How to Rip Copy-protected DVDs to Windows PC and Mac For Free?
Summary: Looking to rip a copy-protected DVD but keep hitting roadblocks? In this guide, we review multiple free and best tools for ripping copy-protected DVDs, providing detailed steps to help you legally copy DVDs to your hard drive or transfer content to other devices.
Table of Contents
Copying a copy-protected DVD can be frustrating, even for experienced users. The disc protections are designed to prevent unauthorized copying, but they can also get in the way when you just want to make a legitimate backup or convert a disc for easy viewing.
Think about the old days of the Netflix DVD Queue—when you had a long list of movies waiting to be mailed to your doorstep. Many subscribers wanted the flexibility to back up their rented DVDs or convert them for playback on portable devices, purely for convenience. But with protections like CSS encryption, region codes, or advanced DRM, even these simple personal uses could turn into a challenge.
So, how can you legally copy a protected DVD for personal use today? This guide will walk you through the practical steps and considerations, ensuring you stay on the right side of the law while making your movie collection easier to enjoy.
Using the DVD movie "8 Mile" (duration 1 hour 50 minutes, original size 6.13GB) as the test source, we evaluated 3 leading ripping tools under the same system environment: Windows 10 x64 running on an Intel Core i7-6700 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU.
| Software | Video Coding | Duration | File Size | Resolution | Output Audio | Remarks |
| DVDFab DVD Ripper | H.264 MP4 | 5m 31s | 1.91 GB | 720*404 | AAC 5.1 | 🏆Good balance of speed and compression |
| DVDFab DVD Ripper | 1:1 MKV | 1m 37s | 5.07 GB | 720*480 | DTS 5.1 | Lossless quality, faster processing |
| HandBrake | H.264 MP4 | 12m 28s | 675 MB | 720*362 | AAC 2.0 | Excellent compression but slower ripping |
| MakeMKV | 1:1 MKV | 1m 27s | 6.01 GB | 720*480 | AC3 5.1 | Full quality but large file size |
🥇Editor's Choice: DVDFab DVD Ripper
⚡Faster and Sharper
DVDFab's burning speed in H.264 encoding mode is more than twice that of HandBrake. While HandBrake compresses the file to 675 MB, which is about 35% of DVDFab's. However, the output image quality is only 720*362, which is significantly lower than DVDFab.
📂Lossless, but Smaller
MakeMKV generated a 6.01 GB file, which takes up a lot of storage space. At the same time, DVDFab's pass-through mode takes about the same time as MakeMKV, maintaining lossless video quality and DTS 5.1 audio while ensuring a smaller file size.
If you're interested in learning more about the features and how to use each of these software tools, please continue reading below.
How to Rip Copy-Protected DVD with DVDFab DVD Ripper
"What's the best current technique to rip DVD with copy protection?" This issue has sparked intense discussions across various social media platforms. The first tool we recommend is DVDFab DVD Ripper, which has been focusing on the disc field since 2003. Being based on DVDFab's exclusive Cloud Decryption Service, it can automatically detect and decrypt your newly purchased DVDs quickly.
Key Features of DVDFab DVD Ripper
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: DVD Region Code, CSS, APS, Sony DADC, UOPs, Disney X-project DRM and other new advanced protections
💡Copy copy-protected DVD to AVI, MP4, MKV, MP3 and 1000+ digital formats
- The renowned tool that supports any old or newly released encrypted DVDs.
- Batch conversion and 50x faster ripping speed with GPU acceleration.
- Built-in video editor that allows you to crop, trim, merge video, etc.
- Compress video size but preserve quality for any mobile device.
- Synchronize meta info and generate .no file friendly to media server.
- Work with AI Enhancer and AI Upscaler to upgrade the resolution of your videos.
Steps to Rip Copy-Protected DVD with DVDFab DVD Ripper
Step 1: Open DVDFab and load the source DVD
Launch this DVD Ripping software and switch to the ripper tab. Insert your DVD into the drive, then click "+ Add" to load it. You can also try dragging it to the software interface if it's a folder or ISO file.
Step 2: Choose the profile and customize settings
After loading the source, DVDFab will automatically recognize and disable all the copy protections from your DVD. Click the "Info" button if you want to learn what protections your DVD has.
