How to Rip 3D Blu-ray to MVC, SBS or TAB for Quest 3, Projectors & PC

Many 3D Blu-ray collectors now want to watch their discs on newer setups such as a Quest headset, a modern PC, or a 3D projector. The difficulty is that these devices do not all use the same 3D format: an MVC rip can preserve the disc's native 3D video, while SBS or TAB may be easier to play on other devices.

In this guide, I'll help you choose the right 3D format first, then show two ways to rip Blu-ray disc: a direct method with DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper and an MVC-first method with MakeMKV and BD3D2MK3D. 

MVC vs SBS vs TAB: Which 3D Format Should You Choose?

✅MVC (Multiview Video Coding): Blu-ray-native, full per-eye resolution.

This is Blu-ray's native 3D format and keeps full resolution for each eye. Playback support is limited, mostly to certain Windows players such as PowerDVD. It's the right choice if you want a lossless remux for PC viewing.

✅SBS (Side-by-Side): Two views packed horizontally (half-SBS is common).

Left and right views are placed next to each other. Half-SBS is common because it keeps files smaller, while full SBS retains more per-eye detail at a higher storage cost. It is widely used with VR headsets, 3D TVs, and projectors; a detailed 3D SBS conversion workflow can help when you need format-specific settings.

✅TAB (Top-and-Bottom): Two views stacked vertically.

The two views are stacked vertically. It is supported by some TVs and projectors that are configured for top-and-bottom 3D, with reduced vertical detail compared with the original frame.

For headset viewing, I would confirm the playback app's supported layout before prioritizing maximum source fidelity, because an MVC remux is useful only when the complete playback chain recognizes MVC.

How to Rip a 3D Blu-ray with DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper

DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper can rip a protected 2D or 3D Blu-ray disc, ISO image, or folder and convert the selected movie to a supported 2D or 3D video profile. Its 3D Profile Filter includes MKV, M2TS, and other output options, while Advanced Settings lets you configure video, audio, subtitles, and the available 3D layout options.

For 3D Blu-ray conversion, the main advantage of DVDFab is that source loading, title selection, audio and subtitle selection, 3D profile selection, and final output settings are all handled within the same application. Compared with a MakeMKV → BD3D2MK3D → HandBrake setup, this also avoids the optional third encoding stage, which can help retain more detail when the alternative would recompress the video again.

💻 Supported OS: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 and macOS 12 or newer

💡 Key Features:

• It automatically handle AACS, BD+, BD-J, Region Codes, etc., and constantly updates to defeat the encryptions on newly released Blu-rays.
• It converts 3D Blu-ray discs, ISO files, or folders into MKV, MP4, and other 1000+ 2D/3D formats, including high-efficiency H.265.
• DVDFab extracts and preserves your chosen high-res audio tracks and subtitles, along with all metadata info.
• Use the professional editor to crop out black bars, trim unnecessary clips, adjust color balances, or hardcode external subtitles and watermarks before exporting.

Step 1: Launch DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper and Load Your Blu-ray

Run DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper and choose the "Ripper" module. Insert your 3D Blu-ray disc into the optical drive and navigate it through the Add button. If you want to rip a Blu-ray ISO or folder, simply drag and drop it onto the main UI. 

Step 2: Choose a 3D Video Profile to Rip 3D Blu-ray

After the source loads, check the selected title, chapters, audio tracks, and subtitles. DVDFab usually selects the main movie automatically, but you can choose another title when needed.

Click Choose Other Profile, open the video profiles, and use the 3D filter to find the available 3D outputs.

• For MVC: choose the MVC/passthrough 3D profile when you want to preserve the native Blu-ray 3D stream without converting it to SBS or TAB.
• For SBS or TAB: choose an encoded 3D profile that provides the required layout controls. The result will be a newly encoded SBS or TAB video rather than an MVC remux.

Step 3: Customize and Edit Your 3D Blu-ray Video

Go back to the main interface, and you can further edit your 3D Blu-ray video. Click the "Advanced Settings" icon, you can set the parameters of video, audio and subtitle, and choose the 3D format. 

