If you spend a lot of time traveling, shuffling from similar-looking airport to similar-looking airport, you probably have yourself some downtime, whether it be on the plane, waiting to get on the plane—heck, even waiting to get off the plane. So what better way to spend it than catching up on all those movies that you never get to see, because you’re constantly on planes.
DVD ripping is nothing new; software’s been available for years to make it a possibility. Drive-in by Flip4Mac, maker of the popular Windows Media codec, is another way to transfer your (legitimate) movies to your Mac, and Flip4Mac pretties up the process a bit by stamping the files with cover art, and providing a central repository for all the DVDs you’ve ripped. Drive-in preserves all the DVD’s navigation, and lets you watch the movie in Front Row, VLC, DVD Player, etc.
The software’s in beta right now, and it expires on January 1st, 2008. After the software goes final, you’ll need to buy it in order to continue using it, or watch any of the movies you’ve ripped. And for those who are particular about these things, it’s worth noting that Drive-in’s installer also installs a kernel extension and requires a restart.
Of course, there are always free alternatives to be found, if you know where to look.
[via Lifehacker]
Free alternatives? You must be talking about MacTheRipper and Handbrake! : )
a kernel extension? Whooo... I don't install software with kernel extensions...
Drive In has got my vote. I actually like the idea of working with a DVD copying program that's on the "up and up", And, it produces complete imaged copies in the original resolution. The organization and ability to download artwork for each title, works well. Lots less demand on my Powerbook battery, too, as well as a cooler running machine. It only takes about 15 minutes to image a complete DVD with all the extras! Compared to the hours of compression and burning with other covert apps, this is a big plus for me. And...I like Telestream...this is just the beginning of Drive In....plenty of ideas and features that can be added. They have demonstrated a loyalty to users of their products by listening, and implementing requested features.....before DI, problems with rippers were just dead ends....no support there. The Front Row access is a bit of icing on the cake, too...you simply use DI to mount the disc's and then they are available in FR