"The Truth About DVD to iPod Software..."

Published: Feb 4, 2009

Converting a DVD to play on the iPod seems easy, but if you've done a Google search for DVD to iPod conversion software, you may have noticed there are literally hundreds of software to choose from. All these brands claim to convert DVDs to the iPod better than the rest, but not all of them do. Some are much better than others. Here at DVD to iPod Review we wanted to find out which ones give you the absolute most for your money.

To do this, we purchased 42 different brands of software and tested them using 3 seperate types of DVDs:

1. Brand new release Hollywood DVDs. In order to convert Hollywood DVDs the software must be able to decrypt the latest Hollywood DVDs encryptions.

2. Older classic DVDs These are easier than the first category to convert but use different formats. By converting these older DVDs we can check to see if the software works on all DVDs.

3. Homemade DVD videos The easiest of the 3 to convert, we assumed most software would convert these without problems, nonetheless they needed to be checked.

4. Digital video from the internet Last we checked to see which formats of digital video could be converted.

While the DVDs were converting we logged the conversion speed, then played the converted DVD on an iPod Touch to check the quality of the picture and sound.

Our Shocking Discovery...

Time and time again we found software that failed to convert newly released DVDs. Doing so would result in an error message, or worse crash the software along with your computer.

Of the software that did convert the new DVDs, most could not make a high quality conversion. Problems ranged from the video lagging and accelerating, the sound not lining up with the images, the picture being too dark or too light. ...Needless to say watching a video with problems like these is extremely frusterating.

A few even came with data mining spyware. This was a real shock, we would never expect retail software to include spyware.

Conclusion:

Now even though many programs did not live up to our expectations, we did manage to find a few that truly stood out. For one, these all converted our test Hollywood DVDs without crashing. Second, when playing the DVDs they had perfect quality, so good you could hardly tell it was a conversion. If you are planning to buy DVD to iPod software... then these are the programs to use.

Here's the DVD to iPod Software We Recommend The Most

Editor's Top Choice

Cucusoft DVD to iPod Suite

The Cucusoft DVD to iPod software was the number one product we tested. Not only did Cucusoft convert all our test DVDs, but they had an unmatched combination of conversion speed, video quality, and ease of use.

As far as conversion speed they tested up to 3x times faster than other products. It turns out Cucusoft uses a more advanced conversion engine that converts directly from DVD to iPod. (Others go from DVD to AVI to iPod slowing down the process) This is why there's such a big difference between brands. None the less with Cucusoft it was easy to have multiple DVDs converted within a few hours.

For first time users the software is very easy to operate. You can choose "One click mode" This makes it so all you have to do is open the DVD and push the convert button. It really is that easy. We later found out this is a new feature that was just added on the latest version of the software. (if you bought an older version, updates are free.)

When playing the converted DVDs, video quality was excellent, the images ran smoothly and the sound stayed perfectly aligned with the video. There was no noticeable change in quality going from DVD to iPod. The was a relief as most software does not get the sound synchronized to the images.

In the end, Cucusoft got our top spot for having the fastest conversion speed, incredible video quality, and a great user experience. If you don’t know which to buy, get Cucusoft, you will not be disappointed. This was the best software out of all tested.

Second Place

PQ DVD to iPod

Next on our list is the PQ Converter. This software received our number 2 spot. They had excellent video quality, good conversion times, and a very intuitive interface. We liked Cucusoft better because they had faster conversion times. Some also said the user interface with a Cucusoft was a little easier to use.

PQ DVD is a great choice for getting DVDs or Video on the iPod. Also just like Cucusoft, PQ has two choices of software. They have software to convert DVDs, and software that converts both DVDs and video.

Third Place

Great For Converting to More Than Just the iPod

Best Choice For The Mac

IskySoft DVD to iPod For Mac

Iskysoft is a great choice for Mac users. This software was some of the best we tested, the DVD conversion times were extremely fast, just as fast as our top choice Cucusoft. The video quality was excellent as well, everything played smoothly and the sound was crisp and clear.

When checking customer service we were pleased to find that every email sent received a prompt reply from a friendly representative. The IskySoft software was the best we tested for the Mac

Highest Rated User Reviews:

I have just bought the Cucusoft DVD to IPOD conversion software and it works perfectly. Spot on, no fuss at all! I was worried about buying this software for 2 reasons, 1 - because I had bought 2 off-the-shelf products from PC World (Movies on IIPOD and ROXIO) and both were rubbish, they simply would not work, and 2 - I was concerned about paying and downloading over the Web to a US company in case the software did not work. However, the payment and download of the software could not have been easier and it installed, ran and worked first time. I converted a brand new BBC DVD and it was on my IPOD in no time. The software is very user friendly and works easily with ITUNES. After weeks of faffing around with software from PC World I am delighted with this software. Definitely recommend it!

By Mr Fordyce, Feb 11 2009

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