RatDVD

File:Ratdvdlogo.gif

The ratDVD logo

ratDVD is a highly compressed file type, containing all the contents of a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) movie. Files compressed by ratDVD are usually one to two gigabytes in size. It is currently available only for the Microsoft Windows Operating system.

ratDVD works by compressing a full DVD into a .ratDVD file and then playing its contents by decompressing the file and using a DirectShow-compatible DVD player.

ratDVD was only a preview version of the now commercially sold fluxDVD. While ratDVD contained the features that allowed the home user to create their own archived DVDs, this function has been removed from fluxDVD, allowing only content owners to make and sell fluxDVD archives.

Criticism

• The online support for the ratDVD software as well as its usage is scarce.
• Its closed-source nature (Although the creator has stated that the source code will be released at some point in the future, and "will probably happen under the BSD license") ^[1]
• It never achieved a critical mass of popularity due to three reasons: 1) It never serviced a particular need in the marketplace. If people wanted a compressed format for a video, other compressors were faster in compression, produced better-quality compressed video, and were smaller. If people wanted the entire DVD, they were willing to download an uncompressed DVD image. 2) ratDVD was not directly supported in popular Windows DVD players, forcing people to use the ratDVD program or Windows Media Player to play ratDVD files. 3) The program was considered too unstable by users, engendering numerous complaints about crashing while converting files back to standard DVD format.
• ratDVD files are not a standardized format.
• Conversion from DVD to ratDVD and vice versa is very slow (average of 3 hours for a standard movie on a 3 GHz P4 processor ).
• Being available only for the Microsoft Windows operating system; dependent on Microsoft DirectShow
• Additionally, it has received criticism for reducing the quality of the movie within. Critics of the format state that this does not qualify it for being a "true" DVD container.
• RatDVD has an option to not install both of the GPL modules it is shipping with. However playback of RatDVD files doesn't work then. RatDVD is using the GPLed libdvdnav: Linking ABC statically or dynamically with other modules is making a combined work based on ABC. Thus, the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License cover the whole combination. Linking Over Controlled Interfaces

See also

• Container format (digital) definition and article
  • Comparison of container formats
• Comparison of (audio/video) container formats
• List of multimedia (audio/video) codecs
  • Open source codecs and containers
  • Comparison of video codecs
  • Comparison of audio codecs

Competing technologies

• VOB the container format used in DVD-Video (uses .VOB .IFO and .BUP combined as extensions), this is what ratDVD is based on and thus support everything ratDVD does
• DivX Media Format (DMF) from DivX, Inc. (uses .divx as extension), includes support for DVD-Video like menus
• Matroska (MKV) open source (uses .mkv as extension) includes support for DVD-Video like menus
• OGM ("Ogg Media", standard video container for Xiph.org codecs), support everything ratDVD does except for menus
• MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4, currently support everything NUT does
• NUT patent-free open source and extensible multimedia container, currently support everything ratDVD does except for menus

External links

• ratDVD Canada - North American mirror
• ratDVD - (DEAD LINK) official homepage - Contains download information, FAQs, guides and much more
• fluxDVD - official homepage - Current commercial version of ratDVD including DRM and 'burn to DVD' technology based on H.264
• Linking Over Controlled Interfaces(Regarding libdvdnav issues)
• discussion about ratDVD and GPL issues

Notes

1. See The ratDVD FAQ for the quote.