Purpose
Make DVD’s available to any TV in the house without the need for a DVD player on each TV.
Background
Don’t use this technique to steal content. Use this to backup DVD’s you own or for one-time viewing of rental DVD’s.
Tools
MacMini with external DVD player
Handbrake – $0
VLC – $0 – required for Handbrake to open DVD’s
iFlicks – $20 (for Apple App store)
Optional – Mac DVD Ripper Pro – $25
Workflow
1. Insert DVD into Mac
2. Launch Handbrake and open source DVD
3. If movie, set file location to movie folder. If TV show, create a folder for the show
4. Set filename to movie title OR TV show name with season and episode shorted to S01E03
5. TV shows have multiple episodes on a DVD so select the titles, change the file name, and click Add to Queue for each.
5a. if subtitles are desired, select the language.
6. Start – recommend Normal settings, takes 20-30 minutes.
7. When complete, open iFlicks
8. Drag the file into iFlicks
9. Use iFlicks settings to only add meta data and add to iTunes
10. Key thing is to make sure TV Shows are marked as TV shows, not movies
11. The content is now available on Apple TV
12. For rented content, watch and then delete the file. Return the DVD.
Note: Steps 2-6 may be done in Mac DVD Ripper Pro if the DVD doesn’t work in Handbrake.
