressed with Handbrake. I actually use it to transcode a bunch of stuff so my ps3 will play it. They have a bunch of really handy presets for various device, such as ps3, iPod video, xbox 360 long with things like tv/animation etc.

They have a CLI mode which is useful for scripting.

HandBrake GUI on Linux is now a full fledged port, not just a hacky frontend to the CLI tool.

Job managment is great too, with a real time adjustable queue, ability to pause/resume etc.

One thing I haven't found out how to do is splice AVIs, I use avidemux for that. Which is another amazingly awesome program.

3 people who figure this AV crap out that I have 0 interest in. I just want the friggin' thing to do the thing, man.

Re:Use Handbrake

[AlXtreme]

You love it so much that you misspelled its name twice? :)

Handbreak is what the MPAA will do to you if they find out you use Handbrake.

Handbrake!

[imac.usr]

Live it, learn it, love it.
http://handbrake.fr/

Mencoder?

[DjangoShagnasty]

Mencoder (mplayer package) works pretty well.

Following the docs gave me decent quality rips without too much hassle.

http://web.njit.edu/all_topics/Prog_Lang_Docs/html/mplayer/encoding.html

Why bother?

[wampus]

BitTorrent. Its probably faster and definitely easier.

Re:Why bother?

[Hurricane78]

Unfortunately, most encoders (the people, not the programs) out there seem to be idiots. Most of the time, you still get XviD with MP3, in a AVI container. No chapters, problems with the aspect ratio (because many encoders cut off some pixels on the border, for optimization reasons), and most of all, a totally shitty quality.

Nowadays, I expect my videos to be in this format:
- 700-1400 MB size
- Matroska container
- H.264 encoded video
- AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital or better audio
- no visible quality difference from the original DVD, even for experts
- includes chapters and other metadata.
If possible, there should also be
- Two audio streams. one in my language, one in the original language
- Subtitles for the original language included in the container.
- Cover and infos included in the metadata.

If the original medium exists in a HD format, I want that quality too (of course with a bigger file size).

No reason to own a home cinema, when you watch YouTube videos on it. ^^

k9copy + k3b, my friend

[Anonymous Coward]

Through much trial and error I've found that k9copy is the most reliable and functional program for ripping DVDs. You can customize what you want or don't want and it puts everything into VOB that can easily be burned as a video dvd in k3b. Happy Burning! :)

Re:k9copy + k3b, my friend

[NoobixCube]

Seconded. k9copy is the best DVDShrink replacement there is, no contest. You can rip to video files, or to a whole compressed disc image, or a VIDEO_TS folder, and then just burn to a disc the way you'd burn anything.

Favorite right now is k9copy

[physicsphairy]

And to address some of the issues:

dvd::rip always gets the language mixed up (for example, when ripping 'Howl's Moving Castle,' one of the files it ripped to was in Japanese instead of English),

What makes you think it is dvd::rip that has the language mixed up? It is a Japanese movie and it is not surprising that the first audio track is Japanese. Fortunately you can select to rip a different audio track.

Acidrip just plain isn't working for me (not recognizing a disc with spaces in its name, refusing to encode, etc.)

I am betting you set it up wrong, since the disc name really shouldn't effect anything. It could be your ripper program should point at /dev/dvd (or equivalent), not "/mnt/Mounted File System"

If all else fails...

[Flynsarmy]

If all else fails you could just WINE DVD Shrink. It works like a charm.

Acid Rip

[StormReaver]

Give AcidRip another try. I have yet to encounter a DVD it couldn't rip. More accurately, I have yet to encounter a DVD that mencoder, the encoding program behind most (all?) of the DVD rippers on Linux, couldn't rip. For some DVD's, it may appear as if AcidRip has malfunctioned, as the entire system can become unresponsive or very jerky for long periods of time, and the system log will fill with sector error messages.

If you check the size of the video file, however, you will notice that it is slowly growing. This is mencoder making its way through the access restrictions on the disk, but encountering a lot of resistance. It is succeeding, though. For these disks, I let AcidRip run overnight.

Re:Acid Rip

[Randle_Revar]

Very interesting. And I am shocked, _shocked_ to hear that Sony does disc mangling.

Command Line Solution

[Mr_2_718281828459045]

vobcopy -i /folder/to/copy/to -m [executed where the dvd is mounted]
mkisofs -dvd-video -udf -o desired_iso_name.iso /directory/to/put/iso
Done.

Re:This will help.

[teh moges]

I don't think the "Let me google that for you" joke applies when you add a different keyword in.

Re:Why Matroska?

