Convert Your HD DVDs to Blu-Ray
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HD DVD is dead. Long live HD DVD!
By converting your movies to a more enduring format, you can ensure your movie collection survives the death of the machine that plays them.
The process is simple in principle but excruciating in practice, thanks to the complexity of the technology, the myriad of applications needed and the predations of an industry that doesn't want you format-shifting at all.
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What You'll Need
- A Windows machine with a fast processor
- An HD-DVD drive
- A Blu-Ray burner
- 30GB of free disk space, at least, though 40GB or more is recommended
- An internet connection to download all the software you need
Step 1: Ripping
First, we have to get the original HD DVD movie off the disk and onto the computer. You'll need to have a HD-DVD inside, or hooked up to, your PC, and software to cut through the DRM.
Windows users have it easy. Buy Slysoft's
AnyDVD HD (about $115), which will rip HD DVD without further ado. A free alternative is
DVDFab HD Decrypter.
Once done, you'll have a bunch of files on your machine in .EVO format.
Step 2: Transcoding and Authoring
This means getting the rip ready to burn to Blu-Ray disc: transcoding refers to changing the file format and size, while authoring refers to preparing and arranging the files so that players may properly understand them.
If you just want to keep the file on the computer as a backup, you can stop here. Even if no one is making physical HD DVD players, there'll always be software to play the files themselves.
If you're targeting Blu-Ray, however, you'll need to get your hands dirty fixing your files to the required specs. You'll run the ripped HD DVD disk through a bunch of different programs, in the following order:
1.
EVOdemux to "demultiplex" the ripped files and pick exactly what you need to keep.
2.
H264Info or
vc1conv -— which one you need depends on whether the format of HD DVD movie you ripped is h.264 or VC1.
3.
eac3to to compress the audio, often necessary to fit movies onto cheaper 25GB Blu-Ray disks.
4.
tsMuxeR and
TsRemux to get the video streams ready for burning.
If you need more help, follow the
instructions at the Doom9 forums to ensure you get everything just right. There is also another,
slightly different process outlined on the Doom9 forums. If the idea of working your way through all those steps isn't appealing, you might want to wait until enough blind eyes are turned for an all-in-one commercial solution to emerge.
Step 3: Burning
Finally, you can copy the the authored Blu-Ray presentation to a physical disk.
IMGBurn 2.4 is a way to do it free of charge, but
Nero 8 ($100) will handle the job if you already have it.
You will also need a Blu-Ray disk burner, of course. Sony's
BWU100A, at $430 refurbished, is one choice. The cheapest going is Lite-On's $360
LH-2B1S. Don't like the price? Too late to complain now.
Or you can just keep your old HD machine and change over later.
Alternative methods
One can also use a HD capture card with component video inputs to slurp up the output from the Xbox 360's HD DVD player. Install video capture software, hook up the player to the capture card, and go. Watch out for disk space!
Jake Ludington reports success with the $1,400
AJA XENA LH capture card. Or,
Blackmagic Design's Intensity a $250 HDMI Capture Card, also works. The problem is expense: a HD capture card isn't cheap. To get the resulting files onto Blu-Ray disc, use Nero 8 with the
HD plugin.
Tips & Tricks
Just as with DVDs before them, commercially-burned HD DVD movies have more space than blank disks. When transcoding, check to ensure the resulting file will fit on the target medium. For 25GB Blu-Ray disks, keep files under about 23 GB.
AVSforum has a list of the
file sizes of popular HD DVD movies. Some come in at a whopping 27 gigabytes.
Also, consider just buying the movie new: a blank Blu-Ray disc is from $15-$25 for write-once media.
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