In a recent clause , I explicate how you canrip DVD with the complimentary HandBrake . While the solution I describe in that article is prosperous to use , you might want to consider another mode of ripping disc . you could do this using the freeMakeMKV , and then using HandBrake . This has several advantages :

Here ’s how to habituate MakeMKV to rip ocular magnetic disk , and how to convince them with HandBrake .

Get software

Get the freeMakeMKV . ( This app has been in beta forever , and you may geta free beta key from the developer ’s meeting place . ) This app rips your DVD or Blu - electron beam saucer and win over it to an MKV file . you may not play the MKV file in Apple ’s apps — iTunes , or on an iOS twist — but you may utilise the Indian file as a germ for Handbrake to commute .

Get the freeHandBrake .

Get hardware

You ’ll need an optical effort to pull DVDs , and if you need to rive Blu - rays , you ’ll involve a Blu - beam of light drive ( which can also rive compact disc and DVDs ) . I have long used the Pioneer BDR - XD05B , which is a bus - powered private road ( it does n’t need a freestanding power supply ) that supports USB 3 . This movement is sturdy and honest . While macOS does n’t support Blu - ray discs , any software that can read such discs will be capable to do so from this drive , or any other .

Use MakeMKV

Launch MakeMKV , stick in a phonograph record in your optical drive , then click the big button that looks like an ocular drive . MakeMKV will read the disc , then display its contents .

The MakeMKV interface lets you select which element from a disc you want to rive .

If you cluck the revealing triangle next to the disc , you may choose to exclude different parts of a disk , such as the main lineament and bonuses , or different episodes for a TV series ;   you may also omit any sound recording and subtitle tracks you do n’t need .

makemkv

Click the MakeMKV button , and wait for the app to create the Indian file . ( If your disc has multiple titles , you ’ll have one single file for each . )

Note that ripping Blu - rays can take a long time ; on my 5 K iMac , it takes about as long as the duration of the TV ( i.e. , a 2 - hour moving picture takes two hr to rip ) . And the resulting file can be quite large , as much as 30 - 40 gilbert .

If you want to store your videos in MKV data format , you could stop here . As I aver above , you’re able to toy these with VLC or with Plex , and many users will encounter these apps an ideal solution for contend a rend TV library . I apply Plex for all my videos , other than those bought from iTunes . Plex ca n’t run video with DRM , such as that on iTunes movies and telly shows .

handbrake presets

As I say , these filing cabinet are very large . You wo n’t get many on an iOS twist , and you may even have trouble streaming them on your home Wi - Fi net . You might want to commute them to little MKV files . I explain how to do this below .

Use HandBrake

If you do want to convert your video to an Apple - compatible data formatting that you may add together to your iTunes subroutine library , play on an Apple TV , and sync to an iOS gadget , it ’s time to use HandBrake . I wo n’t go into detail here about how to do this . My previous articleexplains how to rip a DVD with HandBrake . When you have an MKV file , you choose it as a reference in HandBrake , and follow the same procedure as with a DVD .

If you want to continue your video in MKV formatting but save place , you’re able to use HandBrake to win over these videos to humble MKV file . In the Presets drawer , click the revealing triangle next to Matroska ( MKV stands for Matroska video ) and choose one of the presets . I commend using the H.264 MKV 1080p30 preset for Blu - ray , and the H.264 MKV 576p26 or H.264 MKV 480p30 presets for DVDs . ( See my former HandBrake article for an explanation of the difference between 576 and 480 line videos . ) H.265 is a newer densification codec that might not be supported on all your devices , and VP8 and VP9 are codecs contrive by Google , which you may not be capable to toy on Apple devices .

HandBrake ’s Matroska presets let you convert an MKV file to a smaller file in the same format .

In my experience , convert a 30 - 40 GB MKV file ( a 2 - 3 time of day motion picture ) to an .m4v file cabinet with HandBrake result in a file about 6 - 10 GB . Converting the same MKV filing cabinet using the H.264 MKV 1080p30 preset gives you a much modest file , around 3 - 4 GB . And the conversion take about as long as the duration of the video on my 5 K iMac , so pull and convert a 2 - hour film submit about four hours altogether .

So you have several pick : rip a DVD with HandBrake , or rend a videodisk or Blu - ray disc with MakeMKV . And you’re able to then take to produce an Apple - compatible file to use with iTunes and iOS gimmick , or utilise an MKV file with other apps , such as VLC or Plex . No matter which method acting you choose , you ’ll be able to easily rive any of your optic disk and digitize some or all of your picture collection . The only other matter you need is time .