DVD ripping with FlasKMPEG

Before downloading the DVD ripping software or visiting their editor site, you have to read the DVD copy disclaimer.

There are many ways to rip a DVD and make a (S)VCD from the ripped movie. One of the easiest ways in which language and subtitles can be selected in a very simple way is making use of FlasKMPEG. There are basically two ways to encode a movie from FlasKMPEG:

Using a built in encoder. This will work with encoders like Panasonic or bbMPEG.
Frameserving to a stand alone encoder. This will work with any encoder.

Although method 1 is a little bit easier, I choose method 2 because I get a much better results with my favorite free encoder TMPGEnc.

Required software & installation
Ripping the DVD
Compiling & Frameserving
Encoding
Alternative with FlasKMPEG XiS

1. Required software & installation

Required software packages for this rip method are:

Smartripper
FlaskMPEG version 0.6
Thunder DVD mism
Avisynth
TMPGEnc

Avisynth is needed to frameserve from FlasKMPEG to TMPGEnc. In order for it to work you must copy the avisynth.dll into the system folder from your operating system (c:\windows\system or c:\winnt\system32). Next double click on the file install.reg that is included in the avisynth package. Also make sure that you have a file called CM-Avisynth.cm.flask and another called thunder.mism.flask in the same folder as the FlaskMPEG program.

2. Ripping the DVD

Put the DVD in the DVD-ROM drive and start Smartripper. Smartripper will automatically start to read and analyze the DVD and locate the main movie on the DVD. You should see a screen like this:

Please note that the Rip-Method (in the left upper corner) must be Movie.

In the files tree IFO->Title-> Angle you see which movie was selected. Check to see if the duration of the movie coincides with what you were looking for. In our case the movie is 1 hour, 40 minutes long. If you want another movie from the DVD you can browse through this tree to find another one ("Angle"). At the bottom you can select the folder where you want to store the files.

You don´t have to change any of the settings, because the default ones are OK. If you want to check the settings, do so by clicking the Settings button, they should be as shown below.

The only thing to do now is to push the Start button in the main screen of Smartripper and wait....

You will be notified when the Rip is complete. After you close Smartripper, you will find the ripped files in the folder you selected: one file called vts_xx_0.ifo and a number of files called vts_xx_0.vob, vts_xx_0.vob etc. (where xx is a number anywhere between 01 and 99).

3. Compiling & Frameserving

Start up FlasKMPEG and select Open Media under the Files menu. Browse to the folder where you saved the ripped files and select the ifo file. FlaskMPEG will open a new window which looks like this:

Select the title (if there are more than one), the desired language and subtitles and press the button FlasK this DVD!. (In my case the DVD contains only English and French audio tracks). Sometimes there are more audio tracks in the same language and the best guess is to take the first one with the language you want.

FlasKMPEG will now open a viewing window and the FlasKMPEG Control Panel which looks like this:

Now it´s time to check that you have selected the right movie and sound. With the buttons on the left bottom part and the slider at the top you can browse through the movie (playing will be slow...) to see if you have ripped the right movie from the DVD, and if you have the right subtitles.

Note: The controls on the right upper part of the FlasKMPEG Control Panel can be used to encode only a part of the movie, you can create a number of jobs each containing different parts of the movie. However, if you are frameserving like we are in this manual, this feature does not work properly and therefore should not be used.

By clicking on Audio Player you can check to see if you have the right audio track.

Leave all the settings as they are, except for the Dynamic Range Compression. Check that box and adjust the volume to a desirable level by moving the slider. Pressing OK will bring you back to the FlasKMPEG Control Panel.

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