We've singled out the best 3 free Mac-compatible DVD to MP4 converters, namely MacX DVD Ripper Free, HandBrake, and iSuper DVD Ripper. Read our reviews and find a favorite tool to use.
Want to convert DVD to MP4 on Mac for free for later tranferring to iPhone, iPad, Android, or disc-free Xbox One S? Congratulations, you're in the right place where you can find the best 3 free DVD to MP4 converters for macOS Big Sur and earlier.
ISuper DVD Ripper - the best free DVD ripping software on Mac Store. It will help you get ripped movies from your DVD collections, and enjoy them on iPhone, iPad and any other players! Fast, safe and in high quality! Note: All DVD/Video rippers on Mac Store are allowed to rip un-encrypted DVDs only, iSuper DVD Ripper is no exception. VLC for Mac will begin converting DVD to MP4 file. Once the VLC finishes ripping your DVD on Mac, open the location and check if everything goes well by playing the ripped video in your Mac's video player. Ripping a DVD on Mac to MP4 with Handbrake. Another Mac free DVD Ripper software you can take to convert the disc into MP4 format is Handbrake. It can be used as free MP4 to DVD maker, MOV to DVD maker, AVI to DVD maker and WMV to DVD maker, etc. 1 Click DVD Creator is free DVD creator software to help you to make home DVD movie for free and easily. It is your best choice to create and burn playable DVD from almost all popular video formats, like MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, MTS, WMV, etc.
Now, let's check the specific details of these Mac DVD rippers on aspects of ripping function, output quality, ripping speed, DVD decryption capability, etc., with a desire to help you single out the most suitable tool.
Best 3 Free DVD to MP4 Converters for Mac
MacX DVD Ripper Free
MacX DVD Ripper Free is the one in a million in the current Mac DVD ripper freeware market. It can free convert DVD to MP4, MOV, M4V, H264, H265, Apple TV, iTunes, MP3, ACC and more such that playing back DVD content on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, iMovie, Xbox One S, PS5/4, Android, NAS just like takes candy from a baby.
If you're looking for a DVD to MP4 converter for Windows, click here.
Oriented as a cutting-edge all-rounder, it can ingest whatever you feed it, 99-title DVD, bad sector DVD, region code DVD, fake playlist DVD, scratched DVD, workout DVD, Japanese DVD....
And you'll be badly pleased by the resulting MP4 quality - almost identical to the original DVD quality. That attributes to its ripping algorithm, De-interlacing tech and High Quality Engine. Even some physically damaged unplayable DVDs can regain the crisp image thanks to the auto repair tech during ripping.
It's an all-sided powerhouse, and even has Intel/Nvidia/AMD GPU hardware acceleration to quicken DVD to MP4 ripping speed up to 47x real-time faster, and to offload the compute burden from CPU to GPU to avoid 90% CPU use, overheating, software half crash issues.
Its official website is home to a wealth of tutorials, from a very basic introduction to DVD ripping, to advanced skills like copy DVD main title/full title, choose soft/forced subtitles, add external subtitles to DVD, trim/cut off clips, remove unwanted black borders, rip soundtracks from DVD, etc.
How to Free Rip DVD to MP4 on Mac
The tutorial below will show you how easy it is to free convert DVD to MP4 on Mac with MacX DVD Ripper Free.
Preparatory work:
- Download MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free. It is fully compatible with macOS Big Sur and earlier. Then install it on your Mac computer.
- Insert the source DVD into your computer's DVD-ROM drive. If there's no built-in drive, connect an external drive.
Step 1. Run it, and click 'DVD Disc' to import the DVD you just insert.
Step 2. Choose 'MP4 Video' from Mac General Video as Output format. You'll find two MP4 Video profiles. The differences come in video codec. One is MPEG4, the other is H.264.
Step 3. Click 'Browse' button in output setting area and select a destination folder to save your converted MP4 video.
Step 4. Click 'RUN' to start the DVD to MP4 conversion. You can view the conversion progress and are able to cancel the converting process at anytime.
Notice: We only advocates copying and ripping DVDs under the concept of Fair Use and does not encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.
