The current selection of high resolution downloads is growing weekly, but is still inadequate for most music aficionados. The most frequently voiced displeasure relates to the lack of "popular" music available at resolutions equal to or greater than rebook CD (16 bit / 44.1 kHz). Most audiophiles don't realize a great source of "popular" high resolution material is already sitting on their shelves, and can still be purchased new/used and be ripped to their music server. Although seasoned computer audiophiles have been ripping DVDs for years most audiophiles making the move to a computer based system have no idea these discs can be ripped and certainly have no idea how it's done. That's 100% normal and not a slight on newbies here on Computer Audiophile. Nobody is born with this knowledge. Readers must learn at some point how to rip this great music to their music servers. What follows is a step by step guide to ripping DVD-Audio discs, ripping the audio from DVD-Video concerts, and ripping HDAD discs.
DVD Ripping Applications
There are a few applications available that enable one to rip DVD-Audio discs. A popular and free application is DVDAExplorer. DVDAExplorer is free and available from the Video Help website. DVDAExplorer is geared more toward the technically inclined users who can handle post-ripping file format conversions and don't mind tagging the tracks after the rip. I've had fairly good success with DVDAExplorer but know many audiophiles who just can't get the hand of the application. DVDAExplorer is available for Windows operating systems and Mac OS X. However I've never been able to get the OS X version to rip a DVD-Audio disc. As far as I know DVDAExplorer cannot rip the audio form a DVD-Video disc.
Thanks to Computer Audiophile reader Ted_B who pointed me in the right direction I've been using DVD Audio Extractor from Computer Application Studio (CAS) with great success. This application is worth far more than the $32.50 asking price. I'd happily pay $32.50 each for the music on my DVD-Audio discs if that were the only option. Fortunately the one time fee of $32.50 can be paid online in minutes and allow audiophiles to begin ripping their own high resolution material immediately. DVD Audio Extractor is for Windows only.
How To Rip DVD-Audio Discs
This section is dedicated to ripping DVD-Audio discs. This is a specific format different from DVD-Video discs that contain audio or concerts. [More information]
Roy Orbison - Black & White Night is available as a DVD-Video and DVD-Audio package. The DVD-Audio disc contains a 24/96 6 channel mix and a 24/96 two channel mix. The screenshots below display how to rip the 24/96 two channel mix.
This is the initial windows that appears when opening DVD Audio Extractor. No disc has been inserted into the computer.
The Roy Orbison DVD-Audio disc has been inserted and displays two titles in the upper left box. Title two is highlighted here. When each title is highlighted the available sample rates and number of channels are displayed in the lower left box. On this disc Title 2 is one hour, five minutes, and seventeen seconds in length. The available audio is MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) at 96 kHz, 24 bit, 2 Channel. A list of the available tracks is displayed in the right box. Tracks are labeled as Chapters on the disc.
This shows the audio available in Title 1. Title 1 is one hour, five minutes, and seventeen seconds in length. The available audio is MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) at 96 kHz, 24 bit, 6 Channel.
I renamed each of the Chapters/Tracks on the disc. These names will be embedded into the output FLAC file. The audio on each track can be sampled by using the simple CD player type buttons above the help button. This can be very handy as the tracks don’t always equal what is listed on the DVD cover. This Roy Orbison DVD-Audio disc includes an extra track at the end not listed anywhere. Listening to the track preview I was able to identify the track and name it properly.
The two most usable formats listed are WAV and FLAC. Since FLAC supports excellent embedded metadata I elect to output the files in this format.
I always leave the Sample Rate selection at “Same as input." I had an issue when selecting a specific sample rate one time and have not gone back to that method since. It may work just fine, but I’ve never had an issue with the “Same as input" option so I’ll stick to what works for me.
Mono or Stereo is self explanatory. However I did notice something very interesting when ripping the Mono version of the Beach Boys Pet Sounds DVD-Audio disc. Selecting Mono was actually the wrong choice even though the disc is Mono. When ripped as Stereo the Mono album was bit perfect as evidenced by the HDCD light illuminating on my Alpha DAC. When the Mono album was ripped in Mono the HDCD light never illuminated. In both cases the audio was clearly Mono when played though my audio system.
All DVD-Audio discs I’ve ever seen are 24 bits. Selecting anything other than 24 bits is not advised.
