Jun 30, 2020  Part 1: How to Judge the Best Mac DVD Ripper 2019 There are plenty of free DVD copying and ripping software for Mac, which claims to rip any DVDs to any formats, say DVD to MP4, MOV, FLV, MPEG, H.264, etc.But most often, you endure a whole day long sitting aside your Macbook, trying to get the contents off DVDs yet find it crashes constanly, makes scratching high frequency sounds, gets.

Best DVD Ripper Software – 2020 started, and with it, we come one step forward in the advancement of software and hence we are here with the best DVD ripper software for your Mac. It is possible that you have tested and tried many free DVD ripping software, but you can’t find the one that you look for. In such an instance, you are at right place as we have listed the top 10 best DVD Ripper for Mac. So go through the article and find the one that is suitable for you.

After reviewing multiple software, we are here with the best DVD ripper software of the market. You can pick anyone from the list and download it. All the rippers are tested and reviewed thoroughly so that you can proceed hassle free. Let’s start with the first one.

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Best DVD Ripper Software For Windows And Mac

Table of Contents

#1. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum

If you are considering one of the best DVD ripper apps, then you can’t neglect WinX for sure. Out of all the version I have used, the Platinum version is best with the right reasons. After installing the software on your pc, you can see there are many output profiles that you can pick form it. In case if you wish to convert video, then there is a full-fledged video converter that can support every extension that you throw at it.

However, the support of level 3 hardware makes it stand out from the other software as it is still rare for the DVD rippers market. After using it, we are sure you will hardly find any negative side of it. As it is a platinum version, it packed with the features that you never know and hence you have to go through the learning curve to know it.

Without losing the original data embedded in the file, you can convert the audio files. It can recognize almost all types of DVDs like 99-title, music, workout, movie, TV series DVDs or anything other whether it is new or old.

As per me, if you are looking for pro software, then the platinum version of WinX DVD Ripper is for you as it has so many features and functionality to offer.

Pros:

• It is available for Windows as well as Mac
• Fastest DVD ripping speed
• Backup of DVD without any quality compromise
• Converts and rips all type of files within a few seconds
• 1:1 DVD to PC, ISO image
• It supports level 3 hardware acceleration to make everything better, faster and easier
• You can rip or convert your favorite DVDs into a format like MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, and few more.

Cons:

• For the first time users, the extensive menu makes the process more confusing.

#2. DVDFab DVD Ripper

DVDFab is a full-fledged DVD ripper that works well for ripping the DVD you want and the way you wants. Even it provides many excellent features to the users.

With all essential features, it follows the same path for all the features that I like the most about this software. It happens in a rare case, and hence it serves as a great advantage. To solve a simple problem, you do not need multiple software with DVDFab. Even you do not need any third party apps or software to remove copyright protection, and you can use all the features with ease.

The latest version support Nvidia CUDA and multi-core CPU and ultimately it works faster than another free DVD ripper for Windows 10 present in the market. Even it also supports the Intel Quick Sync. All these together make the DVDFab the popular one.

In short, it is one of the best software that is available in the market that can be done your work within no time and works well in almost all condition.

Pros:

• It is available for both platform Windows and Mac
• No need for third party software to remove copyright protection
• Easy DVD converting and ripping
• Every feature is inbuilt in the software, no need for additional plugins.

Cons:

• For Blu-ray ripping support, you cost additional money

#3. MacX DVD Ripper Pro

The third one in our list is MacX DVD Ripper Pro. It is a new one in the market, but after reviewing the software, we can make sure that it is the one that you look for ripping the DVD. It comprised of many good things and features. For beginners, the interface is extremely straightforward and easy to use.

Additionally, the software gives you complete control of the way you want to convert or rip the DVDs. In case if you are worried about the quality, then there is an option of 1:1 DVD ripping to get the same quality from the original file. Even you can do some basic video editing like merge, crop, cut, trim with the help of this software. To those who look for the definitive experience, this software is a great choice for them.

In the end, it is the best free DVD ripper available in the market for Mac users. And the thing I like about this software is it is loaded with all the essential features for conversion and ripping with ease.

Pros:

• No worries for quality loss while DVD ripping
• 1:1 DVD to PC, ISO image
• Fastest DVD ripping speed
• An inbuilt feature that can remove the copyright protection
• It supports all known formats such as DVD to MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV, and few others
• For better and faster conversion, there is level 3 hardware acceleration

Cons:

• For newcomers, it can be a little confusing

#4. Handbrake

The name handbrake seems weird but trusts me except its name; it is one of the best free DVD rippers on our list. It is one of the software that one can wish to download.

