Keeping a backup of data in an external storage device such as a hard disk or a DVD ROM can protect against unwarranted loss of data. Movie enthusiasts may want to burn movies stored in the hard disk onto a DVD for convenience and to free up space on the hard drive of the computer. Converting the DVD to DivX makes the DVDs portable so they can be run on any platform. AcidRip can be used to convert DVDs to DivX. Before installing AcidRip on the Linux operating system, it is mandatory to install the necessary Xvid codecs to play DVDs and DivX/Xvid videos.

Converting DVDs to DivX may be handy for several reasons:

Back up your original DVD movies.

Takes up less space on your hard disk.

Portability: you can store your favorite movies on a portable hard disk.

The following guide will help you convert your DVDs to DivX / XVid easily.

Install codecs

Start by installing the necessary codecs to play DVDs and Xvid.

Follow these instructions

Install AcidRip

Type:

sudo aptitude install acidrip

Making use of:

The DVD player is a device listed /dev.

To know where your drive is, type:

cat /etc/fstab

Once you open AcidRip, enter that information in "Path" and click "Load".

You should see several tracks. Select the one that lasts the longest (normally the entire movie itself).

Then select the output directory and the file size you want (E.g 700 MB).

Put %T as the file name: this will automatically add the title of the movie.

For the audio track, choose your language.

In the video tab, select the Xvid codec (it is DivX compatible).

Choose 2 passes for better quality.

Make sure the "Crop" option is checked, and click "Detect".

This allows detection of black stripes and eliminates them.

Then, select "Scale" to reduce the size of the video size. 576 is usually a good choice (the height is automatically calculated).

You only have to click on "Start" and the encoding of the movie will start (note that it will take several hours to process).

Notes

Thanks to sebsauvage for this tip.