The DigitalRV Blog

Recently a neighbor at the park I’m currently staying in wanted to know more about backing up DVD’s. Or, in tech slang, “How to rip a DVD”.

I found a superior program not long ago called Handbrake. This little program, available for Mac or Windows, is designed to help you copy your DVD into a format that has a smaller file size, and can be replayed on your video IPod if you like. It’s a great program.

The latest version of Handbrake for Macintosh isn’t the most intuitive thing out there for an average user. When I got it, I wasn’t certain how to deal with it. So, I ended up spending a little time searching the web, and learning how to get the most out of Handbrake on my Macintosh. Below I list the “instructions” for using Handbrake, and provide a few screen shots of the program as well. Looking at the interface, you’ll find it probably isn’t the most intuitive thing out there, unless you’re a video person.

So, how do you copy / backup your personal DVDs for use on your computer or IPod. Well, here we go (these instructions are specific to Handbrake for Macintosh, and we’ll assume you’ve downloaded Handbrake):

• Insert your DVD. The DVD player will turn on and offer to play the movie. Exit the DVD Player.
• Open the Handbrake program. It will ask where you’re reading from. Select the CD/DVD drive.
• Once selected, you will get the following screen.  Definitely not the most intuitive program screen you’ve ever seen, right?
• DVD’s are divided up into chapters.  Usually for movies, there will be one big chapter that contains the movie.  Under the field called Title you will find selectable groupings of time.  If you’re backing up a movie, select the longest one.  In the case of my example above, the DVD has several TV episodes, each one running 22 - 25 minutes in length.
• Most of the settings can be left alone.  The Average bitrate is set at 1000.  I reduce it to 600.  Video quality doesn’t degrade too much, and it saves you hard drive space.
• On the right side of the screen, make sure you’re making an MP4 file, and give the file a name under “File:”
• The final important thing in handbrake is the picture settings button.  I learned the hard way.  To make a movie work on the Video IPod, it must be under 480 pixels wide.  Handbrake will copy your movie at full size by default.  You must specify a smaller screen size.  If you don’t, you’ll learn like me after copying a movie that it will not work on your IPod.  The following screen shot is of the picture settings interface: 
• Once you’ve picked your settings, you’re ready to “rip”.  The final product will be saved where you specified under the File section.
• Simply copy the new file to your ITunes program, and you’re ready to get it on to your IPod.  Movies to go!

Now I’ll tell you all the standard stuff.  You should only do this with DVDs you own.  Don’t share the files either.  The entertainment industry is really up in arms about this stuff, let’s not give them more reasons to make it harder on us to use media we purchased.

Handbrake is very useful beyond just moving stuff to your Ipod.  The other month I purchased Batman Begins.  Fun movie.  Well, I didn’t back it up, and in my travels the DVD got scratched.  Had I just taken the time to back it up with handbrake I’d still have the movie available to me.  Now all I’ve got a is a coaster (the scratched DVD).

Windows:

Right now I don’t have Windows screenshots.  I’ve found that Handbrake on Windows is hit or miss.  Some DVDs it works with, some it doesn’t.  I’ll do some more research today, as my neighbor at the park wants to move his DVD collection to hard drive.  He’s literally got one full cabinet, and one under couch bin of DVD’s.  Moving them to hard drive will save him substantial space for certain!

Once I find a good way to deal with Handbrake for Windows, or a better ripper program for windows, I’ll walk you through it as well.

In the past two posts the basics have been covered on podcasts. You now should have an idea of what they are, and how to find podcasts that interest you. But there’s a whole other dimension to Podcasts. That dimension is where you create your own podcast to share with the world.

Why on earth would you want to create a podcast? Well, for many the answers are the same as why you’d create a blog. Sharing information with a larger audience. Here’s a few reasons to consider podcasting:

• Instead of e-mailing everyone you keep in touch with, a podcast is a simple way to get information to everybody with only 1 step for you. Put the podcast up.
• You’ve got an interest in a topic that you want to relay to others. There are tech podcasts, travel podcasts, etc., out there on the net. But are there tech / travel podcasts that talk about horses too (if that’s what interests you for example).
• Just trying it out to exercise your creative side. You can be really simple, or super fancy with a podcast.

For this installment, I’m going to cover Video Podcasting and use Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles (my other blog) as the example. In the next installment here, I’ll cover audio podcasts as well.

What will you need to create a video podcast? Well, here’s the short list:

1. Still or Video Camera. If you’re using a still camera, your video will be more of a slide show. For my podcast I use the Canon SD550. It shoots still, and small video clips as well.
2. A computer, Windows or Macintosh.
3. An internet connection to put your pocast on the net.
4. Software to help you get the podcast out there. I use Wordpress (the blogging program), and Podpress, a plugin to wordpress which properly formats the podcast.

Got everything you need? Ok then, we’ll go through a podcast setup from start to finish. The examples are made with a mac. If you’d like Windows examples as well, let me know and I’ll post one later.