A shot of all my selections and the estimated output file size of 160.64 Mb. The small b should actually be capitalized and read as MB because the file size is in Mega Bytes (MB) not Megabits (Mb).
This is the initial output location screen without any changes.
I simply copied the FLAC files to a folder on my desktop. Since there are no files in the output location there is no need to check the “Overwrite" box. An M3U playlist can be created if desired by simply checking the M3U box. I enable ID3 tags and enter the correct Artist, Album, and Year so this information is embedded into each FLAC file.
This is the initial encoding screen.
I make sure the Thread priority is set to Highest. After encoding the application allows a number of options as shown here. I elect to pop up a notify window.
Selecting the Start button begins the ripping process.
This shot displays more information about tipping speed, elapsed and remaining time and percentages finished.
When complete the files are output to the selected folder. Since album art is not supported by DVD Audio Extractor this must be added manually using any number of applications. I simply import the files into J river Media Center and embed the album art from within the JRMC.
How To Rip The Audio From DVD-Video Discs
This section is dedicated to ripping the audio from DVD-Video discs. This is a specific format different from DVD-Audio discs that contain music only. DVD-Video discs are nearly everywhere. If in doubt a disc is probably DVD-Video. [More information]
Pearl Jam - Live At The Garden is available as a DVD-Video only two disc set. There is nothing special about this DVD-Video disc. It is likely the same as 99% of the concert DVD-Video discs available today. The DVD-Video disc contains a LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation) 48 kHz, 16 bit, 2 channel mix and an AC3 48 kHz 6 channel mix. The screenshots below display how to rip the LPCM 16/48 two channel mix. Most DVD-Video discs contain 16/48 audio mixes.
The Pearl Jam DVD-Video disc has been inserted and displays three titles in the upper left box. Title one is highlighted here. When each title is highlighted the available sample rates and number of channels are displayed in the lower left box. On this disc Title 1 is one hour, twenty-nine minutes, and twenty-three seconds in length. The available audio output options are LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation) 48 kHz, 16 bit, 2 channel and AC3 48 kHz 6 channel. A list of the available tracks is displayed in the right box. Tracks are labeled as Chapters on the disc.
Selecting the AC3 mix does not change the Chapter/Tracks listed on the right.
Title 2 has only one Chapter and its encoded as AC3 48 kHz with two channels. This Chapter is likely material played during the DVD-Video setup options or while browsing Chapters on the DVD-Video menu. This material can be ignored when ripping audio.
Title 3 has only one Chapter and its encoded as AC3 48 kHz with two channels. Like Chapter 2 this Chapter can be ignored when ripping the audio from a DVD-Video disc.
I’ve selected Title 1 only and labeled each track to embed the track title metadata into the FLAC output files.
The two most usable formats listed are WAV and FLAC. Since FLAC supports excellent embedded metadata I elect to output the files in this format.
I always leave the Sample Rate selection at “Same as input." I had an issue when selecting a specific sample rate one time and have not gone back to that method since. It may work just fine, but I’ve never had an issue with the “Same as input" option so I’ll stick to what works for me.
Mono or Stereo is self explanatory. However I did notice something very interesting when ripping the Mono version of the Beach Boys Pet Sounds DVD-Audio disc. Selecting Mono was actually the wrong choice even though the disc is Mono. When ripped as Stereo the Mono album was bit perfect as evidenced by the HDCD light illuminating on my Alpha DAC. When the Mono album was ripped in Mono the HDCD light never illuminated. In both cases the audio was clearly Mono when played though my audio system.
Most DVD-Video discs have 16 bit audio tracks. Selecting 24 bits won’t hurt, but will add to the file size. I select 16 bits as that is what’s on this disc.
A shot of all my selections and the estimated output file size of 146.62 Mb. The small b should actually be capitalized and read as MB because the file size is in Mega Bytes (MB) not Megabits (Mb).
This is the initial output location screen without any changes.
I simply copied the FLAC files to a folder on my desktop. A very nice option available here is “Save each chapter into a separate file." Many other DVD rippers save the audio into a long single file. Since there are no files in the output location there is no need to check the “Overwrite" box. An M3U playlist can be created if desired by simply checking the M3U box. I enable ID3 tags and enter the correct Artist, Album, and Year so this information is embedded into each FLAC file.
