This past weekend I finished up a rather tedious project of digitizing the few DVDs that I own.  The reason for this project was to clear up more space in the apartment and to make the films more convenient to watch.

By this point I think most people have done this with their CD collections, importing them into – well, let’s face it – into iTunes.  Does anyone really use any other media organizer? (OK… I admit, Songbird is pretty awesome, but if you’re syncing an ipod iTunes still feels like the way to go.)

So while most of us have converted to digital music, there are still lots of DVDs hanging around.  This is in part because of the film industry’s successful attempts to block DVD copying software but it’s also admittedly because most people don’t really desire the same convenience from their films as from their music.

The allure for me was realized recently on a domestic flight with no programmed entertainment – no movie on a 5 hour flight?!  Sure, I had my iPod with me and I listened to podcasts and music, but as long as I had my laptop with me, I might as well watch a movie on the bigger screen.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any DVDs with me and even if I did, the DVD drive spinning would chew up the battery.

I used a few programs on my Mac to record the DVDs into a reasonably-sized file that sits on my disc.  It was a pretty simple process really (once the right software was installed – including VLC media player, Handbrake copying software and MetaX data tagger).

All of my DVDs (and really, we’re only talking about maybe 30 or so) are now in a cardboard box where I can place them next to my CDs and forget about them.  The files on the other hand can be managed through iTunes and synced with my AppleTV so I can watch them on my TV, on my laptop or even on my iPhone (Though I don’t see that happening any time soon).