Video on DVDs is stored in MPEG2 format. DVDRemaster can be used to convert this video in MPEG4 which can then be played on the video iPods.

Overview

The following describes how DVDRemaster can be used to copy a DVD and preserve all the original content. We will cover the following topics:

1. Reading a DVD:
   We cover how to import a DVD on your hard disk or how to recompress directly from the DVD drive.
2. Setting Up DVDRemaster
   Once the DVD content has been selected, we need to set up DVDRemaster. We explain some of the options that you have.
3. Converting and After...
   Once you click start, DVDRemaster starts working. We detail what happens during and after the conversion.

Requirements

Before we start, make sure you have the following:

• Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
• QuickTime 7.2 or higher
• A DVD Reader
• Decryption tools (if the DVD is encrypted).
• About 2GB of free space if you are making the conversion directly from the DVD, or about 9GB if you make a temporary copy on your hard drive first.
• An iPod that supports video playback.

Reading a DVD

As opposed to making a DVD backup, the conversion to iPod video does not require two passes. Thus, you may copy directly from the DVD. If you plan on experimenting with the settings, you may prefer to make a local copy of the VIDEO_TS folder on your hard drive first, since a hard disk has much faster access time than a DVD drive.

To make a local copy, you may simply drag and drop the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD to your Desktop. Note that this will fail if the DVD is encrypted unless you are using FairMount.

Once you are ready, launch DVDRemaster and click on Source. You will be prompted to choose the VIDEO_TS folder containing your movie, either your local copy on your hard drive, or the one on the DVD if you chose not to make a local copy. Make sure you are in Export mode:

Setting Up DVDRemaster

Although you could click on Start right away, we will explore some of the settings. Expand the interface by clicking on the lower-left triangle.

For the iPod format, you can select from those presets:

• Fast Encoding: at half the original frame rate and a width of 320 pixels, this mode prefers speed of encoding over quality and size. For when you are on the go and need the movie on your iPod as quickly as possible.
• Normal Encoding: at full frame rate, this is a high quality setting and has a width of 480 pixels and should satisfy most people. Movies are quite watchable when displayed on a television.
• Better/Best: at full frame rate, these are high quality settings have a width of 640 pixels and should satisfy the most demanding. Emphasis is put on quality over size.

After you choose the quality preset, you can select, for each video track, which audio track you would like to use and, optionally, which subtitles. In the Pro version, you also get a chance to select which tracks will be converted. Otherwise, DVDRemaster simply converts everything.

That's it, you're ready to click on Start.

Converting and After...

After you clicked on start DVDRemaster creates a folder in your destination folder in which it will store all the converted movies. A movie is created for each track that you choose to convert. These movies can be played in QuickTime Player, or dragged on top of iTunes if you wish to import them in your movie library. Depending on your settings, iTunes will make another copy of the movies that you import to the iTunes library. In this case, you can safely delete the original movie after it has been imported in order to save some space on your hard disk. Once it is in your iTunes library, just synchronize your iPod!