Rip DVD on Linux

Question

I want to rip a DVD and store it in a good and compressed format.

What software to use for that and what is the best format; I want best quality and low file size.

+1 if I don't have to install any new software (at least those not in the repos) +1 if it can be done on command line

Answer 1

I would highly recommend Handbrake.

It runs on Windows, Linux and MacOSX. You can also use it from command line if I recall.

It also makes use of ffMpeg. I use this for all my ripping and once you know what settings to use you can easily save it as a preset, pop in the disc and forget about it until it's done.

Answer 2

The current leading industry standard in quality and compression is H.264, also called MPEG-4 AVC. Here is a performance review of various H.264 codecs. Like any codec, the end result is a combination of the quality of the source material and the settings used by the encoder... and to a lesser extent the settings used by the decoder as well. The best results will be achieved by adjusting the encoder settings on a case by case basis. Most people don't have this kind of free time so they start with the default settings and experiment until they find the settings that meet their needs.

There are a number of good dvd rippers. Handbrake, already mentioned is one of them. Depending on the distro your are using most dvd rippers will be found in the "dirty" repositories, meaning their use is legally questionable so they are kept separate from mainstream apps. You'll also find many codecs in addition to H.264 in those repositories. Make no mistake a DVD ripper is a clear violation of the DCMA. It circumvents a copyright protection mechanism. Creating or possessing one exposes you to the possibility of civil suits or even criminal charges. (Even outside the US)

Personally I find the DCMA draconian and a violation of civil liberies but until it is either repealed or struck down I would use caution.

Answer 3

DVD::Rip is the most reliable one i have come across. Easy to setup and use.

From the site:

dvd::rip is a full featured DVD copy program written in Perl. It provides an easy to use but feature-rich Gtk+ GUI to control almost all aspects of the ripping and transcoding process. It uses the widely known video processing swissknife transcode and many other Open Source tools. dvd::rip itself is licensed under GPL / Perl Artistic License.

Answer 4

Acidrip was reported to do this in 1-click ... (Maybe the best GUI way ...)

Ffmpeg is without any doubts the best overall solution for a real geek or specialist ... (CLI app, any os, low cpu, low ram, ... almost)

Answer 5

You can use dd from the command line:

dd if=/dev/cdrom | gzip -9 > /home/username/backup.iso.gz

of course, replacing /dev/cdrom with your DVD drive if that isn't correct, and using an appropriate output path. This will compress it for you as well.