Mac: Extract audio from DVD

Extracting audio from a DVD using MacTheRipper

1. Insert the DVD you wish to extract the audio from, and close iDVD (or any other program that may have started when you put in the DVD). Launch MacTheRipper

2. Select the Mode tab and then choose Title – Chapter Extraction from the drop-down list

3. From the second drop-down list you’ll have to select the “title” you wish to extract the audio from. If the audio you’re going for is somewhere in the “main feature” of the DVD (ie. it’s not in the ‘bonus material’ or ‘extras’ on the DVD), select the title that ends with (MF). If the audio you’re trying to extract is in the bonus features or extras, you’ll need to figure out which “title” to choose. The length of each title (in hours:minutes:seconds) can be very helpful in determining which is the one you want.

4. Select the chapter you wish to extract the audio from. You can choose multiple chapters, but they must be sequential (choose a start and end chapter). The more chapters you choose, the longer (and larger) the resulting file will be.

5. Now click the D button, and then the Streams button. Remove the check marks from any of the Video Streams (since we’re going for the audio, we don’t need to extract any video). Each DVD will differ on the number and types of Audio Streams available. Remove the check marks from all of the Audio Streams except one – ideally the AC3 6Ch. Make sure none of the Subtitle Streams are checked and then click GO!.

6. If this is the first time you’ve used MacTheRipper, you’ll be prompted to save the file somewhere. Choose your Desktop (it doesn’t matter, just remember where you saved the file).

7. When the extraction is complete, MacTheRipper will let you know

Converting the DVD audio to MP3

1. If you happen to have a media player installed that can play .ac3 files (eg. VLC) you can use it to listen to the file (to make sure you extracted the right one etc). Now we’ll turn the .ac3 into an .mp3, using ffmpegX.
   
   
2. Open ffmpegX and drag the .ac3 file into the Drop file here window.

3. In the Target Format column, select the small arrow directly next to To. Choose Audio file to mp3 from the bottom of the very large drop-down list. Do NOT choose Movie file to mp3, even if the DVD is a “movie”.

4. Now select the Audio tab and choose a bitrate for your mp3. I like to use something a little bit higher than the default 128, but this is a personal preference. Remember, the higher the bitrate, the larger the resulting file will be. Click Encode when you’re ready.

5. ffmpegX will display a status window letting you know how things are going

6. The status window will change to Finished when it’s done

7. If you check the folder where you saved the .ac3 file, you’ll now find an .mp3 as well. That’s it! You can rename the mp3, move it to your Music directory etc.