Watch DVDs on your iPod video.

or...
there comes a time when one finds oneself saying. "I wish I could watch DVDs on my iPod video."

Far too many people I know are getting themselves an iPod video. And there's no ITunes store here in India where one can download videos or episodes of TV serials for 2 dollars per epi. Imagine what it would do to the store if one could download the saas bahu serials.

For those who came in late there is and has been an iPod video for some months now. This looks just like any iPod but the screen a bit bigger and can show video films. Not a very large screen, but then when held at arm's length, it looks just as big as my 25" TV across the hall when I sit on my sofa.

So, for the rest of us, after the novelty of the iPod wears off, there comes a time when one finds oneself saying. "I wish I could see DVDs on this thing." Hey, why not, after all you always have the iPod handy when you have lots of time on your hands. At airports, inside aircraft, at boring meetings, wherever.

Here's how to watch DVDs on your iPod. The process below is for an Apple Mac. If you have a PC, write to me and maybe I'll find a way.

The process consists of the following steps.

1. Converting the DVD tracks into MPEG-2 movies. .m2v for video.
2. Converting the DVD tracks into corresponding audio. .ac3 for audio.
3. Converting these .m2v into a Quicktime with, say, DV-PAL.
4. Converting the .ac3 into .aif
5. Merging the DV-PAL Quicktime video with the .aif audio into a 'merged' movie.
6. Converting this 'merged' movie into iPod video.

For step 1 and 2, load the DVD, let it mount and launch DVD Player on its own. Then quit DVD Player without seeing the movie. This steps is cometimes nbecessary for the system to 'register' the DVD.
Get an app called 0Sex from MacUpdate or versiontracker. This makes DVD tracks into m2v for video and .ac3 for audio.
Else use Mactheripper.
0Sex - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9830
MacTheRipper - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14414
Either of these make DVD tracks into .m2v and .ac3

For Step 3 use MPEGStreamclip or DivA, both free and from the aforementioned sites.
MPEGStreamclip - http://www.alfanet.it/squared5/mpegstreamclip.html
DiVA - http://diva.3ivx.com/
Either of these convert .m2v to Quicktime .mov

For step 4 use mAC3dec.
mAC3dec - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10381
This converts .ac3 into .aif

For step 5 use Quicktime. Open the video, then open the audio. Keep both open simultaneously.
Then do Edit > select all or cmd-A to the audio to select all. Then do Edit > Copy or Cmd-C to copy all audio. Go the the video QT, and do Edit > Add to movie or opt-cmd-V.
Save this married video either as self-contained or as a reference movie.

Use this to convert to iPod. File > Export. And 'movie to iPod (320x240)' in the export dialog.

Then with iTunes 6.0.3 or above you can send it to your iPod.

More on how to convert movies to iPod here...
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/creatingvideo.html

and on how to send it to your iPod here...
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/tutorial/ip_gettingstarted_t12.html

All the links I've mentioned may have to be copied and pasted in your browser to make them work.

Happy movie watching. This is positively a defining moment in the history of cinema.