[bloodlust]

I have a ton DVD box sets of TV shows that I'd like to rip and put on XBMC. I however am confused on which is the best method to go about this. Is there a program that rips each episode from the disc to where all I'd have to do is setup the naming structure so XBMC would reconize and tab them properly? I do have DVDfab Premium edition which is what I used to rip my DVD and Blu Ray collection to XBMC. I'm just a little confused on how to rip each episode from the DVD correctly.

[shadd22]

I've always found great success with Handbrake. It can read your DVD file structure and create a dropdown list of all episodes. All you have to do is input your encoding settings, filenames and your generally good to go.

http://handbrake.fr/

[steeve23]

+1 for Handbrake, but be aware it is not a one button process, and (unless you are using a mac) can't deal with the decryption, for that you will need DVDFab you already use.

Rough Steps (The way I do it):
1. Rip DVD with DVDFab
2. If film, just convert using handbrake, it should select the longest title and is fairly straightforward

If its a TV series, then when you select the ripped folder in HB you will have to select each episode then add it to the queue (easiest way I think) to be converted. For this to work, you will need to have a rough understanding of episode length, ie are most of the episodes a set length (around 45mins), in this case you can ignore the much longer (or shorter) title lengths HB gives you (it will filter out the silly small ones), add each one to the queue and you are a go.

3. The other thing you need to be aware of is episode naming/numbering, you can either name them as you add them to the queue, or (as I do) leave the default name, then change them after conversion. I find this easier, but you do need to have an idea of ordering and number of episodes per disc ie you might have a disc with 4 episodes on it, but have 5 titles, this usual means you have a special episode (making of etc) on the disc as well (if you are lucky the special will be a different length and easy to spot). For my naming I have it like this, eg:
TV Series/Lost/Lost.s01.e01.(extension) = Lost Season one, Episode One.
Season folders are not needed, but can be used if it keeps it tidier for you, xbmc doesn't use them, eg:
TV Series/Lost/Season One/Lost.s01.e01.(extension)

Hope this helps.

Stephen