Convert DVD with converter software MediaCoder

Again and again we are looking for alternative tools that allow us to convert multimedia files. In particular, being able to convert audio and video is something that always causes problems. Many of those problems disappear like snow in the sun thanks to MediaCoder! As an example we are going to convert a DVD.

To download MediaCoder, we direct you to this webpage: free-codecs.com/download/mediacoder.htm. This is because the download script on the MediaCoder website itself is not appreciated by all modern web browsers. Also noted that only the 64-bit version of MediaCoder is still supported and under development. That is understandable in itself, because it involves heavy tooling that is usually only run on heavy computers. And heavy computers are equipped with a fast processor, lots of RAM and of course a 64-bit version of Windows 10.

During the installation of MediaCoder, your attention is still required, because it is recommended to install the program completely (read: Full).

Adding files

You normally only use MediaCoder to re-encode multimedia files. In most cases, these are files that cannot be played on certain devices. You may also want to change things like the resolution, compression rate, or file type. That's all possible. But whatever you do, it all starts with the button Add and with that you can add files, tracks and URLs to MediaCoder.

Files are video files. tracks are audio files that you can place 'below' those video files. URLs are internet links to video files. At least, that's roughly speaking... If you pop up the Add button's pulldown menu, it immediately becomes clear that MediaCoder can handle anything (!) that even remotely resembles multimedia.

Convert / Convert DVD

In this way we are now going to convert a DVD. You may be familiar with the folder structure of a DVD-Video: a folder VIDEO_TS containing the necessary files. Via the above-mentioned Add button you can transfer a complete folder VIDEO_TS to MediaCoder. Such a VIDEO_TS folder contains the VOB files. Better yet, it's the VOB files that – beware! – contain the actual movie. There is always some overhead at the beginning, such as the menus and the intros, which can be omitted.

So you look at the first large VOB file (which is usually exactly 1023 MB), because that is always the beginning of the movie. Then you check the next nearby large VOB files, up to and including the first – often – smaller VOB file. With that you have the bare film completely

If MediaCoder is set by default, you only need to indicate where the newly created video file should be placed. Then click on the button Start to start the conversion process. And then it's the speed of the computer that determines the amount of minutes it takes MediaCoder to convert the DVD-Video to something much smaller and much more flexible. And depending on the settings, you will find the converted DVD-Video in one merged or multiple separate MP4 files.

As for the subtitles: Once converted to MP4 or MKV, you simply start using SRT subtitle files that you can find for example on a site like subscene.com. You will see, there are Dutch-language SRT files for 9 out of 10 DVD-Videos. You put such an SRT subtitle file 'in addition' in the folder with the video file converted by MediaCoder and you are done.

Again and different

The MediaCoder tool can be a bit stubborn if you want to repeat a conversion job. That does not seem to work and that is in turn because MediaCoder does not want to do double work. Also something that is easy to solve via the menu option traffic jam and Revert All Settings.

And if we can have a conversion job performed again, then we can also have that conversion job performed – pay attention – differently (!). In the MediaCoder work window you will then have to deal with the following three tabs:

Video - In particular, look at the pulldown list format. There a huge list of all kinds of video codecs that you can use to package your video. From the hugely popular H.264 to the barely used Raw Video. Whatever playback device you are going to use, MediaCoder always has a matching video codec.

audio - What goes for video, so goes for audio. Also now there is a pulldown list Format containing the necessary audio codecs. From MP3 to WMA to FLAC. Even now there is something for every playback device…

Container - Then we get the container and that is the final file format. The packaging of audio and video is done 'in' a multimedia file and that is that container. A popular container is MP4, but of course we also have AVI, MKV and MOV.

And with that we have shown the essence of MediaCoder. You provide any multimedia files and then you indicate how you wish to convert the whole and in which file format it should be saved. In this way, you have a precisely fitting multimedia file that plays nicely on the device or in the application of your choice.

Because MediaCoder is so versatile, it is not the easiest program to use. But if you stick to the Video, Audio, and Container tabs mentioned, little to nothing can go wrong.

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