Shrink DVDs to Play on iPhone, iPod or Other PMPs for Free
So, someone gave you a new iPhone, IPod video, Creative Zen Vision, Archos PVR or other fancy device for the holiday and now you need to know how to copy your DVDs to it so you can take them with you?
Or maybe you didn’t get one of those, but you’d like to load a few movies onto your laptop for when you travel? I also encountered these issues so, after wasting almost two entire days searching for a simple guide and installing at least 10 different programs, I finally decided on two different methods to share. I hope this saves someone else countless hours wasted.
First, the Free Method:
We’re going to have to use two programs to reliably pull this off.
- We’ll use a program called cladDVD.NET to rip the DVD content to a hard drive
- Then we’ll use a program called AutoGK (short for Auto Gordian Knot) to convert it to a format appropriate for your device.
When we’re done you’ll be able to watch the finished videos on your PC or transfer them to your Personal Media Player (PMP).
Step 1:
Download and install cladDVD.NET and the AutoGK full package.
Step 2:
Place the DVD you wish to copy into your DVD drive. If your computer automatically launches the DVD player just stop it.
Ripping the DVD, and Overriding Copy Protection
Step 3:
Launch the cladDVD.NET program. Hit the SCAN DVD button and on the tab labeled “PGC Mode [AVI]” it should give you a list of VTS files on the DVD. Highlight the one that looks like the approximate length of the movie.
Step 4:
Select the OPTIONS button and choose the destination on your hard drive that you would like to save this temporary file to by clicking on the little animated disk. Be aware that this will likely occupy 3-4GB of space. It can be deleted after we finish the entire process, but for now you’ll need that much free space on a hard drive somewhere.
Quick Note:
After cladDVD has finished ripping the DVD to the hard drive remember where you saved it as we’ll need it in the next step. Ripping the DVD will take about 15-20 minutes if you have a reasonably new DVD player.
You may notice that AutoGK will rip from a DVD as well… and if you want to use it on home made DVDs that’s fine, but it won’t work on commercial DVDs because it doesn’t remove the copy protection. That’s why we used cladDVD to start with.
Converting the File to Play on your Device
Step 5:
Now it’s time to launch AutoGK. When you run the program you’ll encounter a screen with areas labeled steps 1-4. The first thing you need to do is find the line that says “INPUT FILE” and select the little file folder icon on the right and browse to the location where you saved the file you ripped with cladDVD. It will have a .VOB extension.
Step 6:
In the AUDIO TRACK area select the audio tracks you would like to be included within the file. Considering that most PMP devices are only stereo, I would recommend the 2 channel option only as opposed to the 6 channel option. It will sound better through stereo headphones and will save space making for higher quality video.
NOTE: You may have to refer back to cladDVD to see which of the sound tracks the stereo one is if the labels aren’t clearly marked, which happens sometimes.
Step 7:
If you require subtitles select the appropriate language within the SUBTITLE TRACKS area.
Step 8:
In the SELECT OUTPUT SIZE area I recommend specifying a size in MB that you are comfortable with. For hard drive based players with at least 20 GB I would suggest setting the size at 500MB. I’ve found that this size offers very good playback quality on the small screen and reasonable quality if you plug your device into a larger TV for playback.
If you are planning to primarily play back on a larger screen, set your output size to 1,000 MB.
Step 9:
You’re now ready to select the Add Job button, and then the Start button.
At this point you’re done. Now you have to play the waiting game. I’ve found that on my PC (3.2 GHZ P4, 2 GB RAM) it takes about 3 hours to complete the process for each movie. There will be a little DOS window running until it’s done – do not close it! This is while I have other stuff running in the background and while I’m using the computer. Results may vary.
Next, the slightly easier, faster – but not Free version…
The $29 Method:
If for some reason you can’t use the free method, or if you want a simpler one step process, there is one other method which I’d consider.
There is a piece of software called Pocket DVD Wizard which automates the process of ripping content from the DVD straight to a file formatted for a particular device.
It doesn’t offer the same level of control over the process, but it is simpler and some people need that.
The selection of pre-formatted output options include:
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I found that using this software was faster, and simpler, than using the previously mentioned free method when it comes to doing the file conversion; however, if you have a Zen Vision W, when you are given the screen to choose which device to use select to convert to MP4 format – NOT Zen Vision. They are referring to the older Zen Vision with lower resolution so MP4 renders much better results.
Having said that, I did contact them about this issue and they told me that they expect to release an update in January which specifically includes the Zen Vision W.
I’m not going to provide step by step instructions for this software because it should be self explanatory. Download and try out the free demo before you pay for the full version to make sure you’re going to be able to use it.
