This is README for ripdvd

1. PURPOSE
2. HOW TO INSTALL
3. HOW TO USE
4. FAQ

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1. PURPOSE
 This software aims to replace all gui rippers (like Acidrip, DVD::RIP, etc...)
They are very good rippers, and I used to use them regularely before I started
this project.

First, I've noticed that the gui interface was not really a good idea ... Why ?
Because they consume resources (display progress bar etc ...) and slow down all
the encoding process. And because having a gui interface is a very simple way
for the programmer to let the user deal with questions like bitrates, width and
other annoying things that a simple user may not have quite well understood.

Then, I wanted to prove that ripping a dvd is not a very complicated problem, 
that can be solved by using the right programs at the right time, and a small
idea of how it works.


2. HOW TO INSTALL
 See INSTALL file


3. HOW TO USE
 Just launch ripdvd without any options (or with -h or --help) and you'll get 
a full help about options. That's all.
Of course, don't forget to put a dvd movie in the dvd reader ...
If you want it quick, you can run ripdvd -user-menu and answer the questions
You can also run xripdvd which is a faked gui interface for "ripdvd -user-menu"
Audio output is mp3 by default, but you can choose to use ac3 with 5.1 and
surround effect.


4. FAQ
 4.1 "I can't see the subtitles I've selected, what happened ?"
Well, I'm still working on it ... and that's not peace of cake :(
See the TODO file, I've sent a bug report to the MPlayer team.

 4.2 "Encoding is very very slow, about 2h30 for a 1h30 movie, why is that ?"
Well, the encoding part is a very sensitive thing that requires as mutch as 99% of the computer resources. It needs a full access
to the DVD drive and the best access you can provide to the hard drive. So, don't try to watch another movie while it encodes,
don't play a "resources sucker" game, don't listen to music from your second CD drive which is on the same IDE wire, don't
download huge files from the net, don't make a backup of your Oracle database, don't play with your new OpenGL screensaver,
don't try to recompile your kernel, don't even move a finger, just take a cold drink or a coffee, put your legs on the desk
and dream :)

 4.3 "What the f* is that famous FPS everybody is talking about ?!"
FPS means Frames Per Second. It stands for the number of images (frames) that are shown in a movie each second.
I think an example will do best ;) :
When you watch a movie, FPS is quite always 25 for PAL movies. That means you are watching a 25 images/second movie.
When encoding, FPS can be found between 1 and 75 (maybe more). If it's equal to 25, that means you are encoding as quick as the
movie is shown. If the movie length is 1h30min, it will take 1h30min to encode. If it's equal to 50, that means you are very
lucky, cause you can encode twice faster than the movie is shown (45min to encode). If it's equal to 12, twice the time of the
movie etc etc ... okay ?
The playing FPS is not the same if you're in France or if you're in the USA. 25 is default in France. If you want to know more, see
the MPlayer doc, everything is very well explained there.
So, the best FPS you got, the quick the encode will be (with same quality of course ...) !!
On a Toshiba laptop, Pentium-M 1,6GHz, 1Go DDR RAM, 7200rpm SATA hard drive and 3Mo/s max speed DVD reader 
(got this from hdparm -tT /dev/cdrom), I get between 15 and 35 fps, depending on the source DVD, the captain's beard length and 
almost the outside's weather ;)
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