Handbrake
Handbrake is a free open source DVD ripper for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It can free rip DVD to MP4 and MKV, with the ready-made profiles for Android, Apple, Roku, etc.
But if you plan to rip encrypted DVDs to MP4 using Handbrake, you have to download and install libdvdcss to partner with it. Otherwise, you will encounter errors, such as no valid title found. HandBrake itself is unable to deal with copy-protected DVDs.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 on Mac with Free HandBrake
Step 1. Download and install HandBrake on your Mac. The latest HandBrake version is compatible with macOS 10.11 and later.
Step 2. Click Open Source button to load the source DVD.
Step 3. Select a movie title for later ripping.
Step 4. Choose a preset and make sure the format is set to MP4.
Step 5. Specify a file name and a save path for the resulting MP4 file.
Step 6. Click Start on the toolbar to begin converting DVD to MP4.
For more detailed guide and troubleshooting tips, you can check 'How to Convert DVD to MP4 with Handbrake'.
iSuper DVD Ripper
iSuper DVD Ripper is the best free DVD to MP4 ripper on the Mac Store. Besides MP4, it can also rip DVD to MOV, MKV, FLV, M4V, AAC, MP3, and more video/audio formats. And there are some basic video editing features. It can merge multiple videos into one, cut video, add text or image watermark, and adjust brightness, saturation, hue, and contrast.
Note: Just like other DVD rippers in the Mac Store, iSuper DVD Ripper isn't available to rip encrypted DVDs to MP4.
How to Convert DVD to MP4 with iSuper DVD Ripper
Step 1. Download iSuper DVD Ripper from Mac Store and install it on your computer. (macOS 10.7 or later is supported)
Step 2. Click Load Disc button to import your DVD.
Step 3. Choose a MP4 profile.
Step 4. Click Browse to select a destination.
Step 5. Click Convert to begin ripping DVD to MP4.
Verdict: All the tools mentioned above can rip DVD to MP4 on Mac for free. All have their own virtues and drawbacks. But if you wanna pursue a feature-packed DVD converter that can convert protected DVD to MP4 on Mac, no doubt MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free is the best.
According to a report from The Numbers®, Frozen 2, the top-selling DVD in 2020, reaches up 1.25 million sales in the US, followed by Jumanji: The Next Level (1.09 million) and Joker (0.76 million). Although the desire for physical media has been on the decline with the explosion of streaming media, DVD and Blu-ray still have a significant market share. Last year, more than 16 million people bought or rented home entertainment content, among which 8.8 million people purchased DVDs and Blu-ray discs. And it is estimated that the number might go larger this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home policies.
Since you are landing here, I guess you are a DVD collector with hundreds and thousands of discs and wondering how to relieve the space from shelves of DVDs that you preserve for years or just purchased from Amazon. Apparently, ripping them into digital files would help you a lot as long as you are using the best DVD ripper.
How Does the Best DVD Ripper Benefit DVD Collectors
- Save physical space by ripping DVDs to external hard drive, flash drive, or clouds.
- Protect old and precious DVDs from scratching, rotting, and damaging.
- Watch DVD videos on a bigger projection screen, smart TV, laptop, iPad, mobile phone, etc.
- Share DVD media content online more conveniently.
- Extract materials for video essays and yearly movie compilation editing.
- Recover damaged or unplayable movie DVDs.
- ...
Disclaimer
Before we dive into the DVD ripping software review, we need to address the elephant in the room – DVD copy protection. According to the case Real Networks v. DVD CCA, any use of circumvention tools for infringing purposes is illegal and forbidden, while, to make a personal backup copy of the media content is permissible under some conditions. But note that this differs from country to country. Therefore, go check your local laws before you use these DVD rippers.
1. VideoProc Converter – Best DVD Ripper for Mac and Windows 10
Operating system: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7; Mac OS X 10.6 and later
Editor's rating:
As the sibling of the famous DVD ripper WinX DVD Ripper, VideoProc Converter, although born as a video editor and video converter, is also endowed with the same talent of copying and ripping DVD discs. It is competent to rip all old and new DVDs with copy-protections, copy full title to MKV, VIDEO_TS folder, and ISO image file, and convert the ripped DVD video to more than 370+ formats. For tech-savvy users, VideoProc Converter gives you full control over the video resolution, the bitrate, the frame rate, the video codec, and the subtitle track. For beginners, it has well-rounded presets (categorized by output devices and video playback platforms) for you to rip a DVD in minutes.
