Flip4Mac Drive in

Last week I downloaded a new app Drive-In. It's from the the flip4mac people, whose work I like. I didn't install and tell you about it then because it wanted a reboot and those who know me, know I like my uptime numbers big - like snooker, not small like golf.

However since I needed an uncustomary reboot for my Samsung printer (See last blog) I decided I'd give the drive-in a whirl.



Install was well behaved and speedy, it's only a small application after all. I let it reboot, much against the grain. I actually wonder what it is that drive-in is doing in that reboot.

When I launched I'm shown a simple interface, four lit buttons and a simple instruction insert DVD. Perhaps know I should clue you all in on what drive in purports to do. Simply it images your DVD collection allowing you to play them back from hard disk. I'm a sucker for hard disk based media storage. I've got three external drives just drammed full of my ripped music, TV programs I've recorded etc. All because it's much quicker to double click or drag into VLC than it is to search out the DVD from my shelves which for 2007 will mostly be out of reach behind my bed.

I insert a DVD and I can enter all the information about it, or I can have the program download the info.


What I would have liked to see here instead of having to manually enter the bar code information - that's Mission impossible if you care.


What flip4mac should have and could have done would be to license the technology from Delicious monster and utilize the iSight. No however they didn't. I had to enter it manually, bad flip4mac.


Initially the search failed, I had to manually set the country for which it should search Amazon. Why it didn't pick this up from the OS or ask me on first launch I don't know. Once correctly chastised the details for my DVD were filled in for me.



I clicked the shiny "Create Image" button, only to be told I had to create an account and that any DVDs I imaged would be tied to this account. I assume this is to keep the RIAA nasties off my and flip4mac's back. The annoying thing is, this is a Beta release - could have let it slide until the first major copy hits the virtual shelves, also I have no idea what the price point will be.



Backing up took appx 30 minutes, the orriginal estimate was accurate. I can't decide if I like the feature that it preserves the menu structures and I assume special features. If I'm on a flight or trip, it is unlikely I will want the directors commentary or alternate deleted scenes. I'll want easy entertainment. Hence maybe time and hard disk space would be saved by allowing me to chose what portion I want, like handbrake does. Lets face it, with my Parallels install hitting 10 gig, my iTunes library being over 20, photos taking 11 gig. I don't really want to lay down 6 gigs on mission impossible.

Overall it's a nice application if you want menu structures - I can't fault it. I click play the imaged file and DVD player launhed and it worked just fine menus included. The file itself is even given the movie cover as it's icon. DVD player doesn't seem to differentiate between the image and the real disk because when I clicked play, I got the FBI warning then DVD player skipped right to the credits as I have DVD player set to continue from last time when I put a disk in.

The time to make an image isn't horrendous. If you're going away in a few days you could easily throw on a few movies to take with you. You'd save battery power too not spinning the real DVD, and given that the new MBP 15" replacement internal drives are available now, meaning you can add another 160 gig in place of the DVD drive.

I didn't like being forced to sign up for an account, makes you feel like you're not trusted to even try the app out. I always remember something that Ryan Carson said about letting the users take away the app and try it out without annoying them.

You can watch the Geek Brief review here.