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General discussion

Anyone familiar with visualhub, flip4mac, and handbrake?

May 5, 2008 10:21AM PDT

I recently switched from PC to IMAC and I'm still trying to learn the different settings on my MAC. Right now, I want to transfer my movies from my PC to MAC and then be able to download those movies to my ITOUCH. I've been surfing the net and noticed visualhub, (to take movies and transfer them to my ITOUCH); flip4mac (to watch wmv files) and handbrake as a dvd CSS decryptor. My concern is downloading any malicious ware and/or spyware, etc. Would these be some of the best programs to use? I appreciate the help.

Discussion is locked

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flip4mac
May 5, 2008 11:50AM PDT

I can't say anything about the other programs, but flip4mac works well. I used it to get my things off of my PC to my mac. Worked great without anything bad happening.

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Visual Hub, Flip4Mac and Handbrake
May 5, 2008 1:12PM PDT

are all reputable applications which will do the job you want without any problems.

I have them all in my arsenal of Video convertors and they all work well.

You might want to take a look at MPEG Streamclip too.

Use with confidence

P

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I agree with those choices, and would add VLC to the list
May 7, 2008 2:56AM PDT

VLC for mac is a fantastic program and will play just about anything the other programs choke on. It is not a "converter" specifically but does do a variety of functions.

I find that on my old G4, VLC sometimes plays Windows Media files better than Flip4Mac does.

Another worthy investment is to pay for the upgrade license for Quick Time Pro. The price is small compared to the added functions.


cheers

grim

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Thanks for the info
May 7, 2008 9:27AM PDT

Everyone,

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate the feedback.

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Handbrake
May 16, 2008 12:51PM PDT

I have used Handbrake to convert a CD movie to a file that can be played on my MBP. It worked perfectly, albeit a little time consuming. I think it took nearly two hours to make the conversion. It was very resource intensive and things heated up quite a bit. I used my laptop fan to assist. I think you will be pleased with the outcome.

I also have flip4mac and have no complaints.

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handling movies
May 16, 2008 3:18PM PDT

Flip4Mac is a MicroSoft-approved way to read Windows Media files, but will not work with all files that have been DRM'd or protected. However, it will do 99%, I think.

You might also dowload Perian, which handles a few filetypes that others don't handle well, and DivX which might come in handy.

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Video
May 17, 2008 6:15AM PDT

handbrake is great for dvd ripping and has whole bunch of preset settings you can use to make it even easier(apple tv, ipod, psp, iphone, etc). cons. its slow.

visualhub for me is the best video converting software in any operating system. Is simple, fast and works without any problems, and has all the video converting codecs i need. The only problem is that it is not open source.

flip4mac, i dont really use flip4mac a lot apart from internet wmv streaming. I just downloaded since it something people say you should install first when setting up your mac. VLC works better for me anyway.

Quicktime pro is also great for converting video. Is fast and produce great quality videos, the only problem is that is not free

So i think you could easily make it with handbrake for dvds, visualhub for converting and VLC is one of those things everybody should have. It has all the codecs and its opensource so no malware, spyware and stuff like that. good luck in your switching.

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Handbrake
May 19, 2008 5:32PM PDT

I don't see any good alternatives to Handbrake in DVD ripping, but you should use v.0.9.1, because 0.9.2 works bad (forum is filled with bug reports).
MkvMerge for Mac can also be useful if you need to merge several movies in one file, add/change audio track(s), subtitles, chapters and a bit more. But I don't know how much of this functions will work on iTouch.

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Handbrake 0.9.2 works fine for me
May 23, 2008 11:25AM PDT

I haven't had any problem with Handbrake. Versatile program great for moving your dvds to ipod. However, it won't convert ARccOS copy-protected DVDs. You need to download MactheRipper 2.66 (free) to do that. When that conversion is done then you can use Handbrake to convert the video-ts files to ipod m4v files.

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iSquint
May 23, 2008 11:48AM PDT

I use it. It converts just about any video format I've thrown at it from my old windows PC. It will automatically add the video to iTunes for you as well. So then you can drag the video straight to the iTouch. It's the predecessor of VisualHub, made by the same people. It's still up for download. It doesn't cost a cent either.

<a href="http://www.macupdate.com/download.php/19769/iSquint1.5.2.dmg">http://www.macupdate.com/download.php/19769/iSquint1.5.2.dmg</a>

You might get the odd hassle to buy visual hub but it's not that often. It doesn't give me any trouble.

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Rip DVD with Handbrake
Mar 5, 2009 3:44PM PST