How to Rip Blu-ray for Plex: 3 Best Ways with Guide & Comparison

Do you have a collection of Blu-ray discs gathering dust? Plex can breathe new life into them. Function as a media server for organizing content, Plex transcends traditional media players by centralizing access to diverse sources - local files, OTT services, music libraries, and more - across all your devices.

By ripping your Blu-rays to Plex-compatible formats, you can stream your favorite movies and TV shows to any device, anywhere. This guide will walk you through the top three methods for ripping Blu-rays for Plex with optimal quality, so you can ditch the discs and enjoy your collection on demand.

What is the Best Format for Plex Media Server

Plex has two dedicated versions: Plex Media Server for desktop versions for various OS like Windows, Mac, Linux, and NAS devices and Plex App for other devices, including Android, iOS, laptops, smart TVs, Web browsers, Streaming devices, etc.

So, To get the most out of your Plex media server, understanding its supported file formats is key. Converting your media to Plex-compatible formats ensures seamless access, compatibility, and playback across all your devices.

• Video File Formats: MP4, MKV, DIVX, AVI, MOV, etc.
• Audio File Formats: MP3, FLAC, M4A, WMA etc.
• Image File Formats: PNG, JPG, TBN, RAW etc.

How to Rip Blu-ray for Plex Using DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper

DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper is a reliable tool to rip protected Blu-rays to Plex-compatible formats, including MP4, MKV, AVI, MP3, FLAC and more. DVDFab also gets you 1:1 ratio ripped Blu-ray content in its original quality without any data loss. You can also customize the output ripped content quality with various parameter settings. 

Supported OS:

Key Features:

• Remove any Blu-ray copy protection using the advanced cloud decryption service
• 1000+ format support with 245+ device presets option
• It supports 3D content and flexible resolutions like 4K, 5K, and 8K 
• Personalized customization with advanced settings, including video codec, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, etc
• Apply high-efficiency compression and batch processing for optimal storage & speed
• Edit content with cropping, trimming, merging, etc., before ripping with the built-in editor
• Metadata synchronization ensures that all information is automatically displayed on the media server

Steps to Rip Blu-ray to Plex with DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper

Step 1: Lunch and start DVDFab 13 > Select "Ripper" from the left module section > Insert your preferred Blu-ray disc into the built-in or external optical drive > Hit the "Add" sign to locate the uploaded Blu-ray content. If the Blu-ray content is in an ISO file or folder, you can use drag-and-drop to add the file to the interface. 

Step 2: Select "Choose Other Profile" > select "Format" and "Video" > choose MP4 as the output file format to ensure the ripped Blu-ray is compatible with Plex.

Next, select your desired subtitles, title, and audio track. 

Step 3: Head to the "Advanced Settings" for customization with codec, format, resolution, audio channels, etc., and "Video Editor" for editing with cropping, cutting, adding watermark, etc.

Step 4: After completing all the customization, hit the "Start" option and monitor the Blu-ray ripping process until it ends. 

My personal Thoughts about DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper: In my experience, what sets DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper apart are its highly adaptable settings and comprehensive editing features. The ability to bypass encryption and add watermarks gives me complete freedom and protects my content from unauthorized use.

How to Rip a Blu-ray for Plex Using MakeMKV

As an open-source and free program, MakeMKV is another way to rip Blu-ray for Plex. It converts any file format to an MKV format compatible with the Plex platform without changing the data or quality of the original content. 

Supported OS: Windows XP or later, Mac x64 or ARM64 Mac OS X 10.7 or later; Linux

Pros:

• It can read some Blu-rays protected by AACS or BD+ 
• MKV can preserve multiple audio-video track 
• It supports metadata integration with the ripped file while preserving the chapters
• It supports the fastest file conversion with a quick file detection option
• It can maintain HD-quality content in the ripped file

Cons:

• It supports only one MKV format as the output 
• The output file is very large.
• It won't let you customize or edit your content

Steps to Rip Blu-ray to Plex Using MakeMKV 

Step 1: Launch and start MakeMKV on your computer. Then, put the Blu-ray disc of your choice into the drive > and set "Source" to the drive. 

Step 2: Move to the "File Tab" > click "Open Disc" > select "Blu-ray" > MakeMKV will scan the uploaded disc. Next, you will see multiple files, such as audio, subtitles, the main movie, etc. 

Step 3: Here, you have to keep those elements in the file that will be useful for Plex and uncheck those factors that are not required in Plex. You must also ensure that you check the "Title" that contains the main movie. 

Step 4: Go to the "Output Folder" > choose your needed destination to save the output file > select the "MakeMKV" option to complete the Blu-ray disc ripping process. 