Some of the amazing features include the ability to convert to and from an overabundance of different formats, easily recognize and rip DVDs, and all these can be done as a batch process which I love the most in Handbrake. But with all the good points there are some downsides like the interface looks outdated for beginners which is not easy to use and hence you have to learn it first before you go any further.

In conclusion, it is certainly worth to pick due to all the right reasons, and as it is free software, you must like the features it provides without any cost.

Pros:

• Packed with lots of features
• Incredibly powerful
• Batch processing for the ripping
• Ripping done within no time

Cons:

• One has to learn first to use it
• The interface is messy and tough

#5. Freemake Video Converter

If you find the handbrake hard, then Freemake video converter can make your job easier. It is one of the handy and easy DVD Copier software that gives ease to use it, especially when you are a complete newcomer for it.

Once you download and install the software, you will find that it is easy to use compared to some other hard software available in the market. You do not need any particular technical expertise to use it. What you have to do it is download, install and start ripping the DVD the way you want.

The pre-made profile for multiple devices helps you to rip the DVD moran e easily. And there are no irritating ads in the software which works not less than any blessing. Though it is freeware, some of the features of the software activated after three days using a web pack.

For those who do not have an urgency, it will be okay, but for those who want to do their advanced work as soon as the software install, it might be problematic. So except this, it is excellent software. Don’t miss to check Free YouTube Intro Makers.

Pros:

• Attractive and easy to use
• Converts and rips videos and DVDs respectively
• Ease your work with pre-made profiles
• Ad-free software

Cons:

• Some features activated after three days of installation

#6. MakeMKV

Another free and best DVD ripper for Windows is makeMKV. Yes, it is free and before you go further, first let me tell you that it is bit rough software as it is in beta stage. Some of the parts need improvement, and apart from it works well and gets its job done. It can not only rip DVD files but with it, it can rip Blu-rays also.

So irrespective of the disc type you can proceed it simply without any complicated steps and awkward configurations. Integrity is one of the reasons why most people love it to use. Even the process is fast, but in the end, the speed depends on the health of disk and configuration. When it comes to recognizing DVDs, I think it works best.

As it is in beta stage, we do not have any complaint about the software, but due to lack of customization option, some users might have some issues while using it. But developers are working on it continuously and adding new features so with each update you will find something new.

When you want to rip a DVD or A Blu-Ray, then it is a good option, and you will not feel fool with some unwanted features on it.

Pros:

• Most straightforward DVD ripper present in the market
• Rips Blu-rays as well as DVDs
• Fast ripping speed

Cons:

• The absence of advanced features as it is still under development stage

#7. Leawo DVD Ripper

If you are the one who is looking for the software that provides you basic functionality without any advance or additional features, then Leawo is for you. It is one of the simplest rippers available in the market, but apart from its simplicity, it can be done almost most of the job.

The excellent feature or quality of the software is it’s easy to use and coding of software. The software makes sure that your experience is not spoiled with the help of enough outputs. But the downside of this software is it is slow as per my experience it takes approx. 2 hours to rip my DVD. We hope that with new update developers try to fix this issue.

Pros:

• Simple interface that can be easily understandable
• Composed of all basic that one wants in the software
• No learning curve and enough output for a hassle-free experience

Cons:

• The conversation takes too much time

#8. Aimersoft DVD Ripper

By most of the experts and users, Aimersoft DVD Ripper addressed as best software. There are multiple reasons why one love it to use. Initially, I had no expectation, but once I reviewed it, I found the reason to pick it in this list.

It allows you to rip files from DVD directly and once the task completed, you can use it on any device you want. The built-in free video editor makes the task easier. The interface is so simple and easy to understand, and hence one can easily figure out the whole process. I can guarantee you this one is the best if you want a software to rip DVD.

Though it is one of the powerful software currently present in the market, it cannot rip the DVDs from the direct source, and it bugged me. What I want to say is you can’t directly rip the ISO, and Video TS folders straight, you need additional help to do so. We hope in future this problem will solve by developers. It completes the task within no time, and it provides enough features to keep you attracted to it.

Pros:

• Best processing power
• Support all format
• Rip and convert DVDs to play it on any device

Cons:

• Can’t rip DVD from ISO or Video TS folders

#9. Open DVD Ripper 3

The Open DVD ripper sound like it may not work appropriately or lack of some basic features, but you may go wrong here. Keep in mind that this will do all your task better than any other software can do. On the feature side, it may be a little less but enough to do work as an everyday driver.

