DVD to iPhone conversion

I have moved copies of a number of my DVD-based movies on my iPhone and today a friend asked how to do it so here is my method:

I use Handbrake to convert the DVD to an MPEG-4 file with AAC audio. I typically keep these files on my MacBook Pro and watch them while traveling so I preserve the native resolution, encode at a relitively high bit-rate (3 Mb/s) and use dual-pass encoding. I also de-interlace in Handbrake.

My Handbrake configuration is something like this..

Now I use another utility, FFmpeg to convert the full-res Mpeg4 file from Handbrake to an iPhone compatable format. Drag and drop the handbrake output file to the "Source Format" block of the FFmpeg window.
I use the "iPodTV" profile as the output format and change the resolution to the 480x320 required by the iPhone. Now encode.

When complete I drag the resulting file into iTunes and sync with my iPhone.

Installation tips: You will need to install FFmpeg first as Handbrake uses it as an encoder.

There are already utilities that can do both steps in a single pass. One can be seen here www.dvdtoiphone.net

I use this process since I want a high-quality intermediate format on my MBP (and to copy to my PocketDISH player, and already have both Handbrake and FFmpeg.