While streaming media is taking over the world, many of us still keep physical discs. Maybe they are 20th-century movies that can’t be found on Netflix or Disney+, or maybe it’s the high quality and stability that fascinates us.
You probably love the idea of watching a favorite DVD on your Mac laptop or iPad wherever you are. But now that Apple no longer supports DVDs, it’s only possible if you have a digital copy in common formats. How to rip videos from DVDs to a Mac? It is not as difficult as you may imagine. Let me offer 2 solutions and walk you through them.
Part 1. What You Need for Mac to Rip a DVD
An external DVD drive.
This is necessary because Apple devices in recent years have offered no built-in drives. Unless your Mac is old enough to carry a DVD player, you’ll have to connect an external DVD drive to your Mac so it can read the disc.
Enough storage space.
The high-quality video on DVDs can be massive after being ripped to a digital file. So leave at least 10G for it.
Part 2. How to Rip DVD on Mac (2 Ways)
Easy Way: How to Rip from DVD on Mac at One Stop
How to rip a DVD to a Mac computer without effort? Tipard DVD Ripper, one of the best DVD rippers for Mac, is here to make things easy. It can read your disc and directly rip it to any popular video format without quality loss. It supports over 500 formats, including MP4 and MOV, which play smoothly on Mac. It’s designed for beginners: the interface is clean, and all you need to do is a few clicks on it.
Step 1. Download and install the Mac version from its official page.
Step 2. Insert your DVD drive, and then the DVD.
Step 3. Launch the software. Click Load DVD at the top left, and select the disc you want to rip.
Step 4. Tipard DVD Ripper then analyzes each title and chapter. After it finishes, you are presented with two ripping options: Main Movie and Full Title List.
Main Movie detects and rips the longest video on your DVD, which in most cases is the disc’s main movie. But heads up: some DVDs may have multiple main movies. If your DVD is so, select Full Title List.
Full Title List displays everything on your DVD, including the main movie, blooper scenes, and other extras. You can select what you need and uncheck the rest.
Step 5. At the bottom sheet, click Output Format to select a video format; MP4 and MOV are recommended. You can also change to another quality level or keep the original. It’s up to you.
Step 6. For the last step, select a target folder in the Save to section. Then click Rip All. Wait for the ripping to finish, which won’t take long.
Now, with the digital file, you can watch the movie on your Mac at any time and from any place, and also copy DVD to USB for backup.
Free Method: Rip DVDs for Mac with MakeMKV + HandBrake
This method may be a hassle compared to the first one – a trade-off for free use. You’ll need two programs for this: MakeMKV and HandBrake. Both are free DVD ripping software for Mac.
HandBrake can rip DVD files for Mac, but it doesn’t read physical discs. That’s why we need MakeMKV to rip the disc to an MKV file, before HandBrake comes in to convert it to MP4/MOV.
First, launch MakeMKV.
Step 1. Insert the DVD into your Mac. MakeMKV will auto-detect it.
Step 2. Click the big DVD button on the left and wait for it to scan the titles, which takes a few minutes.
Step 3. Click the Folder button to choose a save destination before you click Make MKV.
Step 4. Now wait for it to finish. The ripping time depends on the video size. 10-30 minutes is expected.
Get the MKV file? Let’s move on to HandBrake.
Step 1. Open HandBrake. Drag the MKV you just created to its workboard.
Step 2. Choose a Format for the output. MP4 is the most compatible choice. MOV is also alright.
Step 3. Choose a Preset. I would recommend Fast 1080p30 or HQ 1080p30 Surround for the best quality. If you worry about processing speed or storage, try Fast 720p30 for a smaller file size.
Step 4. Click the Browse button next to Save As. Choose a saving location and filename. After that, click Start Encode at the top.
You will likely wait for 10-60 minutes, depending on your hardware and ripping settings.
Tip: Is It Legal to Rip DVDs on a Mac?
The short answer is: it depends on where you live and what you plan to do with the copy.
In the US, it’s a bit of a gray area. It’s generally safe to rip a DVD that you legally own for personal use only. Although the DMCA makes it illegal to break the copyright protection on a commercial DVD, yet in practice, the chances are tiny that you will get prosecuted just for watching it on your own Mac. But ripping borrowed or rented DVDs and sharing DVD copies definitely crosses the red line.
I am no lawyer, and this is not legal advice. To understand exactly what’s allowed in your situation, check the copyright laws in your country or region.
Conclusion
“How do I rip a DVD on my Mac to watch it?” I hope this tutorial has answered that question well. Tipard DVD Ripper is overall the most efficient, while MakeMKV and HandBrake are totally free DVD rippers but require more effort. With a digital copy, you can now enjoy the DVDs anywhere you want.
