I want to transfer quite a few dvd's that I have to Mpeg4 and keep them on my laptop/spare drive for when I travel. Can anyone suggest any software? Freeware is best but will take any suggestions.

Regards

Jack

Personally, I use DVD Decrypter to rip the DVD to the hard drive (remember to set it to IFO mode, and in settings get it to create stream information). You should also turn off the check for updates as the current version is the last one. (the author was hit with a cease and desist court order).

I then use AutoGK with Xvid to convert to to an avi file. (which is actually Mpeg4 because of the Codec I'm using).

However, the software and Codec you use for this is up to you. I've been using the same setup for a while, but I know you can get better quality with H.264, but I have a DivX playing DVD player, which handles Xvid happily enough, so I haven't switched - Divx and Xvid are both Mpeg4 level 2 codecs, where H.264 is Mpeg4 level 10.

All that software is free, and the files coming out of AutoGK are good for watching on a computer.

If you want to take the files and put them onto something else (like a PSP or video ipod), then I believe both of those will handle Mpeg4 level 2 (generally as mp4), or Mpeg4 level 10 (a.k.a H.264 (ipod) or AVC (PSP)), but you need to drop the resolution using other software. (I have a PSP, and for that I use pspvideo9, which, again, I've been using for a long time - for the ipod, I'm sure there's something similar, also free).

The big thing to remember is...

Ripping a DVD is fairly quick, so long as you've got a fairly fast DVD-Rom drive, and it's reading the DVD digitally, which may be dependent on a decent IDE cable, and your hardware settings. (Check if you're apparently only reading at 2x speed, and you have a 16x DVD-Rom drive.) However, the files take up a lot of room...

Converting the DVD is a VERY slow process - it takes several hours..., but AutoGK lets you queue up several films one after the other, so you can leave the PC unattended. (and once you have the AVI file, you can delete the DVD files...)

try fairuse wizard www.fairusewizard.com , its free for creating files less than 700meg , otherwise 10euros for the full version

Nero Recode. Comes free with the Nero bundle that comes free with most DVD/CD drives these days.

Rip + Conversion takes about half the playing time on my computer.

Another satisfied Nero Recode user here...it may not be as flexible as the other options mentioned, but it gets the job done VERY easily and with good-enough results.

Another satisfied Nero Recode user here...it may not be as flexible as the other options mentioned, but it gets the job done VERY easily and with good-enough results.

hi'

I'll second both of you! nero recode

otherway, mpeg4 direct maker, encode and decode everything in a nice way, and not too heavy on cpu and output is real good quality

francois