Many people have a large collection of old DVDs, and some are still renting movie DVDs online from Amazon or Netflix from time to time. To copy DVDs to your computer is a good way to archive the video files according to years, genres and actors. After digitizing to your PC, you can search and playback the media content easily.
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To rip a DVD to a computer is not difficult. But things will be different if, for example, you are trying to back up the latest movie DVDs, exercise DVDs, or some other commercial DVDs. Which tools can do the job well? Here we recommend four of the best ways using free DVD copy software. Please read on.
How to Copy a DVD to Your Computer with VideoProc Converter
VideoProc Converter is all-in-one video software that contains an excellent DVD copy module. This module can be considered as the iteration of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum.
Best for: rip ANY DVDs to computer Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7 or macOS
VideoProc Converter lets you rip virtually any types of DVDs, including Disney DVDs, 99-title DVDs, DRM-protected DVDs, new movies, workout DVDs, NTSC or PAL standards, as well as discs produced in different countries. You can convert a DVD to MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MKV, MOV, ISO and so on.
Speed is one of the edges of VideoProc Converter. It only needs 5 minutes or so to rip a whole movie DVD by making use of software and hardware accelerations. (But note that the conversion speed is also related to your computer conditions.)
Now follow the instructions to copy a video from DVD to computer.
Step 1. Download VideoProc Converter on your Windows or Mac by clicking on either of the green buttons above.
Step 2. Install and open the program. Tap DVD button and go to the VideoProc Converter – DVD interface.
Step 3. Insert your source DVD in your DVD-ROM of your computer, and tap DVD Disc to load it. You can also add a DVD folder or a DVD ISO image file.
Step 4. Choose a target format listed in Popular, Video, Device, Backup or Music.
- If you want a 100% original duplicate, choose 'Backup', and you can clone the DVD to an ISO, VIDEO_TS, MKV, H264 MKV, or copy the full content of the main title, or only copy the selected video/audio/subtitle track without losing quality.
- If you need a better compatibility or smaller file size, choose a profile in Video or Device, for example, MP4 H264, MP4 HEVC, MKV H264, WEBM VP8, 4K, iPhone, iPad, HUAWEI, Samsung, PS4, Xbox.
Step 5 (optional). If necessary, you can adjust the parameters in Codec & Format, customize the Name & Tag, and set media cover on the best DVD ripper.
Step 6. Run and save the DVD video to your computer.
Disadvantages of the Method:
- It does not copy Blu-rays and CDs.
- It does not support DVD burning.
How to Rip a DVD to a Computer with HandBrake
Everyone likes freebies! HandBrake is a well-known free DVD and video transcoding software application developed in 2003.
Best for: rip homemade DVDs to a Mac for free
The interface is old, but it does not hamper the common DVD copy work. If you plan to rip your homemade DVDs, HandBrake would be the best free option. But if you have a lot of movie DVDs to backup, I recommend you to turn to other options. Besides, HandBrake is friendlier to Mac users.
Steps on how to rip a non-copy protected DVD on Mac:
Step 1. Go to the homepage of HandBrake and get the software and launch it.
Step 2. Insert a disc in your optical drive of computer, and wait until HandBrake reads the DVD and scan the titles. :
Step 3. Select a DVD title in the Title menu to copy and Add to Queue.
Step 4. Choose an option in the Presets. If you don't know which one to choose, we suggest you choose MP4 (H264) that has a good compatibility and 480p that would be enough for the output DVD video quality.
Step 5 (optional). Set Dimensions, Filters, tweak parameters like codec, FPS and Bitrate, specify audio track, customize subtitles and more.
Step 6. Click Start and let HandBrake copy your selected DVD titles to the computer.
Disadvantages of the Method:
- It does not have a direct option to make an exact copy of your original DVD. It is more like a DVD ripping (that would compress the video), not a copying tool.
- You need to install libdvdcss.dll to deal with encrypted DVDs.
- Mac computer has schemes (System Integrity Protection) to make your installing of libdvdcss harder.
- It takes time for a beginner to understand.
How to Copy DVD to Computer with VLC
VLC media player provides you with a straightforward way to copy and transfer a DVD to computer.
