If you are looking to become a master dvd ripper then you will have to learn the basics of the subject. Ripping a dvd refers to converting the audio or video data from a dvd format to a digital copy on your hard disk. In this article you will learn the basics of how to become an efficient DVD ripper.

If you use a video ripper it will compress the video into mpeg-4, avi, DivX, or Ogg Theora. If you use a DVD audio ripper it will compress the audio from the DVD into a format such as mp3, wav, or ogg. To completely rip a DVD you will either need both a DVD audio ripper and a video ripper, or you will need a DVD ripper that does both audio and video ripping.

Not only are there dvd rippers to convert a dvd to a format your PC can deal with, but there is now even a DVD ripper that allows you to put a dvd onto a video iPod. This software will convert your dvd to a video that can be added to your playlist on your video iPod for free.

The speed which your DVD ripper can work depends on several factors. One of the big factors is the drive speed. For instance an 8x drive will have the capability of ripping the DVD 8 times faster than the DVD will play. Another factor that will effect how fast your dvd ripper goes is CPU speed. If you have a slow CPU that will make it so the dvd ripper cannot keep up with the drive and will cause a slowdown.

Since a DVD ripper uses a lot of cpu processes and disk space it is important that you keep your computer clear of junk and keep it as lean and mean as possible. You do not want a bunch of spyware, software updates, mp3 players, games, applications, etc running in the background as they could screw up the process of the DVD audio ripper and the video dvd ripper. It is also important to have a fast machine that can handle conversion of dvds to your hard drive. A recent machine that has a 2ghz+ processor should be able to do the job quite well. Also having more than 40gb of free space is recommended as you do not want to spend an hour ripping your dvd only to find that your DVD ripper has ran out of space and must quit.

Now that you have learned the basics of dvd ripping, and how it is important to have a DVD ripper and a DVD audio ripper, you can now get some software to start the ripping process. Core Download has all the software you could possibly need to become a great DVD ripper.