Ripping DVDs in Ubuntu 11.04

Ubuntu 11.04 and its variants such as Pinguy OS are great operating systems, and one of the things I thought I would miss from windows was the ability to rip DVDs. However, not only were my expectations met, they were exceeded with the quality of the software and the quality of the results.

I have used three separate programs to rip DVDs to my hard drive. I wanted to make a .AVI backups of a few DVDs with as little hassle as possible. The first program I tried was a program I had used on Windows, namely "DVDx 4". I downloaded the Linux distribution from the site and straight away upon loading realised that thankfully it was identical to the Windows version!


"DVDx 4" will rip any DVD, even if it is protected. You can choose the quality of the rip and the codecs it uses. You can also rip for iPod, PSP, Quicktime, 3GPP and of course Divx. On the highest quality rips the picture quality is excellent and can easily be re-ripped to DVD should you want to. The software is fast and reliable and sound keeps in sync, a problem that plagued my ripping using windows.

The second program I have used is called "OGMRip" and this also rips protected DVDs. The interface is much simpler on this one and at first glance it looks like a simplified version of other DVD ripping software. However, under the bonnet of "OGMRip" is a powerful ripping machine. You can rip to more formats than I have seen in any other ripping program, and the quality is a step up from "DVDx 4". It has various filters you can apply to make the picture better and it can rip to a specified storage amount or bitrate.

"OGMRip" is a killer app there's no doubt of that. However, it's simpler interface may put some people off. That said, because of the extra features it can be very slow... make that very very slow!  Ideal if you need a HD rip, otherwise get under the bonnet and change those settings.

The third program I have used has been one of the most versatile and is called "DVD95 Converter". It seems to be the fastest ripping software I have used and has worked perfectly on all variants of Ubuntu. I know use Pinguy OS 11.04 since writing this review, and "DVD95" seems to be the most trouble free in that particular distro.

So, combined, "DVDx 4", "OGMRip" and "DVD95 Converter" are a lethal combination and a DVD copiers dream come true! The power of Linux just blows me away each day, and my next adventure will be into the world of Video Editing. Let's see what Linux can offer us then.

(c)23 June 2011 - Updated August 1st 2011

UMPlayer - Review

It's not often I get really excited about a piece of software, but since discovering UMPlayer I've been spreading the word about this mighty bit of media player goodness.

UMPlayer stands for Universal Media Player, and for once Universal really means Universal! It will play anything you throw at it right out of the box, and what's more, that box is a free one!

You can download UMPlayer from www.umplayer.com and find out for yourselves what a great bit of software this is. It is available for Windows, Linux and Mac and I use it as the default player on both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04.

How does it perform? Well, the first thing you notice is that it is damn fast. No sooner as you click on a song or a video and it loads up instantly! This makes so much of a difference, not having to wait a second while the player loads up. Secondly, it looks really nice in its default "modern" skin and has all the buttons in all the right places.

UMPlayer will play anything, and its not let me down yet. I ripped a DVD in a wrong codec accidently and nothing would play it (I tried Windows Media Player, VLC, WinAMP, Quicktime, iTunes and Real Player) and that's when I fell in love with UMPlayer, because it played it perfectly with brilliant quality picture and the sound in sync. As far as audio codecs go, again everything is covered, even those .flac files that some people use!

Another great feature is the ability to search Youtube or Shoutcast from within the player. This is particularly useful in Ubuntu where fullscreen flash doesn't always perform well. With UMPlayer, fullscreen videos are perfect, and streaming radio stations from Shoutcast sound brilliant.

I can see no downsides to UMPlayer, other than the fact that it's little heard of at the moment. So, after reading this I'd like you to try it out and discover your media in a new, quick and reliable way that you have always wanted to.

Why Linux is now the perfect choice for an OS.

Why Linux is now a good choice.

I've been a Windows user since Windows 95, and I still own a Windows machine. Windows 7 is great, and if you're a gamer then Windows is the Operating System for you. If however you are like most people and use your system for downloading music or films, browsing the internet, writing letters or books, keeping a database of things or simply watching films or listening to music then Linux could easily replace Windows.

First question, why would I want to replace Windows? Perhaps it crashes constantly for you? Perhaps your computer has been ruined by a virus? Perhaps you just want to break free from Microsoft and save yourself some of your hard earned money. Either way, Linux is now at a place where it will make brilliant alternative to Windows, and this article will hopefully answer some of your questions that you may have regarding Operating System in general.

To many, it is perceived that Microsoft Windows is the only thing that works on computers. This a serious misconception and one that needs to be brought to the attention of the World. Windows is just something that lets you use your computer, you can do the same on a Linux system, only it doesn't cost you anything and once you pick up the basics, it's simple!

So, is Linux just a different version of Windows? No, it's different, it allows you to do the same things, but as I will show you soon, it's much more versatile than the Windows software you know and love.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, there are only a few things that most people really do on their computers, so I will now look at each of these and show you how and why the Linux alternative is generally the better option.

There are many different versions of Linux, but this article will deal with the most popular and one of the easiest to use called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is now at version 11.04 and overall the Ubuntu experience should be as smooth as using a Windows machine, but without the cost and the threat of virus etc. (more on that soon).

Browsing the internet.