Best for: convert and copy a DVD in Windows 10 easily
VLC is nothing difficult, and you don't have to fiddle with codecs and video parameters, so let's head to the steps directly:
Step 1. Make sure you have downloaded and installed VLC on your computer, and also make sure that your computer has a DVD drive or external DVD drive.
Step 2. Open the software. Insert the DVD and load it.
Step 3. Tap the Media tab on the leftmost, and click Open Disc on the drop-down menu.
Step 4. On the pop-up window, check the 'No disc menus' box.
- You can choose Disc device if your computer has several DVD layers.
- You can also set the Starting Position (the number of Title), the Chapter, Audio track and Subtitle track.
Step 5. Click the drop-down menu of Play button and choose Convert.
Step 6. On the pop-up window, you can choose an output format in Profile, browse to set the Destination file, and make some other settings.
Step 7. After all your settings, hit Start. After the DVD copy completes, you can double-click the file to play back it directly with the same software.
Disadvantages of the Method:
- It is too limited to have advanced features.
- It does not offer more detailed settings for quality, format, file size, editing, etc.
- Not always smooth.
How to Save DVD to Computer with WinX DVD Ripper Platinum
Like VideoProc Converter, WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is another brilliant way (although not a free way) to save even the copy-protected DVDs to computer without hassle.
Best for: deal with copy-protected DVDs on a PC
It has 350+ profiles, so it can 1:1 copy a DVD to ISO or MPEG2, and convert a DVD to AVI, WMV, MP4, as well as iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox, PSP, YouTube formats.
Step 1. Head to the official site of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum to download and install it.
Step 2. Insert your DVD, click DVD Disc button on the interface of WinX and load the DVD content.
Step 3. Choose a main title to proceed. You can also choose more titles and tick Merge titles.
Step 4. Click the profile icon that is next to the gear icon, and select an output format in the Output Profile Category.
Step 5 (Optional): Tap the gear icon and set the video options or audio options to customize the output quality and file size. Click Edit button to adjust the audio volume, choose a specific subtitle track, crop the image to change the aspect ratio, or trim the video clip. Click Browse on the lower left to change the Destination Folder to save the output video file.
Step 6. Click the RUN button on the bottom right.
Disadvantages of the Method:
- Does not support CDs and Blu-rays as the inputs.
- Does not allow burning a video to DVD.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Do I Rip a DVD to My Computer for Free?
There are many ways you can rip a DVD for free. For example, you can use HandBrake, which is completely free; and you can also get the free giveaway versions of some commercial software like VideoProc Converter and WinX DVD Ripper from occasionally.
Can I Rip a DVD to Computer Using Windows Media Player?
No, you can't rip a DVD with Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player is a default Windows app developed by Microsoft. It can play audio CDs, rip music from CD, rip audio CDs, and burn CDs or data DVDs, but it does not allow you to rip a DVD on Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10.
Disclaimer: We do not advocate copying authorized or protected DVDs for commercial use.
Despite the illusion that streaming services are taking over the way people consume video content, there is still a large population searching for the best free DVD copy software, with an aim to digitize their collections over the years or make replications with a disc-to-disc copy.
There are many tools on the market that helps you to pull media content from a disc to a computer or a blank disc. If you got a shelf full of old DVDs, you will also need to check whether the copier can scan and read content from scratched or damaged discs. Free tools offer you basic options to convert DVDs into digital format, and paid tools may add extra features for tricky scenarios. For instance, VLC cannot play non-UDF DVD because the disc is mastered using an older file system. Handling nuances as such is the case for the best DVD copy software that keeps updating its algorithm to help DVD collectors.
Before you get started to use one of the following DVD copiers, make sure you own the DVD and Blu-ray discs, and comply with the local copyright law.
1. VideoProc Converter
Available for: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 Mac OS X 10.6 and later
If you have damaged or scratched DVDs, discs with regional locks, 99-title DVDs, copy-protected discs, or old DVDs that are mastered with a file system that other software cannot handle, VideoProc Converter will be your lifesaver. It is a lightweight and powerful video processing tool packed with DVD copy utilities. Thanks to the advanced auto-detect mechanism, VideoProc Converter can fix the bad sector and read the broken sector in your old DVD, making a replication without error.
