'Ripping DVDs to MP4 format and decoding. Looking for help..I have no experience in this at all.'
While Netflix and YouTube might be your main source for entertainment now, old-style DVD disc never disappears. Whether you have a box set or a ton of DVDs, be them homemade or commercial, better extract the DVD media content to save into MP4 or other digital formats, for more flexible options of watching, or just in case they get broken or lost.
When it comes to DVD backup, MP4 is always preferred as the first choice. Why is that? Simply put, converting DVD to MP4 ensures the best balance between video quality and file size, which should cover most people's needs. But how to convert DVD to MP4 for free? We find 5 best ways for you.
Click the links below to jum to the part you are most interested in.
- Part 1: Convert DVD to MP4 with VideoProc
- Part 2: Convert DVD to MP4 with HandBrake
- Part 3: Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC
- Part 4: Convert DVD to MP4 with MakeMKV
- Part 5: Convert DVD to MP4 with Windows Media Player
- Part 6: FAQs
It's at the bottom of the Convert window. Your DVD will begin to convert to an MP4 format. This process will take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your computer's speed and the size of the DVD. The video progress bar at the bottom of VLC Media Player's window will show how much of the video has been converted. There are a few ways to convert video files on Linux. If you're a fan of command line tools, check out our FFMPEG video conversion guide.This guide is going to focus on HandBrake, a powerful graphical video conversion tool to covert video from and to many formats such as MP4, AVI, WebM and many more. Handbrake is another totally free DVD ripper that is able to rip DVDs free on PC, Mac, and Linux computers. You are able to rip your DVD to MP4/M4V as well as MKV in MPEG4, H264 and H265 with subtitles and crop are available as well. Also, it works as a video converter. DVD Flick aims to be a tool to convert various PC video formats to a DVD that can be played on pretty much any standalone DVD player. Its main target audience is people who know at least the basics about DVDs and video and audio files. Transcoding – Converting the extracted data into a suitable format such as mp4 If you wish to play or rip encrypted DVDs, you must install the libdvd. packages on your Linux distro. Most of the following programs can rip encrypted DVDs, as long as you have libdvdcss2 installed as described here.
Part 1 - Convert DVD to MP4 with VideoProc
The predecessor of VideoProc is a DVD ripper software. You can surely rely on VideoProc for DVD to MP4 conversion.
- • It offers the fastest solution for you to convert a DVD on Windows and macOS, making full use of hardware acceleration.
- • It supports any DVDs, including 99-title DVDs, region-locked DVDs, Disney DVDs, latest movie DVDs and workout DVDs.
- • It can directly convert DVDs to MP4 H264, HEVC, ISO image, MPEG, MKV, AVI, or MP4 for iPhone, Android, YouTube, etc.
- • It allows you to edit the converted DVD video such as to rotate, cut, crop, add/change subtitles, add watermark, and change speed.
- • You have full control over the settings of codecs, frame rates, resolutions, aspect ratio, bit rate, etc. to balance quality and file size.
Now, way more than that, VideoProc is a hardware-accelerated comprehensive video processing tool that allows you to tackle with media files like DVDs, videos, audios and YouTube links. You can also edit, compress, download and record videos at one go.
Download VideoProc to Fast Convert DVD to MP4 Now!How to convert DVD to MP4 with VideoProc?
Step 1: Open VideoProc and get into VideoPro - DVD center.
Step 2: Click DVD Disc to load the content.
Step 3: Move down to Target Format and choose MP4 h.264.
Step 4: Set an output folder and press button RUN.
Click below to upgrade to VideoProc Lifetime License with 55% OFF discount coupon | $35.95$78.90
Part 2 - Convert DVD to MP4 with HandBrake
Handbrake is an FFmpeg-based open-source media converter. This free DVD ripper has hardly any features missing compared to commercial converters. It's an 80s-style interface with difficult video jargons often put a rookie even off. However, the fact is you will be hard-pressed to find any free or paid converter more versatile and powerful converter than Handbrake.
Can Handbrake convert DVD to MP4?
