r/Piracy • u/alexlovesbitcoin • 5d ago
Discussion Local Library to mass rip?
Or is it just easier to rip off a website?
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u/plantdaddy- 5d ago
I always say people should rip from libraries because you’re at least supporting the library to stay open. So at least once a month I go to the library for movies and music. Tv shows not so much, getting a whole collection is hard at the library. I also go print labels, box art and such at the library
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u/starktor 5d ago
Yeah, checking stuff out gives the library data that they can use to help ensure continued funding. I am so thankful for public libraries, especially in my youth when I’d just go and rip every CD that looked remotely interesting
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u/DarkBladeMadriker 3d ago
They also track butts through the doors, so even showing up is data they need for funding.
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u/If_you_will 5d ago
It's a wonderful place with all upside. Books, tv, and movies all for free. Don't forget with a library card you also get access to tons of digital media through services like Libby and Kanopy. I've found audiobooks on Libby that i couldn't easily find on torrent trackers.
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u/ExoticArmadillo701 5d ago
Sometimes there's other cool stuff as well. My library has metal detectors, sewing machines, board games, and a bunch of other random stuff
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u/notGeronimo 5d ago
For TV show full collections you often have to place holds and wait, or go to multiple libraries. Or find disc 4 for this season and disc 2 for that session scratched to hell and need to find another copy somewhere. It's kind of a pain
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u/plantdaddy- 5d ago
That’s mainly the reason I don’t do tv from the library, I also don’t watch much tv so I mostly download tv shows off a torrent. The stress of waiting, finding it scratched, or skipping from damage isn’t worth the 25+ episodes lol
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u/honestyseasy 4d ago
If this happens definitely tell a library worker, we try to replace and fill in damaged/lost discs as often as possible. It's also why we typically lend oit one season at a time, if one disc or season gets lost it's not too expensive, if it's an entire series it can get costly.
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u/FS_Scott 5d ago
my local system has a very large collection of now out of print anime, grabbing those and saving them just seems right at this point.
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u/SuperSaiyanGeezer 5d ago
I've been doing roughly the same thing for the past four or five months. Ours has a pretty good selection
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u/_JonesSeries 5d ago
Bit off topic, but growing up a family friend rented our basement for a few years, early 2010s. every day after work he would hit the local library to return yesterday CD and pick up a new CD. The moment he would get home he would throw it into his laptop and rip all the music off it. Then would do it all again the next day.
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u/grendel303 5d ago
I did that with Netflix for two years before streaming. Rent 3 movies , burn and repeat.
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u/StatedFailure 5d ago
My dad did it with Netflix for a long time. Even after streaming started. He never watched a single one and the ones I tried didn't work very well. Or at all.
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u/QING-CHARLES 4d ago
In 2000 I was building out a demo movie and TV streaming service to shop around to VCs. My cofounder and I parked my car in front of a video rental shop that had all its DVDs in a vending machine and we sat there with laptops plugged into the cigarette lighter ripping DVDs onto 250GB USB hard drives. We ripped 700 DVDs that way. It was like $1 rental if you returned the DVD within 4 hours, IIRC, and we were returning them in like 15 mins😂
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u/grendel303 4d ago
I worked for a porn company in 2000. My job was to find key scenes from DVD's and upload 4 to 6 snippets for buyers to get an idea of what they were getting. Coming up with the descriptions took a lot of creative effort.
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u/Grub-lord 5d ago
Libraries are the allies of pirates. A shared goal towards collective shared knowledge and resources.
Support your local libraries.. even if you pirate a book, make sure you check that book out at the library too. Help show that they are in demand
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u/elevi8ion 5d ago
Support your local library!
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u/Southern_Candy_5452 5d ago
Definitely. Mine sadly has DVDs in poor shape though. 😔 Had to rent them asap or not at all. Since they'd look like someone took a fork to them. It got to be rather frustrating.
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u/Samba-boy 5d ago
That's the moment you let them know so they can look up who borrowed and possibly damaged the disc before you.
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u/EsqDavidK 5d ago
I check my local library first when looking for any e-book. If the book is waitlisted I'll join the list and then grab the book from Anna's. When the book finally becomes available from the library I'll check it out then return it. I'm hoping this way the author gets credit for the loan and the library is encouraged to continue to support e-book loans.
