dvd

Simple DVD ripping software

Acala DVD Ripper Professional Free Copy is a free DVD ripper. It's an easy-to-use program for ripping some DVD videos and converting them into a number of video formats, as well as ripping the audio into popular audio formats.

The interface is good, though very simple in appearance. We were able to understand the layout and navigate it easily, but getting started was a little difficult without the tutorial video. The tutorial video doesn't completely match the free version we downloaded, but the steps are pretty much the same. Without it, we probably wouldn't have known how … Read more

Get a Toshiba Blu-ray player for $29.97

Blu-ray players are notoriously unreliable. Check the user reviews for just about any model and you'll see any number of "died after a week!" and "died after two months!" comments. It's the unfortunate nature of the beast, I guess.

So call me maybe crazy, but why not keep a spare on hand just in case your primary player croaks -- which will invariably happen just as you and the kids are sitting down to watch "The Avengers." That way, boom, you just swap in the backup and dry everyone's tears.

And … Read more

A plethora of conversion options

Freemake Video Converter is an application mainly for converting video files to other formats, but offers other converting and downloading features as well.

This application is a worthwhile download. The layout is very simple, making it easy to understand how to use it. Freemake offers a row of media buttons at the top and bottom of the window, which are labeled clearly and are simple to use. It is very easy to navigate the various steps required to convert videos and audio as well as download videos and audio from the Internet. The waiting time varies from one conversion job … Read more

Save all your favorite videos

HandBrake is a free application for converting all types of videos into MPEG-4 files. You might be overwhelmed by the busy interface and numerous options, but once you get started, you'll find that HandBrake offers features that will help any user get up to speed quickly.

HandBrake's interface holds all the tools you need but the wide variety of options can confuse users -- especially beginners. We quickly found that the program's preset options were the quickest and easiest way to convert files. In fact, the moment you find the Presets tab, you'll find the best … Read more

Create custom DVDs with AVStoDVD

Creating a DVD, especially if you want custom title menus and other such personalization, isn't always an easy feat. AVStoDVD doesn't exactly make this task easier -- it's certainly not the most intuitive program we've used -- but it does provide plenty of options for the technically competent. If you're looking for a tidy wizard-style program that will walk you through each step and keep all the jargon under wraps, AVStoDVD is probably not the best choice. If you have some familiarity with digital video already, it may be just the thing.

AVStoDVD's interface … Read more

The 404 Show Special: Jay Chandrasekhar and Kevin Heffernan

The 404's Jeff Bakalar had a chance to sit down with Jay Chandrasekhar and Kevin Heffernan, two of the members of the comedy group Broken Lizard (Super Troopers, Beerfest). The duo has a new film out called "The Babymakers" in select theaters, iTunes, and on-demand August 3rd.

In addition to a discussion about "The Babymakers," Jay and Kevin talk to Jeff about a sequel to "Super Troopers," getting "Potfest" off the ground, and what else is in store for Broken Lizard.… Read more

Top 15 movies not out on Blu-ray

A couple of years ago, we had 40 movies on this list. But as new releases have arrived, we've gradually pruned the list, and today we're down to a mere 15 top movies that aren't out yet on Blu-ray.

Yes, there are several other great movies that still haven't gotten the Blu-ray treatment. But like I say with the top 40 must-have Blu-rays list, feel free to express your opinions, and if you have a legitimate case, I'll update the list with new picks.

For the latest round we've dropped "The Sting" and "Chariots of Fire," and several other movies, including "Jaws," "Titanic," and the "Indiana Jones Trilogy," are due to come off the list in the coming months because they're already available for preorder, so stay tuned for a big revamp of the list this fall.

… Read more

'Avengers' DVD to hit Target stores with 90-minute bonus disc

Avengers fans will soon be able to grab the popular movie on Blu-ray and DVD at Target stores, with a little bonus added to the action.

Starting September 25, the retail outlet will be selling the blockbuster film for $32.99. For that you get both the Blu-ray and DVD edition in one single package.

But Target is throwing in a bonus disc called "Building a Dream: Assembling the Avengers." The extra 90-minutes of footage will show how the original Iron Man, Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America films were developed, forging the array of mighty … Read more

Keep track of your files with DigiCat

Between external hard drives, USB drives, laptops, desktops, CDs, DVDs, and other storage locales, it can be hard to keep track of which files are stored where. DigiCat is a simple program that allows you to quickly and easily create catalogs of disk contents, making it easy to determine where files are stored when you need them.

The program's interface is fairly intuitive, though it took us a few minutes of poking around to figure out exactly how things worked. We tried to access the Help file, but, despite the presence of a Help tab, the program had no … Read more