How To Watch A DVD On Your iPad

If you own an iPad, the chances are that you’re passionate about technology and the media. The number one reason for splashing out the cash on a device like the iPad is to make it easier to consume media such as TV, films and music on the move. This means that, naturally, watching movies and television programs has to be the second most popular way to pass the time on any portable device second only to using the internet.

While there are ample amounts of television shows and movies available to download from the iTunes store, why should you have to pay twice just to have a portable version of a DVD already in your collection? The answer is that you shouldn’t – since there is a way to convert your DVD collection into iPad-ready file formats. All that you need to do to watch your favorite films on your iPad is to follow a few very easy steps.

photo by Alan / Falcon

Simple Steps To Transfer A DVD To Your iPad

Before you begin, simply insert your chosen DVD into your computer. This will probably trigger the usual auto run function, so simply press stop and exit any program that it opens completely in order to prepare for the transfer process. You’ll now need to download and install a video transcoder called Handbrake, which is free for Apple and Windows operating systems.

You will also need to download another program called VLC media player if you don’t already have it. While you’re on the website, also make sure to download a plugin called libdvdcss, as this is crucial in allowing Handbrake to scan your DVD properly.

Once you have installed Handbrake, VLC and libdvdcss you can start scanning. Open Handbrake and select the DVD you want it to scan – the program will then access the DVD and search for movie files that needs to be converted. Handbrake will always choose the movie file with the longest duration to convert, as this is likely to be the full movie.

All you need to do is choose where to store your file after conversion, which is just indicating where you’d like the movie to be saved. Click on ‘Browse’ in the destination area of the window and you’ll be able to choose where Handbrake will place the movie clip – your best bet would be to stick it on the desktop so you can find it easily later. Click ‘Start’ and watch as Handbrake saves your DVD to desktop in an iPad friendly format.

You’ve Converted, Now You Need To Transfer

The process now becomes much simpler because all you need to do is move the new movie file onto your iPad. To do this, simply import the file that was created on your desktop into iTunes (you can drag and drop it into your library). Your new movie will show up under the ‘Movies’ tab and, once fully imported, all you need to do is sync your iPad with iTunes and the movie should automatically move over to your portable device.

All that remains is for you to enjoy watching your favorite films on the go, without paying for them twice – perfect!

Although this method can, it should not be used to watch videos that belong to someone else’s collection. There’s a grey area where you are not supposed to transfer copies of anything onto other media, but more and more labels are providing a means to watch movies you buy from them on multiple devices so while there are some that frown on the practice, plenty more encourage the versatility of watching movies when and how you wish.

Paul Matherson has been writing about tech and digital topics for pleasure for many years and recommends rutlandproductions.co.uk/ to anyone converting their old videos to digital format.