Finally! A DVD Conversion Tool That Works!
Gordo from Cincinnati, Ohio, June 17, 2005

A few months ago I made the decision to donate my laptop to charity because I thought I could use my IPAQ 6315 for everything my laptop could do. It was almost a dream come true. The internet, Bluetooth, WiFi and general usefulness of 6315 (after ROM update of course) has been fantastic but with one notable exception: the inability to reliably convert DVD’s into a format that would work on my IPAQ. My dream of watching movies on my IPAQ was fading fast! I ran the gamut of different simple to use DVD to PPC programs (not specifying a particular program) but they shared a common theme: they did not work. Several I tried would crash or get tripped up by a slightly scratched disk and take most of the night to convert a 1.5 hour movie. While some other programs had a decent interface and seemed simple enough to use that did not dull the frustration I was feeling after waking up to find out the conversion failed for no apparent reason. I was beginning to regret my decision to get rid of my laptop and divorce myself of watching movies while I am gone on a trip, that is, until I tried PocketDVD 1.1!

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At first I was a little skeptical about the price (gotta be half as good at less than half the price of others, right?) but decided to try the full featured trial version and got a big surprise: It worked!! While I must say that delving into the world of converting DVD’s into small enough files to work on memory cards that cost less than a small car, be fluid enough and clear enough to view on a screen that is not formatted for widescreen movies (most anyway) is a little more complicated than I originally thought. Fortunately, the developer of PocketDVD 1.1 has added several sections to their website that really tries to clear up the confusion associated with the many options associated with the conversion process. PocketDVD 1.1 has done a nice job of giving you the ability to really customize the conversion process once, of course, after you have learned a little about what the process is all about. But I must restate the greatest attribute to PocketDVD 1.1: It works! I have ripped several disks without a single hiccup. The conversion time is an amazing sub two hours for a 1.6 hour movie (as compared to almost 10 using two different programs with the same movie). Another rarity associated with learning how to use this program is the speed at which I received replies for support: less than 3 hours. With two other programs, that I either bought or tried, I submitted questions that have never been answered after one month! It became very apparent to me that this developer takes pride in their product and wants to make sure people understand how to use the program. Refreshing! In summary, PocketDVD 1.1 offers PDA owners a real opportunity to reliably convert DVD?s for use on a multitude of different machines with different screens, processors and memory configurations at a very surprisingly low price. Give it a try! Regards, Gordo Ipaq 6315, former HTC XDA1, former laptop owner

Note, this review is for PocketDVD, the predecessor of DVD Catalyst