You can copy DVD to MP4, MKV, and other popular formats, create ISO images, VIDEO_TS folders for burning, or backup the DVD to a hard drive. While retaining 1:1 original quality, the option is also highly customizable: you can digitize the DVD with all the content and structure preserved, including main movie, hidden track, deleted track, subtitles, menu, trailers, and behind-the-scenes bonus for movie buffs; or select titles and chapters, or extract audio only.
Developed by Digiarty Software Inc., a global leader with 15 years of experience in DVD ripping, DVD copy, video converting, recording and editing, VideoProc Converter inherits the cut-edge tech to deal with discs of all sorts.
It helps you to bypass various kinds of protections, including but not limited to Disney's Fake option, X-project, CSS, UOPs, APS, RCE, Sony ARccOS, Region Code, etc.
There are 6 Modes for DVD Backup:
- Main Movie Content Copy: You can flexibly select video tracks and audio tracks, choose whatever you want to digitize.
- Full Title Copy: Backup all the titles, chapters, subtitles, video trailers, hidden tracks, and audio.
- ISO: 1:1 clone DVD to ISO image, with 100% content and structure preserved.
- VIDEO_TS: 1:1 copy DVD to VIDEO_TS folder, retain full content for DVD burn.
- DVD to MKV: Convert full DVD content to MKV to playback on computers, mobile phones, tablets, TVs, etc.
- DVD to MKV H264: Copy full title to MKV with H264 encoding.
Besides building up your digital library by backing up and copying DVD in Windows 10/8/7, you can also convert DVD to mobile- or console-friendly format, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, etc, and enjoying offline playback on the go.
A bonus feature is the editing tools built-in. You can click on the edit icon to rotate, add subtitles or effects, and cut the video, and then rip the video as you wish.
Pros:
- Read damaged/scratched DVDs, and bypass all kinds of known copy protections.
- Support level-3 hardware acceleration to copy, back up and convert DVD at 1:1 quality.
Cons:
- Cannot work on macOS Leopard or older versions.
Free Download VideoProc Converter to Preserve Your Precious DVD Collections
2. HandBrake
Available for: Windows 10/8/8.1/7 Mac 10.11 and later, Apple Silicon Mac, Linux Ubuntu deb, Flatpak
Developed as a converter, HandBrake can modernize your DVD into computer playable format, namely, MP4, MKV, and WebM. It is not a dedicated DVD copy software for Windows 10 and Mac, but it is free and open source. It works nicely to copy homemade DVDs, as no decryption is required. For DVDs that you bought from stores, such as music videos or movies, Handbrake cannot skip the copy protection to rip the media. If you are tech-savvy, you can install a libdvdcss package from VideoLan. For Windows computers, you will need to download the .dll file and copy it into the installation folder of Handbrake, while for Mac, you may need to use command tools if you are on Yosemite and newer OS.
Handbrake can copy the DVD one title per time. You have to configure HandBrake manually to copy each title and queue them up, so that the program starts ripping one title after another. Let's say there are 57 titles in the DVD, you will have to configure and queue the episode 57 times before starting to copy the DVD to the computer.
Pros:
- Free and open-source software for occasional users.
- Copy DVD to a hard drive in MP4, WebM, and MKV.
Cons:
- Cannot create ISO image or VIDEO_TS folder
- Occasional errors crop up, such as audio missing; ripped content is fuzzy and pixilated.
3. MakeMKV
Available for: Windows 10/8/7, Mac, and Linux
MakeMKV does what its name suggests. It simply copies the video stream from the DVD and puts it into the MKV container. No transcoding is involved in the process. You can think of a DVD as a house, storing furniture and other stuff. MakeMKV just moves those furniture and other things to another house, the MKV (Matroska) container.
It can read DVD and Blu-ray discs, and for those copy-protected discs such as AACS and BD+, MakeMKV can remove the copy protection.
Pros:
- Relatively fast since it only repackages the stream to MKV, and no re-encoding is involved.
- The developer runs an active forum with helpful guides and timely responses for bugs.
Cons:
- MakeMKV is free in the beta version. You have to frequently find the license key in the forum and update your registration status.
