Home> iPod Column > Rip DVD movies to MP4 for iPod
Rip DVD movies to MP4 videos for iPod
Learn how to rip and convert DVD movies to iPod MP4 videos on Mac
Last week, in preparation for my trip to New York, I decided to rip a couple of movies onto my iPod Touch for the flight. I had never done this before, so it sent me looking for a solution. There are many dvd ripper tools that are capable of ripping and converting DVD movie to iPod supported video format. Many of them are general purpose toolkits that can convert almost any kind of video to almost any other popular formats. Some of them are good tools, but they make the process a bit complicated.
I recommend a Mac DVD ripping software called iFunia DVD to iPod Converter for Mac. This software is a free trial application for Mac OS X that accomplishes this task quickly and easily. It even has iPod Touch preset format options to set up for different resolutions automatically. It is easy to use and converts the video in a single pass, ready for transfer and sync to your iPod.
Step 1: Download, install & run iFunia DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
We’ll be using a very nice DVD Ripping tool for Mac OS called iFunia DVD to iPod Converter for Mac to rip DVD movies and convert DVDs to iPod compatible video files. Head over here and download the free trial version. Next step is to install the program.
Now get your DVD movie disc and insert it. Then run iFunia DVD to iPod Converter on your Mac and click the big button "Load..." to load your DVD movie, you may see the name of DVD movie disk if you insert DVD before running this DVD ripper tool.
Step 2: Select the titles you'd like to convert
A movie DVD usually has several titles. The shorter titles on the DVD are usually the video backgrounds used in the DVD menu screens and DVD extras like movie trailers. Unless you are a graphic artist, you probably don't want to convert these titles.
- Movie: If you are ripping a movie, the longest title is usually the main feature.
- TV Shows: If you are ripping a DVD containing TV shows, you should see a list of several titles all about the same length.
Step 3: Edit videos: crop, trim, add special effects or add watermark
Wanna add a personalized watermark on the output video files? You may add a text watermark or a image logo using iFunia DVD to iPod Converter for Mac. Just select the titles/chapters you'd like to add watermark, then click the button 'Edit' to open video editing window. If you want to crop DVD movies or add some special effects, click the first two tabs.
Step 4: Change the output settings to convert videos with best quality
iPod supports H.264 and MPEG-4 video only. You may learn more details about iPod supported video formats here. If you'd like to watch movies on iPod Touch without black bars, just make sure the resolution of video is 480*320 or 640*480 to get the best quality.
Here I set the output video format to 'iPod Touch MPEG-4 Video (*.mp4)', Video Codec as 'H.264', Resolution as '640*480', Bitrate as '768', Frame Rate as '30', Audio Codec as 'AAC' by default. Remember that the output file size mostly depends on the Bitrate you set. Larger Bitrate, larger file size.
Step 5: Start converting DVD movies
Now you may click the big button "Start" to begin converting DVD movies onto your hard disk. The Convert progress bar shows you how much of the convert process is completed. The longer your movie and the larger its Bitrate, the longer the convert will take. The ripping time will depend on several variables including: the duration of the video file, the speed of your computer, what other activity your computer is currently doing, the codec you selected (H264 or MP4) and the bitrate you set.
Once the convert is complete, iFunia DVD to iPod Converter will place on your Mac a new version of your movie that will play on the iPod. Double-click the new file and play it to make sure it looks as you expect and sync videos to iPod.
Free Download iFunia DVD to iPod Converter for Mac Buy it now for only $29
Get iFunia DVD to iTunes Converter for Mac