Handbrake allows you to rip DVD or Blu-ray Discs into MP4 or MKV files for digital use. It offers myriad of settings for output parameters including video/audio encoding modes, partition types, resolutions, bitrate, frame rate, languages, subtitles, filters and more. Those options may easily get beginners baffled, but are very useful for experts who want full control over the output digital file.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 with Handbrake?
Step 1: Choose the DVD file
After launching Handbrake on our computer, it will automatically detect the DVD driver that already installed on your computer. Click the target DVD driver on the section of Source Selection.
Step 2: Select the seasons you need to convert.
Go to the drop-down of Title. You are going to see many clips with different lengths. If you are holding a movie disc, then the clip that comes with the longest duration would be the main movie.
Step 3: Adjust the output settings.
- Go to the right of this panel, scroll down to find Normal on the section of Legacy and select it. You can choose other presets as you like.
- Go to Output settings, and select MP4 as the output container.
- Click Filters. There you need to set Decomb for Deinterlace and Fast for Interlace Detection.
- Click Video, and set Constant Framerate.
Step 4: Click Browse to set a destination file folder. Click the green Start Encode button. Now handbrake starts to rip DVD to MP4.
Why won't handbrake rip my DVD to MP4?
Check your discs at the first place. There shouldn't be any scratches or visible gray or Handbrake won't read the discs directly. If the error still exists, then the problem might be:
1. The DVD you are converting comes with copy protection.
Handbrake can't decode any encrypted DVDs or Blu-ray discs on its own. There are chances you can walk it through by installing the Libdvdcss file on your computer, but the effect is hard to be guaranteed. You are more suggested to use a commercial DVD ripper to convert encrypted discs to MP4.
Android para computador. 2. Your CPU or RAM is out of usage.
It is a long and labor-intensive process to decoding and encoding the large DVD movies with Handbrake. Our computer needs to assign as much as CPU resource to Handbrake to make sure it works properly. That is to say, don't load any additional tasks when using Handbrake to convert DVD to MP4, or the app would fail to work.
Part 3 - Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC
VLC Media Player is best known as a versatile multi-media player which basically can play almost all sorts of video and audio (DVD files, MOV, AVI, MP4, MKV, WMA, MP3, WAV, and many more) that on our computers without extra codecs installed. But few people know it's also an inclusive and robust video converter and DVD ripper that is capable to flawlessly convert DVD to MP4 on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Can VLC convert DVD to MP4?
VLC can convert unencrypted DVD, Blu-ray, Audio DVD, and SVCD/VCD to MP4 as well as TS, WebMD formats in a relatively easy manner. It comes with full sets of controls on the generated video that allow users to adjust the encoding parameters, resolutions, filters, frame rate, etc.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC?
Step 1: Select the target DVD
Go to media > Convert/Save, and then choose Disc.
Click Browse to select the target Disc device
Step 2: Select the copy content
By default, the option of No disc menus should be ticked. You can untick that option to rip DVD with the menu.
Step 3: Convert DVD to MP4 Latest image editor.
Click Convert/Save in the bottom of the left corner to open up a new panel. In the section of Settings, you can find Profile. Select Video – H.265 + MP3(MP4), or H.264 + MP3(MP4) as the formats since you need MP4 output.
Step 4: Choose an easy to be found folder as the destination output file folder. Click Start and VLC will start to rip DVD to MP4.
Now, way more than that, VideoProc is a hardware-accelerated comprehensive video processing tool that allows you to tackle with media files like DVDs, videos, audios and YouTube links. You can also edit, compress, download and record videos at one go.
Download VideoProc to Fast Convert DVD to MP4 Now!How to convert DVD to MP4 with VideoProc?
Step 1: Open VideoProc and get into VideoPro - DVD center.
Step 2: Click DVD Disc to load the content.
Step 3: Move down to Target Format and choose MP4 h.264.
Step 4: Set an output folder and press button RUN.
Click below to upgrade to VideoProc Lifetime License with 55% OFF discount coupon | $35.95$78.90
Part 2 - Convert DVD to MP4 with HandBrake
Handbrake is an FFmpeg-based open-source media converter. This free DVD ripper has hardly any features missing compared to commercial converters. It's an 80s-style interface with difficult video jargons often put a rookie even off. However, the fact is you will be hard-pressed to find any free or paid converter more versatile and powerful converter than Handbrake.