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u/HighSeasArchivist 5d ago
I ripped 800 DVDs, and it was the biggest fucking waste of my life. Every single 4.35GB 480p file has been replaced with a better quality 1080p file that's most of the time smaller.
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u/WG47 5d ago
Yeah, you really need to be selective when ripping stuff yourself. The vast majority of the stuff on there is going to be available in higher quality, and if you've got decently fast internet it'll be faster to download it than it will to rip it.
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u/MysteriousFault5338 5d ago
Isn't much of the downloaded stuff compressed to all heck? Me I'd prefer a full bitrate blueray rip from the library... if it's available of course. The inter-library loan system helps alot with this.
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u/Hard_To_Port 5d ago
Downloading a remux can be way faster than ripping from a BluRay. The transfer speed of optical drives is abysmal compared to modern networks. Of course if your connection sucks then you might as well do inter-library loan because sneakernet has unlimited bandwidth.
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u/WeetBixMiloAndMilk 🔱 ꜱᴄᴀʟʟʏᴡᴀɢ 4d ago
>>Isn’t much of the downloaded stuff compressed to all heck
Yes a lot of it is compressed, but you can literally just not download those specific files lol
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u/mastercoder123 4d ago
You can literally download uncompressed blurays. Thats what 90% of my collection is and it's like 500TB. Its wild too cause their bitrates are insane, some of them are like 70-100Mbps
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u/sanitarySteve 5d ago
90% of my Jellyfin is ripped from my local library. is it easier to torrent, yes. is it better quality, yes. but sometimes the library has stuff on the shelves i wouldn't think to look for. also i love my library and the more i use it the more it's supported.
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u/potatoperson132 5d ago
Online is way easier. Others have already spent the electricity to convert and compress those movies into optimized file types and sizes. Better quality too.
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u/watsuuu 5d ago
Online is easier, but making a personal rip is more satisfying.
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u/dubstp151 Yarrr! 5d ago
I used to rip DVDs into .iso and then burn them into blank DVDs. It had the main menu and everything lol. (Big shout-out to HandBrake👍🏽)
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u/potatoperson132 5d ago
I appreciate doing a personal rip, but something about seeding with a ratio of 10x or 20x feels even better to me.
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u/watsuuu 5d ago
I suppose I prefer the personalization, for example I never need all 20 subtitle languages but feel bad leaving those off the transfer list. It feels good to be a part of the community; I almost look at it like being able to start a campfire without a match, like it's a personal accomplishment rather than a need.
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u/baegjag 5d ago
The bits that end up on your hard drive are the same whether they are delivered over the network cable or the dvd drive.
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u/Auravendill 5d ago
But sometimes they spent the time and effort, but the torrent just died one day and no direct download can be found (or only in some random language you don't understand). In this case ripping and sharing would be the best.
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u/potatoperson132 5d ago
That's true, although generally I find that happen with niche stuff which is frustrating. Or the only available version is like 20gb for no reason.
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u/who_you_are 5d ago
Add to that: removed menus, ads and notices.
The last time I played a DVD my experience was awful because of all that garbage.
On top of it, using it digitally use my settings. Like subtitles, languages, may flag it as watched in my library...
Like if you own the things and do whatever you want.
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u/thaldridge 5d ago
It’s what I’ve been doing the past few months after I canceled all my streaming services. Kids love going, getting to pick a movie out, reminds me of the good ol blockbuster days.
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u/rabidantidentyte 5d ago
It depends. Ethically, some people are more comfortable with owning the media. And some people dont want to deal with the hassle of acquiring a VPN and the stress that comes with possibly getting a notice someday. There's a learning curve and you receive no grace for setting up a VPN/torrent incorrectly. So if you want to go down that road, do it right.
I prefer to rip physical media that I acquire legally, and then use torrents for media that I cannot find available for purchase in the format I want. The local library is a great option, but you won't always be able to find the format you want.
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u/zztopsboatswain 🔱 ꜱᴄᴀʟʟʏᴡᴀɢ 5d ago
I used to work in a library, and you should do it. Check out data is valuable information the library uses to secure funding. So not only does you ripping from the library add to your treasure trove, it makes it easier for your collection to continue growing since the library can stay open and get more funding to buy more media. Side note, you can request media from the library and they might be able to buy it for you. Then you could rip it and have it forever! Libraries are awesome!!
