A few weeks ago I needed a clip from a movie for a presentation. I wanted the classic scene from Tommy Boy where Tommy doesn’t take no for an answer, or he runs at each no.
What a challenge!
First I tried to capture it from a DVD to my computer. No luck, the encryption gives a picture that pops in and out (2 hours wasted).
Next, I tried to capture it to a VHS, then to the computer. Nope, same thing. The hardware stops copying.
Last, I turned to a techie friend who made it simple, and so I pass this on to everyone:
1. Downloaded DVD decrypter. It copies the DVD to your hardrive, unencrypted. I am going to take all of my DVDs and fire them off to 250GB drives so that I can watch them with media center. As an aside, make sure you use the same directory structure in on your hardrive to allow Media Center to recognize it. www.dvddecrypter.com
2. Used a tool called Dvd-to-MPEG to convert the raw files to a single file.
3. Used Pinnacle 9 to edit the MPEG down to a Windows Media File that I embedded into my PowerPoint.
A painful lesson, but now that it is learned I have so many DVD clips to leverage … Glengarry, Glen Ross, The Office … So much choice!
Finally, as an aside, I find it very annoying that I cannot leverage my DVD purchase without a ton of hassle. I understand why (As pirating is so rampant), but it is still frustrating.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 