- If you want other formats, such as MP4 (most compatible for various scenarios) or MOV (for Apple Devices), MakeMKV alone is not enough. You will need a video converter to transcode the MKV.
4. WinX DVD Copy Pro
Available for: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2003/2000
WinX DVD Copy Pro is one of the most popular DVD copy software on the market. It supports DVD clone, DVD to MPEG 2, VIDEO_TS folder, ISO file, and disc-to-disc copy. One feature that sets it apart from its competitors is the ISO mounter, which allows you to mount ISO image to a virtual drive, which performs in the same way you play the DVD on a DVD player, only that you are watching the DVD digitally on a computer, with all the content and menu preserved. If you use a remote controller to navigate through the menu of the DVD, now you can use mouse clicks on the mounted ISO. You can also extract video or audio streams flexibly.
Once you insert the disc into the DVD driver, you can select how many sectors to read per time. For copy restriction discs, you can tick the box to remove region code, CSS, UCPS, or Disney's Fake. The program allows you to copy 15 minutes of the content for free.
Pros:
- Keep an exact replication off the DVD and CD.
- Removes all kinds of known copy restrictions in the market.
Cons:
- No option to compress video so as to burn DVD9 content to DVD5.
5. IQmango DVD Copy Software
Available for: Windows 8/7/XP/Vista/2003
IQmango is a piece of lightweight DVD copy software for Windows with a simple interface. It supports lossless DVD content copying, with customizable options to choose which titles to clone. There is also a compressor built-in, helping you to squeeze the content copied from a DVD and make it fit in a smaller disc. But since it needs to reduce the file size, inevitably, there will be quality loss.
Note that the IQmango DVD Copy Software and IQmango DVD Ripper refer to the same product. Probably due to their marketing strategy, IQmango sets up two product pages. In fact, you will be downloading the identical EXE file for installation.
Pros:
- Support backup and burn the disc, thus making it possible for disc-to-disc copying.
- Option to remove restrictions from Blu-ray MKB61 and MKB62.
Cons:
- Cannot burning data (not video streams) to DVD.
- Cannot split DVD or copy DVD 9 to 2 pieces of DVD 5.
6. DVD Cloner
Available for: Windows 10/8.1/8/7, Mac OS 10.10 or later versions
Rip Copy Protected Dvd Mac Free
DVD Cloner has been around for nearly two decades, and it is a reliable DVD copying software on the market. Beginner or Pro, you shall find DVD Cloner satisfy your requirement in a high-quality way. There are an Express mode and an Expert mode to choose from. For general tasks such as copy everything from DVD to another empty disc, the Express mode serves you well. If you have two DVD drives, the copying process will be done automatically. Alternatively, you can create MKV from DVD in 1-click. The Expert Mode allows more customizability. You can select titles to copy, and leave out all the redundancies.
An interesting feature you can avail of DVD Cloner is its ability to combine multiple DVDs into one, be it Blu-ray (BD-R/RE) or dual-layer DVD (DVD±R9).
The free version only allows you to copy one DVD for free, so that you can check how the software performs before upgrading to the premium version.
Pros:
- It is pricy for occasional users.
- The feature to compress DVD 9 to one blank DVD 5 disc could be problematic, since DVD 9 is about two times the size of the DVD5.
Cons:
- Option to copy multi-channel audio including DTS and Dobly digital 5.1.
7. DVDFab Free HD Decrypter
Available for: Windows 10/8.1/8/7 MacOS 10.10-10.15
DVDFab Free HD Decrypter is the free and feature-limited version of DVDFab DVD Copy software. The main difference lies in the ability to remove copy protections. Free HD Decrypter struggles with newer copy protection techs, and can only handle DVDs protected with old schemes.
It offers two modes to copy DVD: full disc and main movie. However, you cannot copy DVD 9 to two pieces of DVD5 discs, as the free version isn't baked with a splitting feature. You can use this freeware to digitize DVD to MKV or MP4, but note that if the DVD contains multiple VTS protections, or if the DVD is a Blu-ray issued before 2018, this decrypter will fail you.
Pros:
- Free to use, offers basic DVD copy mode.