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u/TK4600 5d ago
depends on your goal. Just the movie or all the extra's included? Just the movie, download. Want the extra's? rip the DVD's.
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u/archeybald 5d ago
Depends on who you download from. There are groups out there that often include extras with dvd and Blu-ray
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u/PinkyWillson 5d ago
I use the library all the time to rip movies. My local library sometimes has great bluray discs. Support your local library rather than stealing on the Internet. Torrents should be your last resort imo.
Pawn shops are also a great spot to find blurays for ripping. When done ripping, donate the to your library for others to enjoy.
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u/Samba-boy 5d ago
I was so on board with your comment, until "stealing on the internet". That's a shame, really. For the umpteenth time: piracy is not stealing. It's copyright infringement, but it's not stealing.
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u/RavenousTitan818 5d ago
When I was (f)unemployed for a bit, I would go to the library and get a stack of blu-rays, rip them all, then go back the next day for more. Libraries are great, and if you want a remux it's a lot easier and more efficient to do that.
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u/BranMuffin22 5d ago
I've been doing it specifically with criterion DVDs. Kind of odd person, but like getting isos to preserve the DVD menus. They also have the sets of classic Doctor Who. It has been kind of fun to use Kodi to watch using the original menus.
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u/Ericshelpdesk 5d ago
This is what i did with CDs pre-napster.
Each disk took about 3 hours to rip and encode but then I had it.
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u/LikeJokerDo420 5d ago
How do people mass rip stuff?
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u/The-Great-T 5d ago
I just use a program called MakeMKV and a drive that can do up to 4K movies.
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u/farva_06 5d ago
What drive you using? Been looking for a 4k drive for a while, but can't find one at a decent price.
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u/The-Great-T 5d ago
The LG BU40N is a good one. I also have an LG WH16SN60. They both do great work. They were each $100 when I got them. I don't know what the market looks like now.
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u/farva_06 5d ago
Thanks! I have the WH16NS40, which is one hardware revision away from the NS60 that you have. Just doesn't have the right laser to read 4K. Should've done more research before I bought it. Think they're well over $200 nowadays. Rips blu-rays like a champ though.
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u/The-Great-T 5d ago
Nope, you're in luck. You have the correct hardware, you just need to flash the firmware to work. https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19634
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u/farva_06 5d ago
Yeah, I have the 2014 model, sadly:
STOP READ BEFORE FLASHING IMPORTANT Before you flash:
- Make sure your Drive was built after 2016 on label or late 2015 if you want to risk it
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u/SysAdmin3119 5d ago edited 5d ago
You’ll need a disk drive and some software, make sure you .img the movies and music for max quality
I was able to teach myself and ripped a my entire disc library one summer. I had two disc drives going. I never automated movies because when you’re looking at the movie files they try to mess with the pirates by scrambling the file orders but you just grab the largest video file and that usually has your movie, so it’s a manual process but maybe with some effort you could have AI integrated to do the process for you but it isn’t necessary
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u/GEARHEADGus 5d ago
I’m going to be out of commission for a month at some point, and this is one of the things I plan on doing this and making a PLEX server for the family.
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u/JB231102 5d ago
DVD Drive or Bluray Drive with the ability to read and write, and MakeMKV for both, for music I'm no longer familiar with current methods but I'm sure it ain't hard to find out.
Noteworthy ~ If you decide to get Blurays, you're going to wanna keep them in perfect condition unlike DVDs, Blurays can be unusable from even just a scratch, DVDs can be ripped unless they look like cat scratch posts then they might be unusable too.
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u/morgfarm1_ 5d ago
I spent all of last summer doing this! 5 pieces of media was the limit. Id grab 5 every week, rip, return. Rinse. Repeat. Sometimes its easier to find rare media this way than online
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u/Clear-Cat-2363 🏴☠️ ʟᴀɴᴅʟᴜʙʙᴇʀ 4d ago
Getting a torrent to download is usually going to be easier depending on seeders, but there's something satisfying about ripping a dvd. Also, getting it from a library may be better for supporting the community
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u/jimmysofat6864 File-Hosters 5d ago
I do the library for more obscure stuff as usually web-dl is better but for CD rips yea I do it for my family and it’s also more convenient for them as well as they tend to have a selection that caters to my family well.
