Ripping DVD to Zune using DVDx (freeware)

[Anachostic]

Here’s a tutorial on using DVDx to make Zune videos from DVD. Why another tutorial? Aren’t there a million ways to rip a DVD to a WMV? Sure, but DVDx is free and it is a one-step procedure. No trials, no cracks, no difficult procedure.

Download DVDx from SourceForge and install it. Download the Zune Encoding Profiles from ZuneBoards and unzip them to the Profiles directory of DVDx: C:\Program Files\DVDx\profiles (by default).

This is the screen for DVDx using the original skin. If yours doesn’t look like this when you first load it, you can change the skin under the File menu.



Put your DVD in and close out of any DVD player applications that might launch. Click the Open IFO button to browse to the DVD IFO files. When you browse to your DVD drive, look in the VIDEO_TS folder and you will see some IFO files listed.



Which one do you choose? Usually, it will be VTS_01, but some DVDs may have the main feature on a different IFO. Choose 01 for now. The Input Settings window is displayed.



The first clue as to whether you picked the right IFO is the length of the program chain, shown in the first drop down list in the upper left. If the time seems too short, you probably need to choose a different IFO.

You should be able to leave most of the values on this screen at the default. The only one I tweak is Volume. Sometimes movies are too loud or too quiet, so you can adjust the gain on the audio track. The default is 2, and I was getting distortion on a concert, so I dropped it to 1.5.

You might notice my cache size is 120MB (in the Save your DVD Drive section). If you can afford it, go for it. I set the Deinterlace Filter setting to Interpolate. It’s probably a bit slower, but I think it’s worth it. After changing these settings (and it will remember them for next time), click OK. You will be returned to the main window.

Now you can really tell if you chose the right IFO because you can scan through the selected file using the slider below the video window. Just be sure to bring it back to zero, because this is the starting location for the encode. If you want to skip intros, move the slider to the end of the intro and the encoding will start from there.

Click the Output Settings button . The Output Settings screen is shown.



This screen only has a few things you need to check each time. The first time, you want to change the output type. In the dropdown at the top, choose WMV. Click the Change WMV Profile button to get a Zune encoding profile.



Click the Load From File button and choose the profile that best suits your needs. The Zune Encoding Profiles are:

• Zune Highest Quality – The highest video and audio quality the Zune supports.
• Zune Med Quality – Excellent audio at the expense of video quality. I use it for concerts.
• Zune TV Quality – Improved video quality at the expense of audio quality. Fine for TV shows.

Click OK to return to the Output Settings screen. Pay attention to the Export Settings. You will want to check this each time.



If your DVD is widescreen 16:9, you can letterbox it by choosing the letterbox option. If your DVD is fullscreen 4:3, choose Full. Always click the Whole button. This makes sure that you get the whole movie. If you only wanted part of the DVD, you could reduce this value. Verify that the Time to Encode is accurate and the Estimated Size is reasonable. Click Apply to return to the main screen.

Click the Output button . This brings up the Output screen.



You can’t edit the filenames directly; you have to click Browse. Find the folder you want to save in and enter a file name (extension not needed). Click OK and the screen is updated with your new file name. Depending on the output type, the respective file name will be used (.WMV in our case). Click OK to return to the main screen.

Click the Encode button to start encoding and wait until complete. When it’s done, you should have a WMV file that you can sync to your Zune with no further conversions needed.

Did you run into an encrypted DVD? Download and install DVD43. It is freeware also.

[Dizzy]

Nice tut. I've used DVDx in the past, but it was buggy at best. I'm betting they fixed that through the versions though. Gunna have to look into it again.

[SnakeDoc]

How can I get this to rip movies? It appears that none of the ISO files contain the whole movie, as I believe those ISO files are broken up into chapters. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Anachostic]

If you have a DVD that is authored in such a way that chapters are broken out into IFOs, you'd have you use another program to rip the whole DVD into a single VOB file before processing it with DVDx.

The only time I've seen multiple IFOs with main features is on home-authored DVDs.

[SnakeDoc]

I tried the instructions listed above on the movie The Ring Two but none of the IFO files were very large. I went through the whole list on the DVD, but they just weren't that big, so that was the part that confused me. FYI, the DVD I was experimenting with was the original DVD that I picked up at Best Buy. Does that change things at all? Sorry to seem so dense on this subject, but I'd really like to figure this out so I can upload some stuff to the group. Thanks for any help you can lend.

[Anachostic]

When you choose an IFO, look in the program chain area. The length should be 1.5 hours or more. That would be the main feature. It probably would be feasible for a DVD to step through IFOs as chapters, but I don't think it could do it without a slight pause, so I doubt that method would be used for full length movies.

Typically, the first one is the main feature and the rest are the bonus features.

If you choose any of the IFOs and click OK, does the preview screen start in the middle of the movie? It should be at the beginning of something, like the main feature, or a special feature.

[BuckI]

I had the same issue too, but I couldn't figure it out. I would try to click on the IFO file then try to play it and DVDx would crash.

[Anachostic]

Sorry to hear that. I might guess that DVDx is especially sensitive to codec versions, so it might not be for everyone.

[SnakeDoc]

Oh well, thanks anyway. Has anyone else found any software that good for this? I tried that Cucusoft download, but it was taking forever to download. The connection to that server was only like 3.2k.

[Stuart]

i used DVDx before and it really confused me. lol i think it was just me though

[Super Person]

How fast is this?

[Anachostic]

On my 3.2 dual-core, it encodes more or less real time. So a 1 hour DVD takes about an hour.

[Super Person]

OK cool.
I used one once, and it took like twice the time of the DVD.

[Nothv13]

Whenever I choose the WMV file type in the output section the program closes on me? Any help?

Originally Posted by Nothv13

Whenever I choose the WMV file type in the output section the program closes on me? Any help?

It could be that your computer is running really slow and its loading. Other than that idk, so just give it some time before you exit out.

[Nothv13]

No it literally closes the program itself like a crash to the desktop.

Try uninstaling it and reinstalling if that doesnt work just get another program.

[Anachostic]

It is probably a conflict with some other codecs. Troubleshooting that is MUCH more effort than it's worth. I would say that DVDx won't work for you at this time. If you reformat someday, try it again, but for now, I'd just uninstall it.

[panther16]

I'm having trouble getting the wmv file to sync with my zune. The DVD converts fine, but I get an error after syncing. Any thoughts.

Originally Posted by panther16

I'm having trouble getting the wmv file to sync with my zune. The DVD converts fine, but I get an error after syncing. Any thoughts.

If its WMV there should be no problem.