Getting a Video Podcast Together - Steps

1. Go out and shoot some video, or take a ton of still photos. In order to have a video podcast, you’re going to need some visual material.
2. Return with video and photos in hand and off load them to your computer. In the case of Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles podcasts, my photos and video get off loaded to IPhoto. See the image below. It shows both photos and video in IPhoto.
3. Now that you have your material, you’ve got to work with it. Since I’m using a Mac, I get all my clips and photos together and work with them in IMovie. In IMovie you can assemble your video or photos, edit the video, and put titles and transitions in between clips or photos. You can also drop background music in if you like! Below you’ll see a screen shot of a project coming together in IMovie. I won’t get into the full IMovie usage details. If readers want more indepth coverage of use of any program listed in this example, leave me a comment and I’ll put together another post to cover your interests!
4. Once you’ve got your product together, you now need to save it out for use on the web. I will cover the export features in IMovie, as it’s important, and a pain to figure out. See, all the Mac products have defaults for exporting to the web, ITunes, your IPod, etc. However, after using their defaults I decided I didn’t like them. So instead I started using the “expert” settings, and I’ll show you what I’ve been doing for the settings. On the IMovie menu bar, there’s a category for “Share”. This is where you’ll export your movie. You can share to DVD’s, Web, E-mail, etc. The last option, Share is the one where you can select Expert settings. Look at the next image to see. While you can use the generic settings for IPod or the Web, the compression on both defaults is not at its best. Frankly, the files come out too big for web use, and the quality isn’t as great as it could be. Believe me, I’ve experimented tons with this one. So, what are the settings that have worked with Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles. Well, look at the next image….
5. With all the settings in place, you now sit back and wait for you export to complete.  Once completed, you’ve got to upload your new podcast to your web site.  That involves using an FTP Program (File Transfer Protocol).  Need me to get into FTP more?  Let me know.
6. Once the file has been uploaded to your server, you’re ready to list it for use.  I’m going to assume that you’re a Wordpress user, and that you’ve added Podpress to the Wordpress Install.  I’ve found these two programs together make for an easy way to get podcasts up on the web and running.
7. In wordpress, you act as if you’re creating a standard Post.  So, right at the dashboard when you enter, select “Write a post”.  Provided you’ve added Podpress to your Wordpress, you’ll find several new options in your post menu.  See the image below. 
8. The podpress interface is simple to use.  Select the file you’ve uploaded, give it a title, tell it what type of file it is, etc.  It will automatically get file size and duration.  Pretty slick.

That’s it.  Once you’ve gone through this, you have a podcast up on the web.

Now I’m betting I’ll get requests for specific information on using:

• Wordpress
• Podpress
• IMovie

If you’d like more on these, let me know, and I’ll add them.

For the next installment, I’ll work on putting together a sample for audio only podcasts.  Easy enough to do as well.  Oh, and want to see a final product video podcast?  I can help you out there too.  Check out this link to see one of the podcasts from Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles.

In the last article, Podcasts were generically covered. For this installment, we’ll get into more detail on getting podcasts, playing podcasts, and podcasts that might be of interest to Digital RV’ers.

How to get Podcasts

There’s a host of Podcasts out there for listeners today. From replays of your favorite radio show, to new and cutting edge material from unknown podcasters, there’s something for everyone.

The first place I look for podcasts is Apple’s ITunes Store. If you have ITunes on your computer (works with Windows and Macintosh), and you’re connected to the internet, you can sort through many Podcasts that are available.

Keep in mind, with the ITunes music store you can find free podcasts and pay for podcasts. Pay attention when looking through the ITunes music store before signing up. For instance, I enjoy listening to Dave Ramsey (a financial guy). He offers a 1 hour daily podcast update from his 3 hour show. If you want more, you can sign up for the full 3 hours as a pay for podcast.

If you can read the graphic above, you’ll see the Podcast button on the left hand side. In the main window you’ll see several of the podcasts I currently subscribe to (more about those later).

You don’t have to use ITunes to listen to or watch podcasts, there are many other ways. You can download directly from some podcasters web sites. For instance, my personal blog has started carrying Gadget’s Airstream Blog Podcasts. Readers can watch the podcasts right on the website, or download them directly to their hard drives.

There are of course many ways to find and subscribe to podcasts now. Don’t feel restricted to ITunes alone. How else can you find podcasts of interest to you?

Finding Podcasts

As quickly as a new technology pops up, services show up to help you make use of the new technology.

Here are some of the big Podcast Subscription services. You can subscribe to podcasts, find podcasts, or even list your own (we’ll talk more on that in the next installment):

• PodcastAlley.com
• Feedburner.com
• DigitalPodcast.com
• Apple’s Web Site

There are many more sites out there. Do a simple search on finding podcasts. You’ll come up with a ton.

Types of Podcasts Available

Podcasts cover the whole spectrum. Just like TV and radio. If you’re interested in a topic, there’s bound to be a podcast on it. Personally, I’ve got a few favorites. They’re listed below:

• The VAP: The Vintage Airstream Project. This is a fun podcast covering Vintage Airstream Restoration. It’s interesting to more than just Airstreamers.
• Dave Ramsey: A favorite financial radio talk show host. There’s a free daily hour of his show available.
• Inside Mac: This podcast covers all things Macintosh. I enjoy learning the latest from Inside Mac.

Like I said, if you have an interest, you’ll find a podcast on it.