In converting files, the software is comparatively faster. However, the conversation depends on the condition of the DVD and size of data. Even there is no compatibility issue as there are plenty of profiles available in software for support.

But the one thing which I want to tell that it does not have support T for Xbox One and PS4 file formats.

Pros:

• Fast and stable conversion
• Straightforward to use.
• Loads of profiles for support
• Works as a converter as well

Cons:

• No support for Xbox One and PS4 file formats

#10. Xilisoft DVD Ripper Standard

Xilisoft DVD Ripper Standard is another one that does not provide the advanced features, but yes, it has all the necessary features that one look for the ripping the DVD on their windows and Mac.

Yes, it has many customization options available that can occupy the user. As the name suggests software can convert videos, rip DVDs and edit videos. But with the standard version, the video editor is not included. In the end, it is a good option for the one who needs simple software without any complexity.

Pros:

• Easy, simple and effective in use
• Included all simple and basic features
• Enough presets
• The video convert is another thing that is available with the software

Cons:

Apple Dvd Ripper

• Standard version does not have a video editor

Conclusion:

With this, we end our article on the best DVD ripping software for Mac and windows. Yes, it was difficult to find the best 10 as most of the rippers do not work well and have some bugs or not updated after they introduced to the market. But after all, we have some great choices that we have included here. What do you think? Fill free to share your views with us. Thank you!

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There’s a lot of questionable activity going on with DVDFab DVD Ripper IP address

Backup and Digitize DVDs to MP4 in 5 Mins without Errors

Before we dig deeper into the free DVD ripping software for macOS review. Here are some facts and problems in connection with DVDs.

It's reported the U.S. consumers have collected 87 DVD titles on average over the past decades. However, the advent of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and HBO Go changes the way of home entertainment from physical disc to digital video. That's why many DVD owners jump onto the bandwagon to digitize their DVD library. But what will you benefit from ripping DVD to computer hard drive?

* Free up some room in your house because your DVD collection is cumbersome.
* Copy DVD to hard drive or NAS so that you can organize & achieve your movie library by genre, year without going to the shelf yourself.
* Back up DVDs to computer to avoid any scratch, fingerprint or damage.
* Free DVDs from region code restrictions, since you're unwilling to end up watching Hollywood summer films on Xmas Day in your country.
* Convert disc to digital format to extend your viewing options to your Macbook, iMac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Plus, or other media server anywhere, without even dropping a disc in the drive, downloading a MPEG2 decoder, taking along the whole discs, or repurchasing the movie contents from iTunes Store.

To follow the trend and live without a disc drive in your Mac computer, smartphone or tablet, no need to make any compromise when these ideas conflict with the facts. The advent of Mac DVD ripping tools will get it all solved.

Best Solution to Copy & Convert DVD without a Hitch!

* Copy and digitize any DVD to MP4, MKV, MOV, H.264, ISO, etc.
* Convert DVD content to Mac, Hard drive, TV and mobile devices.
* (Unique!) Support any new DVDs, 99-title DVDs, damaged DVDs, etc.
* (Hardware acceleration)Only 5 mins to rip DVD with original quality.

Strapped for time? Click one of the sections below to jump straight to your most interested part.

• Part 1: How to Judge the Best DVD Ripper for Mac in 2020
• Part 2: Top 3 Free DVD Rippers for Mac in 2020
• Part 3: Performance Comparison among the 3 Free Rippers
• Part 4: FAQ about DVD Copying and Ripping

Is There a Mac Built-in App to Digitize DVD? No. The DVD ripping process on Mac doesn't go as simple as burning. The latter can be achieved with Mac's built-in app like Finder or iDVD, as long as you have an Apple external USB SuperDrive. While the former is still out of reach with Mac unless you own a third-party DVD converter software.

This is because almost all DVD movies or TV shows you bought or rented are technically copyrighted and DVD rips will inevitably involve in breaking DVD copy protections, e.g. the Content Scramble System. Such action is currently unlawful in the US and UK. Apple is of course unwilling to set against law or money in consideration of continuous cooperation with U.S. studios for iTunes movies, it won't allow you to rip DVD to Mac the way you can burn it. This makes it a sense to download a third-party DVD ripper for Mac instead.

Note: We don't accept ripping DVD in such a way to steal the movie you don't legally own.

