Blu-ray discs are a fantastic way to enjoy high-definition movies, but they can be cumbersome to manage and prone to damage over time. More importantly, Blu-ray discs often come with digital rights management protections that can limit your ability to enjoy your own movies on different devices. If you’re looking to back up your Blu-ray collection or convert your favorite movies into a more accessible digital format, finding the right Blu-ray ripper is essential.
However, not all rippers are created equal, and the choice of tool can depend on the type of Blu-ray discs you own, including those with various levels of copy protection. In this article, we’ll introduce 4 of the best free Blu-ray rippers with open-source tools and effective tools with free trials. Whether you’re dealing with standard, protected, or common Blu-rays, you’ll learn how to choose the right tool for your specific needs.
VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper – Rip Protected Blu-rays
What Makes it Stand Out:
- Over 300 formats, including MP4, MKV, AVI, and MP3.
- Easily removes the latest and common copy protections.
- Preserves original video and audio quality.
- Keep original subtitles and audio tracks.
- Simple interface with quick, easy ripping steps suitable for all users.
- Fast Blu-ray ripping.
VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is a must-have tool for anyone looking to digitize their Blu-ray collection, especially since most Blu-rays come with copy protections like AACS, BD+, and Cinavia. VideoByte excels at bypassing these protections, allowing you to rip both protected and unprotected discs with ease. Supporting over 300 output formats, it also ensures you can maintain original quality, while offering options to customize subtitles and audio tracks.
Though VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is a premium software, it offers a free trial so you can explore its powerful features before purchasing. Additionally, it includes basic editing tools, allowing you to trim, crop, and add effects to your videos, making it a comprehensive solution for managing your Blu-ray and DVD collections. If your Blu-rays are encrypted long commercial movies and TV shows, I recommend paying a little extra for its decryption capabilities and fast ripping speed.
Pricing:
A free trial to test the software before purchasing. Its premium plan at $84.95 with a 30-day money-back guarantee comes with lifetime access to full features, unlimited DVD and Blu-ray ripping, and more.
MakeMKV – Rip Some Blu-ray Movies
What Makes it Stand Out:
- Transforms Blu-ray discs into MKV files with a single click.
- Maintains all video and audio tracks without compression,
- Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Rips some of the common encrypted discs.
MakeMKV is a specialized tool designed to convert Blu-ray discs to the MKV format. It stands out for its straightforward functionality, appealing to users who prefer simplicity and efficiency.
However, the limitation of MakeMKV is that it can’t handle the latest copy protection, so it doesn’t work well with newer Blu-ray discs. Its focus on the MKV format might not satisfy users looking for more versatile format options. Additionally, its interface seems out of date and the ripping process is slow without hardware acceleration.
Pricing:
MakeMKV provides a full 30-day free trial with all features unlocked. After the trial, some features, particularly Blu-ray ripping, require $60 for a full license.
HandBrake – Work For Common Blu-rays
What Makes it Stand Out:
- Converts videos to MP4, MKV, and more, with preset options for different devices.
- No cost, regularly updated, and supported by a community of users.
- Offers extensive video and audio adjustment options.
- Allows for processing multiple videos at once.
HandBrake is a well-regarded open-source video transcoder that can also rip Blu-rays. It supports common output formats, including MP4 and MKV, and offers a wide range of presets for different devices, making it easy to convert your videos for specific platforms.
While it’s free and offers a wide range of customization options for video and audio settings, it has some limitations. HandBrake is not designed for protected Blu-rays, making it less effective for those discs. Additionally, its interface can be complex and daunting for beginners, leading to a steeper learning curve compared to more straightforward ripping tools.
Pricing: Free
VLC – Free but Limited
What Makes it Stand Out:
- No cost and supported by a large community.
- Rips Blu-rays and DVDs into digital formats.
- Available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
VLC Media Player, widely recognized for its ability to play virtually any video file, also includes functionality for ripping Blu-rays. This feature is a lesser-known side of VLC, and is a free but limited-featured option for those who wish to convert Blu-ray discs to digital format.
However, its limitations are significant when it comes to ripping. The process is often slow and can be frustratingly unreliable, with frequent crashes and a high failure rate, especially when handling large or complex files. Moreover, its interface is not optimized for ripping tasks, making the process cumbersome and unintuitive. It supports only a few output formats and is virtually incapable of handling copy-protected discs, which further limits its usefulness as a ripping tool.
Pricing: Free
Bottom Lines
In summary, this article introduced 4 free Blu-ray rippers to help you convert Blu-ray content to digital formats. When it comes to ripping Blu-rays, your choice of software should match your specific needs.
For ripping protected Blu-rays, VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is the top recommendation due to its robust decryption capabilities, while MakeMKV is a solid alternative but may struggle with some protections, where VideoByte excels. For common unprotected Blu-rays, HandBrake is a great choice, offering versatility and ease of use. Although VLC is often suggested for Blu-ray ripping, it’s slow, unreliable, and generally not recommended for this task.
Read More: What is the complete guide that you need to know about the concept of RASP-Runtime Application Self-Protection?
