I'm watching The Empire Strikes Back on my iPod. It looks great and sounds even better. This was a really easy thing to do. I used HandBrake 0.7.0 beta. It took awhile but it was worth it. I encoded the VIDEO_TS folder to 320 x 240 MP4 with aac audio. It took over 2 hours to rip. The final file size is about 550 mb.
So the question is, will this be a feature of iTunes soon? And if not, why? Why have an iPod with video if the video is difficult to come by? If I can encode my CDs, why not my DVDs as well? I don't see why not. But I'm sure there are a lot of lawyers out there who can.
Will iTunes soon be selling movies? Will there be a way to get your TV shows off your Tivo or other DVR device? Do people want this? I think I would. I see lots of opportunity here. Even the opportunity for better distribution of independent productions. I think this is just the beginning... funny how Apple has a way of starting revolutions.