Summary:
Between the two methods, I’ll probably stick with the free version because I prefer quality over ease of use. But you should feel free to try both methods and see for yourself what you can live with.
Either way you should end up with a compact version of your DVD in a format that you can load right onto your pocket media enabled device or laptop.
As always, comments and questions are welcome via the comment form below, and if you found this article useful I’d really appreciate it if you DIGG it, bookmark it with Del.icio.us or use your favorite service from the links near the article title.
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Wow I can’t help but love her! She is so darn beautiful and a really good actor. I don’t think the show V is all that good, however I watch it anyway just so I can see her lovely face. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen her do an interview but she is also rather funny and it all seems to come so natural for her. I personally never even heard of her before The V, now I’ll watch anything she’s on.
Well, after over 3 hours, I’ve got an AVI file with no sound!
Time to try something else.
I’ve got a movie conversion running on AutoGK at the moment but the output file is an avi, not an mp4. The output file name and format populated automatically and there didn’t seem to be an option to change the output file format, nor does your blog mention the need to do so.
I bookmarked it.
I cant use clad dvd in vista
ah, ignore my last comment, seems to be only happening with one particular dvd
everytime i try to use claddvd.net it says an arithmetic overflow occured, and i need to enable ‘jit’ debugging, any idea how i do that?
so clad dvd is not for vista but is the other free program ok to use on vista?
Hello,
MY husband and I used clad DVD and Audio Gordion Knot and we love it. Our problem now is we got new laptops and they have windows vista on them. Can we still use these programs, or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for you time and again thank you for providing this information. It was and hopefully will be a great help.
Again, clad DVD is not for Vista so what do I use ?
fantastic site guys thanks Clive
great advise thanks, but for us, who are a bit older and not so gemmed up once i riped the film, how do i get it onto my n95 8gb please?
Hi
How do I rip DVD to my Creative Zen Vision with O/S Windows Vista.
I have used Daniusoft but find a significant loss in quality.
Any help wil be appreciated.
Carlo
Ok I have downloaded the movie and now used the auto gordian. Can anyone tell me how to add this to my ipod now. Very new to this.
Thanks, Marsha
Hi John,
thanks, i discovered why it is taking that long it’s because the output size i indicated is 1000MB, but when I reduced it to 500MB, it is within 3-4 hours.
Now I have a problem, when I tried converting a bootleg DVD, the output was dubbed in another language, I played the DVD but it is in English, i couldn’t figure it out. when I played the dvd in windows, i change the language default to English because when i checked it, it has no default language. hope i’m right.
Mickey
Mickey,
I’m not surprised it’s taking that long. On my dual core 2.4ghz machine with 2 GB of RAM it will take 3-3.5 hours, so on your machine I would expect 6-8 hours. I know it sucks, but it is a very processor intensive process.
John
Hi,
just bought my Creative Zen Vision W last friday and so far so good and I’m very happy to have stumbled on this helpful blog, I’m now currently ripping a dvd, I have a laptop fujitsu lifebook Intel Pentium M (Centrino) 1,000 mhz with 512MB RAM. I started at 5:30AM today Sep 11 and it is 67% now on its “second pass” whatever that means at 11:13AM, it is now on its 6th hour of converting the file.
Mickey
Makati City, PHILIPPINES
this is probably super post fact, but i’m using the unbox on amazon. you can rent or buy and it’s quick and easy.
Brilliant Andy, thank you.
Debbie
The regional coding only affects your DVD player, and not the Zen. Any coding will be removed when the DVD is ripped to your computer, and then the converted file will be playable on the Zen.
Apologies if this sounds like a stupid question, I’m still new to all this! But can anyone tell me if this can help to get Region 2 DVDs onto a Zen Vision W 60gb version? I am looking at getting a Vision W because I have been very happy with all of the other creative players I have used in the past and I want to upgrade, however here in the UK we can only get the 30gb version, and I really resent paying the same amount for only half the memory! But before I commit to buying a 60GB version via import from the USA I want to be sure it will play my DVDs and work here on my UK bought computer. Again sorry if this seems like a stupid question, and thank you in advance.
I have a PSP here, and it really annoys me that we can not just put a regular avi file on there and have the PSP convert it / stream it on the fly. Using the thing for watching movies on the road was one of the main things I bought it for, but now it just sits on my shelf doing nothing.
Too much hassle :(
Hey, this is great. I am a TOTAL newbie to all this. I just got my Vision M and am trying to copy The Big Sleep to my Vision. Seems to be working so far. Thanks for posting an easy to follow guide for us clueless folks : O )
Here’s a question to throw out there…do any of you folks know how to do series DVD’s? I’d love to burn some of my season sets to my Vision. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Jenn
I should add the movie that appeared in “fast motion” on the Vision W played normally on my pc when I clicked on the wmv file.