Can Handbrake convert DVD to MP4?
Handbrake allows you to rip DVD or Blu-ray Discs into MP4 or MKV files for digital use. It offers myriad of settings for output parameters including video/audio encoding modes, partition types, resolutions, bitrate, frame rate, languages, subtitles, filters and more. Those options may easily get beginners baffled, but are very useful for experts who want full control over the output digital file.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 with Handbrake?
Step 1: Choose the DVD file
After launching Handbrake on our computer, it will automatically detect the DVD driver that already installed on your computer. Click the target DVD driver on the section of Source Selection.
Step 2: Select the seasons you need to convert.
Go to the drop-down of Title. You are going to see many clips with different lengths. If you are holding a movie disc, then the clip that comes with the longest duration would be the main movie.
Step 3: Adjust the output settings.
- Go to the right of this panel, scroll down to find Normal on the section of Legacy and select it. You can choose other presets as you like.
- Go to Output settings, and select MP4 as the output container.
- Click Filters. There you need to set Decomb for Deinterlace and Fast for Interlace Detection.
- Click Video, and set Constant Framerate.
Step 4: Click Browse to set a destination file folder. Click the green Start Encode button. Now handbrake starts to rip DVD to MP4.
Why won't handbrake rip my DVD to MP4?
Check your discs at the first place. There shouldn't be any scratches or visible gray or Handbrake won't read the discs directly. If the error still exists, then the problem might be:
1. The DVD you are converting comes with copy protection.
Handbrake can't decode any encrypted DVDs or Blu-ray discs on its own. There are chances you can walk it through by installing the Libdvdcss file on your computer, but the effect is hard to be guaranteed. You are more suggested to use a commercial DVD ripper to convert encrypted discs to MP4.
Android para computador. 2. Your CPU or RAM is out of usage.
It is a long and labor-intensive process to decoding and encoding the large DVD movies with Handbrake. Our computer needs to assign as much as CPU resource to Handbrake to make sure it works properly. That is to say, don't load any additional tasks when using Handbrake to convert DVD to MP4, or the app would fail to work.
Part 3 - Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC
VLC Media Player is best known as a versatile multi-media player which basically can play almost all sorts of video and audio (DVD files, MOV, AVI, MP4, MKV, WMA, MP3, WAV, and many more) that on our computers without extra codecs installed. But few people know it's also an inclusive and robust video converter and DVD ripper that is capable to flawlessly convert DVD to MP4 on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Can VLC convert DVD to MP4?
VLC can convert unencrypted DVD, Blu-ray, Audio DVD, and SVCD/VCD to MP4 as well as TS, WebMD formats in a relatively easy manner. It comes with full sets of controls on the generated video that allow users to adjust the encoding parameters, resolutions, filters, frame rate, etc.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC?
Step 1: Select the target DVD
Go to media > Convert/Save, and then choose Disc.
Click Browse to select the target Disc device
Step 2: Select the copy content
By default, the option of No disc menus should be ticked. You can untick that option to rip DVD with the menu.
Step 3: Convert DVD to MP4 Latest image editor.
Click Convert/Save in the bottom of the left corner to open up a new panel. In the section of Settings, you can find Profile. Select Video – H.265 + MP3(MP4), or H.264 + MP3(MP4) as the formats since you need MP4 output.
Step 4: Choose an easy to be found folder as the destination output file folder. Click Start and VLC will start to rip DVD to MP4.
How to Fix No Sound When Converting DVD to MP4 Using VLC?
1. Stick on the VLC default setting for output format (H.264/H.265 + MP3). The audio codec you select on VLC doesn't support the MP4 container. MP4 is not capable of supporting all sorts of audios, as like, it can't go with PCM, WMA, G.728, and partially support Vorbis and FLAC audio codec.
2. Make the original audio sample rate matches the generated file. The generated MP4 video won't come with an audio stream if the sample rate setting for the audio file doesn't match the source information.
Part 4 - Convert DVD to MP4 with MakeMKV
MakeMKV is one of the most popular DVD digitalizing tools in the market. It can instantly read and convert DVD and Blu-ray discs protected by the latest versions of AACS and BD+. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Moreover, its beta version is now free with all features included.