Part 1: How to Judge the Best Mac DVD Ripper 2019

There are plenty of free DVD copying and ripping software for Mac, which claims to rip any DVDs to any formats, say DVD to MP4, MOV, FLV, MPEG, H.264, etc. But most often, you endure a whole day long sitting aside your Macbook, trying to get the contents off DVDs yet find it crashes constanly, makes scratching high frequency sounds, gets choppy video on output, or keeps giving messages like no valid source found, etc. Therefore, you shall take 'something' into consideration prior to download a free Mac DVD ripping software. Here are the four decisive elements that make up the best one.

Ripping Ability: A good ripper will access all commercial DVDs, no matter they are encoded with CSS, region code or other schemes, and has all discs digitized to MP4, or whatever other formats. Preset profiles for mobiles, TVs, webs, gaming systems, computers, and more are preferred. You have to bear in mind the latest macOS Catalina weeds out 32-bit apps, so make sure you download the 64-bit DVD ripper with good compatibility with macOS 10.15.

High Quality: DVD transcoding involves in codec compression that leads to quality degradation inevitably. Good rippers manage to create high-quality movie file with almost imperceptible loss of quality (preferably the bitrate is around 1500kbps), by virtue of advanced video transcoding kernel.

Fast Speed: DVD converters used to rely on CPU to improve ripping efficiency while some accelerate the speed twice or more with GPU that's good at concurrent computing. If you have hundreds of DVDs to be digitized, why not choose the one with GPU acceleration enabled.

Ease to Use: Great tools will feature intuitive interface under the hood, where its features are clearly marked and locally placed, leaving little room for guesswork. Preferably, Mac users can get the hang of DVD to digital process with no more than 3 clicks, regardless of the computer skills.

To prevent any illegal redistribution of commercial discs, DVD studios adopts copy protection schemes to set up roadblock on DVD software, among which CSS is the most well known one. With facing with these mechanisms, many DVD rippers or DVD decrypters, especially the free ones, no longer stand the gaff and end up with various errors in the whole process, categorized by disc analyzing before ripping, DVD transcoding and the final rips after the conversion.

Except the above mentioned issues, ordinary DVD converters will go wrong with the recent movies, behaving with errors like dirty title, subtitle track issue, repeated ripping, halfway encoding, unwatchable rips, and more. It will be even trickier when you want to backup DVDs with particular non-UDF and ISO9600 formats such as workout disc beachbody. They are deliberately placed with bad information and the true titles are hidden. As a result, almost 99% of DVD rippers for Mac and Windows in the market will fail to load DVD, encounter a large number of tracks, show impossibly 40gb or more of data but output just several KB. So the capability of defeating encryption codes and recognizing the tricky DVD formats is one success factor for the ripping software.

Click to see the complete DVD ripping errors and fixes >>

Part 2: Top 3 Free DVD Rippers for Mac in 2020 [Review & Guide]

With these 5 elements taken into consideration, we've sought out 3 from an overwhelming number of Mac DVD ripping software. They are MacX DVD Ripper, HandBrake and MakeMKV, respectively. Handbrake is an open source DVD and video transcoding program, and MakeMKV is a widely used free DVD and blu ray ripper, both of which work well on macOS. What about MacX DVD Ripper? Scroll down.

No.1 - MacX DVD Ripper

MacX DVD Ripper is a professional DVD copier and converter designed for Mac (incl. macOS Catalina) and Windows (7/8/10). With unique DVD analysis kernel, the program deals with most commercial titles with encryption schemes that deliberately hamper the ripping, incl. CSS, Region Code, RCE, ARccOS, Disney X-Project DRM, etc. Besides, all DVD formats are supported, including UDF, intractable non-UDF, and ISO9600, so whether it is a new movie title, workout disc, or the DVD unplayable or damaged, MacXDVD will cope with it calmly.

Engineered for Apple ecosystem, it can freely convert DVDs to Mac-specific formats like MOV, M4V, H.264 that are compatible with QuickTime, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and digitize DVD to MP4 format your SSD, NAS or USB accepts for a better DVD storage. You can also transcode DVD to other mainstream formats like HEVC, MKV, AVI, ISO, or convert a movie to format playable on your iPhone, iPad, Huawei, Samsung, TV, PS4, and more. Besides, a full range of basic editing features like cut, crop, merge, subtitle, etc are offered to cater to your DVD movie customization needs.

