The easiest way to convert DVDs/video for your 5G iPod.

[Freddie Mercury]

There's a new version of Videora out now at http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/, and apparently it's a lot easier to use and makes a large chunk of my guide obsolete. Nevertheless, this guide should still be of use, to explain how to rip the actual DVD before getting it into Videora.

My guide is so easy, even a caveman can do it! Use it to convert from almost any format (AVI, MPEG, VOB/DVD, etc) into crystal clear DVD-quality video for iTunes and/or your iPod.

If you're going to rip DVDs into Videora, you first need to install DVD43, which de-protects any DVDs in your PC. Then, DVD Shrink is needed to combine the movie's VOB files into one, and lastly, Videora iPod Converter is needed to get the videos encoded properly for iTunes/iPods. If you're only converting downloaded videos, and not DVDs, you only need Videora iPod Converter, which I will from hereon refer to as just 'Videora'. Note that any videos created with this guide will only be playable in Quicktime 7, iTunes 6 or an iPod video.

Videora iPod Converter (freeware):
[Website/Download] http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/

DVD43 (freeware):
[Website/Download] http://www.dvd43.com/

DVD Shrink (freeware):
[Website] http://www.dvdshrink.org/
[Download] http://fileforum.betanews.com/sendfi...ink32setup.zip

Encoding downloaded videos with Videora is fairly easy and self explanatory. If you need explanation, start reading from Step 11 below, and instead of using VOBs and such, just use the videos you want on your iTunes/iPod.

Getting DVDs into Videora:
---You only need to perform the following four steps once---
1) Download and install DVD43 from the above link, and restart. Make sure it's running after your computer starts up again (it's a smiley face in the system tray).
2) Download and install DVD Shrink from the above link.
3) Open DVD Shrink, and go to Edit -> Preferences...
4) Go to the Output Files tab, and uncheck Split VOB files into 1GB size chunks. Click OK.
---Continue----
5) Click the Re-Author button on the top of the window.
6) Find your DVD drive in the DVD Browser list, and open it. Drag the Main Movie to the left half of the window.
7) Click on the Compression Settings tab in the right half, and then pick No Compression in the drop down menu for video compression (it says Automatic by default).
8) Only check the audio track you want encoded to your iPod/iTunes (probably the first one). None of the subtitles will be converted, so you can uncheck all of those, too.
9) Click the Backup! button on top. Wait patiently as DVD Shrink analyzes your movie.
10) In the Select backup target drop down, select Hard Disk Folder. In the next box, type wherever you want your DVD files saved. Press OK and wait while it does its stuff (may take up to 20 minutes). Once DVD Shrink is done, move on to the next step.
---Start here for encoding downloaded videos, or keep reading for DVDs----
11) Open Videora iPod Converter. Click Transcode New Video, and navigate to the folder you chose in DVD Shrink for backing up the movie. Open the VIDEO_TS folder. (If you're using downloaded videos and not a DVD, just find the video you want to encode, and ignore the VIDEO_TS and VTS stuff)
12) There should be a file called VTS_01_1 in the folder (if you're not using a DVD, just find your video right now). Select it and begin encoding with H264/320x240/640kbps Stereo/128kbps if the video is fullscreen, or see this image for widescreen. Make sure that if your movie is widescreen, you encode with my widescreen profile. The encoding process takes awhile to complete, and if your PC is slow, it might take as long as the actual video. Sometimes Videora will jump to 100% quickly, but this is a glitch, and it's not really finished until "Transcode Complete" appears.
13) Once the encoding is done, Videora will say "Transcode Complete" and the final video (to add to iTunes) will be saved into whatever folder is written in the 'Output files to' box in Videora, under Setup.
14) To get the videos on your iPod, right click the iPod in iTunes, go to iPod Options and then pick a transfer method under the Video tab. Automatic updating is recommended if you're using the iPod on one PC.

Problems:
Problem #1: You try playing the video on your iPod and it freezes on a black screen, then goes back to the Video menu. This usually only occurs on 30GB iPods.
Solution #1: If you converted a widescreen movie, did you make sure to do it with the widescreen profile and not the fullscreen one? This also applies to fullscreen movies that might've been encoded with the widescreen profile. If you did either of those things, the video will not play properly. If that's not the problem, H.264, unfortunately, doesn't work all the time for some people. It appears to always work with 60GB iPods such as mine, but 30GBs sometimes have a problem. I'd recommend going back into Videora and re-encoding your video using one of the default presets.

Problem #2: When you try to transfer the video from iTunes to your iPod, it says "Some of the songs in the iTunes music library, including the song "(Video name)", were not copied to your iPod because they cannot be played on this iPod."
Solution #2: If you don't have it already, go here and download the latest iTunes. Once it's installed, open it and right click on the video that won't transfer. Click Convert selection for iPod, and wait for it to finish (it may take a while). Once the converting is done, delete the original video from iTunes (right click them and go to Get Info to see which was made first). Update your iPod, and the video will transfer over just fine! If that doesn't work, click here for an alternate solution created by DaProphecy of the Videora forums.
Note: The "Convert selection for iPod" option only works for videos that produce the above error message when you try to transfer them. If a video is already formatted properly, iTunes won't let you convert it further, even if there is some other problem with it.

Problem #3: When you play a video on an iPod upgraded to the 1.1 firmware (released 1/10/06), it works fine for about 30 seconds, then the video freezes and the audio stops working.
Solution #3: Don't worry, your videos are perfectly fine. However, the iPod's 1.1 firmware is not. Upgrade to the new 1.1.1 firmware (released 3/23/06), and the bug will be gone. Get it here: http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/

What do videos encoded with this method look like?
See for yourself! Everything is crystal clear, in almost perfect DVD quality.

New! Sample videos (Quicktime 7.0.4 required (included with iTunes 6.0.2)):
Pink Floyd - One Of My Turns (from the movie Pink Floyd The Wall)
Length: 1:00
Widescreen
Watch

"Skinner & The Superintendent" from The Simpsons (Episode 3F18 - 22 Short Films About Springfield)
Length: 2:51
Fullscreen
Watch

Fullscreen:


Widescreen:





Guide now available in Spanish! Thanks, ADN Cunnanan.

[ZSilver92]

awesome dude, finally someone made a "tutorial" ppl can understand..

[Freddie Mercury]

Yeah, I'm good at doing that. See signature.

EDIT: I don't have it in my signature anymore, but this post was referring to my iPod Linux guide, available here:
http://freddiemercury.sitesled.com

[Tank8131]

What? Hasn't this been featured before anyways?

[Ashex]

I like this kid.


My cheese smells green

[Freddie Mercury]

Originally Posted by X

I like this kid.

Thanks, and nice signature. Very clever making seamless images like that.

[gatorhater1005]

crazy great job dude

now i can put my movies on my Pod

[Freddie Mercury]

Updated the guide, made ripping the DVDs quicker and easier.

[54321]

just waht i was wating for. thanks alot man i jsut put "the longest yard" on my ipod

[Ashex]

Just a random blip of info for you guys, If the file ripped from the DVD is larger then 2 gigs, and it's crappy, do it again.
Windows has been proven to not create reliable files larger then 2 gigs...