[civilizedINTENSITY]

The Matroska Multimedia Container is an open standard free container format, a file format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture or subtitle tracks inside a single file.[1] It is intended to serve as a universal format for storing common multimedia content, like movies or TV shows. Matroska is similar in conception to other containers like AVI, MP4 or ASF, but is entirely open in specification, with implementations consisting mostly of open source software.

Re:Why Matroska?

[Randle_Revar]

First of all, Matroska is an open spec, and most implementations (including the reference implementation, libmatroska) are Open Source (lgpl for libmatroska).

Mkv supports B-frames, Variable bit rate audio, Variable frame rate, Chapters, and Subtitles. Not all containers support all of these, and AVI only supports any of those with workarounds, modifications or just nasty hacks.

The mpeg container can't do chapters or subtitles, and obviously only holds media in the mpeg (1 or 2) format.

MP4 has limited chapter and subtitle support and only deals with mpeg media (basically 1, 2, and 4 ASP/AVC).

Ogg/ogm is designed for simplicity, streaming and specifically for Vorbis and Theora (although most/all other codecs can be used), while Mkv is meant as a completely general-purpose distribution container, and wants to replace avi, asf, mp4, mov, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matroska
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_container_formats
http://www.matroska.org/technical/guides/faq/index.html
http://xiph.org/container/
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t10426.html

What about The Teaching Company DVDs?

[AliasMarlowe]

We have almost 100 DVDs purchased from The Teaching Company (courses in astronomy, geology, math, physics, etc.)
So far, we have no tool for easily ripping them onto our LAN server (sorry, no P2P). I have tried acidrip, dvd::rip, handbrake, thoggen, and VLC's convert function. None of them can rip these DVDs properly, but we can rip any other DVD we have with any of these tools.

With a DVD from TTC, all of them just see one title with a length of 43 seconds - the FBI warning. The DVDs play fine in VLC or any other player, but the structure information (IFO file?) is deliberately corrupt or obfuscated, on every single TTC DVD!

If I use chapter mode in dvd::rip or handbrake, or use convert mode in VLC, then individual "chapters" can be ripped, one at a time. Unfortunately, the chapter structure also appears to be obfuscated. Chapters in the table of contents according to handbrake or dvd::rip vary from a few seconds to 15 minutes in length, whereas the actual chapters/lessons when played are all about 25 minutes. Moreover, to assemble the chapters/lessons as viewed, from the individual "chapters" as ripped, one must combine them in a nearly random non-numerical-sequence order, and often split a ripped "chapter" between two actual chapters/lessons. It's labour-intensive and very annoying, since what we're trying to do is a legitimate fair-use (format shift for play on PCs, DVDs then left on shelf).

Does anyone have a ripping solution which works easily on DVDs from The Teaching Company, or on other DVDs with an obfuscated table of contents?

Handbrake

[cybereal]

Available in a linux flavor, I ripped 462 movies for my private use (streaming from my 1tb hdd to an apple tv) from DVD last fall. At the time Handbrake used its own decoder which didn't always work for certain types of highly standard breaking locking schemes (read: broken dvd's). However the recent version, at least for my mac, has no troubles as it is using VLC player for the dvd decoding engine.

I found the best success using constant quality, around 59% plus a bunch of other handy settings I found under the "best settings and why" section in the forums for handbrake.

I strongly recommend this avenue as the results are magnificent AVC encodes in iTunes, iPod, iPhone, PS3, etc. compatible container and they are literally indistinguishable from their DVD counterpart (save a few exceptionally difficult to rip movies like Pi). Good software, and free too.

You have 2 choices - both under Windows

[Zontar_Thing_From_Ve]

What nobody will tell you is that to prevent some older, free ripping tools from working, some studios (mostly for DVDs released in region 1 - USA and Canada - but also sometimes seen elsewhere) use a copy protection method called ARCCOS or something similar to protect their DVDs. The only rippers I know of that can defeat this are DVDFab HD Decrypter (they have a free version available) and AnyDVD (don't know if there is a free version or only the commercial version). Both are updated regularly to deal with new variations in ARCCOS. ARCCOS uses deliberately placed bad sectors on the disc to thwart copying. It's quite complicated, but it relies on a difference between how standalone DVD players and PCs read discs to thwart copying attempts. DVDFab and AnyDVD get updated because they are produced in countries that are currently free from MPAA enslavement. I am unaware of any programs other than those that can correctly rip DVDs and those only work on Windows. I don't keep up with Handbrake as it's mostly for Mac fanboys (but they do have a Windows version), so I have no idea if Handbrake is actually able to deal with ARCCOS or not. The people I know who use it do not rip DVDs that I know to use ARCCOS, so I have no idea if Handbrake can even deal with ARCCOS correctly or not.