Purchaed the Creative Vision W. Great piece of electronics indeed.
Also purchased Pocket DVD Wizard. I installed it on my core 2 duo video editing system and it encodes pretty fast. About an hour to encode a feature movie.
My only problem is I can’t figure out which are the best settings for the Pocked DVD Wizard for the Vision W. One encoding ended up with Vision not supporting the video format (but it played the audio) and another encoding of a theatrical video ended up encoded with the video in fast speed.
Can you provide a step-by-step instructions on using the Pocket DVD Wizard to encode for the Creative Vision W — including the best way to transfer from the PC to the Device.
Thanks
Rowby
The voice and picture arnt matching up when i watch my movie is there a way i can fix this without re-downloading the movie agin?
Thanks alot
Great blog!!
I’m new at this whole media player and am having trouble with the process of ripping dvd. I’ll keep working on it but – in the meantime- can I download movies off the internet and transfer them to my zen w? Some websites explain how to download then burn to dvd then play in another pc – by going on line. Is there a process for transfering to the zen.
Thanks, Bree
How can I get a DVD (Final Fantasy Advent Children) into English? It has both English and Japanese in the DVD but it only seems to want to download Japanese (Free way to convert)
TIA
I”m using PocketDVD and for the most part it works fine, if not a little slow. However, I ran into a particular set of DVD’s which is a television series with 4 episodes on a DVD. Pocket DVD only rips the first episode. Does anyone have any ideas how to get the 2nd, 3rd and 4th?
PocketDVD displays only VideoTS for the disk, not individual chapters.
Thanks
Thanks Hamid! That’s awesome, and I’m glad it helped out!
John
Thanks for your sage advice & instructions.Downloading a DVD to my Zen Vision W was a breeze with your helpful pointers. Also excellent review of the product.
Thanks,
Hamid
Ah, sorry. I figured it out. In cladDVD, when selecting the movie to rip, under “PGC Mode [AVI]†tab, double clicking on the file will show all the audio options. Selection to which ever language supported can be done here.
The article was informative. I tried decrypting a DVD with 2 languages (English and some other) with cladDVD. It lists out both the languages. But each time I rip, I get the non-English version. Am I going wrong somewhere? Please do help.
I first would like to thank you website. It has been a great help to me in my purchase of a Zen vision W. Unfortunately, i cannot get my dvds to burn correctly. I am in AutoGK, and the audio doesnt say english, so i click the first one and two hours later, a movie with no audio, so i try another and it has the directors commentary…. any help?
Incidently, the good folks over at Coding Workshop have been kind enough to provide me with a licensed copy of PocketDVD for evaluation and testing purposes.
Later I’ll get it installed and try to do some testing so I can report back on times, etc.
Stay tuned.
John
Jim,
I’m not aware of any actual file size limitation on the Zen which would truncate your movie like that. But out of curiosity, what was the size of the .AVI? It’s possible there is a 2GB limit.
But I would recommend compressing the videos anyway because the Zen simply can’t take advantage of all that extra info. Converting it to a WMV or MPEG4 file will still look and sound awesome on the Zen.
Take care,
John
I have a 30 mb Zen W and when I ripped a dvd to my HD and converted it to .avi and then placed it on my Zen, it played great except for about the last 10 minutes or so and then it was cut off. However the .avi on my hd was fine. Is there a length limitation on my Zen and if so should I attempt some form of compression?
Mike,
Yes, you’re correct that the WMV file is pretty compressed. PocketDVD is attempting to save space by compressing it for playback on a small screen.
In your case, if you’re going to play it back on a larger screen you’ll want it encoded at a higher resolution. The format is less relevant, though MPG4 is good too.
I’ve requested a copy of the software from the vendor since I don’t have a registered version. If they give me one I’ll test it and try to provide a better answer. But in the meantime see if you can adjust the resolution on the output and set it to 1024×768 and see how that does for you.
The filesize will probably be three times as big or something like that, but at least you’ll have nice quality on large screens.
John
Hi Man. I just got my ZenVision W and PocketDVD. I’m also seeing that it takes 3-5 hours to convert a DVD.
I’ve selected the ZenVision W option and the output file that it creates is a WMV file. I didn’t transfer it to the Zen yet, but when I view it with Windows Media Player, it looks pretty compressed. Is there a better format I should use? mpg4? I plan to use the Zen not only for direct view, but also to connect to a video projector.
