How to Rip DVD to Your Computer

Let’s say you have a DVD movie but want to watch it on your phone, tablet, or somewhere else. You can “rip” this DVD or turn it into a movie file on your computer to play it anywhere. Here’s how to do it.

Copying a movie to your hard drive may sound daunting, but it’s actually quite simple. There are many ways to do this and many different programs, but our favorite method is using a program called Handbrake . It’s easy to use, available for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it converts your file to formats compatible with any device like iPad or Android phone. The video above should walk you through the process, but you can follow these instructions.

1. Go to the Handbrake homepage and download the program. Install it on your computer as directed.
2. By default Handbrake can rip unprotected DVDs, but most DVDs you buy from a store are copy protected. To get around this, you need to install libdvdcss. On Windows, you can download this file separately ( here for 32-bit systems and here for 64-bit systems ), rename it to libdvdcss.dll, leave the filename as libdvdcss-2.dll and place it in the Handbrake program folder (C: \ Program Files \ Handbrake). If you are using a Mac, download this file and double-click it to install. If you are using OS X El Capitan you have a few more steps – read this article before you do anything else.
3. Insert the DVD you want to rip and open Handbrake.
4. Click the Source button in the upper left corner and select your DVD drive from the list. It will start scanning your DVD, which may take a few minutes.
5. When done, go to the Title drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the window. This is where you choose which part of the DVD you want to rip. In the case of movies, this is usually the longest title, so just select it. If you are copying episodes of a TV show, they are usually 22 or 44 minutes long, and you will have to copy each one individually.
6. Click the Browse button on the right side of the window. Navigate to where you want to save the movie file and enter the file name in the box. Click OK.
7. Then go to the panel on the right labeled “Presets”. Here you choose what format the final file will be in. If you just want to watch it on your computer, the Normal or High Profile presets will do. If you want to watch it on something like an iPod or iPhone, choose the correct preset from the list.
8. Click the Start button at the top of the window. This will take a while, so you probably want to have a cup of tea.
9. When this is done, you will receive a toast notification. From there, you can double-click a movie file to watch it, or sync to your chosen device. Enjoy!

At first it seems like there are a lot of steps, but in reality it is not that difficult, especially after you first did it. For example, after installing the libdvdcss file, you can skip this step in the future.

Mac users, especially those using OS X El Capitan, must deal with System Integrity Protection (SIP), a security feature designed to protect critical system files and processes . Unfortunately SIP breaks many programs and removes the libdvdcss file required for Handbrake to work. You can disable SIP, but it is useful and unnecessary. Also, there is a better way, as redditor hvyboots points out :

1. Close Handbrake and open a new Finder window.
2. Type cmd + shift + G and paste along this path: /Library/SystemMigration/History/
3. Inside this folder there should be a folder called “Migration- [random letters and numbers]”. Open this folder and you will find “QuarantineRoot”. Open that folder and you should see your libdvdcss.2.dylib file.
4. Open a second Finder window.
5. Type cmd + shift + G and paste in this path: /usr/local/lib (if you get an error that this folder does not exist, go to /usr/local instead, create a new folder named “lib” and open it.)
6. Drag the libdvdcss.2.dylib file from the first window to the /usr/local/lib folder. You will be prompted for an administrator password. Enter this and wait for the copy to complete.

Make sure to restart Handbrake after that, as the application will scan the libdvdcss file and once it is found, you don’t have to move it or deal with it again. Then you can go ahead and follow the instructions above as usual and get down to business!

Just select the desired chapter from the DVD and copy it into the format you want. Note that if you are going to rip a lot of DVDs, you can go to Tools> Options (or Handbrake> Preferences if you’re on a Mac) and click Browse next to Default Path to select a location for all others. movies that you will copy in the future. You can also click Add to Queue instead of Start and copy multiple files at once, which is great for copying TV shows.

Good luck and enjoy your newly ripped DVD! If you want to rip Blu-ray too, you will need to do a little bit of work. Check out our guide to ripping Blu-ray to learn more.

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