I make sure the Thread priority is set to Highest. After encoding the application allows a number of options as shown here. I elect to pop up a notify window.
Selecting the Start button begins the ripping process.
This shot displays more information about tipping speed, elapsed and remaining time and percentages finished.
How To Rip HDAD Discs
This section is dedicated to ripping the HDAD discs. HDAD is more of a trade name for DVD-Audio discs manufactured by Classic Records. HDAD is short for Hybrid DVD-Audio Disc. These discs contain one 24/96 side and one 24/192 side. The reason for a separate HDAD section here is because many audiophiles don't associate the HDAD "format" with DVD-Audio or don't realize HDAD discs can be ripped. Also, the HDAD disc in this guide offers additional sample rates that don't appear in the DVD-Audio guide. Thus, in the interest of being thorough and taking care of the CA readers I included this HDAD guide.
Alan Parsons Project - I Robot is available as a Classic Records HDAD double sided disc. The HDAD disc contain a 24/96 side and a 24/192 side. Both sides are two channel only. The screenshots below display the ripping process for the 24/192 side of the disc. Ripping the 24/96 side involves the same process.
This is the initial windows that appears after inserting the HDAD2003 disc on the 24/192 side. The available audio is MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) at 192 kHz, 24 bit, 2 Channel. A list of the available tracks is displayed in the right box. Tracks are labeled as Chapters on the disc. HDAD discs split the total number of tracks into two Titles. Here Title 1 contains tracks one through five.
Selecting Title 2 at the top left displays the MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) 192 kHz, 24 bit, 2 Channel audio in the lower box. The tracks listed here are actually tracks six through ten on the album.
I renamed each track in Title 1 to embed the track title into the output FLAC file.
I renamed each track in Title 2 and made sure Title 2 and all its Chapters/tracks were also selected for conversion.
The two most usable formats listed are WAV and FLAC. Since FLAC supports excellent embedded metadata I elect to output the files in this format.
I always leave the Sample Rate selection at “Same as input." Notice the sample rate for this side of the HDAD disc displays 192000 Hz. I had an issue when selecting a specific sample rate one time and have not gone back to that method since. It may work just fine, but I’ve never had an issue with the “Same as input" option so I’ll stick to what works for me.
Mono or Stereo is self explanatory. However I did notice something very interesting when ripping the Mono version of the Beach Boys Pet Sounds DVD-Audio disc. Selecting Mono was actually the wrong choice even though the disc is Mono. When ripped as Stereo the Mono album was bit perfect as evidenced by the HDCD light illuminating on my Alpha DAC. When the Mono album was ripped in Mono the HDCD light never illuminated. In both cases the audio was clearly Mono when played though my audio system.
All HDAD discs I’ve ever seen are 24 bits. Selecting anything other than 24 bits is not advised.
A shot of all my selections and the estimated output file size of 101.63 Mb. The small b should actually be capitalized and read as MB because the file size is in Mega Bytes (MB) not Megabits (Mb). The actual file sizes of the output files range from 123 MB to 247 MB.
This is the initial output location screen without any changes.
I simply copied the FLAC files to a folder on my desktop. Since there are no files in the output location there is no need to check the “Overwrite" box. An M3U playlist can be created if desired by simply checking the M3U box. I enable ID3 tags and enter the correct Artist, Album, and Year so this information is embedded into each FLAC file.
I make sure the Thread priority is set to Highest. After encoding the application allows a number of options as shown here. I elect to pop up a notify window.
Selecting the Start button begins the ripping process.
This shot displays more information about tipping speed, elapsed and remaining time and percentages finished.
Ripping DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, and HDAD discs is pretty simple. Mac users may want to install a Windows partition through the OS X Boot Camp application in order to rip some DVDs. After ripping is completed the Windows partition can be erased with a couple clicks of the mouse. An easier, although more expensive, route for Mac users is to install Parallels or VMWare Fusion. These applications allow one to run Windows without restarting into the complete Windows operating system. I’ve ripped DVDs using Parallels and restarting into Windows via Boot Camp and never had any issues either way. I prefer using Parallels as it allows me to use my Mac while waiting for the DVD ripping process.
I highly recommend Computer Audiophile readers check out the following online stores that cater to the needs of audiophiles. These stores carry DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, and HDAD discs.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now