Thanks
MikeC
Thank you one man. The guys at PocketDVD decide to give me a refund
ODB,
First of all, I’m sorry you’re having difficulty with PocketDVD. I’m especially sorry given that you bought it because of my recommendation. When I tried it, it worked quite well. And that was before they even added the “W” into the options.
Please keep in mind that on any machine the transition from DVD to MP4 takes a long time.
Even on my top of the line desktop this process normally takes 3-5 hours total.
Take care,
John
Hello One Man,
I brought a copy of PocketDVD ver 4.7 recently & I have trying use it to rip off DVDs and Convert video for Creative Zen W. One DVD took like 9 hrs. I am running the program on Panasonic Toughbook laptop CF-W2…with XP & 768 MB of RAM. Can you help me out as the guys at Pocket DVD just arent providing me with any customer support that need? There no way this should take this long. I wish i had not bought this software.I only did it because you recommend it. thank you.
I here have read an article about rip dvd to ipod, and fllowing the instruction, that really works well: here is the link:
http://www.sharewareguide.net/article/Tip/how-to-rip-and-convert-dvd-to-ipod-video-mp4.html
guys who like it can have a look.
Thanks for the advice.
It does run fine with Windows Media and InterActual so it must be an iTunes specific problem.
I think my brother told me that it may need to be in mp4 format for iTunes, would you have any idea how to reformat it? Would this require an additional program installation?
There must be a simpler way other than buying the Apple software right? Or am I mistaken? Are consumers expected to buy every movie from iTunes?
Wow, now that is a good question. :-)
I actually don’t use iTunes for a whole long list of reasons… so I’m afraid I can’t help with how to load the movie there. But what I would suggest is that you test the movie by opening it either in Windows Media Player or VLC.
If it plays back properly then at least you know your recording is fine and you know it’s an iTunes specific issue. If it doesn’t play back properly then you probably have an encoding issue.
The only other thing I can think to try is to install a complete set of multimedia codecs to ensure that iTunes has everything it needs to be able to “see” the movie. You can do that by installing Cole2K.
Good luck!
John
Ok, so I went through all of the steps. Had AutoGK shutdown my computer when it finished. Now I have iTunes open and am attempting to drag and drop my movie into iTunes.
Do I need to convert it to a different format for it to be recognized? The directors commentaries with copy but only the commentary no video.
Are there additional steps or is there some solution I’m not aware of?
Thanks for all of your help!
Nancy,
I’m not aware of any other free methods of doing this than the specific steps I outlined above. Sorry.
As far as your question about DVDs that are already copies of commercial DVDs, the answer is that you probably don’t need to use the CladDVD first.
That program will remove the commercial copy protection, but if you’re transfering from a disc that was already copied there is a good chance that it has already had that step performed.
In that case you can simply use the AutoGK.
Good luck,
John
Would I still need to use the claddvd first if I have dvds that have been copied from commercial dvds?
I would like to download dvd’s onto my zen m. Could I get some step by step instructions. I guess I need to download software to “shrink” dvd so I can transfer them to my mp3. Could you suggest a software?
Nancy,
I’m not sure what you mean? This article seems to be exactly what you’re looking for, so can you clarify?
John
Hello! I am new to the mp3 world..I just received an Zen Vision M for my b-day and I would like some help..quickest and easiest.. as how to rip dvds onto my mp3. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Guys,
I’m new on this blog, but I just wanted to give you my two cents worth…
Next time try ripping your movies with iriverter, I’ve used it for my Zen vision M and it works great. It converts any format to the compatible Xvid and also rips DVDs with a single click. And by the way; it’s also free. I’ll see if it works good for my new zen vision W, I don’t see why it wouldn’t :) http://iriverter.sourceforge.net/
Guy,
You’ve hit on one of the primary reasons that I don’t like the iPod (besides the tiny screen). It has very limited format playback capabilities.
Basically the iPod can handle .MOV files or .MP4, and that’s about it. (See Here.) The Zen handles basically everything else (See Here.)
Your issue has even been discussed on the Creative forums, but there is no really good answer.
By the way, the -SP format is better, but the iPod can’t take advantage of it with that microscopic screen.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. :-( Maybe someone else knows something I don’t…
John
My friend has an ipod and I have the zen w. He has converted movies from dvd using dvd decrpter and then videra converter in an mpeg-4 format. I cannot put this format onto my zen. My zen does have mpeg4-sp format, obviously to different. What would be the best route for both of us to convert movies. I.e. what format and screen size and resolution should we use to interexchange converted movies. We have wasted countless hours on this and conversion takes to long for us not to be teaming up on this. We mainly want movies to watch on trips or to go to a friends house and plug in or player to another home system. Any answers would be appreciated. Thanks. Guy