Any DVD ripping software may be used, as long as it is able to produce an ISO file. FairUse Wizard needs to receive an ISO file for the version used in this guide, as the software will not decrypted. The DVD will be backed up to a video file in the MPEG-4 H.264 format.
In this guide a DVD is backed up and encoded using the impressive H.264 format. Note that both Handbrake and FairUse Wizard can produce XviD and H.264 output.
DVDfab versus SmartRipper
Either software is able to accomplish the task. DVDfab is a stripped down free version of commercial software while Smart Ripper is an absolutely free application. DVDfab has a simpler interface, however, Smart Ripper has a lot more features and functionality as both free versions are compared.
Versions
The versions used in this guide:
- DVDfab -
- FairUse Wizard -
Rip DVD to ISO With DVDfab
Create H.264 Single File Output
DVDfab: Troubleshooting
Determining which Title(Angle) to rip
Some DVD have 2 complete movie tracks, often a "rated" and "unrated" version. Typically the longer one is what you want, but not always. Sometimes it has been observed that the more desirable "unrated" version was a minute or more shorter. DVDFab seems to favor the first of the two occurrences without regards to size or which version. The point was originally with DVD to have 2 different camera angles but that is less common. Sometimes you have to use the Internet search to find out which is the correct angle. A list of Movie Censorship information sources is also useful to determine which track you want to make a backup of.
There are online resources to locate information about your DVD and which track is the unrated version.
- http://www.movie-censorship.com/
- http://www.cduniverse.com
- http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43598/hot-tub-time-machine/
- http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD/Hot-Tub-Time-Machine/John-Cusack/e/883904206040#TABS
Error while reading! Please choose what to do? retry, abort, ignore, ignore All
- Clean this movie disc and your drive tray first, and then insert the disc in to see if DVDFab can read it successfully;
- Open "Common Settings" window, click on "Read", select "Ignore all the reading errors automatically", then try again to see the result;
- Go to "Common Settings/Pathplayer" setting panel, deactivate pathplayer to copy this DVD again to see if this works.
How to copy scratched movie with DVDFab
Choose "Full Disc" mode for backing up a scratched disc. This mode will skip all the sectors which can't be read, and fill the gaps with empty sectors.