I’m looking for a paid service that will take my physical collection and turn it into digital. I have probably got 200 or so. I haven’t found much on Google so far.
Has anyone else done this?
Musings on the byways of popular culture
I’m looking for a paid service that will take my physical collection and turn it into digital. I have probably got 200 or so. I haven’t found much on Google so far.
Has anyone else done this?
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I’m not aware of any service that legally converts DVDs to digital. Doing so would involve circumventing DRMs.
The industry is trying very hard to launch legit conversion services, but it’s still probably a year or two away, if you can wait that long.
If you’re looking for an unlawful service then someone else on here will be able to help you, but you will go to hell.
I`d be interested in such services legal or otherwise.
If someone would do this legally he’d have to contact (for every item)
– the copyright holder (and pay them)
– the performing rights holder (and pay them)
– the manufacturer/publisher of the DVD (and pay them)
The service would then have to make sure (by inserting some kind of DRM software into the digital version) that only the customer who’s paying for all this is able to access/view the file.
😉 😉 😉
OK, I`ll settle for the `sick bird` way.
Boring subject, but for most movies agreement with the copyright holder would get you the necessary manufacturer permission and, regarding the performing rights, that would be – at worst – a single conversation with the local collecting society, although most music in films is fully bought out.
Actually, on reflection, I don’t think performing rights would be an issue at all: the rights holder gets paid off the back of the original DVD purchase. I’d be very surprised to see an attempt made to double dip simply off the back of the consumer being granted a bit of extra utility. Plus, European collecting societies tend to take a while to get round to new digital service models.
Do you just want to store your DVDs on a hardrive? I use an ancient version of DVDFab Decryper and an even older version of Roxio Media to convert the rip.
Whether you decide to do it yourself or not, you’ll need to decide if you want a load of files that make up the DVD or if you want to be able to play it as if it were a Dvd including all the menus etc. If you want the whole thing then , assuming is not protected, any old CD/DVD burning tool will allow you to make an ISO image of the disc. If you’re happy with just a load of files, I’ve recently had great success with MakeMKV if you later on feel the need to compress the files, handbrake will be your friend. I hope they’re not Blue Ray discs!
I agree you’ll struggle to get this done for you if they are commercial discs.
My preferred method for several years now has been to rip with AnyDVD-HD to strip out the copy protection and then use Handbrake to produce a new digital file .
AnyDVD isnt free (I was lucky enough to buy it before they introduced the annual subscription) but although there are free alternatives out there it JUST WORKS without loads of technical knowledge and puts the required files into a nice folder that Handbrake can use. if you’re going to rip 200 DVDs it’ll be worth it and if you get the HD version that will rip Blu-Ray discs (if you’ve got a Blu-Ray drive, of course)
Handbrake is slightly more complicated but it has pre-sets for most common playback methods (TV, iPhone, etc and if you do need help there’s a ton of help pages and tutorials on the net. You’ll not notice any playback quality difference once its set up correctly.
I just finished ripping my whole DVD collection. I used Handbake and it took about 2 months (about 300) working on it whenever I was close to my computer. Using Plex to manage them and stream to TV. Its very good.
Handbrake…
I find Handbrake a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it just won’t rip a disc. Am I doing something wrong?
Due disclosure – I’ve got all my records, cassettes , cd’s and DVDs and VCRs in original formats so I’m obviously not one for chafing new formats but 2 questions.
Does loading all your stuff up onto some hard drive make it even less likely to watch the stuff compared to rummaging thru able of cases?
Q2 if you are going to go digital – shouldn’t you go the whole hog and bung em on the cloud ?
I think it means more use, for me especially that half hour gap before going to bed. There’s no way is get a box set out but I do catch up with stuff on my NAS drive.
I also find is easier to keep track of which episodes I’ve watched when I have them all individually in a folder. When I’ve watched one, i move it to another folder so when I want to watch the next one, it’s just the lowest numbered one in the folder.
Your own private cloud on a suitable NAS drive would be better than an offsite cloud especially if you choose a less compressed format to store your stuff in.
Chasing new formats …though it feels like chafing to me !
I have been watching more stuff. But store locally you don’t want to be using the internet to watch stuff if you don’t need to. Make a back up.