If you are a senior DVD collector owning thousands of discs but have no idea which software is powerful enough to rip so many DVDs, VideoProc Converter is surely capable of helping you out. By the level 3 hardware acceleration tech, VideoProc Converter rips DVDs in the fastest manner. Since knowing that most DVD owners want the best of the best, it allows you to improve 480P DVDs to HD and modify DVD movies by cutting, cropping, adding subtitles and effects, syncing video and audio, etc.
Pros:
- Workable for both homemade and commercial DVD discs, movies, music, TV shows, workout, and anime DVDs.
- Bypass the region restriction of DVDs and remove copy protection from DVDs including Disney 99-title DVDs.
- Support hardware acceleration and boost DVD ripping up to 47x real-time faster.
- Copy and convert DVD to MP4, FLV, MTS, MKV, AVI, MP3, and any format you want.
- 6 DVD backup options to deliver videos in the original quality.
- Enhance video quality of old, low-reslution, blurry, and slightly scratched DVDs.
- Compress and edit ripped DVD videos to fit smart TV, Facebook, YouTube, iPhone, Android, etc.
Cons:
Dvd To Mp4 Mac Free
- Cannot rip Blu-ray discs.
Three Hacks That Make DVD Ripping in VideoProc Converter Never this Easy
#1. If you don't know the type of your DVD file system, just keep the default setting, and VideoProc Converter will detect the right title for you automatically.
#2. Tick the box before NVIDIA/Intel/AMD and select multi-core usage, and you can enjoy real-time faster ripping speed.
#3. Toggle on the Safe Mode, and VideoProc Converter will take care of the whole ripping process and prevent it from stopping accidentally.
2. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum – Powerful DVD Ripper
Operating system: Windows, Mac
Dvd To Mp4 Mac Free
Editor's rating:
The next DVD ripper we are going to talk about is WinX DVD Ripper. You must be familiar with this brand if you started using DVD ripper a long time ago. It has set the industry standard for DVD ripping. By its special compatible CSS mechanism, it decrypts Disney X-project DRM, Sony ARccOS Protection, DVD region lock, and user operation prohibition. So it can rip DVD on Windows 10 and Mac without fuss. Another thing makes WinX DVD Ripper Platinum a robust ripper is the tech of hyper-threading and multi-core hardware acceleration (up to 8 cores), which empowers you to rip a full DVD to MP4 H.264 in 5 minutes.
Besides MP4, it can rip DVD to AVI, MPEG, M2TS, and any format accepted by TV, hard drive, laptops, and mobile devices. To keep everything you want, it backs up almost all content in your DVD including all chapters, subtitle track, and tag info. And if necessary, you can do some edits before ripping, like say, trimming, cropping, or adjusting audio volume.
Pros:
- Optimize the file size 80% smaller while keeping the original resolution.
- Remove DRM from Disney, Warner Bros, and Paramount movies.
- 350+ output format options for playing DVD videos on any devices and platforms.
- It offers a free edition for people on a budget.
Cons:
- Cannot rip Blu-ray discs.
- It doesn't support AMD hardware acceleration.
Official website: https://www.winxdvd.com/dvd-ripper-platinum/
3. Format Factory – Free DVD Ripping Software for Windows
Operating system: Windows 10/8/7
Editor's rating:
Format Factory is a powerful multimedia processing tool competent to convert videos, images, and documents. And DVD ripping is just one of its functions. Just as the name suggests, it is compatible with a truly wide array of formats. Besides DVDs, you can use to rip BD, and music CD. In the ROM Device/DVD/CD/ISO option, Format Factory offers 5 ripping utilities for converting DVD to video file, Blu-ray disc to MKV, CD to audio file, DVD/CD to ISO/CSO, and ISO to CSO. You can pick the output format as you like from its format arsenal freely.
Pros:
- It is completely free and safe.
