Ripping DVDs with Handbrake

There are a good handful of applications for both Mac and Windows that let you rip (or copy) your DVDs to your computer. But after many years of ripping hundreds of DVDs, I have found that Handbrake is one of the best programs available. Best of all, it's free.

Handbrake will rip your DVD into an MP4 file, which is perfect to use on iTunes. This means that the movies can easily be transferred to iPhones, iPads and Apple TVs for easy playback.

Handbrake will not only rip DVDs, it will also convert other movie file formats into MP4. So if you have an AVI file (or many other types of video files), Handbrake can easily convert it into an MP4 for you.

Setup

Download Handbrake from here and install it.

Once it is installed, open up Handbrake. Before we can rip our first DVD (or other file) there are just a few minor settings we need to update.

Navigate to Handbrake > Preferences... and make sure the settings in the General, Audio and Advanced tabs look exactly like this:

libdvdcss

In order to correctly decrypt some DVDs, you will need to install one final file that will allow Handrbake to bypass the encryption.

For Mac Users:

1. Download this file.
2. In Finder, find the downloaded file and copy it (CMD-C).
3. On Finder's menu bar, navigate to Go > Go to Folder. When the Go to Folder box pops up, type in /usr/lib/ and click Go.
4. Paste the file you have copied into the /usr/lib/ folder (CMD-V).

5. Go back to the folder where you downloaded the file and delete it.

For Windows Users:

1. Download this file (64-bit) or this file (32-bit) depending on which Windows OS you are running (64 or 32 bit).
2. In Windows Explorer, find the downloaded file and rename it to libdvdcss.dll.
3. Copy the file (CTRL-C).
4. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\Handbrake folder.
4. Paste the file you have copied into the C:\Program Files\Handbrake folder (CTRL-V).

5. Go back to the folder where you downloaded the file and delete it.

Usage

Using Handbrake is actually quite easy.

1) Select the DVD or file you want to convert by clicking the Source button on the upper left corner. Find and select the file you are looking for. If you are ripping a DVD, simply pick the DVD from the Devices menu. Then click Open.

2) In the Destination field, make sure you select the correct path for where you want Handbrake to place the newly converted file. You can also just click the Browse... button to select a location.

3) Select "High Profile" from the Presets menu.

4) Click the Start button.

Handbrake will start to rip the DVD or convert the file. The file size of the original file and the processing power of your computer will determine how long it takes Handbrake to convert it. On average, expect a standard DVD to take between 30 minutes up to a few hours. Again, the newer and more processing power your computer has, the faster Handbrake will work.

When Handbrake is done, you will find the new file in the folder you selected.

Now you can move that file to your Media folder, add it to iTunes and do with it as you want.

Just in case, here is another blogger's handy step-by-step for using Handbrake.