Copy DVD to Hard Drive: Free Tools & Simple Steps

Copying DVD to harddrive not only enables you to maintain your DVD for longer, but also stores your content digitally, hence providing you the convenience of accessing the content easily anytime. Instead of having to look for the DVD every time, you can instantly play your content. The digital content can then be transferred onto other devices, such as your phone, tablet, etc. You simply need to copy DVD to hard drive once.

There is some clarity needed when it comes to copying DVD to harddrive, however. First, it should be noted that it’s easy to copy DVDs to harddrive if they are homemade, because they don’t come with copy-protection or encryption. To rip DVD to hard drive that are copy-protected, you will need apps made for ripping DVDs.

We will go through the steps on how to copy DVD to hard drive in this guide, for homemade and copy-protected DVDs both.

Copying DVD to Harddrive: Direct Method (Homemade DVDs)

You can easily copy DVD to hard drive if they are homemade, as they are made for personal use on simple software apps that do not provide any copy-protection. So, if you want to learn how to copy DVDs to harddrive, this is the perfect place to start. You can copy DVD to hard drive Mac or Windows and start using the content instantly.

Steps to Copy DVDs to Harddrive

Step 1: Insert the DVD into the CD-drive of your PC.

Step 2: Depending on the OS, open the DVD in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).

Step 3: Once you open the DVD, you will see the content within. You will need to copy the audio_ts and video_ts folders. Copy and paste them onto the harddrive of your choice.

Step 4: They are now stored and you can play those files directly.

Why Direct Copying Often Doesn't Work

Popular content, such as movies, TV shows, and similar, are usually produced for commercial reasons and distributed by large companies. Therefore, they make sure to encode their DVDs with copy-protection encryptions like DRM (Digital Rights Management), region codes, CSS (Content Scramble System), etc.

Due to this, it is not easy to burn DVDs to harddrive and extract the content. To bypass copy-protections, you will need specialized software applications like DVDFab DVD Ripper.

How to Copy DVD to Hard Drive: Ripper Apps (Protected DVDs)

When dealing with copy-protected DVDs, you will need specialized apps to "rip" DVD to hard drive. Overall, plenty of such apps, such as DVDFab DVD Ripper and Handbrake, now come with a wide range of features that go beyond mere ripping of DVDs. If you're someone who consistently deals with content, you can utilize these apps to main many benefits.

DVDFab DVD Ripper

DVDFab DVD Ripper is a feature-packed DVD ripping software that allows you to copy and convert DVDs to a variety of formats. With its hardware-acceleration, you get the fastest way to copy DVD to hard drive on the app.

DVDFab can copy any copy-protected DVD on your hard drive, with 1000+ digital formats supported. Moreover, it offers a plethora of personalized settings for a smoother experience.

Features:

• Supports more than 1000 formats (e.g., MP4, MKV, AVI).
• Provides high-quality outputs.
• Built-in video editor.
• GPU acceleration for faster processing.

How to Use DVDFab DVD Ripper:

Step 1: Download DVDFab DVD Ripper. Install and launch the application. 

Step 2: Select the disc under the Ripper tab. You can choose the audio tracks, subtitles, chapters, and other aspects you want to rip.

Step 3: Click on Choose Other Profile and Format to set your preferences. Pick a destination folder and rip DVD to harddrive by clicking on the Start option. Once you have the digital version of your DVD, you can simply copy-paste it on your hard drive.

DVD neXt Copy neXt Tech

DVD neXt COPY neXt Tech is a DVD copy and ripping tool that offers high-end outputs along with remarkable ripping speeds. It’s simple to use and supports all Windows versions, making it ideal for learning how to copy DVD to hard drive Windows 7 & more. It supports multiple output formats, such as MPEG, WMV, and more.

Features:

• Provides the option to use 1, 2, or 4 cores for processing.
• Supports DVD-to-digital conversion.
• Offers updates to handle new copy protections.

How to Use DVD neXt Copy neXt Tech:

Step 1: Install and open DVD neXt COPY neXt Tech. Insert the DVD and select it within the software.

Step 2: Now, you can choose if you want to include menus, subtitles, and other aspects into the final file.

Step 3: Click on start and you will see the progress happening on the bar. Once it is done, you can use the content digitally.

HandBrake

HandBrake is an open-source video transcoder that is widely used for ripping DVDs. While it doesn’t handle copy-protected DVDs on its own, it can work with a plugin like libdvdcss to bypass protection.

Features:

• Supports various output formats like MP4 and MKV.
• Extensive customization options for video quality, resolution, and subtitles.
• Completely free.

How to Use Handbrake

Step 1: Install HandBrake and, if needed, libdvdcss for copy protection.

Step 2: Insert the DVD, select the source in HandBrake, and choose your desired output format.

Step 3: Click "Start Encode" to begin ripping.

MakeMKV

MakeMKV is a simple, one-click DVD and Blu-ray ripper that can bypass most copy protection on DVDs and convert them to the MKV format. It is primarily known for ripping DVDs into the MKV format without altering the original quality. You can also rip Blu-Ray discs through MakeMKV.

Features:

• Bypasses copy protection automatically.
• Converts DVDs to lossless MKV files.
• Minimalistic interface for ease of use.

How to Use MakeMKV

Step 1: Install the app and launch MakeMKV.

Step 2: To burn DVDs to harddrive, you will need to select the DVD drive first. Then, choose the output preferences.

Step 3: Start the ripping process and wait until it’s done.

VLC

VLC Media Player is a versatile media player that is a popular choice as a Windows media player rip DVD to hard drive app. Like HandBrake, it can rip copy-protected DVDs when combined with libdvdcss. As an open-source application, it is one of the few apps that is completely free to use. You can use VLC on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Features:

• Free and open-source.
• Can rip DVDs to basic formats like MP4.

How to Use VLC

Step 1: Install VLC and the libdvdcss plugin.

Step 2: Navigate to Media > Convert/Save and select the DVD folder.

Step 3: Choose the output settings and begin the process.

Comparison Table of DVD to Harddrive Applications

FAQs

1. Can I copy a DVD to a hard drive?

Absolutely. In-fact, you don’t even need any special apps to copy DVD to hard drive if your DVD is a homemade one. If you have a copy-protected DVD, you can use apps like DVDFab DVD Ripper.

Here’s how to copy a DVD to a harddrive (homemade DVD):

Step 1: Make sure the DVD is in the system.

Step 2: Open File Explorer and open the DVD contents. Find the ISO file and copy it.

Step 3: Paste it onto your hard drive. That’s it. You can now access the DVD content on your system anytime.

If you want to copy from a copy-protected DVD, you can install an app like DVDFab or HandBrake. Open the app and select the DVD from the menu. Select output options and start the process.

2. What is the best app to copy a DVD to a hard drive?

Some of the most common and highly-rated apps for copying DVD to harddrive apps are DVDFab DVD Ripper, MakeMKV, VLC, HandBrake, WinX DVD Ripper, etc.

There is no ultimate best app to copy DVD to harddrive, since most apps offer different features in order to position themselves for their users. Hence, users must judge for themselves which features they require the most.

For example, DVDFab DVD Ripper is an excellent app for DVD ripping plus video editing and enhancement.

Conclusion

Generally, the biggest distinction between DVDs is their type. Homemade DVDs, typically created by individuals for personal use, do not contain copy-protection. That makes them very easy to copy from. You will not require any apps for such DVDs.

However, if you plan to copy from commercial DVDs, which come with copy-protection, you will require apps designed to rip through copy-protections. The apps listed in this guide are some of the best in the market, offering high-quality performance along with additional features.