Converting Your Movies Into A Digital Format

Do you have that big collection of movies and TV shows sitting on shelves and feel like you could be getting a little more use out of them other than collecting dust? How about keeping backups of them on your computer or server? It sounds like a big hassle, but it isn't too much work and should be a worthwhile endeavor to be able to easily access all of your favorite movies and shows, of course, of which you legally own. I will show you how to do this following these straightforward steps and I'll even add in a video for extra measure. There are two routes for this tutorial, standard and advanced. I'd recommend advanced for those who want to get the most out of their collection. (This tutorial was meant for the Windows OS. Alterations to steps may be needed for other operating systems.)

1. Gather needed hardware: You will need the movies (in either DVD or BD format) and a PC capable of ripping either DVD's or BD's.

2. Gather needed software: MakeMKV (free ripper), HandBrake free video (transcoder), DivX Video Codec (Advanced Only), AC3 Audio Codec (Advanced Only)

Install the above software and be wary as to uncheck any bloatware that is associated with installation. (Advanced Users: For the DivX installation, ONLY the Plus Codec Pack is needed.)

 

3. Start Ripping Process: Insert movie disc into disc (optical) drive and close out of any auto-launches, such as Windows Media Player or autorun. Open MakeMKV and select the right source, which would be the drive you inserted the disc into. Select the "Blu-Ray to Hard Drive" image. If a message appears, select OK. Wait for the data to be decrypted and processed. Select the title or titles that seem most fit as being the actual movie. For example, with Raiders of the Lost Ark, there were five titles but four of them only had 1 chapter and were about 300 MB each. The first title is 31 chapters and is 5.9 GB, which makes sense to be the movie since it is the largest in size. Click on the Make MKV image in the top right corner and wait for ripping to complete. The file should then have been saved under Video (not Videos) on your Local Disk (usually the C drive). Here is what the pathway may look like for you: C:\Video\"Insert Movie Title"

 

4. Start Compressing Process: After a success message appears in MakeMKV, you can then open up HandBrake. Click on source, Video File (or Folder), Local Disc, Video, "Insert Movie Title" folder, and "Insert Movie Title" file.

For standard users: Keep all settings as the default and press start. Wait for encoding to finish, which may take some time.

For advanced users: Change "Container" to MKV file. Go to the "Audio" tab and add the desired languages. Change the audio codec to "AC3 Passthru" (this will maintain surround sound) for all tracks in surround sound. Go to the "Subtitles" tab and add the desired languages, but this is not needed for those who do not want subtitles. You can modify other settings if you know what you are doing, but this should be fine for most people. Press start and wait for encoding to finish.

 

5. Finalize and enjoy your digital collection: Rename the video file to whatever you find suitable and place it into a folder that you would use to store movies in. You can now go enjoy that movie!

Notes:

• Video will not be uploaded at the time of this posting.
• Scratched/damaged discs may result in skippy/unplayable videos.

Will Linux pose a threat to Windows?

As long as you probably have been using computers, you were well aware of Microsoft's dominance in building computer Operating Systems (Refer to Wikipedia on information about operating systems). According to statowl.com, Microsoft owns 85.17% of market share, Apple 13.64%, and Linux 1.07%. As you can see, Microsoft dominates, but why is this so? Many people tend to complain about Windows, especially the newly released Windows 8, with its abundance of flaws and pricing. But, if Windows is rejected by so many people, then why do those people use it? Here is a list of possible reasons and their counter arguments.

1. "I'm familiar with the interface of Windows, so it would be quite tedious to switch to a different OS." Ubuntu, a distribution of Linux, is packaged with a shell that is fairly close to a Windows 7 experience. It is pretty straightforward in what icon opens an application. It shouldn't take too long to learn the navigation and may even feel like a better interface.

2. "There aren't as many applications I would want or need to use on Linux." Err, wrong. There are a plethora of applications that can execute your desired task, but they aren't necessarily the same program you would use on Windows. For example, Open Office is open (as the name suggests), free, and has as many features as Microsoft Office. For most people, Linux already has all your programs pre-installed.