MacXDVD supports unique level-3 hardware acceleration, hyper-threading and multi-core CPU techs. When it starts transcoding DVDs, computer hardware, together multiple cores, is fully utilized to execute DVD decoding, processing and encoding task simultaneously and multiple threads are enabled to run on each core. This dramatically shortens the DVD ripping process, while unburdening CPU greatly. High-quality engine and De-interlacing engine are available for you to check, purpose built to produce remarkably high quality.

[Tutorial] How to Use MacX DVD Ripper

Step 1: Insert DVD
Click 'Add DVD' button to load the disc. MacX will easily find the accurate main title. In our test, we successfully open the titles like Inside Out, Frozen from Disney. For TV shows with several episodes, select the item and MacX will decode it in sequence.

Free download the DVD ripper on Mac >>
Free download the DVD ripper on Windows >>

Step 2: Choose the output format
Preferrably, you can rip DVD to MP4 H.264 for better compatibility, quality and smaller file size. With no further tweaking, it achieves an H.264 file with crisp picture. The Mac specific library also offers options to backup DVD, convert DVD to Apple, Android, Microsoft, Sony, Web and more.

Step 3: Start protected DVD converting
For DVDs with tough protections, MacXDVD's unique title check mechanism and DVD analysis algorithm automatically scan the title, crack severely protected DVDs and smooth the ripping process. It also cuts the commercials and merge the useful parts via its editing features.

No.2 - HandBrake

Handbrake is an open-source DVD ripper for Mac, Windows and Linux, which can freely convert DVD to MP4 and MKV, with support for iPhone, iPods, PSPs, Apple TVs, PS3s. Handbrake rips DVD that is homemade/unprotected only. It cannot rip commercial DVDs unless you rely on third party tool like VLC or DVD decrypter, not to mention the Disney newer protections. MacX would be the HandBrake alternative to solve this problem.

The version Handbrake V1.0.7 adds support for HEVC encoding. This means that you can re-encode DVD into HEVC to store more movies on Mac's hard drive and newer iPhones or iPads. You shall understand the DVD to HEVC converting process takes a longer time as HEVC entails high computational demands. The good news is Handbrake still performs ultrafast DVD conversion speed if your Macbook or iMac is equipped with a video card like Intel's Kaby Lake processor series. Now in the latest version 1.2.0, Handbrake adds support for AMD and NVidia GPU acceleration for H.264/HEVC encoding like what MacX DVD Ripper Pro does.

[Tutorial] How to Use HandBrake

Handbrake works with Mac OS X 10.7 to 10.14. Make sure your Mac has enough space to store the program (around 12.41MB). You can go to its official site to download and install the freeware.

Step 1: Insert DVD disc into Mac's DVD drive and run Handbrake. Click the Source button to load the DVD. It takes a few seconds to scan the disc. To rip protected DVD on Mac, libdvdcss is required to remove the CSS.

Step 2: Click 'Browse' to set where you want to save the output files.

Step 3: Click 'Presets' and select an output format. Here are MP4 (M4V) or MKV, and mobiles like iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Android, Windows Phone.

Step 4: Now click 'RUN' to rip DVD for free on Mac now.

Having problems with Handbrake, check the full solutions to Handbrake DVD ripping errors on macOS:
* Handbrake cannot rip DVD with 99 titles? Fix it here
* Handbrake libdvdcss error on macOS Sierra? Check the solution

No.3 - MakeMKV

If you're seeking for a tool that rips protected DVDs & Blu rays and preserves all video/audio tracks and subtitles with meta-information, there is no better tools than MakeMKV, an easy free DVD/Blu ray ripper for Mac. As its name suggests, this program aids Mac users to free rip DVD to MKV format only. Since MakeMKV works rather a format converter than a transcoder, it remuxes the movie content from one format MPEG2 to MKV without affecting too much quality, so the whole DVD to MKV converting process is pretty fast with excellent quality. In this regard, MakeMKV is your premium choice if you just want to backup and store your movie contents on your hard drive, NAS or USB.

Since there is little compression in the DVD to MKV ripping process, the output file size is tremendous, almost the same as the original DVD disc. This is not good especially when you want to import the DVD movie into your iPhone or iPad - Just 3 full-length movies will eat up your 16GB iDevice space. So you'd better compress the movie into a size-friendly file with a video transcoder. MakeMKV is available as a free DVD ripping tool. For free Blu-ray disc digitization, you can try its beta version that stops functioning after 60 days.

[Tutorial] How to Use MakeMKV

Free download MakeMKV on Mac. The tool is completely free to rip a DVD disc to Mac during the beta-testing phase, and after that, if you want to decrypt Blu-Ray disc, you will need to pay $50.