Can MakeMKV convert DVD to MP4?
MakeMKV was born to DVD digitalization, but it only converts DVDs to MKV files which are not well supported by many players. If you want a better-supported MP4 copy of your DVD, then you have to re-convert it with other video converters or transcoders.
How to convert DVD to MP4 with MakeMKV?
MakeMKV is a light-weight and free DVD converter that reads and converts DVD quickly. But just like others, it takes much time in the converting process. Now follow the steps to convert DVD to MKV in 5 steps, and just wait for exported movie.
Step 1: Insert the DVD that you want to convert.
Step 2: Launch MakeMKV, and select the drive with the disc in it.
Step 3: Click the big disk button in the center of the UI, and the software will start to read the disc.
Step 4: Tick the title that you want to convert (usually the one in the biggest size), and choose an output folder.
Step 5: Hit Make MKV, and it will start the conversion.
MakeMKV preserves the best video quality, all video and audio tracks, and chapter information, and at the same time, the final video will remain the original size which a two-hour movie DVD will reach up to 5+GB. If you have limited storage, then you should consider some tools that can highly compress DVD videos.
Part 5 - Convert DVD to MP4 with Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player, also called WMP, is a media player and media library utility on Windows 7/8.1/10. It enables Windows users to play, store and organize (including easy edits) video/audio files as well as images. It supports a wide range of media formats, such as MP4, AVI, WMV, MP3, M4A, FLAC, etc.
Can Windows Media Player convert DVD to MP4?
Windows Media Player can't convert DVD to MP4. All versions of WMP are not capable of converting DVD to MP4 due to the copy protection issue. On Windows 10, Microsoft removed DVD playback utility from Windows Media Player. You are not allowed to play nor copy DVDs with Windows Media Player since then.
How to convert DVD to MP4 with Windows Media Player?
Since it's no way to convert DVD to MP4 with Windows Media Player, though you can find many so-called guides on how to convert DVD to MP4 with WMP, they usually end up with a tutorial of other software, or other functions of WMP, e.g. convert CD to MP3 on Windows 7.
DVD to MP4 FAQs
Is converting DVD to MP4 legal?
Generally speaking, backup any content with copyright for infringing purposes like commercial redistribution, whether you own it legally or not, is illegal. But when it comes to converting DVD to MP4 for personal use, things are different from country to country.
- United States: According to Title 17 of the United States Code, it is illegal to copy protected DVDs without the consent of owners. But there is no clear statement for non-commercial use. So if you really need to backup media, convert DVD to MP4 for personal use only.
- United Kingdom: people who own the DVD can legally backup the DVD.
- Japan: DVD backup became illegal since October 1, 2012.
- German: Circumventing the copy protection is illegal, but you are allowed to convert DVD to MP4 for personal use.
What is the fastest way to convert a DVD to MP4?
- Run the DVD to MP4 conversion on a high-end computer.
- External DVD drive would help speed up your DVD backup a bit.
- Convert DVD to MP4 with GPU acceleration enabled to maximize the use of your engine.
- Use DVD to MP4 converter software that is able to deal with copy protections like CSS or 99 titles, or you will get stuck at the first decoding step forever. VideoProc and WinX DVD Ripper are two good options. Free Download VideoProc to Convert DVD to MP4 on Windows 10/Mac
How to Rip DVD to MP4 in best quality?
- Convert DVD to MP4 HEVC instead of MP4 H.264. Same file size but better quality.
- Keep the original video resolution. Better not upscale or compress the video.
- Don't lower the frame rate unless you have to. Being fluency is another kind of good quality.
- Do some simple editing like stabilization, if your video turns out to be shaky.
- As to bit rate, VBR or ABR should be more preferred than CBR. And before reaching to a certain level, the higher the value of bit rate, the higher the quality of video.
How long does it take to convert a DVD into MP4 H.264?
It depends. If you use a DVD to MP4 converter that supports hardware acceleration like VideoProc, about 8 to 12 minutes should be enough to complete the backup of a DVD of two hours or so. When using software encoding only, converting a 120-min DVD to MP4 on Intel Core i7-8700K might take you 20 to 40 minutes, or even longer.
