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Level 1

5 points

Copying DVDs to an iPad... Is it possible? Which formats?

Okay, now before everyone rips into me and goes off about piracy and theft and all that stuff, lemme explain...

I'm a pilot working toward my instrument rating. I have 18 hours of instructional DVDs -- THAT I PAID FOR WITH GOOD OLE (SOON TO BE WORTHLESS) US DOLLARS -- and I was wanting to rip them into another format and store them on an iPad. The only reason I want an iPad is for the ForeFlight App which is something that countless pilots have migrated to in favor of a paperless cockpit.

My plan was to buy an iPad2 and use it for all of my aviation tasks which would be 1) navigation with the GPS capability, and 2) flight instruction with the training DVDs and website tests.

I'm a long time Apple user, but never owned an iPad. I've read that the iPad can only play certain video formats, and to store DVDs on an iPad you have to "jailbreak" it, whatever that means.

In a nutshell, I just want to know if it's possible for me to store my DVDs on an iPad2. I have about 80GB of DVD video that I would need to compress to fit onto a 32 or 64GB iPad.

MacBook Pro 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, Mac OS X (10.6.4), 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Posted on Mar 5, 2011 12:13 AM

38 replies

Mar 5, 2011 11:29 AM in response to DorianJ

Done it zillions of times. The problem is that the iPad has limited storage space, so one must save the end file as something that isn't too large. Whether you have a PC or Mac:

1. Ripping software that will save your DVD as a Video_TS file folder.
2. MPEG Streamclip or Handbrake to convert your Video_TS files into a movie file that can play on your device. With the mentioned programs, you can choose the pixel size, the quality and the codec (I use the H.264) to render the Video_TS folder into a playable movie.
3. I save the movie in iTunes, then drag the movie into my iPad, iPod or iPod Touch.

I don't feel this is Pirating since I am using the copies for my mobile use only. I like the DVDs that have a digital copy as it saves me the time and effort of making an iPad movie.

PogoPossum

Level 4

2,508 points

Mar 5, 2011 1:29 PM in response to Daniel Filice

While I agree with you ethically and have no morality issue with copying a DVD for personal use, it is important to note that in the US it is illegal to remove digital copyright protection, no matter what the reason.

JohSm

Level 1

0 points

Mar 7, 2011 1:56 AM in response to Dah•veed

Well i guess that it's possible to do if you use it in an illegal way and break any rules for the country/state that you do live in! But if you own the copyrights to the material and do use it on your own created/recorded DVD or movie material i guess it would be allright? (How do i update/remove my previous post/answer from this forum?)

JohSm

Level 1

0 points

Mar 7, 2011 2:19 AM in response to DorianJ

Air Video is an app available in the AppStore that does a greate job!
It plays/streams or converts video files in different formats to your iOS device.

Install the client part on the iPad/iPhone (From here you can play, queue files for conversion on your PC/Mac)
Then you download the sever part for a Mac or Pc (Install it to access files on the machines you need)

You are then able to look on video files directly and stream them to your device from the PC or Mac over WiFi and 3G, you can also choose to convert any video file to .m4v format and add them to iTunes and sync them to your iPad or iPhone to use offline if you want!

Remeber do only use this on video files you do own the rights to, do not break any laws!
You do not need to jailbreak anything and it's legally available in the Apple AppStore.
This App does not remove any copying protections.

crh24

Level 3

930 points

Mar 7, 2011 12:48 PM in response to JohSm

JohSm wrote:
Air Video is an app available in the AppStore that does a greate job!
It plays/streams or converts video files in different formats to your iOS device.

AirVideo also has a problem with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. I've never been able to get AirPlay to work reliably if I use Bluetooth as the audio output on my iPad.

As Home Sharing will be available in iOS 4.3 I suspect this problem is either resolved or Apple knows more about the system than the AirVideo people...

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Apr 9, 2011 5:15 PM in response to JohSm

But if you own the copyrights to the material and do use it on your own created/recorded DVD or movie material

if it is your own material, it would be much higher quality to use the original source before it was converted to DVD.

Apr 9, 2011 8:00 PM in response to DorianJ

I use handbrake, macworld had an excellent how to on how to use it, and where to download it:

http://www.macworld.com/article/157590/2011/02/howto_rip_dvdhandbrake.html

great article, easy to follow instructions

Kalebd

Level 1

8 points

May 30, 2011 11:19 PM in response to DorianJ

Is there a way to convert WinXDVD videos from DVD to hd files? For play on apple tv?

Ziatron

Level 5

4,186 points

May 30, 2011 11:28 PM in response to PogoPossum

While I agree with you ethically and have no morality issue withcopying a DVD for personal use, it is important to note that in the USit is illegal to remove digital copyright protection, no matter whatthe reason.

In the U.S. some studios are starting to not bother with copy protection.

Just as Apple dropped its copy protection from iTunes songs.

Many of the DVDs I have purchased recently (directly from the studio's website in the U.S.) are not copy protected at all. They're realizing it's a waste of time.

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

May 31, 2011 1:11 AM in response to Ziatron

"Many of the DVDs I have purchased recently (directly from the studio's website in the U.S.) are not copy protected at all. They're realizing it's a waste of time."

They realize it is waste of time for 30/40/50 year old movies which are not released on DVD outside of the studio stores.

Not happening for any newer/blockbuster/major releases.

In other words, only a niche market.

Kalebd

Level 1

8 points

May 31, 2011 10:41 PM in response to Kalebd

I meant for the iPad, which i would like to see 720p ultimately for the TV.

kb1951

Level 10

124,175 points

Jun 6, 2013 4:00 AM in response to Danily

This thread is from 2 years ago so hopefully the OP got an answer.

Jun 9, 2013 5:39 PM in response to DorianJ

Why are people commenting on a 2 year old thread?

Sep 10, 2013 9:23 AM in response to DorianJ

In the past week, I have been looking for a method to rip my DVD movies to MP4 for playback on my iPad to kill time on the coming holiday. Finally, I find the best way to convert DVD to iPad video here. Thanks all you guys!

Hurn2013

Level 1

0 points

Sep 17, 2013 9:34 AM in response to DorianJ

I learned a lot about how to convert DVD to iPad movies here and successful put the The Lion King series DVD movies on my iPad, that’s my 4-year-old kid’s favorite cartoon.

Copying DVDs to an iPad... Is it possible? Which formats?