What is the preferred method for ripping TV Episodes from DVD for use with TVSeries? (1 Viewer)

[kenp2600]

I've read several threads on this subject and it seems everyone has a different opinion. I've got several tv series dvd sets and want to rip them to the hard drive so the TVSeries plugin will manage/play them. For my DVD movies, I used DVDFab Platinum and ripped the entire DVD into VIDEO_TS folders but from what I've read, I'm not sure this works in TVSeries.

Do I need to rip each individual episode from the DVD into a seperate folder or file? I saw that DVDFab has an option to "customize" your rip where I think you can select individual chapters from the DVD but I haven't played with that yet.

Do I then need to convert that to another format, or will TVSeries use the VIDEO_TS folder?

Thank you in advance. I can't wait to get this plug in working.

 

[clobber]

Disc space is an issue for me, so I use DVDShrink (free) to rip the DVD episodes uncompressed to my hard drive still in the VIDEO_TS folder structure. Then I use Handbrake (free) to convert each episode to h.264 in a mkv container. It is actually an easy procedure with just a few clicks. The advantage is that h.264 seems to be good quality with small file size. With the mkv container, if there are any chapter marks in the DVD, they will be retained in the mkv file so you can skip around the video quickly. Downside is that it takes a while to convert each episode. The alternative is to just rip using DVDshrink and rename the video files. Without converting you'll probably need between 5-7 gigs of disc space per DVD.

 

[GDusty]

I would agree with clobber, although I don't see why there is any need to rename files.

If you put the DVD files (*.IFO, *.BUP, and *.VOB files) in a folder structure of the form:

Series/Season_xx/Ep_yy

then just add (in TVSeries config, Import Settings->Parsing Expressions) an expression like:

<series>\Season_<season>\Ep_<episode>\VIDEO_TS.IFO

If you prefer to keep the VIDEO_TS folder (personally I don't see the point, but anyway), then :

<series>\Season_<season>\Ep_<episode>\VIDEO_TS\VIDEO_TS.IFO

 

[kenp2600]

Thanks for the replies clobber and GDusty. If I'm understanding you both correctly, you're saying I must rip the individual episodes (not the entire DVD) to the hard drive, then as long as I name the folder appropriately TVSeries will pick it up. If I want to reduce the disk space used, I can use Handbrake to convert to h.264 format.

I think I'll give it a try tonight. Let me know if I misunderstood anything.

 

[MrEMan]

I have used the script and programs here with good results. There is some work involved.

Regards

 

[clobber]

kenp,

Yep, thats what we are saying. DVDShrink will allow you to rip either the whole DVD or the individual episodes. Do the individual episodes so that TVSeries can import them.

GDusty is correct, for the purpose of Mediaportal, you don't have to rename the ripped files. I usually do anyway.

 

[caviguy96]

I am having an issue getting the parsing test to work. I have been playing around with the different types of formats to use and which one is the best for me. I have used handbrake for the first disc of Band of Brothers and converted those 2 episodes to .mkv. tvseries recognizes them and all is well. I also am trying the .vob method but even with the proper folder structure and parsing expressions the parsing test will not recognize the dvd rip episode. these are the parsing expressions I have input

<series>\Season_<season>\Episode_<episode>\VTS_01_0.IFO

<series>\<season>x<episode>\VTS_01_0.IFO

The folder structure is D:\TVSeries\Band of Brothers\s01e0x\VTS_01_0.IFO

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I would continue to use Handbrake and convert everything to .mkv but it just takes WAY TOO LONG!!!

 

[GDusty]

If your directory structure has the form:

..\Band of Brothers\s01e0x\VTS_01_0.IFO,

then wouldn't you want to use a parsing expression like:

<series>\s<season>e<episode>\VTS_01_0.IFO

?

 

[caviguy96]

If your directory structure has the form:

..\Band of Brothers\s01e0x\VTS_01_0.IFO,

then wouldn't you want to use a parsing expression like:

<series>\s<season>e<episode>\VTS_01_0.IFO

?

Yes you are correct! I was able to figure it all out. I ended up adding a \Season 1\ in there so that I wouldnt have to add anymore expressions and all is well now. Thanks for responding!

 

[dcwp]

Personally I am willing to trade a *little* picture quality for space and portability. I use FairUse Wizard to rip my TV DVDs and output as individual files. They are encoded as XVid, but there are options for different compression ratios, codecs, etc. You can also choose output file size to tweak the quality/size balance.

Personally, I don't see a quality difference between my ripped files and playing straight from DVD at 720p, but I am no connoisseur. Plus I can fit several discs worth of episodes in the same HDD space as a single .iso or .vob rip.

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure as I work my way through my collection I'll eventually change my mind and start all over with another method.