14 DAY TRIAL // To my surprise, DVD ripping is still a fashionable activity. I was expecting the ripping to come closer to an end once the large sized hard drives made it on the market. And yet there are myriad of contraptions like iPods and alike devices that require this activity. I am a fan of quality when it comes to movies and ripping was never among my pleasures. I would rather keep a DVD9 a long time on my computer than split it into two DVD5s.
Nowadays, the applications to make your conversions into moder device compatible video formats can be encountered on every ?shelf ? of the Internet. But choosing the right one is a thornier problem than the actual process. You can do it very easily with one application and pay the cost or you can choose three or even four freewares that give you a headache just by looking at the options.
iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum is an all in one tool that aims at converting your DVDs into different video formats compatible with the portable video playing devices on the market. The application will turn your DVDs into M4A, MP4, MPG, AVI, Mp3, WMA, WMV and 3GP. The audio formats included in the supported list prove that DVD Ripper Platinum is also able to extract audio files from the DVD you are feeding.
The price of the program is quite high ($39.95), but after running the tests, I have to tell you that the resulting quality is worth the financial effort. The non-conformist window seems ripped from a galactic movie scene. However, no matter the good looks, and the out of the ordinary display of features, users will always look for functionality and I have to say that at this chapter, the program is not strong enough.
The options for input and output are available in the two wings of the converting ?space-ship? and only by taking a moment and breathe will you be able to distinguish the elements populating it. In the left, there are the Input settings and they comprise index, choosing the audio channel, the angle and the subtitle. In the opposite side, there is the Output arsenal with format to convert the DVD video into (and despite the short number of formats, the list seems endless because each format is split in the number of uses it has), the location for saving the file, intended zoom (4:3, 16:9 devices or keeping the aspect ratio) and the split mode of the resulting file.
Regarding the last mentioned option, the output result can be wrapped in a single file (the most popular option), split by chapters, set to a custom size, set a custom time, make it a 74 minute VCD or an 80 minute VCD. Depending on the type of file you need, the result will have the corresponding quality. You cannot convert a DVD9 into a 74 minute VCD and expect the best of quality.
The Settings panel of iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum gathers a set of options that allow you to set the audio volume (you can actually gain audio output, but I suggest testing this feature first). CPU type seems relevant only in terms of duration of the process. A very interesting feature is the possibility of adding your own watermark. This can be either a text or a bitmap image. It's a pity more image formats are not supported but you will have to deal with what you have.
Process priority can also be set from the software so going into Task Manager for that is no longer required, despite the fact that it provides a few more options however instable they may be. Moving lower into the Settings window, there is a very useful option that permits automatic shut down of the computer when the job is done. Ripping a DVD9 may take a while and I imagine you will not guard your computer for the operation to finish, especially that the memory and CPU gulps of iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum are quite large.
The Good
The software does a hell of a job with the conversion. It contains the basic options and a beginner should feel quite comfortable using it.
The Bad
There is a lot of stress on the processor during the conversion. I could barely do anything else on my 3000+ AMD. The memory was a little over 100MB, so more crippled systems will work hard until the completion of the job.
Seek time bar in the preview window would not work and the same malfunctioning is available for the controls, too.
The Truth
The money seems too much from my point of view as the software is not a full-fledged application yet. But that should never stop you from testing the application.
To give you a technical insight on the power of the application and the high speed, you should know that a DVD9 takes about 3 1/2 hours to rip and the final size with no split and AVI format (DivX+MP3) and a 4:3 zoom will settle around 1.8GB.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
