
You can even capture subtitles, so long as you work with an encapsulation method that supports it.Īll these advanced options are available in the “Convert” dialog box which you’ll encounter after step two above.ġ. You can select an encapsulation format which sets the file extension as well as the video and audio codecs. When you rip DVDs with VLC, you can also specify a format for the ripped file. Click the “Start” button in the lower right to begin ripping the file. Click the “Browse” button to choose a destination and name for your file.Ħ. If you want to play around with some more advanced options, check out the section below.ĥ. You can click the drop-down box next to “Profile” to select from the available options.

In the next window we can choose some conversion options for our ripped video file.Ĥ. Choose “Convert” from the drop-down menu.ģ. Click the drop-down arrow next to the “Play” button in the lower-right. Choose “Open Disc…” from the “Media” menu.Ģ. Then put a DVD in your Mac’s DVD reader.ġ. Rip DVDs with VLCīefore we get going, download and install VLC from the developer’s website, if you don’t already have it. But if you need something quick you can do with software you already have, you can rip DVDs with VLC. If you want a more robust experience, Handbrake is an excellent alternative app for ripping even copy protected DVDs. While there are programs out there for removing DRM from DVDs, note that ripping DVDs with VLC won’t defeat any kind of DRM, and it can be a little buggy at times. Some DVDs do have copy protection, which others do not.

In general, ripping DVDs is illegal provided you don’t circumvent copy protection. For folks with big home entertainmenst systems or a home media server, this is a great tool to breathe new life in to older content. This allows you save non-copy protected DVDs to your computer as video files, either for archiving or watching without the disk. If needed, you can rip DVDs to your Mac with VLC.


However, few users realize it can do more than just play files. You’ve probably used it to play media files on your Mac for when QuickTime doesn’t work properly. VLC is a powerful and well-loved application.
