Rip a DVD Using VLC Media Player
While ripping CDs is a common activity performed by many software programs, even many advanced computer users don't know how to rip a DVD. Ripping DVDs (geek-speak for copying onto your PC's hard-drive) is good for making a backup of their content, or watching them on your PC , iPod, iPhone, Zune etc. This can be done by opening the disc you wish to rip, adding a new destination, modifying the settings, and streaming. Full-length movies may take up to 2 hours.
Steps
- Click Media, then Open Disc.
- Select DVD and check "No disc menus". If using Linux, use Disc Device /dev/dvd.
- Choose your DVD drive and select which Title contains the full length movie.
- As a test, select Play from the drop-down menu. Select Title 0, 1, 2 until the movie plays correctly. Then, select Stream from the drop-down next to play.
- Click Next. If using Linux, and Title 1, your DVD selection Source will be dvdsimple:///dev/dvd#1
- Optionally de-select Display Locally to speed up the processing.
- With "New Destination" set to File, click Add.
- Browse to open dialog and type in the name of the file you want to save as.
- Select the Profile for Encapsulation Method, such as MP4. I recommend "Video - H.264 + AAC (MP4)". ASF, WAV and RAW are not recommended.
- You can modify profile settings if necessary by clicking the Tool button to select Video Code (such as DIV3), Bitrate (such as 1024), Audio Codec (such as MP3), Bitrate (such as 192), and resolution.
- Click Stream.
- Wait. Ripping a full length movie can take a very long time (around 2 hours).
Tips
- The steps above, are for VLC 1.1.5.
- If you are using a Mac, use a software like Handbrake that will make it easier to rip a DVD. It will let you rip the DVD in any format (like for iPod or iPhone: MPEG-4). It creates one individual file on your Mac and saves it to your desktop, so there or no worries about having multiple files.
- The ripping process could produce a dozen or more individual files, so it's often best to create a new folder on your hard drive for each DVD.
- If you want to burn the ripped DVD to a fresh 4.7 GB DVD, often you will need to shrink it first, as original DVDs usually contain more than 4.7 GB of data. Use the excellent freeware program DVD Shrink for this. It can produce a ripped DVD directory that fits on a 4.7 GB disk, without discernible change in image or sound quality. See How to Burn a DVD.
Warnings
- Do not promote or partake in piracy. Although there is some dubiety over whether it is legal to copy DVDs for your own use, making copyrighted DVDs available in the public realm is against the law.
- Understand copyright laws in your country before ripping any copyrighted DVDs.
- CD/DVD copy protection is a blanket term for various methods of copy protection for CDs and DVDs. Such methods include DRM, CD-checks, Dummy Files, illegal tables of contents, over-sizing or over-burning the CD, physical errors, and bad sectors. Many protection schemes rely on breaking compliance with CD and DVD standards, leading to playback problems on some devices.Most CD-ROMs use the ISO9660 file term to organize the available storage space for use by a computer or player.
- Understand that in the US the laws are unclear and conflicting, you might be able to rip a copy of copyrighted material for your own use under the concept of Fair Use. However, circumventing DRM may be illegal in and of itself, regardless of ownership of the IP or intent after disabling the DRM method. Read up on the DMCA and then contact your congressman!
Things You'll Need
- A DVD you want to copy.
- Free space on your hard drive.
- VLC Media Player