- It reads and keeps all the contents in the DVD, titles, chapters, metadata, etc.
- Compatible with most media formats: MP4, WMV, AVI, 3GP, MP3, AAC, WMA, etc.
- Simple editing tools for video, audio, and image files.
Cons:
- You cannot preview the movie before ripping.
- It can't detect and select the best title automatically.
- Format Factory has no Mac version.
- It tends to take a long time to rip movie DVDs without the help of hardware acceleration.
Official website: http://pcfreetime.com/formatfactory/
4. VidCoder - Open Source DVD Ripper for Windows
Operating system: Windows 10, 8, 7 (64-bit)
Editor's rating:
VidCoder comes in handy if you want to rip DVD or BD to widely supported and playable video formats MP4 and MKV. Like most DVD ripping software, VidCoder offers both customizable ripping settings and dumb-easy presets. If you are an experienced user, you can control the results as you wish, such as the format, video size, resolution, and quality. In most cases, we just keep the default settings and then wait for the ripped video.
The core encoding engine is written by HandBrake developers based on the Net Framework. You don't need to install Handbrake but have NET 4.7.1 pre-installed on your PC. Otherwise, VidCoder won't start running and will prompt you to download and install it.
Pros:
- Instant preview of what the ripped video looks like.
- Flexible settings for video titles and chapters, languages, and subtitles.
- Rip and merge multiple chapters into one video.
- Powerful batch encoding.
- Multiple codec options: H.264, H.265. MPEG-4. MP3, AAC, etc.
- Video encoding is boosted by hardware acceleration.
Cons:
- Cannot rip decrypted commercial discs.
- Only two available video containers in VidCoder – MP4 and MKV.
- You can't preview the whole video until the DVD ripping is finished.
Official website: https://vidcoder.net/
5. HandBrake – Open Source DVD Ripper
Operating system: Windows (64-bit only), Mac, Linux
Editor's rating:
HandBrake is an open source video transcoder that also functions as the best free DVD ripper. It supports DVD, Blu-ray discs, and ISO image files without copy protection. For advanced users who prefer customize output settings, this software gives you maximum free to tweak on your DVD videos – video encoding modes, resolution, bitrate, subtitle tracks, title/chapter selection, video dimensions, filters, etc. Besides, it has handy presets categorized by devices, web, Matroska, production, and general use.
Although it comes with easy video editing features like rotate, flip, sharpen, and denoise, you cannot preview what you have done to your video in real time. It takes a long time to render the ripped video and then unitizes the system default media player to play it. Beginners may spend hours and even days adjusting DVD ripping settings before they get the whole media content from the disc successfully.
Pros:
- Capable of ripping both DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
- Entirely free and lightweight.
- Flexible ripping settings, and can be manipulated with command lines.
- Support most modern and widely used video codecs: H.265, H.264, VP9, and MPEG-4.
Cons:
- Unable to rip encrypted DVD and Blur-ray.
- No real-time preview.
- Limited output formats – MKV, MP4, and WebM.
- Fail to rip large movie DVD/Blu-ray when you load multiple tasks on your computer.
Official website: https://handbrake.fr/
6. VLC - Best Free DVD Ripper for Windows and Mac
Operating system: Windows (64-bit only), Mac, Linux
Editor's rating:
VLC is well-known as a media player available on both computers and mobile devices. It supports a wide arrange of media formats, of course, including discs. You can browse to open DVD, Blu-ray, audio CD, and SVCD/VCD with VLC, and convert them to MKV, MP4, TS, and more. Since it won't rip DVD with smart presets, you need to manually adjust settings of codecs, resolution, frame rate, and select title, audio track and subtitle track. To rip DVD/Blu-ray in the original quality, output settings have to match the source content, so you must be well aware of the source information.
Compared with HandBrake, VLC is much simpler for beginners and semi-pros. Follow the lead of its intuitive interface, you can load, rip, and export the DVD video easily. But note that, you are only allowed to select one title/chapter at a time. If no title that contains all chapters in the DVD, you have to rip DVD chapters one by one, and finally, merge them into one video. Alas, it gets users baffled again.
Pros:
- Free and supported on most computers.
- Intuitive and easy to pick up for most users.
