If you're like me, you take one or more of your DVD movies, TV shows, podcasts and other content with you on your iPod or iPhone when traveling. Heck, I even take stuff for long car trips across town, or to watch when I'm sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office.
Most of the time, it's pretty simple to get movies, TV shows or podcast content onto your iPhone or iPod touch for viewing at a convenient time -- you can simply use iTunes to download it (for a suitable fee). Things get a bit more complicated when you want to watch a commercial DVD from your collection on one of these devices.
Fortunately, as we reported recently, there's a great tool called HandBrake that accomplishes this task quite nicely and has just been updated to a fully-compatible, Leopard-only version. OK, but now that you have the software, how do you use it so you can watch that 300 DVD when you're on the train to work tomorrow?
The folks at iPhone Atlas have taken care of that one for you; they've just posted an article that guides you step-by-step on how to take video from that purchased DVD and get it onto your iPhone or iPod touch. It's a pretty simple and painless process that yields surprisingly good results -- especially when watching something on the very nice, touchable screen of the iDevices.
If you're a fan of Handbrake -- the tool that allows you to extract your DVDs* into more portable formats (such as your iPod / iPhone / Apple TV) -- listen up. Handbrake has hit version 0.9.2!
So what's changed from the last version, released back in October last year? Well, first-off the application is Leopard-only which may well irk some readers (debate away in the comments, folks). Throw in improved queueing, Sparkle updating for keeping Handbrake up-to-date, iPhone Anamorphic video, 'multi-track audio on Apple devices' and Elgato .eyetv file support. Of course, there's many, many, more enhancements that we're not mentioning, and the changelist shows there's plenty of new goodness in this release.
All for the very excellent price of free, the new version is available from the Handbrake site for Mac, WIndows and Linux citizens.
*It goes without saying that you should only use Handbrake for DVDs which you are licensed to do so. TUAW does not condone piracy.
HandBrake is one of those applications that we adore here at TUAW HQ. It makes converting DVDs into a variety of digital files a snap (though only use it with DVDs you own. Don't be pirates, kids). Chris Breen, of Macworld fame (and an amateur astronomer it would seem) shows us how to use HandBrake like a pro. Breen goes a step beyond 'use the presets' and delves into what many of the options HandBrake offers up actually do, and how they impact your files.
Check out the video, and get to ripping your DVDs!
It's not often that an application update is announced by the developers with chagrin instead of excitement, but the new 0.9.1 of HandBrake is delivered somewhat sheepishly as it consists mostly of bug fixes. The full list of changes to the DVD-ripping open source tool is below.
You can download 0.9.1 now from the HandBrake site. As always, a reminder that beta software may do you harm, and that you are bound by local and national laws regarding content protection and copyright with respect to the responsible use of HandBrake. Go in peace.
Roxio has released version 3 of their DVD and video conversion utility Popcorn. The biggest new feature is probably the "exclusive TiVoToGo support for the Mac" that lets you burn TiVo recorded shows to disc or convert them for playback on other devices. However, other improvements include the ability to create compilation DVDs and custom DVD menus as well as improved Apple TV and iPhone/iPod support. Popcorn is $49 and is available now.
For my own money, I think the the only compelling feature of Popcorn is the TivoToGo support. Unless that's a big deal for you, I think you'd probably do better with VisualHub ($23.32) plus Handbrake (free), as the ffmpeg based conversion of the former is considerably faster than the QuickTime based conversion that Popcorn appears to use.
Handbrake, the reigning king of effortless DVD conversion software, has received a major update to v0.9.0. New in this version is a "re-envisioned" interface for the Mac OS X version (as well as a completely rebuilt UI for Windows), and picture quality has been improved quite a bit through new effects, filters and deinterlacing techniques. Overall speed has also been boosted, and you no longer have to customize your encoding settings for the iPhone, thanks to new presets that simplify the process.
Altogether, nearly 300 changes were made for this new version, so head on over and give it a spin.
When your open-source project is the focus of a New York Times article, that's a big news day for you (at least it would be if not for those meddling kids in line to buy iPhones). Thursday's NYT article discussing the technical hurdles, legal haziness and other challenges to ripping DVDs for personal use leads off with the example of HandBrake dev lead Eric Petit ('titer') using his very own tool to convert a movie so it'll play on his PSP. The article goes on to mention VisualHub and VideoLan, and quickly dives into an acronym soup of MP4, OGG, AVI and more.
What I found most interesting about the story was what it failed to say about the software it featured so prominently: neither HandBrake nor VisualHub were described as Macintosh apps. VisualHub is of course Mac-only, and HandBrake has been historically a Mac tool (after beginning life on BeOS) before forking and unforking as MediaFork with a Windows version in the mix. It's pleasantly surprising to me that this sort of article can be platform-agnostic.
First there was HandBrake, then MediaFork... and now, well, just don't call it a comeback: HandBrake 0.8.5b1 is out, incorporating all the library updates from the MediaFork build of the free, open source DVD converter/compressor and adding some new goodies:
• User presets • AppleTV and PS3 support • Anamorphic video, even in QuickTime • Surround sound (both AAC 5.1 and Dolby Pro Logic II) • Chapter markers (QuickTime-style) • Official support for the Windows GUI • PPC Linux support • High profile H.264
What better way to spend a weekend than converting all your DVDs to show on your AppleTV? Just note that this is a beta version, and the last stable rev of HandBrake (0.7.1) may be more reliable.
