How to Rip a Homemade DVD with HandBrake?

Part 1. How to Rip DVD with HandBrake?

Before introducing the steps, we should first know some basic information about the HandBrake. HandBrake is a cross-platform program for DVD ripping and movie converting. Its primary function is to process common multimedia files and any DVD or Blu-ray that doesn’t include copy protections. Besides, HandBrake supports various video and audio encoders to convert your DVD to MP4, MP3, and other file formats.

Step 1Preparation – Download and Install HandBrake

As for preparation, go to HanBrake’s official site and get a free download of this ripper. The current version, 1.7.1, is available for Mac (macOS 10.13 and later) and Windows (10 and later). You can find more versions for other platforms too, on the download page.

Step 2Load and Rip the DVD with HandBrake

When the download is finished, insert your target DVD into your computer’s DVD drive. Open HandBrake and you can see your target DVD in Source Selection. That means it is detected. Click your target DVD so that HandBrake will start to scan it. Moreover, the scanning time depends on the content of your DVD.

Step 3Select the Title or Chapter You Want to Rip

HandBrake will automatically select a title for you. Or you can choose by clicking Add to Queue on the top menu. Add Current means adding the currently selected title. Add All is about adding all DVD titles at the same time. Add Selection will pop up a new window for specifying your title.

Step 4Select the Output Format

Click the Format drop-down option, where you can select from MP4, WebM, and MKV. Besides, you can customize your DVD videos based on the seven major aspects. They are Custom Presets, General, Web, Devices, Matroska, Hardware, Production.

Step 5Select the Storing Destination

On the bottom of the interface, you can see Save As. Click Browse to choose the final destination you want to put your file in. HandBrake can help you store the resulting file in hardware and external devices.

Step 6Select the Output Format

After you finish all the steps, it’s time to rip the DVD with HandBrake. Click Start Queue on the head of the interface. Then, you will see a progress bar along the bottom, telling you how much time it’s about to spend. You can double-click on it to watch your video. The rip is done!

Part 2. HandBrake DVD Ripping Issue

As a free transcoder, HandBrake, indeed, has excellent performances in ripping Blu-ray and DVDs. However, it still needs to be improved. Damaged DVDs, overloaded CPU, obsolete hardware, and copy protection will cause various problems to HandBrake.

1. HandBrake does not convert entire DVD with copy protections;

2. Converting speed is low;

3. Halfway crash or encoding stop often happen;

4. Output quality is poor;

5. Encrypted DVD support of HandBrake will be unavailable.

As a result, these made HandBrake seem to be unstable or inefficient.

Part 3. Rip DVD Efficiently with an Alternative DVD Ripper

Solving the above problems may be hard. Therefore, we highly recommend a comprehensive alternative to you, DVD Ripper, chosen by Blu-ray Software. This one tends to be more stable, completely ripping all the DVD content. You will get a digital copy of your DVDs in a very short time. Besides, there is a built-in player for you to preview completely.

Step 1Launch the Software and Insert the DVD

When you download DVD Ripper from its official site, launch the software and insert your DVD. DVD Ripper will automatically load your disc. When it’s successful, choose a title according to your requirements.

Step 2Select Output Format

In the bottom bar, there are two menus in the left-hand corner. The above one is named Output Format. Tap it, and you will see a pop-up interface where you can choose an output format for your resulting file. Besides the video and audio formats, you can also customize formats with device features.

Step 3Select Final Destination

The other menu in the left-hand corner is Save To. You can click it to find an output destination for your resulting file.

Step 4Start Ripping

When all settings are done, click Rip All in the right-hand corner. You can stop it any moment you want. When it finishes, you can enjoy your video right now on the computer.

Part 4. FAQs about HandBrake

• Can HandBrake do multiple files at once?

  Yes, users can set up multiple encodes at once by adding them to HandBrake’s Queue.

• What is the limit of HandBrake?

  HandBrake is excellent at reducing the video file size without lowering its quality. This will do well to get your files uploaded faster and ensure your videos are within the 2GB limit. Also, it won’t require any setup to get your video file size down to a smaller size.

• Can I rip subtitles to a DVD with HandBrake?

  After the ripping setting is finished, you can click Subtitles and choose Under Track. Select your language from a pop-up menu if the subtitle is available. But if the DVD has subtitles itself, you can have HandBrake add it to ripping.