The Silver Screen Oasis

I hope there are a few "techies" on this board. I relied a lot on Dargo & Hamradio over at the other site and hopefully can root out fellow techies here.

I burn a lot of DVDs both from TV and borrowed disks. I fall asleep a lot (narcolepsy) and DVDs make it easy for me to go back a chapter when needed.I am a Mac technician, so know my way around pretty well using the beloved Mac The Ripper. But it's become rather outdated, not upgraded and doesn't seem to work well anymore. Says it's finding bad sectors and can't convert (I do everything mostly via TS folders)

Anyone here convert/copy DVDs successfully?
What software do you use?
Did you d/l free, did it come with your computer or did you purchase it?

Thanks!

Handbrake is the way to go. It's free too!

It may not be proper for me to post, but there is a way to copy "protected" discs with Handbrake.
I don't use DVDs or CDs much these days. Mostly watch real-time television. Internet radio.
On the other hand, I love to tinker/experiment.
It is possible to copy (drag) the video TS folder to a storage device.
You won't save any storage space, but get the full DVD experience with menus.
The data moves at your optical drive full speed.
Trans-coding can sometimes run real slow. My Windows PC is from 2014 and no speed demon though.
I get a little nervous about SSD drives after hearing they too can fail.
A single layer DVD is 4.7 GB max. Dual layer is 8.5 GB.
Anything over 2 hours requires a dual layer DVD.
You may know some of this, but just in case.
I would prefer a spinning platter hard drive, because they seem to be more stable.
I also like the idea of backing up to a secondary source. You just never know.
I only know about Handbrake. It is open source and available for PC/Mac/Linux.
EDIT: VLC Media Player can open TS folders. That's all I know there. Also Open Source.

WinX DVD Ripper for Mac 3
Version 6.5.7 (20210715)

For conversion of files themselves I use Wondershare UniConverter 13 which is not free.

For subtitling I use Submerge 3 but Wodnershare does that too.

Thank you for all the responses!
Please feel free to elaborate.

This board needs an AV geek thread.

Well TikiSoo, as a member of the Mod Squad, guess you could create an AV thread.
I'm out of my element with the visual stuff, but audio is a different story.
Audacity is like Handbrake but for audio. Open Source and very capable.
I used the old GarageBand from iLIfe '08 and enjoyed it. Didn't care for the update.
My iMac 7,1 is from 2007 and nearly useless.
A company called Rogue Amoeba makes some slick audio products for the Mac.
I used Audio Hijack years ago.
Their website was quick to notice I'm using Windows.
Both AppleInsider and MacRumors have forums. You might get more answers if you posted there.
I'm wondering about your optical drive. Bad sectors could be the media or the drive itself.
It is rare that I burn DVDs. Mostly ISOs versus video.
I suspect you have an external drive since the Mac has been without an optical drive for years.
I would like to think a Blu-Ray read/write drive would work better than just a DVD drive.
I have trouble falling asleep. But put my headphones on and I wake up to music that has ended.
Audio Books are a real no-no. I fall asleep and have no idea where I was.
So you need an Apple Watch that knows you fell asleep and can send a "pause" code to your DVD player.

jimimac71 wrote: ↑February 2nd, 2023, 12:52 pm I suspect you have an external drive since the Mac has been without an optical drive for years.

Well my 2006 iMac desktop is my primary workhorse computer. I do a lot of publishing, photo editing using all PURCHASED software & will always repair & replace parts as they die.
My Air is my throwaway, much like most people use their phones and yes, I just purchased an external drive/burner for it.

jimimac71 wrote: ↑February 2nd, 2023, 12:52 pm put my headphones on and I wake up to music that has ended.
So you need an Apple Watch that knows you fell asleep and can send a "pause" code to your DVD player.

LOL. More monitors-this time to invade your sleep!
Call me old lady, but I like having hard copies-I can easily give them to someone who hasn't seen the movie.
I have so many disks, I'll eventually go to the "trading" thread to unload some.

I rip the discs, add them to my home server so we can stream them anywhere we want, then put the disc back in the box in a closet, never to see the light of day again...unless something happens where I have to rip it again.

Lomm lost me at home server. I know it's possible, just don't know how.
Being an audio man, I don't need a lot of storage.
That said, I looked up the 2006 iMac. The first Intel iMac and the last white plastic one.
It is locked down to Snow Leopard, the last 32-bit version of Mac OS.
I'm guessing you don't burn DVDs with than machine.
In computer years, it's like an Edsel. <grin>
Don't get me wrong, I love Leopard, the first OS to use the voice Alex.
Handbrake requires Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra) or better.
Most Mac computers are like the VW Beetle. You never throw them out. Someone wants them.
You know OWC, right? They sell used Macs going back to at least 2014.
My eyesight isn't laptop friendly. My PC has a 23 inch screen and I still push the DPI to 125%.
My 10 inch iPad and Android tablet need to have the text made as large as possible too.

Lomm wrote: ↑February 3rd, 2023, 1:57 pmI rip the discs, add them to my home server so we can stream them anywhere we want, then put the disc back in the box in a closet, never to see the light of day again...unless something happens where I have to rip it again.

Same here - for personal, in-house use only of CDs that I've purchased. That reminds me, have some that I never got around to ripping. Any current software (>=Win 7)?

CDs are a different story, if you meant to say CDs Diane.
iTunes is easy to use. If you are using Windows 7, you would need to get an older version of iTunes.

jimimac71 wrote: ↑February 5th, 2023, 4:03 pmCDs are a different story, if you meant to say CDs Diane.

Duh. Meant DVD conversion on Win box.

I thought so Diane.
This link could be helpful for you and TikiSoo:
https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/tec ... ments.html

For DVD I use Handbrake. Nothing beats it.

Any current software (>=Win 7)?

If planning on using Handbrake (and I too recommend it. It's been around forever, completely free, and does it's job very, very well), you'll need to install an old version to run on win 7