Then you can choose the output format, select audio tracks, and even extract subtitles from DVD.
DVDFab DVD Ripper offers a range of advanced settings to fine-tune parameters such as codec (H.264 or H.265), resolution, frame rate, and bit rate. After that, open the Video Edit panel if you want to trim, crop, add watermarks, or adjust brightness and contrast.
Step 3: Start to rip the DVD with copy protection
After confirming the save location, you can click the Start button to convert ISO to MKV or other digital formats. The actual progress is shown clearly on the interface. You can exit the software, hibernate, or cancel the task at any time.
How to Copy Copy-protected DVD for Free with MakeMKV
MakeMKV is a popular and free DVD ripper which can effortlessly convert copy-protected DVD/Blu-rays to high-quality MKV files. It's well-regarded by users of all skill levels because of its easy-to-use backup process. MakeMKV can rip DVDs without re-encoding, which will preserve all video and audio tracks, though the resulting files may be large.
Key Features of MakeMKV
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: AACS, CSS and Region Code
💡Rip copy-protected DVDs to: MKV
Many users appreciate its straightforward interface and high-quality output, but its limitations are obvious, such as only converting to MKV, no preview window, large file sizes unsuitable for mobile devices, and no editing or DVD audio ripping capabilities. However, there is no doubt that MakeMKV is a leading competitor in the free ripping software market.
Steps to Rip Copy-protected DVD for Free with MakeMKV
Step 1: Download and install MakeMKV by following the on-screen instructions. Then insert the copy-protected DVD you want to rip into your computer's DVD drive.
Step 2: Launch MakeMKV and it will automatically analyze the disc and decrypt the content. MakeMKV will display a list of all titles found on the DVD. You can manually select titles, audio tracks, and subtitles as needed.
Step 3: Click on the folder icon next to the "Output Folder" field to choose where the ripped files will be saved. As MKV files can be huge, be sure you have enough space on your hard disk.
Step 4: Press the "Make MKV" button. MakeMKV will get over the copy protection and rip the chosen titles to MKV format without re-encoding.
How to Rip a Copy-Protected DVD with HandBrake
HandBrake is a popular and open-source video transcoder used for converting multimedia files and unprotected DVD or Blu-ray sources into versatile digital formats such as MP4, MKV, and WebM. HandBrake by itself cannot remove copy protection from DVDs. However, it can be used in conjunction with libdvdcss (a part of the VideoLAN project) that can handle Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption found on many commercial DVDs.
Key Features of HandBrake
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: CSS and Region Code
💡Rip copy-protected DVDs to: MP4, MKV and WebM
Detailed Steps to Copy Copy-protected DVD via HandBrake
Step 1: Download and install the Handbrake software on your computer.
Step 2: Install libdvdcss for DVD decryption capability:
- For Windows: Download the appropriate version of libdvdcss (32-bit or 64-bit) and copy the .dll file into your Handbrake program folder.
- For macOS: Use Homebrew to install libdvdcss by typing 'brew install libdvdcss' in a Terminal window. If you're using an older version of macOS, you may download and install the package directly.
Step 3: Launch HandBrake and select your DVD drive from the source sidebar. Wait while it scans and analyzes the disc content.
Step 4: Choose your desired title from the "Title" dropdown menu and set your output destination under "Destination".
Step 5: Pick a quality preset according to your need from right side of HandBrake window.
💡Recommended Encoding Presets:
| Use Case | Video Settings | Audio Settings | Notes |
| High Quality Archive | H.265 (HEVC) Codec CRF 18-20 |
DTS/AC3 (5.1 Surround) Soft Subtitles (Multiple Languages) |
Best quality preservation, larger files |
| Balance Quality/Size | H.264 Codec CRF 20-22 |
AAC 192-256 kbps Stereo or surround |
Good quality with reasonable file size |
| Fast Conversion | H.264 Codec Faster preset Hardware encoding (if available) |
AAC 160-192 kbps | Quickest encoding, smaller files |
Step 6: Click "Start Encode" at top of window, then wait for the process to complete.
More Methods to Rip DVDs with Copy Protection
VLC
Another popular and free DVD decrypter is VLC Media Player. It is not just a media player, but also functions as a free DVD copy protection removal software, allowing you to convert your DVDs into digital formats for easy access on various devices.