In 3D settings, choose SBS when your target player is configured for side-by-side playback, or choose TAB when the display documentation calls for top-and-bottom. For SBS or TAB, also check that the player or headset uses the matching layout and does not stretch the aspect ratio.

Click the "Video Edit" icon, and you can edit the video with the built-in editor. This includes options to crop, trim, rotate, and merge video clips, add watermarks and subtitles, and adjust color to suit your preferences.

Step 4: Select an Output and Start to Rip Your 3D Blu-ray with DVDFab

Navigate to the bottom of the main interface and click the "folder" icon to select a directory to save the output video. Click the "Start" button to start the process of ripping 3D Blu-ray to 3D MKV video.

Compatible encoded profiles can use GPU hardware acceleration on supported hardware. MVC passthrough does not perform a full video re-encode, so total processing time is affected mainly by disc reading, drive performance, stream processing, and file writing.

How to Rip a 3D Blu-ray with MakeMKV and BD3D2MK3D

MakeMKV and BD3D2MK3D handle different stages of 3D Blu-ray conversion. MakeMKV can save the selected AVC+MVC video, audio, subtitles, and chapters to an MKV without re-encoding the video. If that MVC MKV already works with your player, you can stop there.

For devices that require SBS, Top-and-Bottom, or Frame Sequential 3D, BD3D2MK3D can take the MVC MKV and encode it to those layouts, with Half or Full options and x264/H.264 or x265/H.265 encoding controls. This adds a second processing stage and another encode, so the final file size and image quality depend heavily on the encoding settings. BD3D2MK3D 1.37 runs on Windows and requires you to choose the Half/Full layout, codec, and encoding settings yourself, so this method is much more conplex than the direct DVDFab method.

The main limitations are extra storage, additional setup and low output quality. In one Reddit discussion about ripping 3D Blu-rays for SBS MP4 playback, one suggestion was to create the MVC MKV with MakeMKV, convert it to SBS with BD3D2MK3D, and then use HandBrake for the final MP4. The original poster later said the result looked "really bad" and asked how to retain more quality. A later reply described a 38 GB source becoming about 2 GB and looking visibly degraded.

Step 1: Rip Blu-ray to an MVC 3D MKV with MakeMKV

Install MakeMKV 1.18.4, insert the 3D Blu-ray, and open the disc. After MakeMKV scans the titles, expand the main movie title in the left panel.

A recognized Blu-ray 3D title contains the main Mpeg4 AVC video track and an indented Mpeg4 MVC track. Check the MVC track before creating the MKV. MakeMKV does not select this MVC track automatically when saving to MKV, so leaving it unchecked creates an MKV without the additional 3D view.

Select the audio and subtitle tracks you want, choose the output folder, and click Make MKV.

Step 2: Convert MVC MKV to SBS or TAB with BD3D2MK3D

Use BD3D2MK3D when the target player does not support MVC or when you specifically need an SBS, TAB, or Frame Sequential file.

Open the MVC MKV created by MakeMKV, choose the required 3D layout, and select Half or Full output where applicable. BD3D2MK3D can encode the result with x264/H.264 or x265/H.265 and create a new 3D MKV.

How to Play and Check a Ripped 3D Blu-ray File

A finished 3D file can still appear in 2D or show two separate images when the saved 3D format does not match the player or display. Use the symptom below to find the first thing to check.

PowerDVD note: Older PowerDVD versions supported Blu-ray 3D, which is why they still appear in older 3D Blu-ray tutorials. PowerDVD 20 and later no longer support 3D video or 3D disc playback, so check the playback software itself before assuming the ripped MVC file is faulty.

Conclusion

The right 3D Blu-ray ripping method depends on the file your playback setup can actually use. For MVC, DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper and MakeMKV can both preserve the native 3D streams without a full video re-encode. MakeMKV is a reasonable choice when MVC-in-MKV is the final output and the extra track selection is not a problem.

For SBS or TAB, DVDFab offers the simpler process because the target 3D layout can be created directly in one program. MakeMKV plus BD3D2MK3D gives experienced users more manual control, but it requires an intermediate MVC file, Windows for BD3D2MK3D, and careful encoding settings. Avoid an additional HandBrake encode unless you actually need more compression or another container, because every extra video encode can reduce detail.