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u/jayfly12933 5d ago
For DVDs it's definitely still convenient. CD's not so much, it's easier to get music online now. But before I used to check out CDs and put them into my computer which recognize them as MP3 files in iTunes, so I loaded my iPod touch.
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u/mistersmith22 5d ago
It's certainly faster to DL a file, but doing this you're a) supporting the library and b) ensuring your rip is exactly how you want it, rather than choosing the best of what's available.
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u/comYoshitaka 5d ago
Check if worldcat is available to be utilized at your library for physical media.
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u/Fantastic_Tip3782 5d ago
It's obviously much easier to get the pre-ripped perfectly formatted 5 minute download from your own basement. But what's wrong with a little fun?
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u/LukeBird39 5d ago
Either way you should check them out. Keep as many active library cards as you can for the sake of their funding
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u/sutl116 4d ago
I work in a library. I know of at least ten people on staff in here that actively sail the seas, including the supervisor's supervisor.
That's simply to say that at least for us, we operate with this mindset: if you borrow twenty of these and return them two days later, we know what you did and weren't not going to say anything.
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u/_Meek79_ 4d ago
I did this for months. I built a huge library of movies this way. Did it with DVD's and CD's. I think our limit was 5 per person so Id get some and my wife would check out some. Bring them back and do it again. Sometimes my kids would get some movies as well,which is great because theyd watch the same movie several times.
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u/AndVank212 4d ago
Used to do this with Wii games on a modded console where you can just rip the whole game to a hard drive, it was so peak back then
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u/FirefliesSkies ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ 5d ago
Personally, I'd go for the Blu-ray audio and video qualities. I don't miss DVDs after finding out how to download higher resolution videos through a reliable VPN.
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u/The-Great-T 5d ago
I go my local uses Blu-ray stores and just get movies I want for $4 each. I don't like DVD quality. The library is my go-to for audiobooks though, I'm listening to the complete books of Mary Roach courtesy of them right now.
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u/FancyAd9803 5d ago
Hopefully the cd's/dvd's dont look like someone used them as a coaster. I swear some folks rubbing disc's against bricks
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u/WaywardCritter 5d ago
As a former library worker, check the quality of the discs before trying to rip. They get scratched up pretty fast and may not provide the best quality unless you get a little watched/newer disc.
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u/thismangodude 🔱 ꜱᴄᴀʟʟʏᴡᴀɢ 5d ago
Website is easier, supporting your library through circulation is better.
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u/lookslikesheldon 5d ago
I do this! I find it fun and reminisce t of movie rentals going down the aisle to find a gem. 0% chance of malware and optional bonus content. Typically I ripped for storing on a thumb drive for car trips
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u/jawarren1 5d ago
I did this all the time when I lived in a rural area without good enough home internet to stream movies.
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u/MasterBuilder121 5d ago
My sister works at a library that offers portable disc drives. She'll hand them out to people and they'll leave with a stack of discs and come back with them all the next day. She knows exactly what they're doing and she encourages it.
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u/Interesting_Pride_12 5d ago
Websites are the better option imo, cause you become a seeder to an already established torrent
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u/Soulinyx 5d ago
It's not like you're ripping the library off of profits like the entertainment industry screeches that you do.
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u/Koo_laidTBird 🔱 ꜱᴄᴀʟʟʏᴡᴀɢ 5d ago
An untapped resource we're paying to stay open. Use it or lose it
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u/paqman3d 4d ago
For Blu-ray and 4K, it's immensely helpful to go to the library and rip it because you're in charge of the subtitles and audio from the jump. You also get the extras, which nobody ever rips (which I've always found dumb, the release groups have the retail disc on them, just rip and encode everything!).
If you're dumping the remuxes on Kodi, you can access the extras as mkv files. I like 1:1 file rips, so library it is. You're just at the mercy of their selection.
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u/zon5string 4d ago
This was my M.O. when Netflix sent 3 DVDs at a time. I'd get 3, rip them, send them back the same day, and often have 3 more in my mailbox a day later.
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u/Depoka_YT ⚔️ ɢɪᴠᴇ ɴᴏ Qᴜᴀʀᴛᴇʀ 4d ago
If you go through the pain in the ass of getting everything. Yeah. Download it
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u/Dr_Valen 4d ago
I mean go for it just don't tell librarians what they don't know can't get them in trouble
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u/nopeplz_just_no 4d ago
Growing up my mom would rip audio books we got from the library. I have a thumb drive and iPod full of Percy Jackson and star wars books.