3. "My favorite games aren't available on Linux. Although I can run them using WINE, they just don't run as well or efficiently." Gabe Newell, from Valve, is actually promoting development of video games on Linux as we speak. He wants a "plan B" for when Windows may become an unsuitable platform. There are already many games that run through Steam on Linux and many more are to be expected. For the meantime though, Windows does have that  feature of access to a multitude of games.

4. I feel safe and secure with my copy of Windows." Wait, what? Isn't it widely known for Windows to be anything BUT safe and secure? Most people install, and even pay for, third party virus protection software that they have update daily. I'm not saying that Linux by itself it totally secure, but there is definitely less of a worry when using Linux, especially when virus developers don't view Linux as a great source of valuable stored data.  

5. "Linux isn't advertised or is not readily available on my prebuilt PC I bought from Best Buy." No kidding Linux isn't marketed and widely available to the average consumer. How could it be when they are not digesting your money like Microsoft does every second of the day? Yes, you do need to do the work of installing the OS to your computer, but it isn't that difficult. There are step by step guides that are quick and easy to read, so there is no need in guessing what to do with that .iso file. If it is too strenuous to learn a little, then you can always ask someone else to do it for you. Don't you have that one friend that is crazy about computers? Yeah, ask him.

As of standing right now, Windows seems to be the optimal choice for the general population. Even if this is the case, Linux has been showing an impressive growth in development. Linux may become viable as the OS of choice in years to come.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system
http://www.statowl.com/operating_system_market_share.php
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/ubuntu-12-04-vs-windows-8-five-points-of-comparison/10900
http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/6/3958162/valve-steam-box-cake
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/73825.html

I've learned to read and write in Kana!

Before continuing to read this post, I warn you that it is about the Japanese language. So if you are intolerant of the subject, then please do divert your eyes. 

あれ？！

What is Kana? Well, it refers to the use of two types of Japanese syllabaries, Hiragana and Katakana. Hiragana and Katakana parallel each other with the same amount of characters for the same sounds. They are used in different situations, Hiragana for Japanese-related words and Katakana for foreign words. The sound of "a," as in "water," can be represented as 「あ」 in Hiragana and 「ア」 in Katakana. An example of a word that would be considered Japanese is apple (ringo) 「りんご」, while orange (orenji) 「オレンジ」 would be considered a foreign word.

Each syllabary has 46 characters. Kana is used in conjunction with Kanji, a set of +2000 characters, in common Japanese writing. Writing in only Kana can be viewed as, well, less than scholarly. I have yet to challenge myself with Kanji, but it is inevitable that I will learn it someday. Here is a list of all the characters in Kana:

Hiragana: (consonant + a) あかさたなはまやらわ、(consonant + i) いきしちにひみり、(consonant + u) うくすつぬふむゆる、(consonant + e) えけせてねへめれ、(consonant + o) おこそとのほもよろを、(n) ん

Katakana: (consonant + a) アカサタナハマヤラワ、(consonant + i) イキシチニヒミリ、(consonant + u) ウクスツヌフムユル、(consonant + e) エケセテネヘメレ、(consonant + o) オコソトノホモヨロヲ、(n) ン

With combinations of the "consonant + i" characters and "y" characters (やゆよ), you can also create additional sounds. One example being "kyo" 「きょ」. Notice as the yo (よ) is half-sized in order to distinguish "kyo" from "kiyo." Some of the characters can have dakuten and handakuten applied to the top right corner of them. These look like quotation marks (゙) and circles (゚). They are used to alter the sounds of characters. An example of this is when adding dakuten to "sa" 「さ」, you get "za" 「ざ」. A list of all the characters in Kana can be viewed here.

So, how long does it take to learn Kana? Well, it took me about two weeks for each syllabary to read and about a month for both syllabary to write. It could have taken even less time than that, but I chose to take it steady. A daily dose of Kana is needed in that span of time in order to properly learn. How do you go about learning? I used a paid program called Human Japanese, although there are many alternatives, some being free, to try out. If you don't mind staring at a rather boring web page with a listing of Kana, go for it. If reading textbooks is your forte, try that. Human Japanese is appealing to the eye, gives animations of each character, and has quizzes. They couldn't have made it much easier to learn, but you still need to do some of the work on your own.

I appreciate your reading of this post. If you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to post them.

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