DVD Catalyst 4.1 User Guide
Basic Features & Settings
On the left you find the following:
User Guide: Provides direct access to the PDF version of this guide.
FAQ: Provides direct access to the PDF version of the FAQ.
Add videos: shows the Scan DVD(s), Add file(s) and Add folder buttons.
Edit video settings: shows options related to the selected DVD track or video file.
Video player device: You use the first dropdown to select your device brand (Apple for example) or category (Android for example) and the second dropdown to select your specific device, or a device that is similar to the one you are using.
Have a look at the “New devices” section on the Tools4Movies website, and see if your new phone is listed there. Whenever we receive questions about a new device, usually we provide the settings for it on our website, before we release an update for DVD Catalyst 4 with a profile for it. If your device is not listed there either, you can send us an email at dvdcatalyst@gmail.com with a link to the product website, and as much information as you can provide us about it, and we will suggest settings for you (we always respond within 24 hours), or if the device is similar to a previous model that is listed in DVD Catalyst 4, give that a shot.
Video output folder: This is the location on your computer that DVD Catalyst 4 will use for storing the created video files. DO NOT change this to store the files directly on your device.Converting directly to your phone severely slows down conversions, and other issues can occur as well. After the conversion is complete, DVD Catalyst 4 will offer to transfer the files for you.
Add Videos Button:
Scan DVD(s). By default, DVD Catalyst 4 looks for DVDs in your DVD drive when it starts, as well as recognizes it when you put one in your computer. If the DVD does not get detected, you can use this button to initiate a manual scan of your drives. If you connect an external DVD drive while DVD Catalyst is running, you might have to do a manual scan as well. If you have Bluray enabled, the same applies for Bluray discs and drives.
Add file(s). This brings up a file explorer box, which lets you select video files located on your computer.
Add folder. This brings up a folder explorer box, which lets you select a folder containing video files you want to convert.
Tip: Rather than using Add file(s) and Add folder, you can also drag your files and folders onto DVD Catalyst 4. DVD Catalyst 4 looks for files it can convert, and ignores files like pictures and documents. This makes it so much easier to convert a collection of video files.
Tip: DVD Catalyst 4 recognizes all DVD drives found on your computer, so if you have 2 drives, you can put a DVD in both. In addition, you can use Virtual DVD drives (such as Daemon Tools) or simply drag DVD ISO files onto the program as well.
Edit Video Settings Button:
Modify resulting filename: By default, DVD Catalyst 4 uses the original filename of the video file, or, in the case of the DVD, the DVD identifier name. If you want to change the filename to something else, this is the place to do it.
IMG button. Added to make it easier to get images to use with our MovieGallery for Android app. Tapping this button will open up your web browser with a search for the filename on the www.albumart.org website. From there you can save the image by rightclicking on it and giving it the same name as you gave the movie.
Enable selection for conversion: When DVD Catalyst 4 finds a DVD; it will scan for content longer than 10 minutes in play length. This enables a fast way to convert TV Episode DVDs as well as Movies (both are usually longer than 10 minutes) while ignoring special features and trailers. In some cases, special features are longer than 10 minutes, and thus will be enabled for conversion. By selecting the track(s) or file(s) you do not want to convert, and removing this checkmark, they will not be converted.
Subtitles: DVD Catalyst 4 can convert your movie or TV show with subtitles. Just select the language you want to use here. (not for Bluray at this time)
Audio language: If your DVD or video file includes additional languages, such as Spanish or French for example, you can change that here.
Preview: This will have DVD Catalyst play the selected video file/DVD track with the settings you have selected (if you enable “Power User” the preview will contain additional features).
Modify button:
Player Screen size: Selecting a device profile will adjust this to the proper setting used for your video player device. DVD Catalyst 4 uses this as a Maximum setting, which means that if the original DVD or video has a higher resolution, it will be resized to fit within the selected screen size. It will not make any additional adjustments to the size. As a result, you might end up with a video file that is smaller or different in size than your selected screen size (more info on this in the Black Border Removal section). If the video screen size of your original DVD or file is less than the selected screen size, DVD Catalyst will use the size of the original file to preserve the best possible quality (have a look at the Upscaling section for info on this).
Video quality (Kbps). This affects the way the video looks, as well as on how big your resulting video file will be. The basic idea is that the higher this setting, the better the video, but also the bigger the file the default settings set by DVD Catalyst when you select your video player device are “safe” settings. You end up with good quality files at a reasonable file size. It’s up to you to increase the quality; however our own personal preference is to have more good looking videos on our devices than only a few amazing-looking ones. Keep in mind that most devices have a limitation on the maximum quality setting they can play/accept. Most iPod’s and Android devices can only go up to 1500 Kbps for example.
Tip: Try the default profile settings first. There are a lot of articles on the web for video on specific video player devices, but most of these use the maximum settings a video player device will accept for video quality, because they believe this produces the best quality. However, many people cannot tell the difference in quality between a file encoded at 1500 or 1000, and this results in a difference of being able to fit 1/3 more movies or TV shows on the same amount of storage space (no need to purchase a pricy 32GB memory card for your phone).
Sound quality: This determines the quality of the audio during playback. For most devices, 128Kbps (near CD quality) is good enough if you use headphones that came with your device, but for other people 160Kbps is a little better.
Go Button:
This will start the conversion of your selected DVD tracks and video files.
During conversion, a few frequently asked questions are displayed. Clicking on these links will take you to an article on the tools4movies website which provides answers and information for the selected question.
Transferring files:
For most devices, DVD Catalyst 4 will offer to transfer the created video files to your device.
Devices such as Smartphone’s (Windows Mobile, Android, Blackberry), which connect to your computer as a removable device (or use a memory card for example) as well as iTunes connected devices such as the iPhone and iPod Touch are supported, however, if devices use proprietary software (other than iTunes) such as the Zune for example, or they do not connect to your computer with a drive-letter (Android Honeycomb devices such as the Xoom) you will have to transfer the files yourself. In most cases, this involves starting the software, adding the created files to it, and then tell the software to sync with your device. If you have multiple iTunes devices, make sure you only have 1 device connected. Having 2 iPods connected in iTunes at the same time can cause the transfer to not work correctly.
(Note: while we do offer assistance if you run into complications with transferring files, please understand that this process can differ per device, and the process is usually included in the manual that came with your device.)
If you click Cancel, DVD Catalyst 4 will open the folder for you so you can manually transfer the files, otherwise, it will bring up the following screen.
If you have multiple items, but do not want to transfer them all (or if there is not enough room for all of them) you can remove the checkmarks for items you don’t want (yet) If there is enough room available, just click on the Copy button to have DVD Catalyst 4 transfer your movies. For iTunes connected devices, the created files will be added to your “Movie” library, and from there iTunes is told to transfer the files to your device. When complete, just click Exit to go back to DVD Catalyst 4.
We recommend using the manual transfer method (tap cancel when you see the transfer dialog). While DVD Catalyst is capable of adding files to your device, it does not offer a method to remove them, so if you use the manual process, you will also be able to remove your video files (when you are done watching them) in a similar way. At first it might be a little complicated, but once you are used to it, you can easily build up a large collection of video files, and transfer your movies whenever you want/need them.