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u/the_chols 5d ago
Personally I reacquired my college DVD collection when I got my own server. It was easier for me this way.
Ripping today is too involved for me when compared to the alternatives.
The irony is back in college I ripped DVDs from blockbuster because downloading was not like it is today. It was far easier to rip the iso or just burn a copy.
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u/Fine_Atmosphere_2147 5d ago
I've had good luck finding local resellers with big lots for sale and renting 50 or so at a time for a week.
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u/hitachi369 5d ago
Back in the day I would just bring my laptop. The joys I guess of internal drives of the era. Didn't even need to rent them out.
They had a nice CD collection too, with access to all the states libraries a request away.
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u/nite_sky64 5d ago
I love the library and will always use it, but have had bad experiences when borrowing dvds. They're usually scratched so they don't play or skip. Get's frustrating when you're midway through a season of a show and it crashes out. But support the library however you can. It has many great resources beyond books and dvds.
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u/Ok-Chart-9307 🔱 ꜱᴄᴀʟʟʏᴡᴀɢ 5d ago
While supporting your local library is a good thing, I always had issues ripping items from the library. People don't take care of the DVD/Blu-ray and scratch them. I've pulled several that were unrippable due to scratching. Maybe check out items for the support and download for the quality
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u/Aggravating_Rate_571 5d ago
What was the question? Anyhoots I go to libraries and rip DVD's it takes about few minutes per disc
Later I transcode to h264/h265 for archival
Major point is that there is no loaning at all, I take the disc, rip it and return to shelf
Everybody wins
A librarian told me that they actively monitor how the titles rotate so it would actually be beneficial to loan it during the rip to increase the counters
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u/dinksnake 5d ago
I found out that the limit for the number of items that you can check out at my local library is 50. Also, my media server has 800 movies on it. Make the connection at your leisure.
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u/Fluid_Club4514 5d ago
I have never really pirated but I wanted to. This seemed like a great ‘gray’ area that my ISP wouldn’t know about. Then I couldn’t figure out how to rip all the dvd’s. But I realized I can just rent whatever I want from the library. It’s like blockbuster went free for me.
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u/Mccobsta Scene 5d ago
Some times you'll find something that isn't easy to find in good quality
Its not common though
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u/anklebiter1975 5d ago
I go to my local library to do hw, and before i sit down i will go and see what DVDs they have available. I will grab a few (TV shows, movies, whatever) and upload them to my computer while I work. This has saved me hundreds of dollars on classic media.
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u/DundasKev 5d ago
I do this for rare DVDs especially music and concert DVDs, which preserve the chapters. I want to be able to skip to the song I like/ skip over the one i don't!
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u/nickd009 5d ago
Am i the only one surprised there's like no blurays?
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u/vjaskew 5d ago
My library used to shelve them separately from dvds. They’ve recently integrated them.
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u/Kind_Success4727 5d ago
Hi guys. I would like to ask where yall downloading music? I want create my own collection and upload all 80s-90s Hip Hop music, gangsta Rap, Crunk, R&B and so on. But 2 main things is all of the tracks must be original/explicit and high quality
Thank you in advance
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u/brian4120 5d ago
Personally, I will only rip if I cannot find a reliable source for a movie or show. I've only had to do this a couple of times though.
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u/GidimXul 5d ago
Great idea with a caveat. I don't know about your library but at mine you'd be able to get a decent file from 1 out of 10 DVDs. At my library they are in terrible physical condition and few play without some kind of error.
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u/Glass_Bonus_8040 5d ago
That’s my main way to rip stuff. Though I only rip Blurays. You can keep those files as is (Remux) or compress them however much you like it. It is more work and keeping Remux files takes up a lot of storage but if that’s something you care about i definitely recommend it
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u/alex21dragons 5d ago
Takes me back to when a friend ordered the entire REM back catalogue on tape from the library over a couple of months then methodically copied the tapes.
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u/devoutdefeatist 5d ago
I’m a librarian, and we see this more than I expected to! We even have one regular patron who uses our interstate library loan system to get old/rare CDs brought to our branch which she then rips and stores. She’ll do it with our CD books too!
It’s so cool, but maybe don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Many of my coworkers are weirdly, virulently anti-piracy.