This guide is for how to extract the episodes of a tv series from a dvd, seperately so they can then be compressed to xvid avi files.

The programs i used were dvd shrink (found here: http://www.dvdshrink.org/ )and autogordion knot (found here: http://www.autogk.me.uk/ ). Dvd decrypter is a plausible alternative to dvd shrink but i find dvd shrink simpler.

The first step is to open the dvd with dvd shrink and go on re-author.

The episodes should be seperate under the main movie section (1). Sometimes, they are annoyingly under the extras section, with one large file under the main movie section which is all the episodes in one long line. Duplicates can also sometimes be seen. We need to rip the episodes seperately so choose them seperately.
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Click the episodes one by one and play them in dvd shrink until you are sure that they are the episodes you think they are (2). Once you are sure drag one of the episodes to the box on the left (3).

Now click the compression settings tab (optional):

Untick anything that you do not require (subtitles, different language audio etc). This is not essential but saves some space on the hard drive if that is a problem. Do not compress the video at all.

When ready click backup. Choose to save it as a dvd folder on your hard drive and to not create video_ts and audio_ts subfolders. Call it a recogniseable filename and give it a valid path. Then press ok and wait for it to rip.
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You should now have the episode as a vob file on your computer. If the episode is split into many vob files, do not worry, they are associated with each other by the end part of the filename (_1, _2etc).

It is often best when ripping a complete series to convert all of the episodes like this in turn, then to compress them afterwards with autogk.

Open Auto Gordion Knot and set the input file as one of the vobs you previously ripped (NOTE: if the file is in many parts but end with things like _1, _2, choose the first one [_1], to get the entire episode). The avi file created will automatically have the same path and filename unless you choose differently.

If the episodes are roughly the same length then it is best to choose a custom size for all of the episodes to be the same. For a 22 minute program (half hour minus adverts on ad-supported tv channels), 180mb is a good file size for size/quality ratio. This also means that a 24 episode series will fit onto a single dvd-r if necessary. For a higher quality file, choose 250mb, or at maximum, 360mb. Anything higher than this is a pointless waste of space.

Cartoons, such as simpsons, futurama and american dad, do not require a filesize larger than 200mb, as the plain colours compress quite easily with some adjustment of the settings in autogk. To do this press ctrl-F9 to enter the hidden options. Do not change anything in here unless you know what you are doing. Tick the cartoon mode (xvid only) box then press ok. This tells autogk that the input file is a cartoon, and so often has large spaces of the same colour, and optimises the encoding for that. Note when done encoding the cartoons, be sure to return to the hidden options and untick the cartoon mode.

Choose the audio track to use (a second may also be selected if desired), and any subtitles you may wish to include. Enter the advanced settings and choose the xvid codec, and choose to keep original audio. If the audio is in LCPM, then choose to convert it to mp3, 192kb/s. Then press ok to return to the main screen.

When happy with the settings and you are batch converting, click add job. Repeat the process for each episode, the settings should stay the same so just choose the vob file and path for output file again. When ready for conversion click start. Conversion can take a long time (depending on settings), but expect a 22 min episode to take around 40 minutes to convert to a 180mb avi file with an average computer. If lots of files are to be converted, leave it on overnight as when one file has finished, the next in queue will automatically start.

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This should leave you with shiny avi files of high quality, to do with as you wish. If i have missed anything vital, or have been unclear, please correct me, this is only as i understand it.

also make them look better with K-XviD setting

Great Guide! :a013: TY!

hi i am vatsal

i saw ur post on how to convert cartoons or tv series

i have a movie that is a dvd rip that is 4.7 gb in size i ripped out the main movie part using pgc.net n the n while trying to convert it to a smaller size in avi.net.

i tried to convert it to a size of 897 mb but after conversion i found the file size to be 250 mb n off very poor quality

i also tried other size but still no avail


can u plz help


help appreciated

I have a different problem, I think. I use DVDshrink and AutoGK like you, but when I try to rip my files with dvdshrink, it just wants to rip all the episodes on that disk into 1 long file. I don't want that, obviously. I am trying to rip Invader Zim, just to let you know. Help is appreciated.

great guide
many thnx
plantz

thanks musically minded

This is just the sort of stuff I was hoping to find when I joined earlier today I'm familiar with some of the programs you talked about, (not autogk tho) and have a few series and such that I was planning on compressing onto one disc, it seems to me looking at the stuff available via torrents, that I'm not up to speed with compression techniques, hopefully if I hang around here long enough, I'll remedy that with the hints I pick up.

cheers

thanks now I can rip and backup DuckTails Volume 1 and 2... Theres 18 hours of ducktails so will take awhile but they will be coming for those who have kids who might enjoy them.

Thanks heaps for the guide!!

Thankyou very much...

A Gem of a post...

:)

Thanks for the guide! Just gave it a go with Eragon...

It took 3 hours 13 minutes 45 seconds and that was with it getting stuck at one point until I got home. Will try it again later while I'm watching a couple films to see how long it takes.

Is it possible to convert the 5 dvds "PLANET EARTH" which are all 4 gig in size to xvid so i can put the whole lot on one dvd so i can watch on my divx player?

Thanks inadvance . This section of the forum is great.

I love dvdshrink but it's not updated no more so for some dvds you need something like dvdfab.

Great guide.

while converting using AutoGK are alot of differnt windows meant to open??

thanks for the guide by the way!!

Yeah it's different programs that AutoGK uses to work it's magic.

thanks

Auto Gordion Knot has got to be the easiest solution to compressing files. Cheers!!!

Thanks, Helpful good alt to DVD Decrypter,

Hey just wanted to thank you for this tut. I am now ripping my first tv series (one I couldn't find ANYWHERE) so now I can release it to the masses. You've been a big help!

Thanks for the guide m_m

Thanx for this guide man! You just cut my conversion times by about 60%!!

MORE TIME!!

Thx for the guide. I just got a new external drive that is way too empty!

Thanks for the Guide M_M