News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
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Handbrake |
|
| Distributor | www.handbrake.fr |
| Type | Video Converter |
| Manufacturer | Handbrake Devs |
| Cons | Not very fast, can't convert some DVDs with macrovision protection. |
| SRP | Free |
| Pros | Free, Easy to use with presets, easy to customise |
| Rating |
|
While most users think about iTunes as a music jukebox application, it's also well versed in managing your movies. Unless you want to re-purchase your movies in iTunes (something that's still not possible in Australia) you'll need a program that lets you convert your DVDs to a format that iTunes accepts.
That program is called Handbrake, and luckily for you (and me) it's only a free click away.
According to the developers, collectively known as "Handbrake Devs", Handbrake is "an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows".
In plain English, Handbrake lets you convert a DVD to a file (of various formats) that can be played on your Mac, and other devices you may like to watch your movies on including Apple TV, iPods or the iPhone.
Using Handbrake is almost as easy as ripping a CD in iTunes. Almost, but there are a few tricks to bear in mind.
First, before you begin using Handbrake you'll need to get Mac OS X to recognise your DVD — do this by letting Apple DVD player load. Once your Mac has recognised and started playing the disc, you can quit DVD player. Once you've quit DVD player you can load Handbrake.
When you load Handbrake it will ask you to select the Source you want to convert — just choose the DVD or a VIdeo_TS folder if that's where your content is. In most cases Handbrake can convert video directly from a DVD, however there are some DVDs with copy protection that Handbrake can't deal with. If your DVD has advanced macrovision copy protection, you'll need to investigate another solution to actually "rip" the content from the DVD to create an unencrypted movie. Once you've done this you can use Handbrake to convert the file to an iTunes-compatible format to sync to your devices.
Handbrake comes pre-loaded with settings that alter the quality and file type, depending on your output requirements. In my testing, I used both the iPhone and Apple TV modes. Both produced good results. I did find however, that on some DVDs I needed to alter the picture settings (click on the Picture Settings button at the bottom right hand corner of the screen to turn it on) and turn on the Deinterlace mode. You can also set Handbrake to turn on Deinterlace mode at startup in the preferences, under the Picture tab.
There's also full support for power users to tinker with their own settings, including the ability to choose variable frame rate encoding with detelecine filtering, a more flexible, "loose" anamorphic video setting and an MP4 optimisation for progressive web downloads.
Using my MacBook Pro, conversion happened in near real time. Once Handbrake has finished converting your movie, simply drag it into iTunes to catalogue, or use another media player, like QuickTime or VLC, to watch.
The latest version of Handbrake — 0.9.2 — also introduces some great features including Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC3) sound in MP4 files and multi-track audio support for Apple devices, however is only compatible with 10.5. An older version, 0.9.1 is available for users running 10.4.
Australian Macworld's buying advice. Handbrake is a neat app that allows you to convert DVD content and add it to your iTunes library. It's easy to use and comes with presets that means you can be converting your DVDs within minutes. On another planet, Handbrake might cost upwards of $50, but on Earth, it's free.
Handbrake |
|
| Distributor | www.handbrake.fr |
| Type | Video Converter |
| Manufacturer | Handbrake Devs |
| Cons | Not very fast, can't convert some DVDs with macrovision protection. |
| SRP | Free |
| Pros | Free, Easy to use with presets, easy to customise |
| Rating |
|
There can be little doubt that Apple has got serious about making the Mac the centre of your video-viewing experience. From the latest iPod nanos to the iPod touch, the iPhone (when it comes) and the Apple TV, it’s kind of tricky to buy a device with an Apple logo on it that can’t play videos these days.
Matthew JC. Powell | Nov 30, 2007
I don’t envy Roxio. When you’ve got a product that’s as mature and well developed as its CD- and DVD-burning software, Toast Titanium, you run the risk of introducing feature bloat with major new releases — and making an easy-to-use program harder than it should be. Toast 8 Titanium adds features and simplifies the interface in such a way that it’s much better than its predecessors.
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Anthony Caruana | May 20, 2008
The Thomson Grass Valley ADVC-HD50 converter lets you convert uncompressed HD video and audio from most HDMI devices to FireWire (HDV format). While FireWire, otherwise known as IEEE 1394, has dominated the digital landscape for over ten years now, its days seem numbered in consumer AV equipment such as handycams. Manufacturers like Sony, for example, seem to be opting for HDMI connectors and standard USB rather than FireWire — especially if you select a newer AVCHD camcorder. Most current Macs (except for the MacBook Air), however, still ship with FireWire ports, and it's still a convenient way to get video into your Mac.
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