DVD Ripping FAQs

  • Can I load my digital video files into iTunes?
    Choose our mp4 ripping service with full metadata tagging and the answer is a resounding yes, as long as you are using Windows. Good old Apple discontinued iTunes for Mac, but not all is lost, Mac users still have options.

    Thanks to our great metadata tagging, your movies, TV shows, home videos and music videos will populate all the correct fields, display cover art, descriptions, season numbers, episode numbers, genre, casting, and ratings. Just as if you had purchased them from the iTunes store itself.
  • How much does it cost to rip my disc collection?
    Prices vary depending on format and disc types (CDs/DVDs/Blu-ray/4K). Here is our Price List.
  • Which video formats do you offer?
    We can provide mp4 and lossless mkv,. If you want to play your collection on smartphones, tablets, PCs/MACs, Apple TVs then you may need mp4. Some customers opt for 2 formats, a lossless file, and mp4 for mobile device viewing.

    DIGIRAW DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD Ripping Service page.
  • How long will it take to complete my order?
    Lead times for 100+ discs, 500+ and especially 1000+ are dependent on current orders, but typically you can expect your order to be turned around within 2 to 4 weeks. We'll know more when we receive your order and whether you have any special instructions to take into account.

    Small orders and top up orders of less than 30 discs' go through our express stations and are completed within 3 days to 7 working days.

    Please make     contact letting us know where you are and the number of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs you have so an estimate can be provided.
  • Do you offer a collection and return service?

    FREE when your order exceeds…

    • £150 for postcodes: HP, LU, MK, NN, OX.
    • £250 for postcodes: AL, CB, RG, SG, SL.
    • £400 for postcodes: CV, GL, HA, LE, SN, TW, UB, WD.
    • £500 for postcodes: B, BA, BR, BS, CM, CO, CR, DA, DE, DY, E, EC, EN, GU, HR, IG, IP, KT, N, NG, NW, PE, RG, RH, RM, SE, SM, SO, SP, SS, ST, SW, TF, W, WC, WR, WS, WV.
    • £1000 for postcodes: BH, BN, CT, ME, NR, PO (Mainland), TN.
    • £1250 for postcodes: BB, BD, BL, CH, CW, DN, FY, HD, HX, L, LN M, OL, PR, S, SK, WA, WN.

    If it looks like our free collection and return service is unavailable to you at this time, then perhaps like many of our customers (UK and Internationally), you can send your discs to us directly. We recommend the online courier broker for UK clients Interparcel and UPS or FedEx from overseas.

    Or, make     contact with us and request a quotation for a member of the DIGIRAW team to come out and collect them personally.
  • Can I drop off and collect in person?
    Indeed you can. We're part of a number of companies in and around Buckingham and you can, of course, drop your collection down to one of them. Please let us know when to expect you. For security reasons (our expensive equipment and your prized disc collection), we keep the location of our digitising centre covert so don't expect to see our set up, but do expect a friendly face.
  • How do I pay for your service?
    Within a couple of days of taking receipt of your discs, we'll be in touch with your final count along with a PayPal invoice for your kind and immediate settlement so that we may schedule a date to start working on your order.

    It's not necessary for you to have a PayPal account. You can simply settle the invoice online using your preferred choice of card and the PayPal secure gateway system. Just click the pay now button in the invoice email you will receive directly from PayPal.

    PayPal is a safe, simple to use service and means you never have to share your card details with us. If you prefer to settle by bank transfer, just let us know at the time of order and we'll email the details to you.

    Why do you charge in advance?
    We've been caught out a few times. We've collected and digitised and the clients have not been in a rush to take receipt of their completed order and settle the bill for the work done. That adds cost to our business which of course would need to be reflected in our pricing so we made a decision… if we're paid, we'll do the work and if someone wants to hang around before paying, that's fine too, but at least we're not working for free and holding up other clients.
  • Do you offer discounts?
    It’s rare, but we have been known to put the odd special offer out there. If you’d like our service but at a lower rate, let us know, and we’ll gladly drop you a line when one comes round again.
  • Do you include subtitles?
    MKV captures everything your disc has to offer so you can activate or deactivate subtitles, language and audio options using your system or media player.

