“If you have a collection of Blu-ray or DVD movies that you’d love to export to your Apple TV or iTunes on the cheap, keep reading,” Jeff Butts writes for The Mac Observer. “Thanks to the new MoviesAnywhere service and its partnership with Vudu, there’s a quick and easy way to get those physical discs converted to a digital format you can download to your Mac, iOS device, or Apple TV.”
“While you can purchase DVD and Blu-ray movies that include a free download from Vudu or UltraViolet,” Butts explains, “you can also scan your existing library of movies to get digital copies.”
“This isn’t available for all titles, of course – if your Blu-ray or DVD came with an UltraVIolet or Vudu download code, it won’t work. However, there are plenty of titles that do work just fine, and the price is right,” Butts writes. “If you want a digital, HD version of a Blu-ray disc, it will only cost you US $2. For some reason, converting a DVD movie to digital costs a bit more, $5.”
More info and links in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As always, saving labor costs something. Depending on what your time is worth, the MoviesAnywhere service just might work for you.
SEE ALSO:
How to rip DVDs and Blu-ray discs with MakeMKV and Handbrake – March 13, 2017
HandBrake 1.0.0 released after 13 years in development – December 27, 2016<
One word: Handbreak
Actually HandBrake (correct spelling) on it’s own won’t break the inbuilt copyright.
Download:
1. MakeMKV and download and install the monthly code from
http://makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053
Or you can purchase the app (and pretty soon it’ll be 64 bit).
Just do a search for the app to find where you can buy it from. It’s pretty easy to do and virtually foolproof.
2. Then you use HandBrake to convert the file over to to an Apple/iTunes compatible file or whatever.
I’ve been converting files for yearend converted well over a thousand dvds and blu-rays and “It just works”.
If you really want to compress your finished media files I’d recommend iFFmpeg which really does rock. However, the first two apps will suffice for most users.
Just note that in some countries the process is illegal but then again IMHO what you’re doing at home (with your own purchased discs) should be your own business.
Hell, I’d spend 2 bucks to not have to read through your description again, let alone do it myself!
Just kidding Telstar…that was a nice description! Once i get my Synology set up I will be looking to get my library into Plex…thanks!
Or you can just use MakeMKV and play the files on Apple TV with Infuse 5 ( https://firecore.com/infuse ) no need for step 2!
Well… in 10, 15, or maybe even 20 years, you’ll have a hankering to enjoy a classic 2017 movie you haven’t seen for few years. You’ll go pull up the digital file… only to find out it won’t play.
Because the studio changed their terms of service since the last time you watched that classic. They are now charging a small and “reasonable” access fee anytime (every time) you want to watch it.
Because you don’t really “own” the movie, whether it’s on a disc or in a digital file. You only have a license to view it.
And like a EULA, in the fine print of their terms of service for that license (for every studio for every movie) there is wording that essentially says the copyright holder can change their terms of service at any time. For any reason and to anything they desire.
Welcome to true “Pay-per-view”.
That’s exactly why, when purchasing movies and music, I still by a physical disc. I have seen media on iTunes and other sites disappear before. I would be really p***ed off to see ‘my’ collection vanish because the seller loses the rights to them.
That’s OK macgafreekdget. I’d put all the steps involved but it would probably be deleted as it goes a little bit beyond the news piece. I’ll wait for a story on HandBrake and post it. Even after years of using HandBrake and iFFmpeg I’m still only scratching (a little bit below) the surface. MakeMKV on the other hand is so simple to use it’s a no-brainer.
Jasper,
Yes, but you still end up with a huge BR files. By running it through HandBrake your files sizes are a fraction of the size. I’m not entirely sure Fuse will play BR files; and even so they are very, very large in sizes.
What’s a DVD? What’s a BluRay?
😀
I use RipIt to make sure I have a “.dvdmedia” DVD image, then use HandBrake (including external .srt file for captions, if needed) to create a .mp4 file which plays just fine on AppleTV and most other devices. It also insulates me from licensing changes in the future, and works very nicely with my Mac mini server and my 12TB RAID 5 media array.
I haven’t tried this with BD yet, but one of these days I will.
RipIt is fine for most dvds but it most definitely doesn’t work with BR discs.
I haven’t bought a DVD/BR in years. Ripped all of my DVD collection using HandBrake and can watch the content on any TV (via AppleTV) or on a Mac.
Now when I buy a movie, I do it via iTunes. I get that the content may not be available forever but having Apple upgrade to 4K for free was a nice gesture. Sadly won’t be getting a 4K until the prices on large screens go down.
4k TV’s are pretty darn cheap these days all things considered.. there are some 4K Tv’s up to 55″ under $500.. now if you want 60″ or better, your still under a $1000 for some makes & models.
The biggest benefit of using tools like Handbrake and MakeMKV for copying DVDs and Blu-Rays is that the resulting files are DRM-free, as opposed to Vudu, Ultraviolet, and iTunes. DRM-free means you can play it on any device, instead of being limited to devices that the company (Ultraviolet, iTunes) supports.