- Support copy DVD to ISO and Video_TS folder.
Cons:
- Won't support H265/HEVC or UHD 4K videos for MKV copying.
- No option to customize what content, titles, or chapters to copy.
8. WonderFox Free DVD Ripper Speedy
Mac Dvd Copy Software Free
Available for: Windows 10/8.1/8/7
If you are looking for DVD copy software to transfer content from DVD to hard disc drive, WonderFox provides an easy solution. It assists you to convert DVDs into digital formats such as MP4, MKV, and AVI. The free version allows you to rip no more than 15 minutes for each movie, and you can choose between PAL and NTFS modes for movies from different regions.
For users with the upgraded license, you can batch copy movies in 1:1 quality, provided that your driver supports multiple discs. Another nice feature is the editing kit, with which you can add effects to the video, or rotate sideways video after copying from DVDs. One thing to notice is, during our test, it takes a considerable amount of computational resources, which might affect how your machine performs. You can turn off other programs while using WonderFox.
Pros:
- Bypass erroneous data and scan scratched DVDs.
- Skip protection schemes such as Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project, CSS, Cinavia, etc.
Cons:
- Doesn't support disc-to-disc copy since there is no DVD burning feature.
- Extracting multilingual DVD can be problematic sometimes.
9. ImgBurn
Available for: Windows 10/8.1/8/7
ImgBurn is a handy free DVD copy and burning tool when physical media was king. It supports major brands of the DVD blank disk and can help you copy an image file to a disk. No matter you have ISO, DVD, CCD, DI, NDS, NRG, or PDI, you can easily write it to a physical disk. VIDEO_TS folder and BDAV / BDMV folder are also supported to write content into DVD and Blu-ray disks. ImgBurn also works the other way around: you can create an ISO image from the DVD. You can choose a mode from the home screen, start digitalizing or burning a DVD. For a new task, you can press Ctrl+shift+P to go back to this Easy Mode Picker (home screen).
Pros:
- Option to create Blu-ray disk via a virtual device.
- You can queue multiple images for batch task, and there will be a Log window showing what's in progress.
Cons:
- It hasn't been updated since 2013, and may not be able to cope with some problems.
- You cannot copy DVD into MP4/MKV, or select titles to copy.
Note: Make sure to download the installation file from the official site, and choose Mirror 7 – Provided by ImgBurn to avoid bundleware or adware. The latest version is v2.5.8.0 released in 2013, and the development is halted since then.
10. BurnAware
Available for: Windows 10/8/8.1/7
In DVD to DVD copying, you will need to copy DVD to a computer in the first place, and then burn the digitize files to a blank DVD. BurnAware is here for the second task. Once you prepared the DVD content in the form of ISO image, VIDEO_TS folder, or merely an MKV file, you can use BurnAware to copy the content into a blank disk. Besides movies and home videos, you can write other kinds of data supported by the disk. In that way, you are using the DVD as a backup method for important files. BurnAware can erase content on an already-used DVD, provided the DVD is rewritable (DVD + /- RW).
Besides being a free DVD burner, it also offers you the option to create Audio CDs, MP3 disk, and Blu-ray disk, free of charge.
Pros:
- A clear user interface to navigate through all the features.
- Support Blu-ray disk copy for free, which may be charged in other tools.
Cons:
- No option to extract audio tracks, or extract files from ISO images in the free version.
FAQs
Can Windows 10 Copy a DVD?
Windows 10 can finish part of the task in copying a DVD. The DVD copying is a cover term for several operations. If you are expecting DVD to blank DVD copy, then you need to use DVD copy software listed above to pull content out, store them on a Windows computer (in a format of ISO or VIDEO_TS folder), and then use Window File Explorer or Windows Media Player to burn the files to a blank DVD.
What is the Most Used Free DVD Copying Software?
HandBrake, ImgBurn, and DVDShrink have been around for a long time and have accumulated many users along the way. However, ImgBurn and DVDShrink are obsolete and haven't been updated for many years. HandBrake is more of a converter that has been repurposed to rip DVD into MP4. For advanced features, you can check other copiers listed above.
Disclaimer: We do not advocate copying authorized or protected DVDs for commercial use.