- Rip kinds of discs – DVD, Blu-ray, VCD, and CD.
- A perfect player on computer for DVD and Blu-ray.
Cons:
- Can't read the best title automatically.
- No sound issue occurs when ripping DVD to MP4 format container.
Official website: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
7. Magic DVD Ripper – DVD Ripper and Copy Software for Windows
Operating system: Windows 10/8/7
Editor's rating:
Since developed as a pure DVD ripper, Magic DVD spends every effort dealing with DVD, and that's why there are no extra features like video editing in it. Most users are confused by it its brother Magic DVD Copier. Actually, they come with almost the same functions, but Magic DVD Copier is more expensive and has one more feature - burning videos to blank discs.
Back to Magic DVD Ripper, it has 4 ways to rip the disc – copying the disc fully, ripping the main movie, splitting DVD9 into DVD5 discs, and compressing the DVD to tit on a single player disc (but with 55% quality loss). On top of that, DVD Magic Ripper can help you convert DVDs including encrypted DVDs to playable formats on smartphones, iPods, PSP, PS4/PS3, etc. Besides common video formats, it also enables you to convert DVD to VCD or SVCD.
Pros:
- Rip full DVD disc including trailers, menus, and special features.
- Remove DVD restrictions (Region, RCE, CSS, etc.).
- High speed ripping without much quality loss.
- Compatible with all Windows computers.
Cons:
- No real-time preview.
- No smart title selection. You need to play the DVD and figure out the right title in advance.
Official website: http://www.magicdvdripper.com/
8. MakeMKV - Best DVD and Blu-ray Ripper
Operating system: Mac, Windows, Linux
Editor's rating:
Although MakeMKV is a video converter, it offers less optimal formats for the ripped DVD video. It grabs all the contents from the disc and saves them in an MKV file. After you insert a disc and load it to MakeMKV, the ripper detects and presents all the tiles and source information in a fast manner. If you don't know which title to rip, just choose the one with the biggest size. This DVD and Blu-ray ripper choose MKV as the only output format because it contains all the data you need: video, audio, chapters, track language, etc.
Pros:
- It reads and converts both DVD and Blu-ray discs even protected with AACS and BD+.
- It preserves the original video quality of BD and DVD movies.
- The MKV file you get contains all media contents in the discs.
- The workflow is super easy for all users.
- Its beta version comes with all features available and completely free.
Cons:
- Only one video format container MKV.
- You need to play the disc and select the right title manually.
- No more customizable settings to reduce the file size or change the video resolution.
Official website: https://www.makemkv.com/
9. MediaCoder – Best Free DVD Ripper for Windows
Operating system: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista
Editor's rating:
This is an audio and video transcoder that can be applied to grab videos from unencrypted DVD, VCD, CD, and BD. You can tell from its interface that this is an aged tool – old-school UI design with loads of settings panels. Honestly, this is not friendly to newbies. It costs you much time understanding the function of each panel and setting the start and end of your desired part, because it doesn't read the discs by titles, instead it roughly grabs all video files and merges them into a long video.
Pros:
- A rich set of parameters for tuning the video and audio files.
- Support tens of lossy and lossless compression formats.
- Best for advanced users with much multimedia knowledge.
- Completely free and easy to download.
Cons:
- Not available for Mac.
- It rips all titles by default.
- Extremely slow preview on the recent Windows 10 system.
Official website: https://www.mediacoderhq.com/
10. Freemake – DVD Ripper for Windows
Operating system: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista
Editor's rating:
The DVD ripping software from Freemake is recognized as the best DVD ripper for Windows for almost 10 years. It is pretty easy to extract subtitles, video, audio, menus from DVDs and Blu-ray discs. It has assisted millions of users with varied goals - archiving, copying, transferring online, or playing DVDs on portable devices. As long as the media content is non-corrupted, Freemake can rip any type of DVDs including DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, DVD-R/RW, and DVD+R/RW, as well as region-locked and copy-protected DVDs and Blu-ray.
Pros:
- Rip most old and new DVDs and decrypt region-locked DVDs.
- Customizable settings for optimizing video quality and size.
- Easy for beginners.
