Working with CDs and DVDs
In this section of Download a la Mode, the following questions are addressed:
- What software can I use to "rip" audio from music compact discs?
- What software can I use to "rip" video from DVDs?
- How do I record YouTube Videos to MP3 audio files?
- How do I extract movies from non-commercial DVDs, convert from one video format to another using the free VLC Media Player?
- How do I deal with DVD Region Codes when playing DVDs on my computer?
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How do I record YouTube music videos to MP3?
Although it is easy to get YouTube videos using popular conversion web sites like
Keepvid.com
,
ZamZar.com
,
Vixy.net
, or
MediaConverter
, one of the desires of many teens and adults is how to strip the audio out of music videos appearing in FLV format.
There are several ways to accomplish this on Windows (check my blog at
http://mguhlin.net
for help on doing this on Mac or GNU/Linux); here are some of my favorites:
- Use Freez FLV to MP3 Converter - http://tinyurl.com/5jhjhh
- Use VLC Media Player - http://videolan.org - Record online video stream to a file.
How do I extract movies from non-commercial DVDs, convert from one video format to another using the free VLC Media Player?
“The Communications Department made me a DVD of the presentation.” shared a district teacher specialist. Then, she asked, “How do I save it as a movie that I can play on my computer? I want to put into my Powerpoint.”
While you can use VLC Media Player to convert YouTube videos to other formats, you can also do a lot more with VLC Media Player.
VLC Media Player
is an awesome program that is just under-utilized because folks don’t realize it’s power. Not only can
VLC Media Player
play almost
any video/audio format
, it can also convert from one format to another. You can also use it to
stream content
. While VLC Media Player is cross-platform, if you're on Windows,
Format Factory
is THE conversion program to use for video and audio.
Below are a
series of tutorials
to help you better understand how VLC Media Player can make a difference. They essentially describe how I’ve used VLC Media Player in my work…I hope they are useful to you.
This last tutorial enables you to use free tools to convert proprietary PhotoStory WMVs to web-friendly MP4 files that can be shared via video-sharing sites like education-centric Edublogs.tv and/or TeacherTube.com.
How do I deal with DVD Region Codes when viewing a DVD on my computer?
As a new Macbook owner, I encountered my first DVD Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on the Macbook. However, you don’t have to be a Mac owner to appreciate how to deal with vendor-imposed “digital rights management.”
I was playing a DVD for the first time on my Macbook. I had briefly read about region codes issues on a Mac, but had not been familiar with them. So, I did a little research and encountered this explanation:
- DVDs are generally region-locked in order to discourage international use (i.e. so studios can control film distribution for home use in different countries). The first time you insert a DVD into your Mac’s DVD drive you are prompted to initialize the drive’s region code. If at a later time you insert a DVD coded for another region, you will be prompted to re-initialize the drive to that specific DVD’s region code. You can only change the drive’s region code 5 times; after that, your drive remains locked in that region code.
Here are a few software programs that may help you overcome DVD issues, most of which are legal:
Option 1
- Rip the movie to your computer’s hard drive.
Use the free cross-platform solution, Handbrake. Handbrake is a “multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter.” You can download Handbrake for Windows and Mac computers online at
http://handbrake.fr/?article=download
While Handbrake is available on Linux, another program—DVDRip—also works well. Debian distribution users (e.g. UbuntuLinux, SimplyMepis) can
apt-get install dvdrip
. You might want to follow these instructions:
http://www.exit1.org/dvdrip/doc/install.cipp
Option #2
- Use the free VLC Media Player. Whether you are on Linux, Windows or Mac, use the VLC Media Player. Mac users should be aware of the following information:
When you insert a DVD that has a different region than the one the drive is set to, you will get a dialog box for the native DVD player application. If you click cancel at this point, the DVD is ejected. Instead, hold down the Command-Option-ESC keys to FORCE DVD player to quit (you can set DVD player not to open when a DVD is inserted in System Preferences).
Once you have done this, use VLC media player to play the DVD.
You can download it at
http://www.videolan.org/vlc
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Copyright Notice:
Content appearing on this page was originally published by TCEA TechEdge magazine by Miguel Guhlin sharing his work under
Creative Commons Copyright (ShareAlike-Attribution-NonCommercial)
.
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