How to get dvds onto tablet

[summerinsession]

Ive just bought a Samsung galaxy tab 2 10.1 first tablet and tbh im not sure it was worth it as its essentially just a big phone so I think maybe im not utilising it for all it can do. How would I go about getting dvds onto it? ive never successfully managed to get a dvd onto my pc before never mind from there onto another device is there free software than can do this with step by step help? thanks

[Cindy34]

You would need to convert to a video format like MP4. File size can be large, 1.5GB for a 90min film, though it will vary depending on various factors. Try gooogling "dvd to mp4"
I doubt anything will be free. Some will be trial so you can test that the it works on your system.
DVDs are copy protected, so software may not always be able to decode the disc.

There is also software around that will screen capture to MP4. So you play the movie in a window and the software tries to capture the screen at say 20 frames a second. Requires quite a fast computer, as the computer is having to play the DVD and do fast screen capture at the same time.

[Cindy34]

Once you have the MP4 file, you then need to transfer that to the tablet. Not sure how you would do that - perhaps there is an app which does file transfers over WiFi.

[FormaLurka]

DVD Catalyst is quite a popular DVD converter. It cost about £6. Loose change so I wouldn't waste time looking for free one.

You can select your gadget and the software will adapt the file size accordingly. Afterall, it's pointless having a huge HD file if you are only going to watch it on a tablet screen.

Once converted you simply drag and drop via the UDB cable.

[tribpot]

Assuming you don't just want to buy the films in the Play Store or, say, Flixster (which would put them straight on the device), you can also look for DVDs in future which come with an Ultraviolet copy, which means you can play it straight off the internet on your device.

For existing DVDs, I would recommend Handbrake. Note that some very popular DVD titles can't be ripped (copied to your PC) or have a whole bunch of bogus 'tracks' on the disk to make it harder to rip the right one. Don't worry about that for now.

Once you've ripped it to the hard drive of your PC, you need to get it to the tablet. The best way is through the wire which doubles as a charging cable. If you plug one end into the tablet and the other to the PC, it should allow you to see what's on the tablet from the PC (I can't describe it exactly as it works a bit differently on my Mac, but I believe Windows will just detect it as another drive). Then you can just drag and drop files to the tablet from the PC. Why not give that a try to start off with - just a text file or similar so you can see how it works?

The Galaxy Tab is definitely not just a big phone, btw, but if you want to focus on the DVD issue for now and post separately for recommendations for other uses, please do that.

[whendidyoulast]

Well, I've just bought a portable external DVD drive but for some reason I can't get DVDs to play on my HP Envy. Can any one explain why not? Or what I can do to get them to work? Thankyou.

[FormaLurka]

when - can you see your DVD drive in 'My computer'? If you can then its not a hardware problem.

Some studios fix it so that their DVDs don't play on PCs. This is to stop people copying the DVD. However, I rarely have this problem so think horses and not zebras.

Are you expecting the film to automatically start up as soon as you load the DVD? If yes then there is setting that tells the PC whether to automatically play a DVD. I'm on my phone and i can't visualize how to get to the relevant screen.

If none of the above them you need to post details as to what happens when you insert the DVD.

[summerinsession]

thanks for the replies it was existing dvds I wanted to use I thought I could rip them to pc then put onto tablet
, id heard of people doing this for free but wasn't sure how

[Theas18]

It's not easy and the big corps are trying t make it harder and harder. I've never managed it sucessfully. I have sky and there is now a download option on sky go for £5/month that I may consider though.

[tribpot]

It can be done, and in fairness the big corps are (some of them at least) trying to make sure you can own a digital copy legally. However, try one of the applications suggest and see how you get on.

[Cindy34]

When - try using vlc media player, it will read most things. However your computer first needs to recognise the new drive, so make sure it is attached correctly and you can open a file folder to see what is on it.

Dvds are not simple to convert, they have region codes, copy protection and other things to confuse software that tries to copy it. So you have to experiment and accept that not all discs will be possible to covert.

In future maybe we will be able to buy just a digital version, for now I find streaming movies works well, lease if you have a good net connection.

[whendidyoulast]

OK, my computer does recognize the DVD drive and the DVD but when when I right click or open the programme there are two folders: one for visual and one for audio and nothing happens when I click either. I've tried a couple of different DVDs and the same thing happens. Driving me mad. Any thoughts? We're going on holiday next week and really want to be able to take it with us rather than a separate DVD player.

[onlynismo]

If you DVDs are home made and no drm protection on it, then you can use Handbrake (it is free) to rip them and convert to .mp4 format that Samsung galaxy tab 2 10.1 reads well.

If your DVDs are bought from store or has css protection, you will need to get another third-party utlity to get the job done.

AppGeeker DVD Ripper used to be one software that can convert DVD to mp4 file and other file extensions so should work with tab 2 10.1, its default encoding settings are going to give you good quality. I use it, never had a problem with it.

[FormaLurka]

when - you need to open up Windows Media Player or similar and view DVD via that software. You can't access the video content direct like you would an avi or mpeg4 file.

This why people use DVD rippers which will take a dvd and convert all that stuff that is in those folders and produce a single file that you can click on direct or play on a tablet.