Step 1: Open the software and insert the disk. It accepts both DVD and Blu-Ray discs. Then click 'Open Disc' to load in the information.

Step 2: MakeMKV will scan and identify the titles correctly and pop up a list of disk chapters. Choose the chapter, normally the longest and biggest title.

Best Free Dvd Ripping Software For Mac

Step 3: Select a folder on Mac to save the output MKV files and click 'Make MKV'. It shows a fast DVD to digital processing speed on Mac, with an average of 30 minutes to rip Blu-ray disc. The output MKV keeps high video and audio quality, but MKV file is enormous (6.73GB MKV file for the 7.84GB DVD in our test).

Part 3: Performance Comparison among the 3 Free Rippers

To better understand the performance of the top 3 Mac DVD ripper freeware, below is a table and detailed comparison in ripping speed, output quality and supported encryptions.

Note: This test is based on our hands-on test on 27' iMac (incl. Catalina) with 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB 1867 MHzDDR3 and AMD Radeon R9 M380 2048MB. You shall also have to note that the DVD encoding speed is greatly dependant on your computer configuration. Higher config will lead to great performance. And make sure to spare some space to save the final rip. The DVD used here is a 7.84Gb movie named Transformers 2, distributed byDreamWorks Pictures, one of the studios that use intractable protection scheme on discs.

1. Comparison on DVD Ripping Speed

According to the company, it applies level-3 hardward acceleration tech, which intelligently offloads the DVD decoding, processing and encoding to GPU, in cooperation with the hyper-threading technology. That is, GPU is fully utilized to rip DVD with full speed, and CPU is spared for multi tasks without affecting the ripping.

The DVD ripping is impressive on a iMac 5K (3.2 GHz Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon R9 M380, 2048MB, on Mojave). MacX's DVD conversion frequency reached averagely 240 fps, twice as high as that of Handbrake. It took 12 minutes to convert the full-length Transformers 2 DVD to MP4, while we could still view web pages or do other tasks since the CPU usage remains as low as 131-134%.

Handbrake auto enables Intel QSV HW acceleration for DVD and video processing tasks and switches to pass 2 for better encoding. But the time it took to make a digital MP4 copy of DVD is less than satisfactory, generally 25 min lagging behind MacX. The CPU usage went up to 397%. We are happy to find MakeMKV converted DVD to MKV on Mac pretty fast, completing within 4 minutes only, with read rate reaching up to 45.7 M/s.

2. Quality and File Size of the Output Rip, Who Wins?

MakeMKV works as a format converter that just repackages the movie content from DVD MPEG2 to MKV. The output quality isn't affected at all. Higher saturation of color can be noticed on the rips, with dark darker and white whiter. But the file size is tremendously large - 6.73Gb that is almost the same as the original. You can also resort to MacX DVD Ripper's backup feature to clone DVD to ISO/MKV/MPEG2 with no loss of quality.

Both MacX and Handbrake involved in DVD video compression, which cut file size down but inevitably led to quality loss. What matters most is whether they manage to maintain a good balance between the size and quality. MacX created an .mp4 file with 720x480 (16:9) in 1.61GB from the 7.84GB DVD and Handbrake outputted the MP4 content in 1.87GB in fast 1080p30 encoding. There is no noticeable change between the the source and ripped file. Quality is slightly inferior to MakeMKV. So if you care about quality, MakeMKV is your ultimate choice. But if you emphasis on both sides, choose MacX and Handbrake, which run neck and neck.

3. Which Ripper Supports the Widest Encryptions?

From the developer, MacX supports wide range of DVD protections, from CSS, region code, UOPs, APS to Sony ARccOS, Disney Fake. If this is true, it will sideline Handbrake that requires third-party tool to bypass certain restrictions, or MakeMKV that supports AACS and BD+ only, and other DVD ripper Mac freeware.

In the test, Handbrake popped up 'No Valid Source Found' error and quitted unexpectedly when scanning the new titles like Divergent and MakeMKV produced many problematic rips. MacX chose the right title. Its unique title check mechanism is proven to be very useful with these intractable DVDs. The movies tested include Toy Story (Disney), Wall-E (Pixar), Star Trek (Paramount), Life of Brian (Sony), and newer releases (Venom, Incredibles 2, Avengers: Infinity War). We do not encourage you to decrypt commercial DVDs on Mac or PC for any illegal use and it's not allowed to legally copy commercial DVDs or Blu-ray discs in some countries.

