Winki the Ripper 0.4.1 review

Winki The Ripper aims to be the easiest program for video encoding

License: GPL (GNU General Public License) File size: 439K Developer: Velko Hristov

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Winki The Ripper aims to be the easiest program for video encoding. It is actually just a graphical frontend for GNOME written in python to command line tools like mencoder, oggenc, mkvtoolnix, mplayer and lsdvd.

Please be advised that the use of some of the tools you need for "Winki the Ripper" may not be legal in some countries. Please check this out yourself for the country you live in. We strongly advise not to use illegal tools, but it is not our job to make sure in which country which of the possibly needed tools may be forbidden or restricted.

Here are some key features of "Winki the Ripper":
Supported input formats

DVD
VCD/SVCD
Multimedia file (does not work very well still)

Supported output formats

VCD/SVCD (limited to 1 video, 1 audio and no subtitle streams)
Multimedia matroska or ogm file (limited to 1 video, 3 audio and 3 subtitle streams)
Multiple chunk output
Predefined and custom size output chunks
Easy crop detection
Preview settings before rip
Bulgarian, German, Polish and Spain translations

Requirements:
In order to install Winki The Ripper you have to satisfy these dependencies

python interpreter (version 2.3 or higher required)
python-gtk
python-glade
python-distutils (debian: since version 1.5.2 distutils is included in python-dev) You will need this package if you want to use the installation script.
mencoder
mplayer
lsdvd

audio compressor

lame or
oggenc (recommended)

merger

ogm tools or
mkvtoolnix (recommended)
dvb-mplex (if you want to create VCD/SVCD)
vcdimager (if you want to create VCD/SVCD)
libdvdcss (if you want support for encrypted DVDs and the law in your country permits it's usage)

Limitations:
it works with the english versions of mplayer, mencoder and lsdvd only
it works with the newest versions of mplayer and mencoder only (dvd://1 syntax)
it cannot use external audio or subtitles files
the program does not check the HDD free space before encoding
no support for the GTK build in support for people with disabilities

What's New in This Release:
AVI file creation
scan for available CD-ROM/DVD-ROM devices using HAL
create ISO image file if the target is DVD
minor UI tweaks and some bug fixes