If you have a load of DVDs, and have been dying to watch them on your iPod for free well, here’s an answer to your prayers: HandBrake.

HandBrake is an open-source, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

To use HandBrake and start ripping your DVDs for the iPod you would need the following:

An iPod

500 MHz processor or better with at least 16MB of video RAM

QuickTime 7.0.3 or later

iTunes 6.0.1 or later

Below, are the steps on how to rip DVDs with HandBrake:

1. Download HandBrake and install. Make sure you have the latest version for any improvements.

2. Insert a Standard video DVD (these are DVDs that you would normally play in a DVD player), into your computer’s DVD drive. (Note: HandBrake will NOT be able to convert individual video files saved on a DVD-ROM.)

Launch HandBrake. A screen will ask you to choose a DVD. Choose the DVD you inserted and click Open. (Make sure that only HandBrake is accessing the DVD.)

3. HandBrake will now scan the DVD, which may take up to two minutes depending on the speed of you drive and DVD contents.

By default, the longest title in the list will be selected. This is because; main features in DVD movies usually have long titles. If the selected title is not what you want, just change the selection.

** You can use the Picture Settings button to manually move through several frames of the title to see what it looks like.

4. On the Destination section you can specify 3 settings: file destination, format, and codec . For file destination, make sure that the location has enough disk space to accommodate the ripped file. (1GB is the average size for full length movies.)

5. Select an iPod preset by clicking on the Toggle Presets button on the top right corner.

**For a high quality file that works well on a small iPod screen but with a reasonable file size, it’s advisable to adjust the bitrate lower than the average.

6. Choosing a preset, HandBrake will have synced the picture quality for the iPod. However, via Picture Settings you can offset the grainy, interlaced or compressed-look of the video. Change the Deinterlace option to fast to remove any interlacing (horizontal lines in the video.)

5. Lastly, click on the Rip button to start ripping the DVD. Encoding time depends on the following: video length; computer speed; are there other applications running; codec selected; and whether you chose 2-pass encoding.

An ETA will be posted as you rip the file and may increase if there are other applications running that might eat up processor usage. So, it’s best to rip DVDs either overnight or when the computer is not in use.

After encoding, you may quit HandBrake. Finally, you may now import the encoded video to your iPod via iTunes.

Quick note, however, for the not-so-tech-savvy consumer there are tons of paid software that offer a much easier solution. No need to worry with the codecs and various settings that would make your head spin. You can convert DVD to iPod video in just one-click or provide step-by-step interface in a way that is user-friendly and simple.  Go to DVDtoiPodReview.com to see the latest paid software that convert DVDs to the iPod.

In any case… do enjoy your movie!