Specs Comparison Among the Top Three Free DVD Rippers for Mac

The 3 Mac DVD rippers are equally matched. What matter most is whether the program fits your bill. For a quality-loss DVD ripping, MakeMKV is second to none. But if you have hundreds of discs and want to have your entire DVD library backed up onto hard drive at fast speed without exhausting your storage space, MacX DVD ripper and Handbrake are your good options. While if the last thing you want is to end up with errors just because the new title comes with tricky protection scheme or the DVD is formatted unnaturally, the ultimate choice is to download MacX DVD Ripper, which not only features great DVD decryption ability, but also comes with unique level-3 hardware acceleration tech that can speed up the whole process and maintain good balance between quality and size.

To backup and digitize DVD for safekeeping or on-the-go watching - Try MacX DVD Ripper [Fast & High Quality]!

Part 4: FAQ about DVD Copying and Ripping

Q1. How Can I Hardcode Subtitles on DVD Movies?

Subtitles are helpful to understand a foreign language, inaudible dialog or narrative comprehension. But getting subtitles on DVD is a bit tougher, let along hardcoding them. You can add subtitles to DVD rips with programs like Handbrake, MacX DVD Ripper or so. For example, MacXDVD gives a lot of subtitle options, including choose and place subtitle track in preferred position, disable or hardcode it with forced subtitles, and even add external srt to the movie.

Q2. Can Free DVD Rippers Deal with Latest DVDs?

It depends. Typically, DVDs from major film studios like Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, etc. often impose strong protections on their DVDs. For those DVDs, most DVD rippers (including many which claim to support copy protections) will go awry like DVD won't load, all titles are invalid/corrupted or have the same run time, output video is several MB only... This year, the problematic DVD titles include Venom, Incredibles 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Black Panther, and some other new releases. To copy these DVDs, you'd better resort to some strong tools. (Before you do so, make sure it's allowed by your law.)

Q3. Should Mac Users Rip DVD to MP4 or MOV?

* MP4 - When digitizing DVD with these free DVD rippers for Mac, many users are at a loss whether to choose MP4 or MOV. Both MP4 and MOV use lossy video compression to sacrifice minimal quality for file size. MP4 is popular for streaming over the internet and playable on Mac, Windows and almost all media players, say VLC, 5KPlayer, QT, etc. But P-frames or B-frames in MP4 makes it difficult to edit.

* MOV - As MOV is originally developed by Apple for its QuickTime player, it's much friendlier in Apple ecosystem. MOV contains one or more tracks, meant to store each type of data including audio, video, subtitle, etc in a hierarchical structure, which is good for editing. So for Mac computers, to convert DVD to digital MOV for Mac QuickTime is more preferred than MP4.

Q4. What Is the Best Format to Back up DVD to Hard Drive?

When the modern computer hard drive, external flash drive, HDD, SSD and NAS drive can hold as large as 60TB storage, there's no need to store DVD collections anywhere else. After users copy DVDs to Mac's hard drive, they can also stream them on TV using Plex, Roku, PC or transfer to phones or tablets. To rip DVD to Mac hard drive, it depends:

• To view your DVD on players, phones, tablets, TVs, or so, choose digital format MP4 H.264 for the widest compatibility.
• To play your DVD on newer iPhones iPads running on iOS 11/12, choose digital format MP4 HEVC for higher quality and smaller space.
• To save an original copy with menus and extras, copy DVD to ISO image. The disc image contains the whole data of the disc at 1:1 ratio for later burning but ha s less compatibility with media players and devices.
• For homemade discs, just copy and paste the VIDEO_TS folder to save DVD onto hard drive. For commercial discs, you will need a specific ripper to deal with the copy protections.

Q5. Is it Prossible to Rip Scratched DVD on Mac?

DVDs are too fragile, that's why we need to backup the DVD collection. If your discs are already damaged or scratched, there are measures to remedy.

• For a bit of stretches on the surface, polish the surface with cotton balls and abrasive white toothpaste or Brasso plolish. You need to polish across the grain and do not in circular direction. This need patience.
• For deep scratches and serve damages, you can take the damaged disk to a local DVD store with a polishing machine or other places like Phoenix to resurface the badly scuffed disc. This will cost for a couple of dollars. Or if the standalone DVD player with error-recovery scheme can ignore the errors and play the DVD, you can capture the movie with a DV. But this will lost the selectable audio, subtitles streams and original menus.