My personal thoughts about MakeMKV: I find MakeMKV appealing due to its free and open-source nature. It's a decent choice for occasional use, but for extensive Blu-ray ripping, I think it falls short. The limited parameter settings and editing options, combined with its single output format, can be restrictive when you need more flexibility.

How to Rip Blu-rays for Plex with Handbrake

Handbrake is a open-source and free tool lets you rip Blu-ray to Plex with the most common audio-video file format support. It also offers lots of customization and video filters. However, Handbrake doesn't rip any encrypted Blu-ray discs or files. You'll need to remove the protection from any encrypted Blu-ray using any third-party software, and after that, Handbrake can rip the decrypted Blu-ray disc. 

Supported OS: Windows 10 and later & macOS 10.13 and later & Linux

Pros:

• Explore multiple built-in device presets
• Three major video container files support MP4, MKV, and WebM
• Save time with batch scanning
• It allows chapter markers with chapter & range selection option
• You can select video quality and subtitles
• Customize it with versatile video filters such as denoise, deinterlace, color space, cropping, etc. 

Cons:

• Handbrake can't rip any encrypted Blu-ray discs
• Only three output video formats are supported

Step to Rip Blu-ray to Plex Using HandBrake

Step 1: After installing open the HandBrake app on your system > select "Load Blu-ray" / "Load Disc" on the upper left side > once you hit any of the buttons a pop-up window will appear on the screen. 

Step 2: Here, you will find the folder you need to rip > after file importation, start changing the file's output profile > select "Profile" on the right side > a pop-up window will be prompted to select the output format.

Step 3: Go for the one that fits your needs. For example, select the format that is compatible with Plex. Select the "Rip to Video/Audio" option, and you will get the exported file in the application folder. 

My personal thought about HandBrake: Despite being a free tool, working with HandBrake is quite challenging because it doesn't support decryption. For decryption, I always have to depend on other third-party software. Limited output format support is another drawback that I have found quite disappointing. 

Compare: Which is the Best to Rip Blu-ray to Plex

To decide the best tool to rip Blu-ray to Plex, you must take a quick glance at the most compact and comprehensive comparison table among these three tools with their highlight points. 

Having reviewed the features, it is clear that DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper stands out in terms of format compatibility and flexibility for ripping Blu-ray to Plex. To further understand how these advantages translate into actual performance, the following part will present the testing results of the top Blu-ray Rippers, focusing on comparing their conversion speed, output quality, and efficiency.

Software Testing and Analysis

I conducted the test on a Windows 10 X64 system with 16GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB GPU, and an Intel i7-6700 CPU running at 3.40GHz. The movie I used for testing was 2012, which runs for 2 hours and 36 minutes, with a source file size of 33.43GB.

Compression Mode Comparison

🏆DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper Excels in Speed and Output Quality

• DVDFab completed the movie conversion in just 7 minutes and 45 seconds, which is about 43 times faster than HandBrake. In addition, DVDFab maintained full HD resolution and 5.1 AAC audio, ensuring a better audio-visual experience compared to HandBrake.

Lossless Mode Comparison

🏆DVDFab Leads with Smaller File Size and Faster Ripping

• DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper completed the ripping process in just 7 minutes and 4 seconds, faster than MakeMKV. Additionally, DVDFab produced a smaller file size. This demonstrates its efficiency in delivering high-quality backups while optimizing storage usage.

How to Stream Your Ripped Blu-ray Files on Plex

To watch all of your ripped Blu-ray files on the Plex server, you need to add them to the Plex. First, you should create a folder and keep all the ripped Blu-ray files that you want to stream on Plex in that folder. Next, follow the given instructions:

Step 1: launch the Plex web app on system > hit on toolbar symbol > start with settings menu > select the correct Plex Media Server. 

Step 2: Under the settings menu, move to the "Manage Section" > select "Libraries" > hit "Add Library" > select the library type from the available options, such as movies, music, TV Shows, Photos, etc. 

Step 3: Give a name to the library > select your preferred language and based on that language the library content related information will be gathered from the Internet. 

Step 4: Select "Next" > hit "Browse for media folder" > select the folder that has the ripped Blu-ray files > select "Add" to add the folder > finally select the "Add Library" option. Now, you are good to go to stream ripped Blu-ray files to Plex. 

Conclusion

Now that you've learned the best ways to rip Blu-ray for Plex using three popular tools, it's time to pick the right one that fits your needs and start building your Plex media library. If you value high-quality output, and maximum flexibility, DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper stands out as the most powerful option.

And if you're also looking for how to rip DVDs for Plex, these same principles apply: choose reliable software that balances performance and compatibility.