- Copy DVD videos to USB, HDTV, iPhone, iPad, Android, etc.
- Support 50+ video formats.
Cons:
- Windows only.
- It does not support video codecs like H.265, VP9, and AV1.
- Apparent quality loss when shrink the DVD size.
- The ripped video will be watermarked in the free version.
Freemake DVD Ripper 'Downloading installation files failed' Error
Even though you can download the.exe file from its official site, you are always stuck by this error. That's because Freemake DVD Ripper has been expired and merged into another software called Freemake Video Converter.
Official website: https://www.freemake.com/
Best DVD Ripper Software Comparison
For anyone who in a rush, we've made this comparison table of the 10 best DVD ripping software on the market. Check it out and pick the best one for you in just a second.
DVD Ripper | Ratings | OS | Free or Paid | Supported Input Files |
---|---|---|---|---|
VideoProc Converter | Windows, Mac | Free and paid | Copy-protected DVDs, ISO image files, CDR | |
WinX DVD Ripper | Windows, Mac | $59.95 | Commercial and homemade DVD, ISO image file | |
Format Factory | Windows | Free | DVD, Blu-eay, CD, ISO | |
VidCoder | Windows | Free | DVD and Blu-ray without encryption | |
HandBrake | Windows, Mac, Linux | Free | DVD and Blu-ray without copyprotection | |
VLC | Windows, Mac, Linux | Free | Unencrypted DVD, SVCD/VCD, Blu-ray, Audio CD | |
Magic DVD Ripper | Windows | $49.95 | Most homemade and commercial DVDs, and encrypted DVDs | |
MakeMKV | Windows, Mac, Linux | Free | DVD, Blu-ray | |
MediaCoder | Windows | Free | Unencrypted DVD, VCD, Blu-ray, CD | |
Freemake | Windows | Free with watermarks | Common and region-locked DVDs, Blu-ray |
Burn Mp4 To Dvd Mac Free No Watermark
Why These DVD Rippers Are Not on the List
DVDShrink
DVDShrink is an obsolete Windows freeware to copy and back up DVDs, and it doesn't perform very well in Windows 10, 8, 7. Although it claims that it won't charge anything, it asks you to donate and redirects you to other sites. And after browsing the entire website, I did not find any download button.
Aurora DV Ripper
Aurora was once the hot DVD ripping software on Windows XP and Windows 98, but it hasn't been updated since 2006. So it is not the best DVD ripper on modern computers.
FAQs
Dvd To Mp4 Mac Freeware
1. Ripping or copying?
DVD ripping and copying both read and extract data from physical discs to a digital format, but differ in the way of achieving this goal. DVD ripping is a compressed process and strips out some special features, thus ripped videos are smaller than the one copied. While copying is to duplicate the original discs bit by bit. So when you play the copied DVD video, you'll feel like playing the original DVDs and dealing with menus, trailers, etc.
2. What is the best format to rip a DVD?
If your goal is to rip and store the DVD in the best quality, it is better to choose DVD standard video format MPEG2 that keeps the original resolution 720p @29.97fps. But note that you'll lose subtitles, VMG files and more info. While for 1:1 copy in an uncompressed way, ISO and Video_TS Folder are your best choices.
When you rip and convert movie DVDs for playback on tablets, smartphones, or TVs, the best format should be widely supported and playable. MKV is the most recommended among DVD collectors because it includes subtitles, video and audio tracks, menus, and chapters.
Burn Mp4 To Dvd Mac Free
3. How long does it take to rip a DVD?
Dvd To Mp4 Mac Freeware
It depends. The DVD video length and size, the target format, the computer configuration, and the DVD ripper you use all combine to affect the ripping speed. Generally, it takes 12 - 30 minutes to rip a standard DVD movie. However, the time can be shorter or longer based on the DVD ripping software you use and whether it utilizes hardware acceleration and multi cores to improve the speed.
Windows 10 Burn Mp4 To Dvd
Taking VideoProc Converter as an example, with the hardware acceleration engine enabled, it only takes 10 minutes while keeping the CPU usage around 20% to rip a Disney movie DVD (109 min, NTSC 720x480) to MKV.