How to Rip DVDs for Plex Streaming on Windows & Mac [2025 Updates]
Summary: Want to stream your DVD collection through Plex? This guide covers the best DVD rippers to convert DVDs to Plex-supported formats. You'll also learn which format works best, the pros and cons of the proven DVD ripper for plex, and steps to rip DVDs on Windows and Mac.
Table of Contents
Plex is a powerful and free media server that lets you manage, and stream your collection of movies, TV shows, music, and photos across all your devices. However, it can’t play DVDs or disc image formats like ISO and VIDEO_TS folders out of the box.
To enjoy your DVD collection with Plex, you'll first need to convert DVD to USB or other Plex-supported digital formats — such as MP4 or MOV encoded with H.265. Once converted, you can add the files to your Plex library and stream them on your TV, tablet or PC with the Plex app installed. Read on to choose the best format for Plex and trustworthy tools.
Best Format to Rip DVD for Plex Media Server
Before ripping DVDs, it's essential to understand which formats Plex Media Server supports. The media compatibility and video quality limits of Plex differ depending on the device. Plex usually supports MP4 (H.264+AAC) as its native format.
Plex may usually play videos that meet the following criteria directly:
- MP4 as a container
- H.264 video encoding (level 4.0 or lower)
- AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
- Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels or less
- 30 frames per second video frame rate
- Bit Depth of Video: 8
This combination should provide good quality while maintaining broad compatibility with various platforms and devices that support Plex. Remember that if your media isn’t in this format, Plex can still play it by transcoding it on-the-fly to a format the client device supports; but this process can be resource-intensive especially for high-resolution files or multiple simultaneous streams.
In the next part, let's learn how to convert DVDs to Plex-supported video formats with the best quality.
How to Rip DVDs for Plex on Windows and Mac?
In this section we list the hottest programs on Google, both free and paid. The comparison table below shows the difference in features of best DVD Ripper for Plex.
| Feature | DVDFab DVD Ripper | MakeMKV | HandBrake |
| Encryption Support | CSS, RC, Sony DADC, Cinavia and more | Common protection, like Region code, AACS | Cannot handle encrypted DVDs directly |
| Lossless Ripping | Yes (supports full-quality rips) |
Yes (lossless MKV output) |
No (compresses output) |
| Compression | Optional: High-quality compression available | No compression | Highly configurable compression |
| Batch Conversion | Yes | No | Yes |
| Speed | Hardware acceleration supported for faster ripping | Fast | Moderate (depends on compression settings) |
| Best For | Customizable and advanced DVD ripping | Quickly converting DVDs to lossless MKV files for Plex | Free Option for Tech-Savvy Users |
| User Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 |
DVDFab DVD Ripper [Best DVD Ripper for Plex]
👍Pros:
- Customize or enhance your DVD content before adding it to your Plex server.
- GPU hardware acceleration technology ensure a 50x faster ripping speed.
- Convert DVD to lossless MKV.Passthrough video and 5.1 AC3 audio.
- Ensures the ripped video plays smoothly across all Plex-supported devices.
- Upscale video form SDR to HDR10 with NVIDIA AI Enhancer.
- Multitasking Mode allows you to rip multiple DVDs with one command.
👎Con:
- DVDFab DVD Ripper provides a 30-day free trial. But it offers a free version - DVDFab HD Decrypter - that can rip most encrypted DVD or Blu-ray to MP4 & MKV format only. This free version is enough to meet your basic needs for ripping DVD to Plex.
How to Rip DVD for Plex using DVDFab DVD Ripper?
Download and install DVDFab DVD Ripper
Load the source DVD and select a Plex supported format
Load the DVD disc, ISO file or Folder you want to rip for Plex to DVDFab program. Then click on "Choose Other Profile". From here, select "Format" and "Video" to convert DVD to MP4, which is the most compatible format for Plex. You are also free to select other video and audio formats.
Customize the output video
Click on "Advanced Settings", and here you can set the video codec as H264 and the audio codec as AAC, as well as other parameters.
Then go back to the main interface. Here you can choose the titles you want to rip and select chapters, audio tracks, and subtitles as you like. If you also want to edit the video, like trimming, cropping, cropping, trimming, merging video, adding watermarks and subtitles, and even adjusting video color, just click on "Video Edit".
Start to rip DVD to Plex
After customization, select an output directory for your output video. Finaly, click on the "Start" button and DVDFab will complete the task at a lightning fast speed.
MakeMKV [Free DVD Ripper for Plex]
MakeMKV is a free program that allows you to rip DVDs and Blu-rays to MKV so you can easily watch them on Plex. It preserves the original video and audio quality of your DVDs, ensuring that your Plex media server will play back your ripped files in high definition. However, MakeMKV is primarily focused on ripping DVDs, so it may not have all of the advanced features that some users would like, such as the ability to edit or customize ripped files.
However, last year, MakeMKV faced consequences for decrypting AACS, raising concerns about its legality for ripping UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD discs. As a result, some users are seeking alternative to MakeMKV.
How to rip DVDs for Plex using MakeMKV?
Step 1: Launch MakeMKV on your computer and insert the DVD that you want to rip for Plex into the DVD drive.
Step 2: Click on the DVD title in the left panel to select the contents you want to rip. You can choose to rip the entire DVD or select specific chapters or titles.
Step 3: Select the output folder where you want to save the ripped files. Ensure there's enough free space on your drive, as its output files tend to be too large. And then click the MakeMKV button again to start the ripping process.
Step 4: Once ripping is complete, you can add these files to your Plex library.