Since HandBrake got back under one open-source roof, the attention to everyone's favorite Mac DVD 'archiving' tool has heated up, and with said attention the volume of end-user feature requests has apparently risen. Over at the HandBrake forums, back on March 6, Rodney posted a manifesto called "HandBrake and Open Source - an end-user must-read," pointing out what he sees as the differences between F/OSS and commercial software when it comes to user-driven feature priorities. I quote:
"Open source software is exactly what it sounds like: It's software written by a (usually small) group of highly-dedicated people that solved particular problems they themselves had and thought others might find useful as well. Like most things that are free, it comes with no warranty: If it does what you want, that's great - that's exactly why it was offered to you. If not, you have the freedom of choice to either modify it to suit your desires or find another software package that more closely meets your needs."
The core of Rodney's message, as I read it: if you want something weird or customized, either pay someone for it or code it yourself -- don't knock on the glass with your crazy "why doesn't HandBrake do X?" requests, unless you're willing to pull your weight, 'cause everyone here is a volunteer. I don't agree with him on all fronts -- certainly, 'big kahuna' open source projects like Firefox, Webkit or OpenOffice are highly focused on the needs of the end user -- but for apps like HandBrake with a small core of developers, it definitely pays to ask very politely if there's something you desire, and to accept the fact that your priorities may not sync up with the developers' areas of interest. Now, off to learn C -- where did I leave that copy of Kernighan and Ritchie?
As Erica noted back on the 12th, a contributed branch of the HandBrake DVD ripping tool was released as MediaFork, including plenty of updated library goodness and new features for conversion to iPod video formats. The development team on MediaFork had tried to contact HandBrake developer "titer" prior to splitting off a version, but hadn't been able to reach him.
Well, titer has returned, made contact with the new team, and given his official stamp of approval to the MediaFork efforts -- meaning that the next beta of MediaFork will return to the HandBrake name and website. It's wonderful to see everyone working together for justice, and for... the safety of puppies... and Christmas, right? Let's rip those DVDs!
Not much has happened on the HandBrake front for quite some time, so some developers decided to fork the open source development and create their own nonofficial version. MediaFork is the open-source community-contributed HandBrake fork they developed. Like its parent, it's a DVD ripping application that allows you to create iPod compatible MPEG-4 video from any commercial DVD. The 0.8.0 Beta 1 software is available as a 10.3.9-or-later Universal Binary. I just downloaded my copy and can't wait to give it a spin.
When it comes to turning a DVD into a movie file, Handbrake's name is hailed far and wide for its ease of use, speed
and overall quality. Recently, Handbrake's developer took these praised aspects and raised the bar by releasing Instant Handbrake (beta), a one-stop, brain-dead-easy app for converting a DVD to
iPod/PSP-compatible video.
By default it's set to crop the video when necessary (4:3 for iPod, 16:9 for
PSP), depending on which device you specify, but you can elect to maintain the video in its original size. Video
formats are MPEG-4 or H.264 for the iPod, and MPEG-4 for the PSP.
Like its big brother, Instant Handbrake is
free and available here.
When the mini was announced, about the only person NOT
thinking "media center Mac" was Bill Gates. I immediately bought one, and I bought the then-new El Gato EyeTV
with that ATI logo on it (the full name escapes me). That El Gato box is ugly, gets hot, and didn't really do what I
wanted... So now El Gato has a new version of their baseline TV input device out, and this time it has a remote! So,
between a big hard drive, the El Gato EyeTV EZ, and a Mac mini Core Duo, you finally have a nearly-perfect
Mac-based media center. And to help you set it all up, there's Chris Hamady's excellent page on his Media Center Macintosh Project. Great. So what the heck am I
going to do with my old rig?
Chris sets up his EZ with the mini, and it works great, in no small part
because of that nifty remote (curse you El Gato!). He adds a big honkin' hard drive for all that sweet, sweet pep. Then
he rips his DVD's using Handbrake, so his collection is accessible using Front
Row. To top it all off, he puts XP on there (complete with some security measures). I guess he can use his Windows boot
for watching those nifty CNN videos...
The fine folks who brought us iSquint, now give us Handbrake Lite. You may remember Handbrake as that super cool app that rips DVD's into tons of
different formats. Handbrake Lite is just like that, only it rips your DVD's into an iPod ready format (320x* MPEG-4
SP, ffmpeg, 1000kbps avg, 48000KHz 128kbps audio) and that's all it does.
If you're like me, you take one or more of your DVD movies, TV shows, podcasts and other content with you on your iPod or iPhone when traveling. Heck, I even take stuff for long car trips across town, or to watch when I'm sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office. 
If you're a fan of Handbrake -- the tool that allows you to extract your DVDs* into more portable formats (such as your iPod / iPhone / Apple TV) -- listen up. Handbrake has hit 
It's not often that an application update is announced by the developers with chagrin instead of excitement, but the new 0.9.1 of 
Roxio has released version 3 of their DVD and video conversion utility 
[Update: Brian Ganninger of 
When it comes to turning a DVD into a movie file, Handbrake's name is hailed far and wide for its ease of use, speed
and overall quality. Recently, Handbrake's developer took these praised aspects and raised the bar by releasing 
When the mini was announced, about the only person NOT
thinking "media center Mac" was Bill Gates. I immediately bought one, and I bought the then-new El Gato EyeTV
with that ATI logo on it (the full name escapes me). That El Gato box is ugly, gets hot, and didn't really do what I
wanted... So now El Gato has a new version of their baseline TV input device out, and this time it has a remote! So,
between a 
The fine folks who brought us 