The one thing that everyone does is browse the internet. On Windows you will have a version of Internet Explorer, plus many people download free alternative browsers such as Firefox, Opera and Google Chrome. Also, they recommend that while using the internet you use an anti-virus program to stop your Windows machine becoming infected, plus anti-spyware and firewall software.

This is where the Ubuntu Linux experience is far better than anything Windows can offer. Ubuntu comes with Firefox 4 built in as standard, and the difference in speed between this build and the Windows build is quite phenomenal, Ubuntu's Firefox 4 just flies along at an unbelievable pace. Of course you can also download Ubuntu versions of Opera and Google Chrome, plus a whole host of other browsers.

One thing that is different in Linux in general is that there is no need for any anti-virus! Because of the way the Operating System is built, Virus' are almost unheard of in Linux, and as such it is perfectly safe not to use one, it's also safe not to use anti-spyware and the option of using a Firewall program is up to you. This all means for the end user that no computer resources are being used elsewhere, so even on the oldest computers Linux is stupidly fast!

Those concerned about watching Youtube or streaming music can also be assured that Ubuntu comes with all the codecs needed to allow you to do all this hassle free. Youtube is smooth and fast when on full-screen, even on the lowest spec computers, and you can stream any kind of music file (whatever a radio station uses etc.) with ease.

Recommended Browsers: Firefox 5, Chromium or Opera

Downloading Music or Films.

Again, just as simple in Ubuntu as it is in Windows. If you're a fan of bit torrents then Ubuntu comes with Transmission, a great little torrent client that allows you to manage your torrent downloads.

Downloading paid for music or films can be done via the Amazon store on Banshee music player. There is no iTunes in Linux, so if you're a user of iTunes, Amazon Store is your new shopping place. Also of note, if you have an iPod, Banshee will be your new friend, and the software is much better than iTunes. When you first plug in your iPod you can rip the tracks off the machine and Banshee will transfer them to your computers hard drive. Quick and simple!

Recommended Download Software: Transmission

Writing Letters and Office Work.

Many people get caught in the trap thinking that they have to use Microsoft Office or Word etc. This is one of Microsoft's biggest sellers, and they'd have you believe they are something a bit special. Well, look no further than Libre Office which is bundled with Ubuntu (or Open Office on older versions – essentially the same program). It is a fully compatible software suite that includes writing, database, power-point and excel functions, and look almost identical to them.

Libre Office can read and write .docx files that the new version of Word uses. I have used the software in a work environment and shared with Microsoft users and they have never been aware I'm using different software. So many people get duped into buying Microsoft's Office programs, when there is a perfectly good free version out there.

If you use Outlook then Ubuntu comes with Evolution which looks and acts very similar to it. It's a great program that gets better with every release. In a lot of ways I prefer it to Outlook, it's faster, it's less cluttered and it just works when you need it to!

Recommended Software: Libre Office 3.x, Open Office 3.x or Abiword

Listening to music or watching films.

Everyone has their favourite program for listening to music or watching films on their PC. Ubuntu comes with Banshee for listening to music and Totem Movie Player for watching films. Both do a brilliant job of this, and Banshee is one of the best music management programs I have ever used.

Also of course there is VLC which can be downloaded. A favourite of many Windows users, the Ubuntu Linux version of VLC is perfect for your audio and visual needs. The cream of the crop though is the new UMPlayer. This little program plays anything you throw at it, it's super quick and is one of the slickest pieces of software you will ever use. I have written a full review of it on my blog for those of you interested in it.

Recommended Media Software: UMPlayer, Banshee 2, Totem Movie Player or VLC

Art and photograph viewing.

We'd all like to own Photoshop but it's damn expensive. We have all used Paint and now how primitive that is. Some of us have discovered the delights of Photfiltre, but sadly not enough of us. So that's the Windows side of things, but Ubuntu has a whole wealth of visual manipulation goodies that just work and are free!

Gimp is program similar to Photoshop. Many people say it's as good as Photoshop, but of course it's free and constantly updated so in my books that swings it for me! Gimp can be as complicated or easy as you want to make it, and once you get used to the way it works, it really is a cool piece of software.

For viewing your photos there is Shotwell, which is a great viewer program. And of course there is much much more...

Recommended Software: Gimp and Shotwell

And there's more...

The one thing that confuses many Windows users is where to download new software. A lot of time you can download free-trials, a lot of time the free downloads are limited use and of course there is always the threat of malicious software giving you a virus or spying on your every move.

Ubuntu has a download centre where almost every piece of software available for it is listen. It is all categorised to make it simple for you to find what you need. What's more 99.9% of the software is perfectly free and available for full use with no constraints. Think of it as an online shop, where everything can be viewed before you download, and with just one click it will be downloaded and installed on your PC.

It's not just that everything is free, it's that everything gets updated on a regular basis and each and every program you download has been tested by people who enjoy using computers as much as you.

You know when you want to use a printer with your Windows machine, you plug it in and it doesn't work. You then have to find the driver that allows it to work, and if you're using a Windows 7 machine it's really hard to find the driver that lets your printer work. Well, in Ubuntu Linux there are no drivers... you plug in your printer or camera or wi-fi stick etc and it just works.

In fact, the saying I like to use when talking to people about Linux in general is “it just works”, because it does. As I said, if you're a gamer then stick to your Windows, but if it's something else you are after the Linux is something you really should consider.

Mark Adams

14 May 2011.

[Updated June 23 2011]