Handbrake is a wonderful, open-source, utility for converting DVD movies to other formats.  In my case, I use it to convert my DVD collection for use on my Apple TV.  It works great.

Today, a new version (0.93) was released.  It includes a long list of improvements from GUI updates to fixes for the lingering errors in 0.92.  Among the list of changes was the news that Handbrake will no longer decrypt DVDs!  This is no shock to Windows users, who are accustomed to using more than one application to rip a movie. For the rest of us, this is quite the change.  I have never needed anything other than Handbrake.

Fortunately, it is an easily fixable issue, and the Handbrake developers include the solution.  Simply install the VLC player.  Handbrake will automatically leverage the necessary library to do the decryption, if needed.

What makes this news interesting to me is the “why” associated with this change.  What was wrong with the built-in solution?  Was it fear of some legal pressure?  Is it based on a collaboration of those two teams?  Is it assumed that the VLC team will continue to develop and manage the necessary library(ies) needed to keep this solution working?  Is it possible that VLC is working to have Blu Ray decryption soon that Handbrake would now be able to leverage? In my dreams.

The possibilities are both exciting, and slightly disconcerting, as this is a relatively important change for Handbrake users.

The more prominent change in their release, while not as interesting to me, was the addition of converting files and sources, other than DVD’s.  This is similar in capability to the now open-sourced project VisualHub.

I don’t know about you, but I am a big video podcast consumer.  I subscribe to a long list of video podcasts, from various publishers, and stream them to my 50″ TV (Apple TV style).  It works great, and I am slowly moving away from viewing “traditional” TV.

I have been doing this for a while, and have noticed some things.

First, I am surprised how few podcasts do HD, or at least higher-than-iPod quality streams.  Second, I am surprised at how few of them are well produced.  Third, very few of them offer an array of options, designed to meet the modern consumer where they are, irrelevant of platform.

What I have also noticed, is how well Revision3 seems to be tackling all of these.  

They offer a wide range of video options, as you can see:

Among those various options, many satisfy higher resolution needs.  Why is this important?  Because the future of this new media is not intended merely for the portable devices.  Rather, it is for those big flat-panel TV’s people are starting to buy.  Providers such as TiVo are even offering means to stream podcasts to your TV.  Why spend my time hunched over a computer screen, when I can kick back in my recliner and enjoy it even more?

The other big hitter is production quality.  HD video is only as good as the set, lighting, cast, and content it is recording.  This is where I have seen Revision3 really put some focus as well.  As I have watched many of their shows over time, there has been a clear and intentional improvement of “how” they do a show.  

They know how to build a set, they know how to light it.  They know how to setup a green screen, and they know how to use video tools to properly take advantage of it.  They also know how to find interesting people that fit the content they want to deliver. They also know how to build a website, that fits well with their purpose.  They continually seem to improve on all of these fronts.

While I don’t like every show they make, I like the focus on quality and content they put into it.  I like that they are willing to try something, and if it doesn’t work, do something else.  I also like that they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously.  Good job Revision3 folks. Keep up the good work, I hope it pays off for you.

P.S. – CrankyGeeks/Geekbrief:  You do many of these things well, too.  CG: Please go widescreen.

P.S.S. – Holy cow CNET, you are a tech media company and it is 2008.  Act like it.  How about some better-than-complete-crap video quality? Toss in widescreen for the fun of it.

P.S.S.S. – Alex A:  Diggnation is a great show, but do you really have to drop the F-bomb so much?  It makes me not want to watch while my kids are around.

Wait, hang on, calm down.  Take your Apple fanboy hat off for a moment and just hear me out.

First, I am a big iTunes, Apple TV, and iPhone user.  I am very much interested in an integrated, digital life.  I have gone through the many hours of ripping about 115 DVD’s to an Apple TV quality resolution.  My wife thought I was crazy, but now that all of our movies are quickly accessible on our HD TV, streamed from an “iTunes Server” of sorts, she never wants to go back.  Simplicity and instant gratification.

That is the future.  That is the fast track that we are on.  DVD’s will be going by the wayside, and even the Bluray/HD-DVD war is really not worth fighting about.  Pick a standard and go, because it is only going to live so long (and the companies on both sides of the battle know it.  Microsoft does not really care about HD-DVD, they care about creating a knock down, drag out fight that keeps the world in flux, until they perfect their next delivery system).  The future is digital delivery.  Not sub-DVD quality delivery, but DVD and higher.  This is the whole point of the Apple TV, and it is why Microsoft does the same thing with the XBOX 360.  People want to sit in their house, click a remote, and “boom” the content is there.

Why does this make the Fox “iTunes Digital Copy” on their DVD’s pointless?  Because it is a stop gap measure between today and the future.  Worse, it is a vendor specific (Apple) stop gap, that nobody else has bought into.  Frankly, why would they?  Movie studios have no vested interest in iTunes.  If they can have their way, the same content gets delivered to Apple, Microsoft, and anyone else willing to make a business out of digital delivery.  Furthermore, they are greedy.  Why give something away that they could make as an extra revenue stream? (Not saying this is right, just telling you reality).  Today, the studios see iTunes as a means for more income, not replacing DVD sales income.

Besides the studio issues, how many people will actually use this feature?  If I can choose between a DVD with an average resolution “iTunes” rip, or just buy an HD digital version, I am going to head that way, because it is fully integrated with my Apple TV, and looks a lot better. 

If a teenager with an iPod Touch can just order and download the movie direct from iTunes to their iPod, why would they go to Best Buy and buy the disc?  It’s about convenience.  Apple knows it, and it is how they have made a killing off of music.  They have struggled getting to this place with movies, but they may have found their way on this as well.

I will say this is interesting news.  It means that Fox is very interested in the future.  However, this announcement is purely PR, and Fox knows it. 

I listen to, and watch, many podcasts, TV shows, and radio shows about technology.  Regularly, hosts feel required to throw their hat in the “MP3 Player” ring.  For whatever reason, they take sides, pick a device of choice (iPod, Zune, Sansa, etc.), and try to convince the consumer why that particular one is best for them.

The problem is, they miss the whole picture.  Rarely is the portable MP3 player the only place a person listens to their digital music (or watch video).  They might listen in their car, listen through their home stereo, and often, they listen on their computer.   What makes the iPod so popular for many, is not just the device itself, it is the rest of the options around it.  They like iTunes, they like the billion accessories and add-ons, and maybe they like the Apple TV.

The same picture is developing for Microsoft’s Zune.  The Zune Marketplace is growing, they now have a deal with Ford to offer the “Sync” integration, accessory offerings are increasing, and more.  How about the Sansa and other players designed to work with Real Rhapsody?

The point is, these are all integrated solutions.  If you are going to step up and make product recommendations, it is important that you actually know what you are talking about, and help the customer understand the impact of the device(s) they are looking to buy.  I would rather not have some noob telling a Mac user, using iTunes, that the latest Zune would be a great fit for them. The same goes for a Rhapsody fan.  They need a device that matches the overall picture of their digital media life.

All that to say, if you are going to recommend something, great, but please do your homework a little first.  This is not to say you have to be the expert on each device, but have a decent high-level understanding of the basics.