How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC

This article shows you how to copy DVDs using VLC Media Player. However, copying DVDs other than for personal backup purposes is illegal in many countries. Many new types of DVDs have anti-copying features set up so they cannot be copied without being decrypted with special software.

Prepare to copy

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 1

Make sure your computer has a DVD drive. You will see a "DVD" icon engraved or drawn on your computer's disc tray. This is a necessary step when you want to copy DVDs.

If you don't see a DVD icon on or near your computer's drive, the computer probably doesn't have a DVD drive. You will need to buy an external DVD drive or use another computer.

Skip this step if your computer does not have a tray or disc reader compartment.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 2

Buy an external DVD drive if needed. If your computer does not have a DVD drive, you will need to purchase a USB external DVD drive and connect it to your computer before copying the DVD with VLC.

If you use a Mac, you'll need to purchase a DVD drive with a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) adapter. You can also buy a USB 3.0 to USB-C cable to connect your Mac to a DVD drive.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 3

Install VLC if you don't already have it. If you don't have VLC Media Player installed on your computer, you'll have to go to https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html from your web browser, then click Download VLC and do the following:

Windows - Double-click the downloaded installation file, click Yes when prompted, select a language, click OK , click Next three times, select Install , and click Finish .

Mac - Double-click the VLC DMG file, then click and drag the VLC icon to the Applications folder.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 4

Insert the DVD into the computer. Open your computer's DVD tray, put the disc in the tray with the sticker side facing up, and close the tray. Now you can start copying DVDs on Windows or Mac.

Before continuing, close any windows that appear on your screen right now.

On Windows

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 5

Open VLC Media Player. Double-click the VLC software with the traffic cone icon on your computer screen, or open Start , enter and click the VLC media playervlc result .

If you receive an update request, click Yes and wait for the update to complete before continuing.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 6

Click the Media tab . This is the option in the upper left corner of the VLC window. When you click, a menu will appear on the screen.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 7

Click Open Disc… near the top of the Media menu that appears. You will see a new window appear on the screen.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 8

Check the "No disc menus" box. This is an option in the "Disc selection" section of the "Open Media" window.

If your computer has multiple DVD trays, you'll click the "Disc device" box and select the name of the movie.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 9

Click the "Menu" icon. It's the down arrow icon next to Play near the bottom of the page. You will see a new menu appear on the screen.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 10

Click Convert in the menu that appears. With this operation, you will be taken to the next page.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 11

Make sure your video is set to convert to MP4. Click the "Profile" selection box, then click the option ending in "(MP4)".

For example, you would click Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4) near the top of the "Profile" selection box.

If you receive an error message regarding DVD blocking after selecting DVD conversion, repeat the entire operation as above, and in this step you will select Video - H.265 + MP3 (MP4) .

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 12

Click Browse . It's in the bottom right corner of the window. This opens the File Explorer window.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 13

Name the file. You can enter any name for the newly converted file in the "File name" field, then add the .mp4.

For example, to name the file "The Hobbit", you would enter The Hobbit.mp4here.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 14

Click a save folder showing on the left side of the window.

For example, you would click Desktop on the left side of the window if you wanted to save the copied DVD file on your computer screen.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 15

Click Save in the lower right corner of the window to save your settings.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 16

Click Start . It's below the Convert window. Thus, the DVD will be converted to MP4 format.

This process will take a few minutes to a few hours depending on the speed of your computer and the capacity of the DVD.

The progress bar at the bottom of the VLC Media Player window displays the video conversion process.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 17

View converted files. After the DVD copying process is completed, the converted file will be displayed in the previously selected save folder. You can double-click the video file to watch it on your computer's default video player.

If VLC doesn't copy the entire DVD, or the copied content has audio loss or technical problems, you need to check if the latest version of VLC is updated and try again. If you still can't copy the DVD, it's probably the type of disc that has copy protection set up. In this case, you will have to purchase DVD decoding software to copy the content on the disc. Learn how to copy copy-protected DVDs for specific information.

On Mac

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 18

Open VLC. Click Spotlight , enter and double-click the VLCvlc result , then click Open when asked.

You can also click the VLC app in Launchpad or double-click the VLC icon in the Applications folder to open it.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 19

Click the File menu . It's in the top left corner of the screen. You will see a menu appear here.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 20

Click Open Disc… in the File menu that appears. This opens the installation window with DVD information.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 21

Click Disable DVD menus . It's in the top right corner of the window.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 22

Check the "Streaming/Saving" box in the lower left corner of the window.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 23

Click Settings on the right side of the window. This opens the DVD's conversion settings.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 24

Check the "File" box. This operation ensures that copying a DVD will create a file on the computer.

If the "File" and "Stream" options are both checked, you will click the "File" box again to set the main output.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 25

Click Browse… in the upper right corner of the window. A window will appear on the screen allowing you to select the folder to save the DVD file and rename the file.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 26

Name the file. Enter a name for the DVD file in the "Save As" field, then add the .mp4.

For example, to save a DVD file with the name "Batman", you would enter Batman.mp4.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 27

Select the save folder. Click the "Where" drop-down box, then click a folder (such as Desktop ) in the menu that appears.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 28

Click Save . It's the blue button at the bottom of the window.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 29

Click the "Encapsulation Method" drop-down box below the "File" section. Another menu will appear here.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 30

Click Quicktime . This is the option near the bottom of the menu that appears.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 31

Edit video settings. The following are settings that affect the picture quality of DVD files:

Check the "Video" box.

Click the "Video" selection box.

Click H264 in the menu pane.

Click the "Bitrate" drop-down box, then select 128 from the drop-down list.

Click the "Scale" box and select 1 .

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 32

Edit audio settings. The following are the settings for the audio portion of the DVD file:

Check the "Audio" box.

Click the "Audio" selection box.

Select MP3 from the selection list.

Click the "Bitrate" box and select 128 .

Click the "Channels" box and select 2 .

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 33

Click OK , then click OK on the main window. This tells VLC to copy the DVD file to the selected save folder.

This can take about 15-40 minutes for each 30-minute video.

How to Copy (rip) DVD discs with VLC Picture 34

Play converted file. After copying the video is completed, the converted file will be displayed in the selected save folder. You can double-click the file to view it using your Mac's default video player.