The combination of VLC Media Player and libdvdcss makes it possible to playback and read commercial DVDs. This means that you can use VLC in conjunction with the libdvdcss to handle some CSS-protected DVDs.
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: CSS and Region Code
💡Rip copy-protected DVDs to: MP4, M4A, WEBM, OGG, and more
How to Copy Copy-protected DVDs using VLC
Step 1: Depending on your VLC version, you may need to install the libdvdcss library separately to enable DVD decryption. Visit the VideoLAN website and download the appropriate version for your operating system. Follow the installation instructions carefully.
Step 2: Launch VLC Media Player. Click on the Media menu (or press Ctrl + R on Windows / Cmd + R on Mac) to open the Convert/Save dialog. Switch to the Disc tab, then select your DVD drive from the dropdown menu.
Step 3: Configure the ripping options:
- In the Starting Position section, specify which title/chapter you want to rip if not ripping entirely.
- Under Audio and Subtitles, choose your preferred audio track and subtitle language, or keep the default options. Then, select the desired output format and codec under the Profile dropdown (e.g., MP4 with H.264 video).
Step 4: Click Browse to set the destination folder and filename for the ripped file. Finally, start ripping the DVD.
💡If you encounter issues during this process such as missing audio or only partial ripping of content from disks featuring advanced protection schemes not covered by CSS decryption alone, consider using professional software like DVDFab DVD Ripper, designed specifically for these more complex challenges.
DVD Shrink
When it comes to free DVD ripper for copy-protected DVDs, DVD Shrink is definitely one of the top choices for users looking to back up their DVDs. This software has the capability to decrypt DVDs that are safeguarded with CSS, restrictions on user operations, and region codes. By shrinking the files' size, it enables users to make duplicates of DVDs and makes it simpler to store them on a hard drive or burn them on a blank DVD.
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: User operation prohibition, CSS and Region Code
💡Rip copy-protected DVDs to: VIDEO_TS folder or ISO image only
Detailed Steps to Rip Copy-protected DVD for Free with DVD Shrink
Step 1: Install DVD Shrink 3.2.0.15 from a reputable mirror only (avoid "2010/2011" repacks). For safety, verify the file and scan it with your antivirus before running.
Step 2: Open DVD Shrink and click on the "Open Disc" button in the top left corner of the window. It will automatically analyze the DVD files you import.
Step 3: A list of titles along with their corresponding sizes will appear. By selecting the "Compression Settings" link for any title, you can change the compression parameters. DVD Shrink allows you to choose the amount of compression or to remove extras and subtitles to save space.
Step 4: In the toolbar, select the "Backup" button. You have the option of backing up directly to a blank DVD. If you decide to save to a folder, you can burn it to a DVD later using DVD burning software (such as ImgBurn).
WonderFox DVD Ripper
WonderFox DVD Ripper features advanced DVD decryption technology, enabling users to bypass DVD copy protection and converting it into various formats and compatible with multiple devices. It also support to convert ISO to MP4, MKV, and many other digital formats. Additionally, WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro offers a variety of editing tools, allowing users to customize their videos by trimming, cropping, adding effects, and more.
👍Supported copy-protected DVDs: CSS, Region Code, etc
💡Rip copy-protected DVDs to: Popular formats and devices, including AVI, MP4, AVI, Android, iPhone, iPad, etc
Steps to Rip Copyrighted DVD with WonderFox DVD Ripper
Step 1: To begin, launch the application and opt for "DVD Disc" to upload your protected DVD. The software will unlock the DVD, display all available titles, and automatically choose the main title. You can also manually select other titles if you wish to rip specific parts of the DVD.
Step 2: Choose an Output Format. Access the list of output formats on the right-hand side. This tool allows you to convert your protected DVD video into over 300 optimized digital formats and compatible devices.
Step 3: You can adjust settings such as resolution, bit rate, frame rate, and more by clicking the "Settings" button. This step is optional and only necessary if you need specific adjustments.
Step 4: Designate the output location at the bottom of the screen, then hit “Run” to initiate the process of transferring a protected DVD to digital format.
