AppFlow

RipIt is a very nice application when it comes to ripping your DVD’s to store on your computer for playback.  RipIt is simple, and perfectly functional for what it is designed for, and also comes with a surprising amount of options for just $19.95.

For such as small app it is very configurable giving you a choice in end formats for the DVD to be ripped to, influencing on the final file size.

Ripping a DVD

The first thing you will need to decide is what format you want it in.  You can download the optional ‘Beta’ component in order for RipIt to compress your DVD into and MP4 file suitable for iTunes or and iPod, or you can use the default .dvdmedia format that will open in the native Mac application “DVD Player” when opened.  Each of these formats has it’s own pro’s and con’s.

The .dvdmedia format goes for all-out maximum quality.  You end up with a DVD size file that is literally the same size as as DVD, in the case of the example DVD I am using for this post, Batman Begins, 7.0GB.

On the other hand, you could sacrifice a small and unnoticeable amount of quality for a much smaller file size for the same movie, coming in at just under 1.5GB.  Another is advantage to the beta compression component is that you do lose feature such as the scene selection, but then again iTunes will remember how far through the video you are, so I can’t really see this to be a problem.

Using RipIt is really quite simple.  To get started simply choose what you want your DVD rip to be called.  In order to do this just select the name of the DVD and change it.  Easy as pie.

Once you have done this choose the “Rip” option in order to start ripping a DVD or the “Compress” option to rip and compress your DVD.  Currently the compress option is still being tested and so comes with the beta label.  If you use the compress option RipIt will proceed to download and install the module before it starts ripping the DVD.  Once it is ripping you will get the spinning DVD animation.

The Ups and the Downs

RipIt is certainly  easy to use.  The Little App Factory (the guys who make RipIt) claim a 99.9999% success rate, which is pretty good in my opinion.  If I am honest I can only really find the one fault with RipIt, which is how long it takes to rip and compress a DVD.

Whenever you rip a DVD it is the compression that takes the time, and the more powerful you Mac the quicker this bit will be.

I say the time it takes to rip a DVD is a downside, but to be honest it isn’t.  I have only ever used one DVD ripper than has been faster, and although it was an awful lot faster (2/3x faster) than RipIt, but the success rate with it was low to say the least, so I guess that in this way you don’t have to worry about it failing on every DVD you try.

All in all I do think that RipIt is worth every penny, especially if it result in a successful rip every time.  Also, for a limited time only, you can get it for $19.95 from MacHeist along with a bundle of other awesome applications.