With the explosive growth of mobile devices, the need for making entertainment mobile has grown as well.  The proliferation of portable DVD players, MP3 players, and Windows Mobile devices along with ever increasing performance demands from these devices are a testimony to this trend.  The challenge – as it has always been – has been combining functions and features into a single device to prevent having to carry multiple devices.

Over the past two years, several developers have released DVD ripping applications which allowed users to copy a DVD to their hard disk for playback directly on their PC or laptop.  While the legality of such software – especially in the United States – has been a subject of debate, the developers have continued to produce these applications with ever increasing performance and quality.

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DVD Catalyst is one such application.  The 3.0 version of PocketDVD, DVD Catalyst allows users to transform videos and DVDs into files on their PC.  For the Windows Mobile user however, DVD Catalyst steps up to the fore, allowing users to rip an entire DVD into a few hundred megabytes while still maintaining a good quality image.  DVD Catalyst offers a tremendous range of codec’s and formats to which video files can be converted into including Windows Media 7, 8 and 9, Apple iPod Video, DIVX and MPEG 4 to name a few.  Without a doubt DVD Catalyst is one of the most advanced DVD ripping applications available today for mobile and desktop users alike.

DVD Catalyst installed on any Windows XP based system and requires approximately 40 megabytes of space.  Since there is no Windows Mobile component to the application – only the outputted files – there is no installation required on the mobile device itself.  When the application is started the DVD Catalyst start screen is displayed providing users with two options – Convert DVD and Convert Video (Figure 1).  For Windows Media conversion, Windows Media Encoder 9 is required as well.  This can be downloaded from the Windows Media website at http://www.windowsmedia.com.

Figure 1:  DVD Catalyst Main Screen

Essentially, the differences between the Convert DVD and Convert Video options are minimal and relate only to the difference in source material and location. However, in both modes, DVD Catalyst allows users to either select a minimal amount of input to create the video file or a high level of advanced settings.

When converting a DVD, the DVD must be in an attached DVD drive and cannot be playing with any other DVD player on the PC.  When the Convert DVD option is selected, DVD Catalyst’s primary display is shown (Figure 2).  The display includes the output options, a preview display, audio sample rates and video quality.  Automatically DVD Catalyst will select the first track of the DVD, the primary movie track.  All users need to do is select the Convert button and after selecting a name for the file, the application will begin creating the video file.  Essentially this is all that users need to do to convert a DVD to a file. This ease of use is what makes DVD Catalyst stand above many other similar applications.

Figure 2:  DVD Catalyst’s Conversion Screen

Whether converting a DVD or a file, users have a wide range of output formats and maximum screen sizes available to them within DVD Catalyst.  The variety of output formats include Windows Media Video 7, 8 and 9, DIVX, XVID, PSP and Apple iPod (Figure 3).  Once the format is selected, the output size can also be selected (Figure 4).  Users will find that videos can be formatted for Windows Mobile devices, Handheld PC devices, Smartphones, Apple’s iPods and PSP.

Figure 3:  The Output Format Menu

Figure 4:  The Maximum Screensize Menu

On DVD Catalyst’s conversion screen, users will note two slide bars to adjust the Video Quality and Audio Settings.  By adjusting these sliders, users can increase or decrease the video or audio quality of a converted file which greatly impacts the size of the created file (note that the estimated size of the file is at the top of the display in DVD Catalyst).  It is important to remember that while the quality of the audio and video is impacted by these adjustments it does not radically impact the video or audio as seen and heard on a mobile device.  This is due to the somewhat limited video and audio quality on the devices themselves.  Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! Recommends that users learn what is best for them by using a small file and working with the video and audio quality and see which is best for their particular device.

For users who want to more finely tune their output videos, DVD Catalyst offers a highly detailed advanced menu (Figure 5).  The controls and options on the advanced menu are for those who are true videophiles and for the casual user, most of these settings will have little impact.  It is important to note though that by changing the frame rate of the video, users can dramatically increase the video performance on devices with slower processors.

Figure 5:  DVD Catalyst’s Advanced Menu

Once all settings are made and the Convert button is clicked, DVD Catalyst begins converting the source file to the output type selected.  Before this process is started, users are prompted to select either a Fast-Mode or Normal conversion mode (Figure 6).  Essentially this setting allows users to determine amount of processing power of their PC that will be given to the application during the conversion process.  Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! Does recommend that users select the Fast-Mode setting and solely dedicate their PC to the conversion process.  This mode is considerably faster although using the normal mode will not impact quality.

Figure 6:  Fast-Mode option allows DVD Catalyst to Convert Files Faster

During the conversion process, DVD Catalyst provides a display with a progress bar to allow users to see where their file is in the process (Figure 7). Regardless of if Fast-Mode is used or not, the conversion process does take time but considerably less than previously reviewed applications.

Figure 7:  The Progress Screen

As with any video conversion application, the proof of how well it works is in the output file’s quality.  The quality of the end product out of DVD Catalyst is nothing short of impressive (Figure 8).

Figure 8:  640×480 WMV 9 Converted DVD

Overall there is little not to like about DVD Catalyst.  Building on the already successful PocketDVD application, the refinements in this newly branded version of the application make it stand well above similar applications.  Backed by responsive support, the application should be worry free for users even if an issue is encountered.  DVD Catalyst also includes a nice link to support pages on the DVD Catalyst website by clicking on the cat eyes of the main display (Figure 9).  This handy menu makes getting information quick and users can be sure it is the most up-to-date as it is based off of the website and not a static help file within the application.

Figure 9:  Help and Support Menu of DVD Catalyst

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Tools4Movies Addition:

DVD Catalyst 1.0 is a VERY old version. A lot has changed.