With the growth of streaming services like Netflix, DVD sales are slipping. It's safe to assume that before too long, they'll have gone the same way as VHS and audio cassettes. Once that happens, DVD players themselves won't be far behind.

Before we reach that point, it would be prudent to rip all your DVDs onto your hard drive. By doing so, you'll be saving them for posterity; you'll be able to watch them long after DVDs have been consigned to the annals of history.

Ripping your DVDs also has some immediate short-term benefits; you'll be able to cast them around your house using Plex or transfer them onto your tablet to watch while traveling.

Let's look at how to copy a DVD to a hard drive.

Choosing Your Software

Some DVD ripping software can cost upwards of $50. While it might be money well spent if you're running a Hollywood movie studio, the average home user can find everything they need using free software.

There are lots of free DVD backup tools out there, but we like Handbrake. Not only can it rip DVDs, but it's also one of the leading tools for converting DVDs and videos into other formats and codecs.

The app is entirely free to download and use, and it's available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Download: Handbrake

Copy-Protected DVDs

As you will probably be aware, almost all store-bought DVDs have some form of copy protection. In theory, it's an anti-piracy measure. In practice, it doesn't really appear to have worked; pirated DVDs have been available since the format displaced VHS. (Speaking of which, we've covered how to convert VHS to DVD too.)

Nonetheless, copy protection is something you'll have to deal with when ripping DVDs. It's a legal gray area; certain uses might be illegal under US law unless they comply with the Fair Use doctrine.

Because it's a legal gray area, no DVD ripping software can include the functionality natively. You'll need to fix the problem yourself.

If you're using Handbrake, it's easy. Just grab a copy of libdvdcss.dll. It's available through the VLC Player website and comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Download: libdvdcss (32-bit)

Download: libdvdcss (64-bit)

Once you've downloaded the file, move it to Handbrake's installation folder. The default path is C:\Program Files\Handbrake.

That's it. Handbrake will now be able to read and rip any copy-protected DVD.

Ripping DVDs

Now you're set up with the software, let's take a closer look at how to use Handbrake to rip DVDs.

Step 1: Scan Your DVD

Before you launch the software, open your computer's CD tray, and insert your DVD. Close the tray and open Handbrake.

Once the app has loaded, you'll see the Source Selection panel on the left-hand side of the screen. You cannot go any further into the app until you've made a selection.

You can ignore Folder and File. Instead, head straight to the DVD icon and double click on it.

Handbrake will take a few moments to scan the content. If you failed to install libdvdcss.dll correctly, you'll get an error message. Otherwise, you'll be taken to the Settings screen.

Step 2: Choose Your Content

Handbrake lets you choose exactly what content you want to rip off the DVD. You can make all these adjustments in the Source settings.

Most DVDs have a lot more content than just the movie or TV show. They might include the director's cuts, deleted scenes, interviews, special features, and so on. You can make your selection in Title. The longest video is typically the movie. Unfortunately, if you're ripping a TV show, you will need to save each episode individually.

handbrake choose content

DVDs are also broken down into chapters and angles. Angles are traditionally used to provide different versions of the same scene, but on modern DVDs, they're generally deployed on international copies when dubbing and/or subtitles won't suffice (for example, in the scrolling text at the beginning of Star Wars).

Adjust the Chapters and Angles you want to retain in the associated drop-down boxes. You can change Chapters to Frames or Seconds if you'd prefer to use a different measurement for cutting your content.

Step 3: Pick Your Destination

handbrake location

Now you need to decide where you want Handbrake to save your file. If you're using Plex or Kodi, it makes sense to add the DVD to your existing video library, but you can save it anywhere you want.

You can also save to external sources, meaning you can add the video to an external hard drive or even a blank DVD.

Click Browse to choose your destination. Make sure you give the rip an appropriate name.

Step 4: Set the Quality

On the right-hand side of the screen, you will see several Presets. They correspond to the quality of your rip.

Not only does Handbrake offer several generic presets, but there are also device-specific presets. For example, you can choose to rip your video in a format appropriate for watching on a Chromecast with surround sound or on a Roku in 1080p definition.

dvd speed handbrake

Scroll down through the list to see what is available. Remember, the higher the quality, the larger the end file will be, and the longer the DVD will take to rip.

Step 5: Choose Your Audio and Subtitles

At the bottom of the window, you will see six tabs: Picture, Filters, Video, Audio, Subtitles, and Chapters.

Picture, Filters, Video will have been determined by the present you chose (though feel free to customize the settings further if you wish). However, it's worth spending a few minutes on the Audio and Subtitles tab.

Why? Because that's where you can choose which dubs and subtitles make it onto your rip. The fewer you include, the smaller your end file will be.

handbrake audio

In our example, you can see the original DVD had both English and Italian audio---but I don't need the Italian version.

handbrake subtitles

The subtitles tab lets you choose which subtitle files to copy and whether you want to burn them into the DVD itself or leave them as a standalone subtitle file.

Step 6: Rip Your DVD

Once you're happy with all your settings, click the Start Encode button at the top of the screen.

handbrake rip dvd

The ripping process could take quite a while, depending on the length of the video and the quality settings you selected.

Click Activity Log to monitor the progress.

handbrake log

Which App Do You Use?

In this article, we've shown you how to rip DVDs using Handbrake in six easy steps. But Handbrake is not the only way to achieve the desired result. If you'd rather stick with your DVD collection, check out this list of the best region-free players for DVD or Blu-ray discs.

And remember, if you have a huge collection of DVDs and don't fancy spending days ripping them all, you can often head to a professional video equipment shop, and they will give you a bulk price quote and do all the hard work for you.