Ripping DVDs on Linux

Back when I was using Suse 9.2 I couldn’t get a program called DVD::RIP to install. Something about the configuration of Suse kept me from installing the necessary package to get DVD::RIP up and going. Now that I’m on Gentoo all I had to do was type # emerge dvdrip and I was all set.

DVD::RIP is the single best application for turning DVDs to Xvid on Linux. It is technically just a frontend (GUI) for other programs, but it’s invaluable to any user because the programs that it controlls are impossible to use at the command line. DVD::RIP does not process individual VOB files, only whole discs - though you can select tracks and chapters at will. Despite this drawback it’s still the best utility for Linux at the moment.
It requires and uses the following programs:

• Transcode
  This is an all-in-one multimedia converter. It’s actually quite impressive given that most multi-function programs function poorly. It can easily make a MPEG2 (DVD) turn into an MPEG4 xvid - if you know how to use it. When I was using Suse I tried to do it by hand and after typing 13 arguments to the program at a time it kept asking me for more input. Thankfully DVD::RIP knows how to wrangle this program.
• Mplayer
  This is a command-line interface for playing DVDs - it lets you preview what you’re going to rip.
• Win32codecs
  This is a collection of all the binary codecs that a dvd ripper on Windows would use. Handy for some conversions.
• libdvdread
  This is a useful library for navigating a DVD disc.
• libdvdcss
  This gives the required functions for decoding the CSS encryption on a DVD.
• GTK+-devel
  This is the library required to make all Gnome applications run.

If you try installing DVD::RIP from an rpm that it tells you that you need to install something that you know you already have, then I suggest either waiting until DVD::RIP can accurately test dependencies or simply converting to Gentoo.