    What about mp4 files?
    If like a Star Wars movie there are alien jibber jabber scenes then yes we burn those in full-time providing the disc permits (most do). Same for the odd foreign scene found in many titles.

    star_wars_jibber_jabber_Subtitles
    How about my foreign titles?
    If you have for example a French movie, then we will not include the English or any other language subtitle unless we’re notified at the time of order. You don’t need to list each title, just let us know which language subtitles we should burn in for your foreign titles at the time of order. The reason for this is we could never second guess a client's first language or multi-lingual skills.

    At this time we do not provide an MP4 subtitle feature that enables you to activate or deactivate them at will. To do that the titles would need to be m4v which many non-Apple devices/players will not accept. The other reason is that there are just too many configurations and differing systems out there to handle them all in one file.

    Furthermore, we don't offer .srt subtitle merging either, again, there are just too many to choose from to make sure each scene and audio match up to the film or tv show you may own.
  • What is metadata?
    For your mp4 files…
    Think about your iTunes software and all those fields needing information such as title name, episode number, series number, genre, the cover art and more…

    Metadata tagging is when we embed all that information about your title and code it into the file directly. That way when you transfer your finished digital files over to iTunes, and or an Apple TV, iPad, iPod and iPhone, you can select or search what you fancy watching simply by the artwork cover, or by genre or by placing a search for the title itself. The finished files in iTunes will be just like you had bought and downloaded them from the iTunes store.

    Another great feature we include is coding the title in a way that tells iTunes if the mp4 video file is a movie, or music video, home video or TV Show… then when you drag and drop your digital files into iTunes, each title will populate the correct folders. Movies in your movie folder, TV programmes in the TV Show folder and so on.

    Will my TV episodes be individual files?
    Yes. Unless on the rare occasion the DVD does not have them in an individual format and for some "rare" unusual reason we can not split them out!

    Each episode will be metadata tagged too so when viewed in iTunes, each one is listed with the correct season/series number, just like the image sample below.

    Children's shows (for example cartoons) can be made up of many smaller 5 minute shows…. If and when possible we will combine these into one larger file so that when your little one presses play, they can enjoy them back to back in a continuous play format, rather than keep asking mum or dad to put on the next one.

    ripped_tv_shows_iTunes




  • Is my collection insured?
    Yes, as soon as they are in our possession. More info can be found within our terms and conditions.
  • Can I sell or dispose of my discs once you have digitised them?
    Of course… but you will need to delete the digital files too.

    Can I sell or give away, upload to a public website for streaming and downloading and/or share my digital files?
    Absolutely not! That could be construed as piracy. If this is your intention, our service is not for you. We're not fans of piracy. We may all think the big makers and actors earn excessive amounts but negate them that income and what would we have to watch? Profit = programme making = jobs.

    Our service is about future proofing and helping you enjoy your private collection on all your personal devices in a modern way, for decades to come. Moreover, about giving you total control to create your very own     Netflix kinda streaming service, packed only with the content you love.

    Sorry if our answer sounds sharp but it is an important one to be clear about. Piracy is bad news.
  • What if my discs are dirty or scratched?
    Then you are in good company, most are, and reinforces the pleasure one gets from making the disc-to-digital move.

    We always check for dirt and clean where necessary to protect our equipment. As long as the scratches are not too deep, we can normally polish them out or enough to be able to read the disc and convert for you. We don't charge extra for this unless of course your entire order is in really bad shape and racks up our labour to clean and prepare them.
  • Can you digitise 3D movies?
    We sure can and they perform brilliantly, especially our mp4 conversions. We’ll also include the 2D version in HD too.
  • Will my Blu-ray be converted to HD?
    Yes! If your disc is 720p you’ll get 720p HD, the same for 1080p and 4K UHD too. We call it visual preservation.
  • Finished file sizes. Should I expect my digital files to be less quality that the disc?
    Lossless mkv, iso and vob files...
    Lossless files are an exact clone of your feature or your entire disc. So no, there is no degradation.

    mp4 files…
    We doubt very much if you would notice a difference. Play them on a 200inch screen without up-scale technology and you may experience visual degradation on your SD files, but we have clients enjoying our finished files on large screens and they tell us they are astounded by the quality.

    mp4 video file sizes will vary but typically average 2GB for a DVD movie and 5GB to 10GB for a Blu-ray movie, some can be as high as 15GB especially if it started out at 45GB with DTS audio and loaded with fast moving scenes like a car chase.

