# Experiences with video/DVD copy/conversion software for Mac please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074 "2014-03-19T09:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/1 "2014-03-19T09:47:56Z")
I’m in the local equivalent of Netflix (Quickflix) and I want to time-shift some of the DVDs they send me. So I’m paying to watch them, I just want to watch them at the time of my choosing instead of the erratic timing that, say, the 9 DVDs of \*\*The Tudors \*\*arrive in. I’ve been using DVDsmith, a great little free utility, to “back up” DVDs to files on my Mac. But they come down as .VOB files in a VIDEO\_TS folder, and those files can only be played one at a time in VLC - which also means you don’t get proper DVD Player-like controls (pause, subtitle, language selection etc). Indeed some have come across in German only somehow. So I have two needs: - how can I make these VIDEO\_TS folders back into a proper DVD-like file (.iso perhaps, or .mp4) ? Or even if necessary burn to a blank DVD? - how can I in future copy these DVDs to a format that I can play when I want, just like on a DVD player? There are a million apps out there that appear to offer functionality along these lines - Roxio Toast, Ripit, Mac DVD Ripper pro, Nero among many others. Prices range from “free” (which always seems to mean a crippled version, or one that pits a watermark on the screen) to $25 to $80 to $120! So I’m after advice and experiences from anyone who’s been down this road before! Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/2 "2014-03-19T16:37:04Z")
Handbrake is pretty much what everyone uses now, isn’t it? > **[HandBrake](https://sourceforge.net/projects/handbrake/)** > > Download HandBrake for free. A tool to convert video from nearly any format to modern codecs. HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows. Please see... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/3 "2014-03-19T16:37:50Z")
For your first problem, pretty much any DVD burning program could do it. You just put the files back in the same folders they were on the original DVD. That’s all a DVD-video is: a data DVD with a specific folder structure and specific types of files. For your second, most people around here seem to use Handbrake. It uses the DVD decrypting software built-in to the Mac OS, so it should work on any DVD that you can play on your Mac. (Likely, your other program uses the same decrypting method.) Handbrake can, BTW, also convert those VOB files to a proper video file. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/4 "2014-03-19T22:10:14Z")
Hmmm, now you’ve reminded me I was using Handbrake, but stopped and went onto other utilities for some reason - I think it barfed on some sort of copy protection? I’ll look back into it, thanks. Are you saying if I just copy the VIDEO\_TS folder as files onto a blank DVD it’ll be a playable media DVD? Or it has to be done via an app that knows that’s the end goal in some way? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/5 "2014-03-19T22:38:10Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Hmmm, now you’ve reminded me I was using Handbrake, but stopped and went onto other utilities for some reason - I think it barfed on some sort of copy protection? I’ll look back into it, thanks. > > Are you saying if I just copy the VIDEO\_TS folder as files onto a blank DVD it’ll be a playable media DVD? Or it has to be done via an app that knows that’s the end goal in some way? Yes, just copying the VIDEO\_TS folder to the root of a UDF-format DVD will make a playable disc. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/6 "2014-03-19T23:48:55Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Are you saying if I just copy the VIDEO\_TS folder as files onto a blank DVD it’ll be a playable media DVD? Or it has to be done via an app that knows that’s the end goal in some way? I don’t have a Mac, but if you’re still having trouble with Handbrake’s copy protection, try this workaround (installing VLC as well): [http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how\_encode\_pro\_handbrake](http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_encode_pro_handbrake) > [@the page](#): > > While Handbrake used to include its own methods for cracking CSS encryption, in recent versions, the programmers have instead turned to the free, open-source VLC Media Player software. All you need to do is download and install the latest version of VLC for Mac OS X. Next time you open Handbrake and load a commercial DVD as a source, the application will quietly use components of VLC in the background to make the magic happen – you won’t even see VLC launch, since it doesn’t have to actually be open to work its mojo. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/8 "2014-11-21T08:58:51Z")
Reported ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/experiences-with-video-dvd-copy-conversion-software-for-mac-please/684074/9 "2014-11-21T09:00:04Z")
Reported as spam for resurrecting zombie thread with needless advertisement. A free solution is already posted upthread.