Handbrake [Free DVD Ripper for Plex]
Handbrake is a popular and open-source program that allows users to convert DVDs to digital formats for streaming on various devices, including Plex. When using Handbrake to rip DVDs for Plex, users can select the desired output format, such as MP4 or MKV, and adjust settings like resolution, frame rate, and audio quality to optimize the viewing experience on Plex. Additionally, Handbrake allows users to add subtitles, trim the video, and apply filters to enhance the quality of the output file.
How to Rip DVDs for Plex Using Handbrake DVD Ripper?
Step 1: Insert the DVD you want to rip into your computer’s DVD drive. Click on the "Source" button at the top left-hand corner of the screen. Then select your DVD drive from the liist of source.
Step 2: Choose the title or chapter you want to rip from the DVD. You can preview the title or chapter by clicking on the “Preview” button.
Step 3: Choose a preset that is Plex-optimized, like "Fast 1080p30" or "Fast 720p30," from the Preset panel. And select the format you want to rip the DVD to. For Plex, it is recommended to choose the MP4. You can also adjust other settings such as video quality, resolution, and audio settings.
Step 4: Choose a destination for the ripped file by clicking on the “Browse” button in the “Destination” section.
Step 5: Click the “Start Encode” button at the top. Once the process is complete, you can add the ripped DVD file to your Plex media library.
Bonus! How to Rip Blu-ray for Plex on Windows/Mac?
DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper is a professional tool designed to convert Blu-ray discs into various popular video formats for playback on different devices, such as Plex.
- This Blu-ray Ripper for Plex supports 1000+ output formats, and lossless Passthrough profiles.
- Preserves original quality, including 5.1/7.1 surround sound and HD audio tracks.
- Automatically bypasses common Blu-ray protections such as AACS, BD+, and Cinavia.
- Adjust resolution, bitrate, and encode settings for optimized streaming across different Plex clients.
- Customize and edit your output files by selecting specific audio tracks, adjusting the video parameters, and more.
How to Rip Blu-ray for Plex with DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper?
Step 1: Start DVDFab software and open the Ripper section. Insert the Blu-ray disc into the external drive and add it by clicking the Add button, or simply drag and drop an ISO file or folder onto the main interface.
Step 2: Select a profile for Plex and personalize the output video
Click on “Choose Other Profile” to pick the profile you prefer. Choose the titles, audio tracks, and subtitles you wish to keep. Explore the “Advanced Settings” and integrated “Video Editor” to tailor the final video.
Step 3: Initiate the process of ripping Blu-ray for Plex
Save the extracted video either on your computer’s hard drive or mobile device. Simply click on the Start button, and the Blu-ray Ripper tool will immediately start the extraction process.
How to Upload Ripped DVDs or Blu-rays to Plex?
You can now add the digital files to Plex Media Service after ripping your DVD or Blu-ray movies. Here are simple steps:
Step 1：Create a Plex account at Plex.tv if you don’t have one already, then download and install the Plex Media Server on your computer or NAS device.
Step 2：Organize ripped videos into folders by content type (e.g. movies, TV shows) and name the files correctly. Note that Plex relies on the folder structure and file names to correctly match metadata.
Step 3：Start the Plex Media Server. You will need to register it through your browser if it is running for the first time.
Step 4：In the main screen, click the "+" button next to Libraries to add a new media library. Select the library type (e.g. ‘Movies’ or ‘TV Shows’), name it, select the language, and click Next.
Step 5：Click "Browse for Media Folder" and select the folder where the ripped files are saved.
Step 6：After clicking "Add Library", Plex will start scanning the content and fetching metadata.
Note: You'll need to install two apps to use Plex to stream videos. One is a server application that runs on your computer and stores your media files. The Plex media player app is another option.
FAQs
1. Plex does not recognize media files
- Reason: The file format is not supported, or the file naming is not standardized.
- Solution: Make sure the ripped video format is one supported by Plex (such as MP4 or MKV). Secondly, please name the files and folders according to Plex official naming rules.
2. Video Playback Stuttering
- Cause: Video file encoding is too high or network bandwidth is insufficient.
- Solution: It is suggested to convert the video to a more compatible encoding format (e.g. H.264). Next, lower the video transcoding quality setting of the Plex server or use the hardware acceleration feature.
3. Subtitles cannot be displayed
- Reason: Incompatible subtitle file format or not properly embedded in the video.
- Solution: At first, it is advised to choose soft subtitle (external subtitle) or hard subtitle when you are ripping. In addition, make sure the subtitle files are stored in the same directory as the video files.
No. Plex itself does not have built-in capabilities for ripping DVDs. You can use third-party software to rip DVDs, and Plex can be used to organize and stream the ripped files. An overview of the procedure is as follows:
- To extract the video files from the DVD, use DVDFab DVD ripping software.
- Make sure to rip the DVD to an MP4 or MKV file type, which is supported by Plex.
- Make sure that the ripped files have the proper names so Plex can easily organize them.
- To add the ripped DVDs, open your Plex Media Server and navigate to the library. Use the “Add Library” feature to point Plex to the folder containing your ripped files.
The three best DVD Rippers for Plex mentioned in this article all support Blu-ray discs as input format. So if you want to rip Blu-ray to Plex-supported formats, just follow the above-mentioned steps.
When ripping DVDs for Plex, the optimal format is generally a balance of compatibility, quality, and file size. The most recommended video formats are MKV and MP4. Regarding video codecs, H.265 (HEVC) offers better compression with high quality. For audio codecs, AAC offers great quality and compatibility. If you want to preserve the original audio quality, consider AC3 (Dolby Digital) or DTS.
Conclusion
Now, you know the best tools for ripping DVDs and Blu-rays for Plex. MakeMKV and Handbrake are both free to use. However, they have very limited functionality. MakeMKV generates big files, whereas Handbrake decreases video quality. In terms of speed, quality, and advanced settings, DVDFab DVD Ripper remains to be the greatest option.
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