Guide to DVDto iPod video (DVDx) computer, download, folder, double

andy

-DVDx 2.3   select 'DVDx23_setup.zip and select any mirror.  save the file to ur computer then go to it in 'My computer and right-click and select extract all. once u have it extracted double click on the extracted folder and then double click DVDx2.3_setup.exe this will install it. -Videora iPod converter  scroll down a bit and click full install.  download that and then install it.

ok here we go-first we need to get to DVD on the computer. DVDx will put it on in .mpg (MPEG-1) format. NOTE: itunes will be able to import this file but your ipod cant play it. if you only want the DVD on itunes u can stop at step 18 (but read the itunes tips.)

1) open DVDx 2.3
2) to make this easier go to file-gt;themes-gt;metal.  close then reopen dvdx. now instead of icons we have words
3) insert the DVD into the DVD drive and close any DVD window that pops up
4) Go to my computer.
5) right-click on the DVD and press explore
6)in the new window double click VIDEO_TS u should see lots of different files.  Switch to detail (as opposed to icons or thumnails) so u can see the size.  Go to the largest files (should be around 1,000,000 KB.  Double click the VTS_**_1.VOB of those biggest files. The biggest files are the main movie all the other files are extras and such. the .IFO's are some sort of main thing under which all the VOB's are located. (do not click VTS_01_1.IFO it wont work.) let it open in w/e player u have and when it opens just pause it then minimize it.
7) back in DVDx click the IFO button
8) at the top in 'look in' select 'My Computer'
9) double click the DVD drive (for many DVD's it will be the name of the DVD or a form of it )
10)double click VIDEO_TS and open VTS_**_0.IFO (the biggest file u located in step 6)
11) now the input settings pop up.  select 'audio/video synchronisation' and click ok
12) now an error occurs. dont worry and click ok. click ok again to the warning.  The screen should go black, this is actually the first frame of the movie
13) now click 'OUT.'  make sure it is set to 'video CD (MPEG1)' in the pull down bar at the top.  to the right of that in export settings change the resolution to 320x240 (this is the size of an iPods screen, if ur not doing this for an iPod dont change it.)  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: still under export settings click the button that says 'whole' next to Max frame, this will allow it to encode the whole movie not just 6 minutes and 40 seconds of it.  right below the export settings is the 'volume dont exceed' on the drop-down bar here select infinite, this stops it from splitting the movie into multiple smaller files (if you're backing up ur dvd on cd's or writable DVD's select the size of ur disk/disks.  now click apply
14)now click file and browse and select where u want the movie to b saved then click ok.
15)ur almost half way done... this step is optional but recomended, its a test to make sure that the audio is synchronized with the video, if u encode the whole thing then find out the audio is off from the video its highly annoying. to do this test simply slide the slider on the bottom to a spot where people are talking and click the red encode button, let it encode for about a minute then click stop.  go to 'My Computer' and locate the file u just created.  double click it and it should play in windows media player.  look closely and make sure that when the people talk the sound is synchronized with their lips.  if it is, good, go to the next step, if its not go to #1 in troubleshooter. then back to the next step.
16) now ur ready to encode the entire movie. if u did step 15 move the slider all the way to the beginning and click encode, if u didnt (even tho u should) just click encode.  those of u smart ppl who did step 15 will get an overwrite message, just click yes.
17) it is now encoding.  under settings u can change the priority: if u want to do other things while its encoding select either normal or idle (my stupid computers so slow it has to be on idle to do anything, usually normal will be ok tho), it will go really slow tho, it is recommended that u select high priority and let it run.  it should take appx. the time of the movie on high.  at the top it gives you an estimated time remaining.  NOTE: once it has started encoded u can close the DVD player that opened or you opened around step 4
18) once the movie is finished encoding close DVDx and open Videora iPod converter.  click on settings and under 'output videos to click browse and select where you'd like to save the file. click on convert over to the left of the screen. click one-click transcode and navigate to the file u made in DVDx.  it now starts converting. i believe that this takes about 40-50 minutes (i think?) again you can change the priority.
19) once videora is done transcoding your video its in iPod format (mpeg-4). open itunes.  go to file-gt;add file to library and then open your completed movie file.  it shold only take about 2 or 3 minutes to import.
20) plug in your iPod and if it doesnt update the movie right away go to file-gt;update songs on quot;your iPod.quot;  i takes about 5 minutes to transfer to ur ipod.
21) eject ur ipod from itunes or taskbar, go to video's-gt;movies then select your video and enjoy.
P.S. try not to go blindTIPS FOR ITUNES
- i organized all my dvd's under the artist name of DVD, when u do that it puts all your DVD's under a folder called DVD in ur iTunes music folder, also just name the album the same as the title unless its series like Lord of the Rings.  That way if u want to find your iPod campatible movie file u could, for example, go to 'My documents -gt; My Music -gt; iTunes -gt; iTunes music -gt; DVD -gt; Lord of the Rings -gt; Fellowship of the Rings.  of course if u have your iTunes folder located somewhere other than 'My documents' and/or 'My music' youd have to find your iTunes folder ( u can do this by opening iTunes going to edit -gt; preferences -gt; advanced-- in the advanced menu it will show u the file path to your iTunes music folder...)

SAVE SPACE ON HARD DRIVE TIP (VERY RECOMMENDED)
- when u import your movie file into iTunes the appx 1GB file is now located in 3 places: 1.your iTunes music folder (under artist 'DVD' if u followed above tip) 2.the file u saved it in when u first ripped it from DVD (mpeg format) 3. the file created by videora when converting it to .m4v (iPod) format. to fix this first make sure that you can find your file in itunes music folder then go ahead and delete the .mpg file created in dvdx and the .m4v file created in videora. this will free up about appx 2.5 gigs of sapce

TROUBLE SHOOTER
1) -If the audio is off from the video (hopefully u relized it on step 15):  in DVDx click 'IN' (input settings) and under output frame rate check Force 24Hz and under the pull down bar that originally said 25.0 (PAL) select '24.0'  this reduces the frame rate making it easier to encode (dont worry it doesnt visibly effect the quality.) then go start at step 16. if that doesn't work try selecting '23.976 (NTSC) i've never had to do this.  if it still doesnt work reply to me.

2) -if the DVD wont open in DVDx: folo steps 4-6

3) -if the finished file is split into two or more files: select 'infinite' in output settings under 'volume don't dont exceed.

4) -if it stops encoding after any amount of time click 'whole' in output settings under Export settings

if u have any questions u can email me at guitarbum41091@aim.com preferably with the subject 'DVD to iPod help' or something like that.

also if u used this guide and found it helpful/useful please feel free to reply.  im kinda curios as to how many people have used this.

edit 30th July at 4:45 pm for clarification fixes