    Each DVD TV episode averages 300mb and Blu-ray 1GB.

    We're sticklers for quality audioVisual playback, in fact, our business depends on it! So if it pleases us it will please you too. And as an extra comfort factor we serve many AV solution providers on behalf of their clients, so if our quality was not superior, we’d never enjoy these partnerships.
  • Will I get 5.1 / 7.1 surround | DTS, DTS-HD MA. Atmos. DTS-X?
    Lossless files (mkv) you get everything your disc has to offer without any compression. Includes DTS-HD MA, True-HD, Atmos and DTS-X.

    For mp4s, If the original disc is configured with 5.1 / 7.1 Surrounds, DTS and DTS-HD MA then it is highly likely you will, and of course, if your disc is only mono or stereo then that is also what you will end up with. Stereo cannot be enhanced to 5.1… Our finished work is guided by the configuration of the disc. We're on your side, sound, good sound is important so for surround sound we adopt a near to zero compression using our pass-through configuration.
  • Will my titles include chapters?
    If your original disc includes chapters (which most do), then yes your digital videos will include them too. In some cases, it is even possible to include the name of each chapter with your mp4s but this is not a guaranteed inclusion.

    Why are chapters a good idea?
    In addition to fast forwarding and rewinding, chapters allow you (subject to your chosen media player) to skip back and forth to specific points of a movie or TV show quickly and easily in the same way a DVD / Blu-ray disc player can.
  • Will ratings (U, PG, 15 etc) be UK classifications?
    Yes, by default ratings for our mp4 service such as U, PG, 12, 15 & 18 will be the UK classified. An option for US classification, such as PG-13, R18 etc. is available, but you will need to confirm these as specific instructions at the time of your enquiry if your order comes from the UK. Outside the UK and we'll ask you for your country preferences.
  • Widescreen or full screen?
    Most discs don't offer a choice, but older ones can often have Side A (Widescreen) & Side B (Full screen) options. Unless otherwise instructed by you at the time of order, the default preference we adopt is Side A (Widescreen).
  • Are special features & extra's included?
    Not as standard. Our default physical to digital service extends only to the main feature and TV show episodes.

    Can I order mine to be converted by special arrangement?
    Sure, by special arrangement. Let us know which titles and we will check them during our audit. Digitising bonus material is very time consuming and is likely to push up the price and lead time to complete your order. It's all to do with how they are created/configured and moves away from much of our automated process to support the low prices we offer.
  • Is your DVD / Blu-ray service "Region Number or Letter" specific?
    No. Regions 1, 2 3 etc. for DVDs and A, B, C for Blu-ray are all good to go. 4K is not region specific.
  • USB storage or Cloud - How will I receive my files?
    You can choose either a free USB drive or Cloud download (max 1TB). If your order exceeds 1TB, we will include a USB storage drive at no cost to you.

    You get 30 days to download your files

    We format your hard drive to be compatible with both MAC and Windows as standard. We favour the exFAT format because there are no limits to file sizes.

    If you prefer NTFS (windows only) please let us know at the time of order.

    The Windows and MAC compatible Fat32 format is not available because of the maximum 4GB file size restriction.

    Prices
  • Do you serve UK only?
    So far we have helped customers from 20 countries.
  • What is your policy on XXX titles?
    Commercial classified titles for private use is fine, personally recorded or under the counter are not.
  • I have family home video recordings on DVDs I would like converted?
    We'd be delighted to convert them to mp4 for you. We even have customers that love to upload them to their private youtube and Facebook accounts for friends and family to enjoy.

    If your order is specifically for Home Videos, take a look at our dedicated page     DVD Home Videos to MP4.
  • Do you keep a backup of my files?
    We hold your digital files for 30 days, so it's a good idea to make a personal backup. Some clients order an extra USB hard drive; others make their own arrangements.

The original disc to digital company

Nobody can match our obsession and experience when it comes to disc-to-digital home media solutions. That's why, when you book our service, you have the confidence of knowing Chris, the founder, will be taking care of it. Only the best will do in Chris's world, and the same can be said for his crew.

FIND US ON…
DIGIRAW Limited
(Home Entertainment Solutions)
credit card, paypal
High Acre Estate | Fulwell Road |
Finmere | Buckingham Oxfordshire | MK18 4AS | England

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