Updated: April 27, 2009
If you're running Linux and want to learn how to rip DVD movies, this article is for you. People love to play with multimedia files. It's one of the most common tasks people do with their computers. We do it for a whole lot of reasons: Sometimes, we want to make the files smaller. Sometimes we want a different format so the files will play on our car radio or the old DVD player in the living room. Sometimes, we want to fix the bitrate or the audio sync or add subtitles to movies. Whatever the reason, multimedia manipulation is something you will do, sooner or later.
Linux is just as friendly as other operating systems when it comes to working with multimedia. In this tutorial, I will show you how you can transcode your DVD movies into other formats. This transcoding is popularly known as ripping.
To this end, we will use a handsome, powerful utility called Handbrake. Handbrake is an open-source, cross-platform DVD to MPEG-4 converter. It is available for Linux, Windows and Mac. Handbrake is simply to use, entirely GUI and with advanced editing options. We will put legal and moral issues aside and work under the assumption that DVDs you are about to rip are your property. On that happy note, let us begin.
Installation
I used Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex as the tutorial platform. Unfortunately, handbrake is not included in its repositories, so you won't be able to install it via Synaptic or apt-get. Luckily, the vendor offers a .deb package, which installs quickly and without a fuss. After the program is installed, you will find it under Applications > Sound & Video.
Working with Handbrake
Let's take a look at the GUI:
Most of the functions are self-explanatory. Clicking on Source will open the desired media you wish to transcode. Destination specifies the output file(s). Container defines the output format. If you use the drop-down button and change the format, the file extension in the Destination field will also change. You can use the check fields (iPod 5G Support, Web optimized, etc) to define what you want your output to be like.
On the right side, there's a window called Presets. It allows you to choose one of the templates upon which your conversion will be based. Changing the template will automatically pre-select some of the options in the main menu. For the purpose of this demonstration, we will work with the default setting. That's pretty much that. We can begin our project.
Select media
Handbrake works with 'proper' DVD movies. This means that if you have partial or manually edited files, Handbrake might not be able to use them. Your best bet is to insert the DVD and then look for the media device under File. In our case, we have /dev/scd0.
This will open the DVD. In this case, it's Zatoichi.
Choose conversion settings
Now, you need to make your choices for the output movie. To that end, let's take look at the tabs, namely Video, Audio/Subtitles and others.
We're most interested in Video. This defines the codec and the quality of the output movie. You can use either Bitrate, Target Size (MB) or Quality slider to determine how the output movie will look like.
You have quite a bit of freedom here, so play with the settings until you find the right codec, size and video quality that you need. I would recommend against playing with the Framerate, unless you really know what you're doing.
Linux Ffmpeg Convert Dvd To Mp4
For example, I want my output movie to be MPEG-4 (XviD):
On a side note, you do not have to convert the entire movie. You can selectively convert a section. DVDs are usually segmented into chapters, so while testing the settings, you may only want to convert a single chapter or so, in order to save time and space.
Windows Convert Mp4 To Dvd
Preview
You can also preview the movie to see what it will look like. Just click on the picture thumb in the main menu.
Start transcoding
That's all. Now click on the play-style Start button and wait. This task can take quite a bit. Most people have powerful computers, which are completely underutilized. DVD ripping is one of the few tasks that will put your CPUs to good use. Alongside gaming, transcoding multimedia files from one format to another can really exercise the computing power of your machine.
Job done
Convert Dvd To Mp4 Linux Mint
After a while, the task will complete.
Enjoy your creation!
Lastly, a completely irrelevant piece of information: Handbrake has a handsome icon, too:
Conclusion
Ripping DVDs in Linux is a breeze. You may have thought Linux to be more difficult than Windows (or Mac), but things can't be much simpler. No command line, no errors, no bickering about regional settings, codecs, formats, or anything. Everything worked smoothly.
In the next article, we will learn how to create DVD movies, just the opposite of what we've done here. We'll take our .mp4 file and convert it back into a DVD!
If you're interested in more Linux multimedia tutorials, then please check my Multimedia section, it has a lot of useful tutorials. I still owe you an article on how to inject subtitles into the movies. Don't worry, I have not forgotten about it! For now, have fun playing with your new toy.
Cheers.
