Capturing DVD Sound

Factual Questions
1

Is there a way to capture sound off of a DVD movie into an MP3 or WAV format?

2

It’ll depend on your computer. On some soundcards you can capture ANY audio output, so long as it is analog, and save it. Then convert to any format you like.

Or, maybe just hook up the left/right out from your DVD player/reciever/etc to your soundcard and capture it. Then convert.

I’ve done for some of my more favorite moves. Like Resovoir Dogs, etc. Ones with a lot of talk in them.

eb

3

Sure. Just run a cable from the analog audio outputs of the player to the mic or line input of your sound card (line is better, since the impedance and signal level match is closer, but not all sound cards have this), and run your favorite recording program. The Windows sound recorder will record in WAV format, and others (some freeware) can record in other formats, including MP3. You’ll need a cable with two RCA plugs on one end (to fit the DVD player) and a 1/8" three-conductor phone plug on the other (to fit the sound card input). You can use an RCA plug splitter if you want to listen to the sound, too, as you play the DVD.

4

Yes. You can “capture” it using an audio capture application that will grab anything your sound card is playing. Better soundcards come with capture software as part of the package or you can use third party audio capture software which can be found at any of the shareware sites.

You can also rip the audio directly from the DVD with an application like ImToo DVD Audio Ripper.

http://www.imtoo.com/dvd-audio-ripper.html

All of the above assumes you have a DVD drive on your computer.

5

Capturing audio without going to analog and back should (in theory) sound better than re-digitizing analog audio.
I like Audio Hijack Pro but I think it’s just for Macs.

6

I’m hesitant to answer this, as this very topic (and the over-modding thereof) was the reason I left the SDMB for six months, but here goes:

  1. You need to rip the DVD to your hard drive. There are many programs that will do this, but I won’t mention them lest TubaDiva or samclem send me any more nastygrams*. Needless to say, Google is your friend here.

  2. Use another program called DVD2AVI to convert the resulting VOB files to a .D2V and WAV file.

  3. (optional) Use a sound editor like Adobe Audition to boost the sound level, and or cut out the parts you don’t like.

  4. Keep the resulting WAV, or convert to MP3.
    ** = I still contend - as does at least one federal court - that CSS is no longer a “trade secret”.*