Convert DVD to USB stick thumb drive

Robin-o'-the-Hood

Hello all.
Apologies if this has been asked before. Because of the increasing cost of streaming services (and because a lot of my DVDs aren't actually on some services) I'd like to convert my DVDs to a USB stick and play on a SMART tv etc. I don't mind paying a little bit (ish) for decent software to do it as I'm not too IT literate, but can follow instructions!
Hope someone can help.

DullGreyGuy

Check what formats your TV supports playing from a thumb drive.

Download and install Handbrake which will convert your DVD to whatever appropriate format your TV supports (eg MP4, MKV etc). Remember to set the resolution to 567p UK PAL, no point using anything higher as it's above the content of DVDs and the app is good but it cannot create something out of nothing.

prowla

The conversion is usually called "ripping".

As mentioned, Handbrake will do it.

There's also WinX DVD; they usually have a free offer going to celebrate easter, halloween, etc.

Beware of some of the "free" ones; they can put a watermark on the image or just do a few minutes conversion so you can find you've wasted your time.

Also beware of unofficial download sites which look to get you to install a load of junk under the pretext of getting to what you want.

Neil_Jones

Handbrake won't rip from copy protected DVDs without some extra help, or it didn't use to anyway.

Do better to use something like MakeMKV if your TV can play MKV files, and then use something like Handbrake if you need a smaller file.

wongataa

It will be a lot simpler to buy a DVD player and plug that into your TV.  Why don't you want to do that?

DullGreyGuy

wongataa said:

It will be a lot simpler to buy a DVD player and plug that into your TV.  Why don't you want to do that?

Given the software is free I'd personally convert one and try it first... having seen SD content being played on large screens it can be very hard to watch. I would double check the quality before investing in a dvd player... blu-ray is a different matter. 

facade

Neil_Jones said:

Handbrake won't rip from copy protected DVDs without some extra help, or it didn't use to anyway.

Do better to use something like MakeMKV if your TV can play MKV files, and then use something like Handbrake if you need a smaller file.

Handbrake needs the decryption library, easy enough to install if you follow the instructions all over t'interweb.

MakeMKV is very good, but it fails if there is the slightest error on the DVD, which is quite common nowadays as the "last for 100,000 million years" DVDs are showing their age. (A DVD player just ignores the fault, MakeMKV insists on making a bit perfect copy and falls over if it can't read a single bit)

cerebus

DullGreyGuy said:

wongataa said:

It will be a lot simpler to buy a DVD player and plug that into your TV.  Why don't you want to do that?

Given the software is free I'd personally convert one and try it first... having seen SD content being played on large screens it can be very hard to watch. I would double check the quality before investing in a dvd player... blu-ray is a different matter. 

Nothing wrong with watching sd content on a large screen , I do it all the time as most freeview content is still sd 

Op doesn't need to buy a dvd player he clearly has a way of playing them on his computer/laptop or he wouldn't be asking this particular question all he needs is a lead to connect dvd player to telly

Job done 

Neil_Jones

facade said:

Neil_Jones said:

Handbrake won't rip from copy protected DVDs without some extra help, or it didn't use to anyway.

Do better to use something like MakeMKV if your TV can play MKV files, and then use something like Handbrake if you need a smaller file.

Handbrake needs the decryption library, easy enough to install if you follow the instructions all over t'interweb.

MakeMKV is very good, but it fails if there is the slightest error on the DVD, which is quite common nowadays as the "last for 100,000 million years" DVDs are showing their age. (A DVD player just ignores the fault, MakeMKV insists on making a bit perfect copy and falls over if it can't read a single bit)

Last time I tried Handbrake with the decryption library, the result was a horrible juddery mess, however that only applies to TV shows done on videotape.  For film and more recent shows it'll probably be okay, though for the latter it will generate a filmic look and possible juddery credits.

Nobody ever said DVDs would last for millions of years.  Commercially pressed DVDs will last longer than home produced ones, yes because of the dye compound, but it's not true to say MakeMKV falls over every time there's a slight error.  More recent versions try to work round it, but even if then if you have a humongous scratch across the disk, nothing's going to help with that.

facade

Neil_Jones said:

facade said:

Neil_Jones said:

Handbrake won't rip from copy protected DVDs without some extra help, or it didn't use to anyway.

Do better to use something like MakeMKV if your TV can play MKV files, and then use something like Handbrake if you need a smaller file.

Handbrake needs the decryption library, easy enough to install if you follow the instructions all over t'interweb.

MakeMKV is very good, but it fails if there is the slightest error on the DVD, which is quite common nowadays as the "last for 100,000 million years" DVDs are showing their age. (A DVD player just ignores the fault, MakeMKV insists on making a bit perfect copy and falls over if it can't read a single bit)

Last time I tried Handbrake with the decryption library, the result was a horrible juddery mess, however that only applies to TV shows done on videotape.  For film and more recent shows it'll probably be okay, though for the latter it will generate a filmic look and possible juddery credits.

Nobody ever said DVDs would last for millions of years.  Commercially pressed DVDs will last longer than home produced ones, yes because of the dye compound, but it's not true to say MakeMKV falls over every time there's a slight error.  More recent versions try to work round it, but even if then if you have a humongous scratch across the disk, nothing's going to help with that.

I stand corrected. Certainly last time I used it it failed on a few of discs (my solution for nearly all of them was to clean the disc again, and then work though every DVD drive I could find until one worked), but the ability to ignore errors and plough on with the conversion was often requested in the support forums, maybe they listened.

I rip mine with MakeMKV, then use handbrake to compress the file to h265/10 using the NVENC encoder and my graphics card. I play them on the NVidia shield with the Ai upscaling, and they are pretty good- subjectively much better than the SD channels on Freeview..

Robin-o'-the-Hood

wongataa said:

It will be a lot simpler to buy a DVD player and plug that into your TV.  Why don't you want to do that?

When travelling