3 Best Tools for Ripping DVDs for Plex on Windows & Mac

Plex is free media software that can manage and showcase your movies, TV shows, music, and images on devices. Although it is as powerful, it lacks compatibility for DVD files such as DVDs, Video_ts folders, and other "disc image" formats.

You'll need to convert these files into Plex-compatible formats if you want to stream and play them through Plex. First, you need to rip DVD to USB or digital formats supported by Plex. To watch your ripped DVD movies on additional devices, install Plex on each one. So, if you are looking for the easiest and fastest way to stream and play DVDs over your Plex media server, this is the right place.

Most Compatible Format for Plex Media Server

Before we get into rip DVDs for Plex, 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?

DVDFab DVD Ripper: Best DVD Ripper for Plex

DVDFab DVD Ripping software is one of the best DVD Ripper for Plex on Windows and MacOS. Using this program, ripping DVDs for Plex is quite simple. Furthermore, the extensive list of functions available will astound you. It comes with advanced GPU acceleration technologies like CUDA and others. You can rip a regular DVD movie in less than 5 minutes.

🌟Key Features:

• Keeps updating to support all encrypted DVDs, even the newest ones.
• Rip DVD to Plex supported formats, such as MP4 with H264 and AAC codec, and other 1000+ video and audio formats with no loss of quality.
• Convert DVD to lossless MKV.Passthrough video and 5.1 AC3 audio.
• The built-in video editor helps you make a professional or personalized video.
• GPU hardware acceleration technology ensure you a 50x faster ripping speed.

👍Pros:

• The ripped video can be played on any Plex supported devices.
• Upscale video quality form 480p to 1080p with Enlarger AI function.
• Multitasking Mode allows you to rip multiple DVDs with only one command.
• Generate meta info and display it on you Plex meida serve.
• Can also serve as a Blu-ray ripper for Plex.

👎Con:

• DVDFab DVD Ripper provides a 30-day free trial. But it offers a lifetime-free but simplified version - DVDFab HD Decrypter - that can rip most encrypted DVD or Blu-ray to MP4&MKV format only. This free pragram is also powerful enough to meet your basic needs for ripping DVD to Plex.

How to Rip DVD for Plex using DVDFab DVD Ripper?

MakeMKV: Free DVD Ripper for Plex

MakeMKV is a software 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.

🌟Key Features:

• It reads DVD and Blu-ray discs secured with the newest versions of AACS and BD+.
• The software saves all video and audio tracks, like HD audio.
• There is entire preservation of chapters and meta-information including track language, audio type, etc.

👍Pros:

• The software comes with cross-platform compatibility: Linux, Mac, and Windows
• It will rip some encrypted DVDs.
• It has a fast-ripping speed due to the lack of re-encoding.
• This DVD ripper for Plex maintains a good standard.

👎Cons:

• MKV is the only export format
• It keeps the video size large
• Unable to alter the video and audio codecs.
• There are no preset profiles.

How to rip DVDs for Plex using MakeMKV?

MakeMKV is one of the best ways to rip DVDs for plex that you can install and use on your computer. Here are the processing steps:

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, and then click the MakeMKV button again to start the ripping process.

Step 4: Add ripped files to Plex:You can now add these ripped files to your Plex library.

Handbrake: Free DVD Ripper for Plex

Handbrake is a popular, open-source software program that allows users to rip and convert DVDs into 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.

🌟Key Features:

• The software can quickly convert any video format to MP4 or MKV.
• You can use it to crop and resize videos.
• It will restore the old and low-quality video.
• It will help you erase combing artifacts produced by interlacing and telecine.
• The users can pass-through audio without transferring particular audio types.
• It will mix discrete surround sound into matrix surround or stereo.

👍Pros:

• There is no malware threat, and it's free to use.
• It supports multi-platform compatibility: Windows, Mac and Linux
• The user can easily customize the video and audio settings.
• It typically supports a wide range of input formats.

👎Cons:

• Rip DVDs only to MP4, MKV, or WebM. (Limited output formats)
• Inability to combine DVD videos
• Unable to remove DVD copy protection, you'll need to install an additional decoder.
• It only rips one title at a time.

How to Rip DVD for Plex Using Handbrake?

Handbrake is available for free download and installation from its official website.

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. Select the DVD as the 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: 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: Once the process is complete, you can add the ripped DVD file to your Plex media library.

How to Rip Blu-ray for Plex on Windows and Mac?

DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper is a powerful and professional tool designed to rip and convert Blu-ray discs into various popular video formats for playback on different devices, such as Plex.

DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper

With this Blu-ray Ripper, you can rip and convert your Blu-ray movies into digital files that are compatible with Plex, allowing you to stream your movies on any device connected to your Plex account.

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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 on Plex?

You can now add the digital files to Plex Media Service after ripping the DVD or Blu-ray for Plex. Here are simple steps:

• Sign up for a Plex account at Plex. tv
• Get Plex and install it.
• Go to the Plex main page.
• Click the "+" button next to "Libraries."
• For this library, choose a type of material, a name, and a language.
• Select "Browse for media folder" and enter the location of the content. 
• Select "Add Library" from the drop-down menu.

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.

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. While professional programs like DVDFab DVD Ripping software, which rip DVDs for any Plex supported format, keep the original DVD quality while reducing file size.