Best Mac OS X DVD Ripper

Question

I want to rip a DVD on OS X, but don't know what software to use. Is there free open source software? What is the best software for ripping on OS X?

Solution 1

Handbrake is brilliant and idiot-proof to use. It's really powerful but the defaults are good. It'll also rip to e.g. format for your iPod or whatever you want.

Solution 2

I use MacTheRipper (still downloadable, but no longer in development) to rip DVDs to my hard drive, then I use Handbrake (awe. some.) to convert it to whatever I need. Even though this two-stage process seems unnecessary since Handbrake can read directly off of DVDs, I find that I get more consistent results from it when it's reading a file off of the hard drive.

Another advantage of using Mac the Ripper (or any non-Handbrake DVD ripper) is that it can be ripping DVDs to the hard drive while Handbrake is working on converting already-ripped VIDEO_TS files to mp4's (or whatever). I set up a queue of videos to convert in Handbrake, and it merrily chugs along while I rip additional DVDs. When the DVDs are done ripping, I add them to the queue. This way, Handbrake can process multiple DVDs without my having to sit there and babysit it.

Solution 3

VLC is described as 'easy peasy' in this post to a similar question. how could you go wrong with that?

Solution 4

Fairmount is a relatively new, but brilliant ripper. You simple run the program and it decodes the dvd and mounts the disk as a readable drive. Now you can just drag-and-drop the VIDEO_ST folder to your disk or any backup disk and play directly from there. Great for archiving the complete DVD with extras and menus.

And it's freeware...

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Comments

[dbr]

Using MacTheRipper+Handbrake means you can queue several discs - something not possible if you have to manually change the disc