How to Rip a DVD: 3 Best DVD Digitizing Methods in 2026

Today, physical DVD collections won't suit modern 1080p, 2K, and even 4K displays. Therefore, the key point when you rip DVD is upscaling the videos. A reliable DVD ripper can help you easily rip DVDs with different types of encryption methods and enhance the video resolution, bitrate, definition, FPS, and many other important settings. This article offers 3 excellent methods to digitize your DVDs. Whether you need fast ripping, rich customization, or just want a lossless DVD structure, you can find reliable methods here.

Part 1: Why Do You Need to Rip DVD

Ripping a DVD is an important and necessary process of unlocking the content from a physical disc and converting it into a versatile digital file (like MP4 or MKV). While it might seem like an extra step, it solves several modern technical and practical headaches.

• 1.Hardware Compatibility: Many modern devices, like computers and TVs, don't have a built-in disc drive. They don't even have a proper port for disc drives. Therefore, you can rip your DVDs to digital formats to play them anywhere.
• 2.Physical Preservation: DVDs are surprisingly fragile. They are susceptible to disc rot, deep scratches, and heat damage. Digitizing DVDs can keep the movies in your phone or computers, or even the cloud.
• 3.Modern Media Playback and Editing: Why still keep a legacy MPEG-2 codec when you can easily upgrade it to modern HEVC or AV1? Original DVD videos may not be compatible with modern video editors and players. Therefore, you can rip them to modern containers and codecs.

Part 2: How to Rip a DVD with AVAide DVD Ripper

AVAide DVD Ripper is an easy-to-use DVD-ripping software that can convert your DVDs to digital files. Moreover, it can rip DVDs to a computer with various custom settings: 50+ video and audio formats, full hardware acceleration, AI upscaling, dimensions fit for different devices, etc. This DVD ripper lets you improve your DVD content and output high-definition videos up to 4K. You can download it and rip a DVD to a hard drive.

• Best for: Bulk and fast ripping DVDs with encryptions on Windows and Mac
• System: Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X 10.13 or later
• G2 Review: "I like it because it is suuuuuuper easy to use but still meets my needs."

Key Features of AVAide DVD Ripper:

• Offer many modern output formats and standard presets.
• Support full hardware acceleration to decode and re-encode your DVD videos.
• Rip DVDs with subtitles, audio tracks, and all necessary files.
• Support batch ripping and title merging.

Steps to Rip DVD with AVAide DVD Ripper

Step 1Get AVAide DVD Ripper

Click the Download button below to download, install, and launch AVAide DVD Ripper.

Step 2Load Your DVD to AVAide DVD Ripper

• 1.Insert your DVD disc into your disc drive and connect it to your computer.
• 2.Click the Load DVD button on the top left side to load your DVD.
• 3.Select Full Title List to access all videos; select Main Title to choose the main movie. Then, click OK.

Step 3Select an Output Format

• 1.Click the Output Format dropdown button.
• 2.Select a desired format preset, like HD 1080P MP4.
• 3.Double-click to select a format preset.

Step 4Digitize Your DVD

Click the Save to dropdown button to choose an output destination for your upcoming video file. Then, click the Rip All button to rip a DVD with subtitles easily on Windows 11/10 and macOS.

You May Need to Know

You can also rip DVD to ISO or DVD folder as a backup for DVD burning. Lossless MKV can keep the original DVD content structure, but the outdated parameters no longer suit today's displays.

Part 3: How to Rip a DVD with HandBrake

HandBrake is a free, open-source software that is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. As a powerful and popular media converter, it works well on ripping DVDs and Blu-rays to digital formats with modern and standard presets. You can rip DVD to HEVC MP4, 1080p, 2K, and even 4K resolutions. You can also rip DVDs to video formats that are optimized for iPhone, iPad, Samsung, and different types of TV displays. As a free DVD ripper, HandBrake even supports full hardware acceleration – utilizing your graphics to decode and re-encode DVD media to digital formats. It's really a good choice for you to rip DVDs to Windows and macOS computers.

