Change is good but pushing in words right before Halloween and releasing the 'improved' version for free during the Halloween season might look like a marketing gimmick to many but as far as the newly released WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 is concerned � the new version is another step closer to perfection though they still have a lot to cover. For those who aren't aware of our earlier review of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum edition then I will request them to check that out first before jumping into this review of the improved version of the same software.

Ripping has�received�a lot of bad words from people (especially production houses) as it can be used to convert videos from one format to the other without any hassles thus helping users view any movie anywhere even if the creator didn't want this to happen. Ripping has come a long way since its year of start just like the mobile market and people are happy to wrap up complete movies in their smartphones itself thus saving money and a lot of time too.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 has taken a step forward to upgrade their software as per consumer's demands and they seemed to have succeeded to an extent for sure. Also, the 1:1 DVD copy option stays with WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 thus you can backup your DVDs along with the subtitles, true video quality, and best video quality with least possible noise.

Design

When I was asked to review the newer version of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum then the first question that came to my mind was the 'design' section of our reviews. They were so ugly (though I loved their simplicity) the last time I had reviewed them and I wasn't sure of what else I'd be writing about their design as I wasn't expecting anything new but wait!

Folks behind WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 have come up with the perfect blend of blue and grey. Take a look at the screenshot above if you don't believe me or rather buy the WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 to experience the blue/grey coloured user interface.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 uses a new set of icons with the usual�grayish�background that is pretty soothing to your eyes. All that you will do with this software is rip DVDs henceforth you don't expect anything godly from their end as far as the looks are concerned so I will give full marks to the makers of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 for the improved front end of the software. The blue coloured logo of DVD with smoke looks a lot better than the watermark of Digiarty that was displayed in the older version reviewed by me some six months back.

Lastly, the WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 retains the easily accessible features which are always just a few clicks away. Use the sliders or buttons and soon you will be a ripping expert. It is all about practice and the amount of time that you give to WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0.

Features

The rename button stays intact for those who love to follow some proper naming�convention�for their output files. One can add name, title, resolution, length, time, serial number to their output files on the fly. This will surely prove to be helpful once you build a collection of over thousand files!

So, I have boasted a lot about the design and the naming features of ??WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 henceforth I should now get down to some real time features of the same. Before we jump on to the new upgrades and features of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 I would like to draw your attention to the play back feature. Before you actually rip a movie you can actually watch it from within the software itself. Assume that you've got a movie in a format which cannot be run on your system. You would first want to check out the quality of the same before you start the ripping process. Well, use WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 and you can watch the complete movie in its tiny player to understand its quality. Look at the image below:

What's New in WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0?

• Improved software user interface as I already mentioned in the design section.
• The WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 comes with brand new framework thus improving its performance.
• The AVI container has been improved though original DVD AC3/DTS 6 Channels audio track has been kept as is.
• Output WMV video has been improved with original DVD AV3/DT 6 Channels audio track.
• WMV encoder now fits with the requirements of Windows Media Center.
• The speed for H.264 encoder has been pumped up and support for multi-core CPU has been improved too.
• SSE, SSE2, SSE3 have been upgraded and optimized. This helps in dramatically improving the speed of DVD decoder, MP4,�H.264, Divx, WMV, Xvid, MPEG2 encoder.
• The DVD play window has been improved for�convenient�playback. Videos can now be trimmed by setting start time and end time. This helps the users to trim section of videos and now they won't have to wait for the complete video to be ripped before they can watch the small two minute�dialog�for which they had performed the 2 hour rip.
• DVD image crop function has been enhanced.
• Support for iPhone 4, iPad and iPod 4 have been enhanced with support added for all iOS 4 devices.
• Output MP4 video with AAC 2 Channels, AAC 4 Channels and AAC 6 Channels support has been added.
• DVD to MPEG with original DVD AC3/DTS 6 Channels audio track conversion has been added.

Features like Safe Mode and Intelligent A/V Synchronizer have been retained as they surely add to the advantages of using WinX DVD Ripper Platinum Edition.

Conclusion

To conclude, I think that�WinX DVD Ripper Platinum v6.0 has come a long way since I reviewed it last some 6 months back. They have listened to our old cons that we suggested and have added plenty of new features which make�WinX DVD Ripper Platinum Edition worth a shot. $39.95 isn't bad for the amount of features that this software has to offer.

Pros

• Easy to understand user interface.
• Plenty of output options thus wrapping almost everything in single software.
• Support for iOS 4 devices thus it can be used by those who bought iPads recently.
• The batch renaming process saves a lot of time.
• Improved DVD playback helps understand the video quality before ripping.
• Affordable price for the plenty of features on offer.

Cons

• No on-call support though it might not be required for many. It could be added as optional feature while people buy this software's new version.
• No preview option for the output file though it is hard to deliver preview before the ripping even starts (we understand why there isn't any preview option still we continue to demand for it as it will make life a lot easier!)
• Though the User Interface has a lot of improved design, still for those who'd prefer to be able to change the design, I think WinX should include a themes feature like many similar softwares have done.