Handbrake vs. other DVD Programs

I hoping someone can help me out.

I want to setup Handshake or another DVD transfer program on my Macbook Pro.

I downloaded it on my Macbook Pro but I got a message that I needed VLC so I downloaded that program but got a message that I didn't have the correct version.

I'm running a Macbook Pro OS X Version 10.5.8

I would like to be able to watch DVDs on my Playbook.

I would like to use a Program that is fairly easy to use (if one does exist).

After doing some research I have found: Handbrake, Clone2Go and Ripper DVD by Fox Real.

From what I have read so far Ripper DVD seems easy.

I would appreciate any advice on other users experience.

I don't mind paying for a program as long as works as is fairly easy to use.


Thank you.

Tom, Toronto

I use Foxreal on a MacBook Pro and I can highly recommend it. They have great customer service should you need any help.

I've only used handbrake to convert wvm to m4v, so i could edit them in Final Cut Pro X
Its not overly complicated if you just watch a quick tutorial on youtube or something similar.
Not sure why it told you to download VLC, i didn't download VLC until MUCH later after i finished my editing with FCPX.

Also OS2 adds support to mkv files. I just added a episodes of "Welcome to the NHK" in mkv format. Played just fine on my playbook.
If im not mistaken though the video codec has to be h.264

What version of Handbrake did you download? It should be at 0.9.5.

I use Pavtube. It is compatible with 10.5.x I use it for all of my blu-rays, but it will also rip DVDs as well. Plus it has a lot of devices you can format for. I searched for a very long time and found Pavtube the easiest to use.

Here is the link to the one I use: Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac- all-in-one Blu-ray Ripper for Mac, Mac DVD Ripper, and Video Converter for Mac

I have never had an issue with it, so I can't tell you about the customer service.
If you do a lot of ripping and want to rip to .mkv format, then they have a program called Byte Copy. Works great.

For me, I want to keep full copies of my blu-rays, and then I also want to do .mkvs for when I am traveling. So I use Orb Caster to stream from my external hard drive to my playbook. It isn't super HD, but it does get the job done.

Also, I would suggest getting Macbluray player to watch all your movies. It works awesome with everything I copy or make an .mkv of. I just Control+ click the movie and open with the player. And that is all. Easy stuff.

Hope that helps.

handbrake all the way.
its free
its fast (if you have a quad-core machine)
and you can transcode movies as a background process.