![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I tested the five applications with two DVDs-Pixar/Disney’s Wall-E and disc one of the first season of HBO’s Six Feet Under. RipIt similarly creates decrypted archives, but version 1.4 introduces a beta Compress feature, which allows you to additionally create movies at one of five settings-High Quality MP4, Apple TV, iPhone/Touch, XBox260, and PS3. MacTheRipper and Mac DVDRipper Pro simply create decrypted archives playable on your Mac with Apple’s DVD Player application or another application capable of playing content housed in VIDEO_TS folders. HandBrake and the iSkysoft/Wondershare/Aimersoft applications not only strip commercial DVDs of their copy protection (HandBrake can do this only if VLC is also installed on your Mac), but also convert the resulting videos to other formats-ones compatible with an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, or iPad, for example. Given the many murky issues surrounding the acquisition of MacTheRipper, we’ve chosen to not rate it, though I did test it. It’s understandable that tools like MacTheRipper are frequently used to pirate DVDs and the legal ground on which their developers stand is shaky, but the secrecy and back-alley character of this tool’s distribution is annoying. This version does not contain the CSS decryption tools you need to rip commercial DVDs-the information for obtaining it is found in a special area of the RipDifferent forums (which you have access to only when you’ve offered a gift and received a reply). To do that you must join the RipDifferent forums, send an inquiry to one of MacTheRipper’s developers, and then wait for a response to learn how to send your gift so that you can receive the latest version of the utility. The current version can be legitimately obtained only by sending the developers a “gift” (the suggested price is $50, but we obtained a copy for $20). The free 2.x version found floating around the Internet is old, contains the software necessary to decrypt copy-protected discs, and doesn’t work with many modern DVDs. I questioned the company about these methods and was told that while Wondershare doesn’t allow this practice, not all of its many affiliates follow the rules.) (All three of these applications are routinely marketed via forum spam and on questionable “reviews” sites. Wondershare’s OEM partner, Aimersoft, also sells the program under the name DVD Ripper for Mac. At $45 it costs $6 more than iSkysoft DVD Ripper, yet is the same piece of software with a different skin. Specifically, iSkysoft DVD Ripper is also available from Wondershare (iSkysoft’s parent company) as Wondershare DVD Ripper for Mac. The iSkysoft package is available by other names from other companies. Some of these applications merit further discussion. ![]() I tested five applications-the free 64-bit version of HandBrake 0.9.4 ( ), the gift-ware MacTheRipper 4.0, The Little App Factory’s $20 RipIt 1.4.3 ( ), DVDSuki Software’s $10 Mac DVDRipper Pro 1.5.5 ( ), and iSkysoft’s $39 iSkysoft DVD Ripper ( ). ![]()
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May 2023
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