dvd ripper

This January I'll be winging my way to the Consumer Electronics Show for the first time in many years. The flight from Michigan takes a good four hours, so I'll need to stock my iPad with plenty of media for the trip.

Because I prefer to watch "comfort shows" when I fly, I'll be bringing along episodes of "Firefly," "Arrested Development," and "The West Wing." I've got the discs right here; just need to find the DVD slot on my iPad.

Oh, right. What I meant was, just … Read more

Update: According to software developer WonderFox Soft, iWonderSky Software is not allowed to give away WonderFox DVD Ripper licenses. Therefore, at the former's request, we have removed the link for the promotion.

Why settle for one freebie when you can get three?

From now until October 19, iWonderSky Software (which I believe was formally known as WonderFox Software) is offering CNET readers this exclusive: three Windows video utilities absolutely free.

First up: WonderFox DVD Ripper. Normally $39.95, it can convert just about any DVD into just about any digital format. It comes with profiles for a wide variety … Read more

The iPhone 5's screen may not be huge, but it's definitely a little nicer for watching movies than the old screen.

Consequently, you may want to rerip some of your movies to take advantage of the extra screen estate. Just one problem: your old DVD ripper doesn't support the new screen resolution or aspect ratio.

Here's one that does -- and it's free. For a limited time, you can get uRexsoft's iPhone DVD Ripper (Win) free of charge.

True to its name, the utility copies DVDs to your PC and converts them to iPhone-friendly … Read more

Acala DVD Ripper Professional Free Copy is a free DVD ripper. It's an easy-to-use program for ripping some DVD videos and converting them into a number of video formats, as well as ripping the audio into popular audio formats.

The interface is good, though very simple in appearance. We were able to understand the layout and navigate it easily, but getting started was a little difficult without the tutorial video. The tutorial video doesn't completely match the free version we downloaded, but the steps are pretty much the same. Without it, we probably wouldn't have known how … Read more

As I've mentioned before, the makers of DVD rippers and video converters seem to offer a new giveaway every month or two -- meaning there's little point in actually buying their products. (Don't feel guilty; this obviously works out for them, otherwise they wouldn't keep doing it.)

Digiarty Software, for example, is currently running two separate giveaways on five different programs. Sort of. Stay with me, because this gets a little confusing.

From now until May 20, as part of its Hello Summer promotion, you can get Digiarty's WinX DVD Ripper Platinum (Windows) for free.… Read more

Want to make your DVD library more travel-friendly? Rip those movies and load 'em up on your iPad. It sure beats paying iTunes for stuff you already own.

Speaking of paying, there's no need to spend money on a DVD ripper, either. For a limited time, you can get uRexsoft iPad DVD Ripper (Win) free of charge. It supports not only the iPad and iPad 2, but also the new iPad.… Read more

If you need to rip a DVD so you can watch it on your tablet, smartphone, or whatever, you're crazy if you pay money for the software to do it.

That's because a handful of software developers (all of which work out of the same office designing the same products under different names, I often suspect) routinely give away their products.

Case in point: Digiarty software is once again giving away MacX DVD Ripper Pro, which normally sells for as much as $49.95. FYI, that link takes you to the Mac version; if you want the Windows … Read more

Think DVDs are on the way out? Maybe so, but DVD collections will likely live on for quite some time. All the more reason to make backup copies of your movies, as a scratched disc is a ruined disc.

Until tomorrow, you can get BDlot DVD Clone Ultimate free of charge. Use license code BU-TUUXTGUJ-FBIFHU to register the program, which normally sells for $29.95.

Update: Some users are reporting that the activation code doesn't work. I'm not sure why, as it worked fine for me. Make sure you don't have any spaces before or after the … Read more

Over the years I've written about numerous free DVD rippers, and even the occasional free Blu-ray ripper. But almost without exception, those programs were for Windows. Today, I've got something for the Mac crowd.

From now until November 29, Digiarty Software is offering MacX DVD Ripper Pro absolutely free. Regular price: $34.95.

(Fear not, Windows users, you can get in on the freebie action as well: Digiarty's MacX HD Video Converter Pro for Windows is also free, but only after you "like" Digiarty on Facebook. Don't like or use Facebook? Head over to … Read more