How do I copy a dvd to my computer?

**SlyCy** · 01-08-2008, 07:29 PM

I'm converting all of my old vhs home video's to dvd by recording them with a dvd recorder.

How do I rip a DVD once it is burned?

**brianhos** · 01-08-2008, 07:31 PM

the hardest part is getting them from vhs to your computer, you can do all the work in windows media player. Just load it up, connect your camcorder or whatever your vhs source is, and start recording it. I don't have the exact steps, because as soon as I plug our camcorder in, it just starts ripping it.

Then we got a mac and it became even easier.

**SlyCy** · 01-08-2008, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by brianhos

the hardest part is getting them from vhs to your computer, you can do all the work in windows media player. Just load it up, connect your camcorder or whatever your vhs source is, and start recording it. I don't have the exact steps, because as soon as I plug our camcorder in, it just starts ripping it.

Then we got a mac and it became even easier.

Are you using a usb connection from your camcorder to your computer?

**brianhos** · 01-08-2008, 07:34 PM

We are using firewire.

**SlyCy** · 01-08-2008, 07:39 PM

I edited my question as I didn't ask it right the first time.

**ornryactor** · 01-08-2008, 08:05 PM

Okay, I didn't really follow that little conversation, so here's what I do.

I have a combo VCR/DVD burner unit that can play a VHS tape and burn it straight to a blank DVD in the same unit. If you don't have that, you can do the same thing by hooking up your VCR to a DV video camera and having it record what the VCR is playing. (If your camera has a hard drive, then skip to the end now.)

Once you have a burned DVD of your VHS tape, put it in your computer and rip it as whatever kind of file you like. If you're looking to rip a DVD to your hard drive, the best program available (for free) is DVD Shrink. It can take a DVD, compress it to the appropriate size, and turn it either into an ISO (for burning to a regular DVDR) or a VIDEO_TS folder for viewing and/or further processing.

You can download it here: (I've checked the file for viruses, etc: it's clean.)
DVD Shrink v3.2.0.15 (freeware)

Personally, I don't want to fill up my hard drive with movies indefinitely, since they take up a ton of space (even as a heavily-compressed ISO file, a movie takes up nearly 4.5 gigs). I like to burn my movies to a regular blank DVD-R and put them in a disc book. For that, you can use a ton of different programs. Essentially anything can burn an ISO to a disc, but I like using DVD Decrypter, since it's made for dealing with ISO files.

Get it here:
DVD Decrypter download DVDDecrypter

These two programs even interact with each other, so if you two optical drives, you can put the DVD you want to copy in one drive and a blank disc in the other, hit 'go', and when you come back in a couple hours you'll have a freshly-burned copy waiting for you to mail off to grandma and grandpa or whomever. If you have any questions, shoot me a PM. And remember, make sure you're using all this stuff for legal activities! *cough*

**SlyCy** · 01-08-2008, 08:08 PM

Thanks ornryactor, that sounds like it should do the trick. More later if it doesn't.

Thanks also brianhos!

**jumbopackage** · 01-08-2008, 09:40 PM

Are you wanting to leave it as a DVD or encode it to an .avi or something?

the process is somewhat the same, but there are some differences depending on what you want to do.