Overview of the Best Tools to Rip Copy-protected DVDs
We purchased DVDs with various encryption types for testing purposes. Based on the combined test results, we selected the most popular DVD decryption tools. If you're unsure which software performs best for ripping copy-protected DVDs, refer to this comparison table for guidance.
| Product | Decryption Capability | Supported OS | GPU Acceleration | Best For | User Ratings |
| DVDFab DVD Ripper | Advanced | Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 & macOS 10.10 - 15.x | ✅ | Flexible output formats and high-quality ripping with customization | 4.6 out of 5 |
| HandBrake | Limited (requires libdvdcss manually) | Windows, Mac, and Linux | ❎ | Compress DVDs into MP4/MKV with small file sizes | 4.3 out of 5 |
| MakeMKV | Basic | Windows, Mac, and Linux | ❎ | Lossless DVD ripping, but only outputs MKV files | 3.5 out of 5 |
| VLC Media Player | Limited (requires libdvdcss manually) | Windows, Mac, Linux |
❎ | Basic DVD ripping with no extra features | 2.6 out of 5 |
| DVD Shrink | Outdated | Windows | ❎ | Compress and back up DVDs to fit smaller discs | 3.2 out of 5 |
| WonderFox DVD Ripper | Basic | Windows | ❎ | Baisc DVD ripping with built-in format presets | 2.3 out of 5 |
FAQs
What does it Mean if a DVD is copy-protected?
DVD copy protection is all about the tech used to prevent commercial DVDs from being shared. These includes CSS, region codes, Sony ARccOS, UOPs, and even artificial errors or bad sectors. These mechanisms are meant to stop unauthorized copying and need special software to get around.
How to copy a copy-protected DVD to ISO or folder?
If you don't want to rip protected DVD to digital format, then backing up to a blank disc is a good choice. DVDFab DVD Copy makes it simple to copy files for these kinds of purposes. The program can directly duplicate protected and home-made DVDs in 1:1 original quality to blank discs, ISO files and Folders.
The laws regarding commercial DVDs vary from country to country. In most regions, such as the United States, bypassing DVD copy protection is considered a violation of copyright law. However, some countries allow DVD copying within the scope of fair use for private backup purposes.
To avoid potential risks, always check your local laws and use DVD rippers like DVDFab only for personal, non-distributive purposes.
The free products we mentioned in this blog like Handbrake and VLC supports ripping partially copy-protected DVDs. But free products generally can't bypass advanced protections like Disney X-Project, ARccOS, etc. You need to eliminate the copy protection mechanism first with the best free DVD decrypter and then copy a DVD. In comparision, DVDFab DVD Ripper can both decrypt and rip any old or new copy-protected DVDs in simple steps.
Yes. MakeMKV can eliminate region code encryptions from most DVDs and rip them into MKV formats only. However, MakeMKV cannot rip advanced copy-protected DVDs. You'll need to find a professional DVD decrypter to rip DVDs with advanced protections.
What are the common types of DVD copy protection?
Most commercial DVDs come with built-in copy protection mechanisms. You've probably seen the warning labels printed on the DVD case, but may not realize which specific encryption methods are being used.
Major studios employ the following types of copy protection to prevent unauthorized duplication:
- CSS uses a 40-bit stream cipher algorithm to protect the reading and playback of discs, but it has gradually been replaced by newer DRM schemes.
- RCE is an extension of the standard region code system used on DVDs. Unlike traditional region codes, which restrict playback based on geographical location, RCE provides protection by actively detecting and rejecting region-free DVD players.
- Sony ARccOS works in conjunction with CSS encryption. Without affecting playback, it inserts bad sectors, unreadable data blocks, or damaged navigation structures into DVDs.
- UOPs are tag instructions embedded in the DVD navigation structure that restrict the operations users can perform during playback, such as skipping, pausing, or accessing menus.
Conclusion
If you want to rip DVDs with copy protection, this guide introduces the best free tools worth a try. While free options such as MakeMKV can handle basic ripping tasks, many struggle to cope with newer DVD protection. DVDFab DVD Ripper stands out as a more reliable tool for Windows and Mac with its high decryption success rate and 50x faster processing speed.
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By Wenny - Sep 9, 2025