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Note: if the program refuses to rip a well-conditioned DVD with an error stating that there is a bad sector, it's because the DVD is protected by a copy protection scheme from Sony named ARccOS. The system deliberately mixes corrupted sectors with the correct one to mislead DVD copying software.

Q6. Does My 32-bit DVD Player App Still Work on macOS Catalina?

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Yes, the 32-bit DVD player is not totally over in macOS 10.15 Catalina. Yet, what you need to notice is that the earilier version Mojave is officially the last OS to support 32-bit apps on your iMac or Macbook. And recently macOS Catalina comes with new 64-bit DVD player and DVD ripper to support DVD playback or ripping on latest macOS. You're suggested to apply its 64-bit version if there is something wrong with your 32-bit app.

Q7. How about Vudu Disc to Digital Serivce? Is Online Tool a Good Option to Digitize DVD?

Vudu is another way that you can convert DVDs into digital files. With the 'In-Home Disc to Digital' service, you can effortlessly gain digital copies of your DVDs for a low price: $2 for DVD to a standard-definition digital copy and $5 for a high-definition 'HDX' copy. But there are concerns:

• It's ridiculous paying twice for a movie, especially when the $5 HDX is close to $8 for a new Blu-ray version on Amazon, which even includes a digital copy.
• Vudu only allows to digitize up to 100 dics a year.
• Vudu supports DVDs from 7 Hollywood studios only. Exercise DVDs, TV shows DVDs and more are exclused from Vudu.
• The streaming buffering and playback limits are another factor to consider.

In consideration of these problems, you'd rather use DVD ripper software than online services.

Q8. Is It Legal to Rip DVDs that You Own?

Many users who want to space-shift or format-shirt their legally purchased DVD or Blu-ray discs often concern about the legality of DVD ripping. The fact is, currently it is considered as illegal to convert copyrighted DVDs in US, even if you legally own the discs. Some other countries have already made it legal. In practice, as the DVD conversion happens locally on your computer, you won't get sued or caught if you don't distribute the digital copies. However, you're highly suggested to obey to the law where you live. Check if it's legal to rip copy protected DVDs in your country.

Q9. Are There any Other Free DVD Rippers for Mac?

1. Mac The Ripper: MTS has been regarded as the oldest DVD copy software for Mac so far. The last free version of MacTheRipper is V2.6.6 that can work with Mac OS X Snow Leopard or lower. It breaks protection and rips DVD content for free on Mac, but doesn't encode video files to other formats. It only digitize the DVD menu to hard drive in VOB file. So a third party tool is required to convert VOB to MP4, AVI or others.

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2. FFmpeg: It is considered more as an open-source command-line utility for Linux based on popular libraries such as libavformat and libavcodec. FFmpeg stands for Fast Forward MPEG and now it can be complied under Mac and other OS. This tool is complicated to operate and not friendly to newbies. But if you are more experienced and spend hours on the disc ripping tasks, FFmpeg comes to our top free dvd converter for Mac list and is really worthy of your persistence.

3. Any Video Converter: It handles almost all video formats, including DVDs. Reviewed as 'ridiculously easy to use', this tool can easily and freely rip DVD into the right format in its long list of options including MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, etc thanks to its intuitive GUI. However, AVC sometimes gets glitches and only make a backup of part of the full-length movie, e.g. It only finishes 40 mins of a 2 hrs DVD movie copy. This is probably because you are ripping a DVD with complicated protection measure. So its pro version is needed to ensure a smooth DVD digitizing on Mac.

4. DVDFab HD Decrypter- Although discontinued in 2014, it's still the favorite when dealing with many old DVDs that refuse to be copied with other free DVD rippers, owning to its aculeate DVD decrypting ability. It offers options to freely copy full disc with all menus, trailer, extras, etc or just extract the actual movie from DVD onto Mac's hard drive, cracking many known DVD protections, like AACS, CSS, RC, UOPS, etc. There are some minor drawbacks, e.g. heavy processing power and CPU resources are consumed during the ripping process. Plus, it only copies protected DVD in VOB rather than MP4 MOV or other formats.

External Sources: DVD movies are almost all encoded in MPEG-2 format defined by Motion Pictures Expert Group. Generally, the content is interlaced for display on ordinary TV sets. Resolution of DVD is either 720x480 pixels at 29.97 frames per second from America's NTSC television system or 720x576 pixels at 25 frames per second from Europe's PAL.

Note: The software developer calls for copying or ripping DVD on Mac and Windows under the concept of Fair Use and does not encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.