• Best for: Free DVD ripping with deep customization.
• System: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
• CNET Review: "Well, I used to be able to rip any DVD. The new Handbreak needs additional software to be able to rip protected DVDs."

Key Features of HandBrake:

• Support full hardware acceleration for decoding and re-encoding.
• Offer many output presets with different codecs.
• Support deep customization on resolution, frame rate, bitrate, and different parameters.

Steps to Rip DVD with Handbrake

Step 1Download and launch HandBrake on your computer. Insert your DVD into the computer's drive. Then add your DVD from Source Selection.

Step 2Select the specific DVD titles and chapters you want to rip. The main movie part of your DVD is usually the one with the longest duration.

Step 3Now, move to the Summary tab. Here, select a desired output format, like MP4, MKV, or WebM.

Step 4Click the Browse button to select an output folder, and click the Start Encode button to rip the DVD easily to your computer for free.

Part 4: How to Rip a DVD with MakeMKV

MakeMKV is a streamlined one-click solution designed to convert video from proprietary, encrypted discs into a set of MKV files. It functions primarily as a transcoder (or remuxer) that preserves all video and audio tracks, including HD audio, chapters, and meta-information, without altering the original data stream, but it can also deal with physical media, like ripping DVDs. It will also remux DVD videos to lossless MKV files. Unlike other software that re-encodes video to reduce file size (which can lead to quality loss), MakeMKV extracts the raw data directly from the DVD.

• Best for: Users who pursue lossless DVD videos.
• System: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
• Reddit Review: "It is worth it just to support the development of this essential piece of software."

Key Features of MakeMKV:

• Rip DVDs to lossless MKV files with subtitles, audio tracks, and other files.
• Bypass encryptions, like CSS, AACS, BD+, without requiring extra third-party drivers.
• Handle Blu-rays and other digital media files.

Steps to Rip DVD with MakeMKV

Step 1Insert your disc into your computer's optical drive or an external drive. Open MakeMKV and let it detect your DVD and display all the disc information. Then click the DVD icon to analyze all titles on the DVD.

Step 2When the scanning is complete, it will list all the DVD chapters on the left side panel. Choose the title you want to rip, select a destination folder, then click Make MKV to confirm your operation.

There are many other great DVD-ripping software programs out there, such as WinX DVD Ripper, Freemake, Tipard DVD Ripper, and DVDFab. So you can do more research to find the one that best fits your needs.

Part 5: Best Formats to Rip DVD

With a reliable DVD ripper, you can seamlessly convert DVD to digital formats, including MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, and WMV. The ideal format for your project depends entirely on your intended use case.

1. Maximum Compatibility: MP4 (H.264 + AAC)

If you plan to play your content on a wide range of devices, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android, MP4 is the industry standard.

Codec Recommendation: Use the H.264 (AVC) video codec combined with AAC audio. This combination offers the best balance between high visual quality and broad hardware support.

2. Lossless Quality & High Customization: MKV

For users who prioritize original video quality for home theater systems (like Plex or Kodi), MKV is the superior choice.

Technical Advantage: MKV acts as a flexible container that can store the DVD's original MPEG-2 video stream and AC3/DTS audio tracks without re-encoding, and it can also contain almost all types of customized codecs, resolutions, FPS, etc.

Part 6: FAQs of How to Rip a DVD

Is it legal to rip DVDs you own?

It is increasingly illegal to rip DVDs with copyrights in the US, UK, and many countries and regions. It is a "gray area" where the act of ripping is technically a violation of the law, but private, personal use is almost never prosecuted. Legal trouble usually only arises if you distribute, upload, or sell the ripped content.

Can I use VLC to rip DVDs?

Yes, VLC Media Player can also rip DVDs and Blu-rays. However, VLC doesn't support GPU re-encoding well, which means DVD ripping in VLC will take much CPU resources. You can resort to AVAide DVD Ripper to rip DVDs with full hardware acceleration while bypassing the latest encryption methods.

Does ripping a DVD ruin it?

No, it doesn't. Ripping a DVD won't damage it because it is a read-only process.

By Bryan Simmonds on Mar 27, 2026