StarDestroyer.Net BBS

So I just switched from an Ipad Mini to an Android Tablet. I'm pleased with the switch except for the fact I bought several movies over the years from Itunes and now they won't play on my Android due to DRM. I have two choices. I can re-buy the movies on DVD and then use some software to rip them into universally compatible formats, or I can get a video conversion software and simply convert the video files from the Itunes format to a universal format.

I've done both of these tasks before but it's been a long time and my programs of choice are long since defunct, so would someone be able to recommend me a good software that can rip a DVD or convert video files from one format to another? Thanks in advance!

As far as DVD ripping and most other video conversion goes, Handbrake is probably your best bet. It'll convert nearly anything to MP4 or MKV, with several encoding schemes (MPEG-4, H.264, etc.) that should all be playable on your tablet even with its stock video player app, though VLC does have an Android version if that won't play them.

For DRM-protected iTunes media, though, you're going to need something that'll strip out the DRM for you, for which there are no free solutions to my knowledge. Noteburner is the most, well, noteworthy paid solution, and at $45 it might be cheaper than buying these movies on DVD, depending on how many you need and how old they are. It'll also convert them to MP4 or other containers/codecs for you, so you don't have to run them through Handbrake or anything afterward, they're ready to go.

I only really need a single movie converted, to be honest. The rest I have on disc so I can just rip them. It might be cheaper for me to just buy that one movie on Amazon or Ebay and rip it, rather than buy Noteburner and still need a ripper software on top of that.

Looks like Handbrake doesn't work with copy protected DVDs though...

Actually, it'll rip them just fine if you download libdvdcss-2.dll from VLC's site (32-bit or 64-bit, whichever corresponds to the version of Handbrake you installed) and copy it to your Handbrake installation folder.

Oh really? Hmm...I'll have to try that then. Thanks!

MakeMKV is quite nice if you don't need to re-encode anything.

phongn wrote:MakeMKV is quite nice if you don't need to re-encode anything.

I could probably use Windows Movie Maker to re-encode in a different format so long as I use this program to rip the DVD.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm actually using a combination of your suggestions. I'm using MakeMKV to rip the CD into an MKV format, then Handbrake to convert to mp4. Working great so far. Watching Sink the Bismarck in glorious black and white on my tablet now.