3 Solutions for Copying Blu-ray Movies to PC & External Hard Drive

It's not cheap to get a brand-new commercial Blu-ray movie; trust me, you don't want it to get scratched due to regular playback. Whether you want to copy Blu-ray discs to prevent damage or scratches or just want to organize your movie collection on your computer or media server, you need tools. There are many copying tools that can help you easily copy Blu-ray movies to your hard drive. Keep reading to learn how to do it.

What you need to start copying Blu-ray to PC or external hard drive

1. A Blu-ray Drive

To copy Blu-ray disc to PC, an optical drive that can read Blu-ray discs is a must, and if you want to copy Blu-ray discs to blank discs as well, the drive has to be a Blu-ray writer. Remember to connect the external Blu-ray drive to your PC through the USB port before you move to the next step.

2. Blank discs and/or an external hard drive

Connect the external drive to your PC so that you can use it as the target for saving the copied Blu-ray. 

If you prefer to save as a disk copy rather than as a digital copy on your local/external hard drive when copying Blu-ray movies, get some good-quality blank media. Most software should work with BD50, BD25, or BD9 (DVD9) / BD5 (DVD5).

3. Blu-ray copying software

There are many copying tools available for copying Blu-ray discs. Here we will explore 3 solutions in the following part.

Solutions to Copy Blu-ray Disc to Local Hard Drive [Tutorial]

How to Copy Blu-ray to PC Fast with DVDFab Blu-ray Copy

DVDFab Blu-ray Copy is a powerful Blu-ray backup tool for Windows and macOS that helps you copy Blu-ray disc effortlessly with 5 different copy modes. You can copy Blu-ray disc as Blu-ray ISO image files, as Blu-ray folders, or copy Blu-ray into AVCHD format. Besides that, you can choose to 1:1 copy the Blu-ray; In case you do not have large disk space available, you can compress it to a smaller file size. The most important feature the software provides is that it can bypass all sorts of copy protections of Blu-ray.

Here are the step-by-step guides for how to copy Blu-ray to harddrive with DVDFab Blu-ray Copy

Step 1. Download and install DVDFab

Visit the official website, and free download the installer.

Double-click on the installer to start the installation. If you do not want DVDFab to install in the default path, click the "Custom" button to select another one.

Step 2. Launch DVDFab

Double-click on the shortcut named "DVDFab 13 (x64)" and then hit "Try".

Upon seeing the new window with all the products available in the installer, press "Start DVDFab 13" to get into the main interface of DVDFab.

Step 3. Select copy mode

On the main interface, in the "Copy" module, click the blue button to choose the copy mode you want for copying Blu-ray discs. In this tutorial, we will use Main Movie mode as an example.

Step 4. Load Blu-ray disc and adjust relative settings

Insert the Blu-ray disc into the drive, and then wait till DVDFab automatically detects and analyzes the Blu-ray. Once the analysis is completed, you will see the main title (normally the longest one) of the movie.

You can switch to another title on the "Choose Other Titles" panel. To get several different titles for output, switch to the "Customize" mode first.

Set the output type to BD50 or BD25. If you select BD9 or BD5, the output will be in AVCHD format.

Adjust the chapter, audio, and subtitles if needed.

Clicking the "Advanced Settings" panel, you can choose how to copy Blu-ray 3D, either copy as 3D, SBS 3D, or 2D. Audios can be adjusted as well.

Step 5. Set the output path and how you would like to save the copy

Choose a local path on your hard drive or your external hard drive as the output destination, and set the output type on the lower area of the main interface. Click the "ISO" icon to create an ISO image file, and click the "Folder" icon if you want to copy Blu-ray disc to the folder type.

Step 6. Start the process

Click the "Start" button to begin the process of copying Blu-ray disc to PC.

How to Copy Blu-ray Movie Disc with Free Blu-ray Copy

Free Blu-ray Copy is another easy-to-use tool that allows for copying Blu-ray discs in 1:1. You have two copy modes (Full Disc and Main Movie) to copy Blu-ray movies and save them as ISO files or Blu-ray folders on a local disk or an external hard drive for later enjoyment. Its straightforward interface is convenient for beginners.

Step-by-step guides for copying blueray disc to your hard drive:

Step 1. Visit the official site and download & install the Free Blu-ray Copy.

Step 2. Input the Blu-ray disc into the Blu-ray drive.

Step 3. Launch the software and select the Blu-ray source from the source list. Set the target to "Save as BD Folder" or "Save as ISO (*.iso)".

Select the copy mode you want to use:

Full Disc will allow you to get the whole content in the Blu-ray disc.

Main Movie will output only the main title.

Step 4. Change the Disc label to your liking.

Click the "Gear" icon on the right to set the preference. Be sure to change the temp path in the preference window to other drives rather than the default drive C to avoid speed problems.

Step 5. Click the "Begin to burn" button on the right to start the process. Wait till the process of copying Blu-ray to PC is done; you will get the files you need.

How to Copy Bluray Disc with VLC media player

VLC media player is a popular and versatile multimedia player that is not only good for watching movies but also offers advanced control features to enhance the user experience, that is to help you copy Blu-ray to PC. Just that, you need to make sure you have that the video is not copyrighted material, and it is for personal use only.

For how to copy Blu-ray disc with VLC, follow the steps here:

Step 1. Install and open VLC Media Player on your computer.

Step 2. Click "Media" on the top bar menu and then click "Open Disc", in the popup window choose the Blu-ray disc from the device list.

Step 3. Click on the “View” menu at the top of the screen and select “Advanced Controls” to enable the recording button.

Step 4. Click the “Record” button in the control bar to start the recording.

Step 5. The recording will start, and a red dot will appear on the button to indicate that the recording is in progress. Click on the “Record” button again to stop the recording.

Step 6. The recorded file will be saved in the default VLC destination folder on your computer. You can access the recorded file by going to the default VLC destination folder or by right-clicking on the file in the VLC playlist and selecting “Open file location.”

FAQ about copying Blu-ray movies

How do I burn the AVCHD Blu-ray folder to a blank disc?

You can use Clone/Burn mode in DVDFab Blu-ray Copy. Copying Blu-ray discs and burning to blank media with this software is straightforward. The steps are as follows: 

1. Run DVDFab
2. Choose "Clone/Burn" mode under Copy module
3. Input the disc to the drive
4. Let DVDFab automatically load the disc as the source
5. Set burner as output
6. Press "Start."

You can also use the free tool Imgburn to burn the AVCHD folder to a blank disc directly.

I want to copy Blu-rays locked to Region B and remove the region blocking at the same time so they play just as easily as my Region A titles. What is the best way to handle this?

DVDFab Blu-ray Copy supports removing Blu-ray copy protection, including regional locking and copying Blu-ray to PC. The Blu-ray copied with this tool is free of region code; you can play it anywhere per your need.

Conclusion

In this article, we have shared tutorials for 3 different software options for copying Blu-ray discs. VLC utilizes a recording method, which may result in potential quality issues. Both DVDFab Blu-ray Copy and Free Blu-ray Copy offer support for copying Blu-ray in a 1:1 ratio; however, if you require additional editing options or wish to compress the copy to a smaller file size, DVDFab is the preferred choice.

Regardless of your preferences for copying Blu-ray discs, such as copy quality and more, it is recommended to download these software options for a free trial to assess their performance before making a final decision.