How to Rip DVDs to MKV Losslessly with Original Menus, Subtitles...

Donna Peng

Updated on

When a DVD owner converts a disc to a digital format, he may want to keep all the content of the DVD if possible. MKV is the format that will contain all the video, audio, subtitle tracks, chapters, and menus of a DVD without quality loss. And MKV can provide better compatibility than some other formats like ISO image or DVD VIDEO_TS folder. But you may don't want to transcode a DVD to MKV and lose some video quality. You may just want to extract the DVD video to MKV format, untouched. In this post, we will show you the right way to rip DVD to MKV without re-encoding.

Easily Rip DVDs to MKV without Quality Loss

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum - easily rip DVD to MKV, ISO image, MPG, and Video_TS folder in 1:1 quality. It's able to remove region codes, CSS, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-Project, and other copy protections on the DVD and extract the MKV video from DVDs with all subtitles, menus, video, audio, and chapters without re-encoding. Convert a DVD to MKV in 5 minutes only!
Note: You can also rip copy-protected DVDs to MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, 3GP, FLV, and 350+ video formats and device profiles.

2024 Best Ways to Freely Rip DVDs to MKV on Windows 10/11 & Mac

Pros Cons More Info
WinX DVD Ripper Best overall. It's able to rip any type of copy-protected DVDs losslessly to MKV and 350+ other formats. Fast speed. The MKV output is available in its Mac version only.
MakeMKV Free to extract protected DVDs to MKV files losslessly with all subtitles, menus, chapters, audio, etc. The output MKV is very large in size.
Handbrake Free to rip unprotected DVDs to MKV and MP4. A lot of settings and filters to customize the output MKV files. It doesn't support protected DVDs and the output formats are very limited.
VLC Media Player Easily rip unprotected DVDs to MKV on Windows and Mac. It doesn't support protected DVDs and the options to adjust the settings are limited.
Movavi Video Converter Rip unprotected DVDs to MKV and various other formats with fast speed. It can't rip protected DVDs to MKV.

Part 1. Reasons for Ripping DVD to MKV

1. Ripping DVD will Remove DVD Copy Protections

Similar to Blu-ray, DVD disc is also equipped with a variety of protections to prevent DVD content from illegal use. The most popular encryption techs include CSS encryption, Sony ARccOS encryption, RCE Region protection, Disney X-project DRM, region code etc. DVD rippers can bypass DVD copy protections and deliver a DRM-free file. But sometimes you may encounter errors while working with DVD ripping freeware like MakeMKV, HandBrake and Freemake Video Converter.

2. DVD to MKV Backup can Reserves All DVD Content

If you have ever encoded DVD movies into MP4, AVI, or MPEG format, and been slightly frustrated with the loss of DVD extra elements, then you can switch to MKV as the DVD backup format. MKV is able to contain all detailed chapter information, sub-chapters, titles, multiple audio and video streams, subtitles, attachments and custom metadata.

3. MKV Container Is as Universal as MP4 with High Quality

Since MKV supports any type of video/audio tracks and subtitles inside, and is quite efficient for storage and streaming, it's widely used on video transmitting. Usually, common DVD rippers can help rip a 4-8 GB DVD movie to a digital file in hundreds of MB, but you will get much quality loss. Only some seasoned DVD to MKV backup tools balance well on video file size and DVD ripping speed.

Part 2. How to Convert DVDs to MKV Losslessly with WinX DVD Ripper

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is the best DVD to MKV converter for Mac. Check more features below.

  • Convert DVD to MKV video, ISO image, MPG, and Video_TS folder with original quality; Convert DVD to H.264, H.265, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, FLV, and 350+ output profiles;
  • Rip protected DVDs to MKV without problem as it supports almost all encryptions on DVDs, incl. Region Codes, CSS, RCE, Disney X-project DRM, etc.;
  • Flexibily select the subtitle/audio tracks, add subtitles, crop, trim, and edit the MKV video;
  • There is a Safe Mode to ensure smooth DVD to MKV conversion without errors.

After downloading and installing the DVD to MKV ripper, follow the steps below to rip DVD to MKV on Mac.

Step 1. Add the Source DVD

Insert the DVD to the DVD drive. Run the DVD to MKV converter and click "Disc". When choosing the source DVD to add, you'll find "Auto Detect" option ticked under DVD Disc File System Type, don't alter the default setting unless you know them well.

Tips: It also supports importing DVD folder and ISO image files for converting to MKV format.

Convert DVD to MP4 Windows 10/11 with WMP alternative

Step 2. Choose MKV as Target Format

After the DVD content is fully imported, the ripper will bypass copy protection and right check main title automatically. What you need to do is to define target format: Output Profile -> DVD Backup -> Backup full title to MKV. As the interface shows, it will back up all videos, audios and subtitles.

Rip DVD to MKV without losing quality

Step 3. Edit the MKV video (optional)

Click the Edit button, and then you'll be able to trim, crop, expand, and add external subtitle. For example, if the subtitles in the language you want is missing, you can click Subtitle> Enable subtitle > External subtitle file > "Add" to add an external .srt file to DVD video.

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum - Edit

Step 4. Start DVD to MKV Ripping

If you do not have other advanced and personalized settings, just hit "RUN" to beging DVD to MKV ripping. To ensure a stable DVD to MKV ripping process with no error, you're suggested to choose "Safe Mode".

Sick of too Many Words? Watch YouTube Video Tutorial to Rip DVD to MKV

Disclaimer: Digiarty Software does not advocate ripping commercial DVDs for any illegal purpose. You're suggested to refer to the DVD copyright laws in your country before doing so.

Part 3. How to Rip DVD to MKV with MakeMKV

MakeMKV is the first choice of many users when it comes to extracting MKV from a DVD without quality loss. This tool is specially designed to convert Blu-ray and DVD disc to MKV format. It will rip DVD to MKV with all video and audio tracks, chapters information, and all meta information. It works fast because it doesn't transcode video, just extract. More importantly, it's able to remove copy protections from DVD and Blu-ray discs, so that it's the best solution to free rip protected DVDs to MKV losslessly.

The disadvantage is that it will export a super large MKV file. An lossless MKV file from a DVD will take about 4-8 GB. So make sure the hard drive on your computer has enough free space.

Now let's download MakeMKV and learn how to convert DVD to MKV with MakeMKV.

Step 1. Insert target DVD into your DVD drive. Launch MakeMKV and click the DVD to hard drive button to import the DVD.

Extract DVD to MKV with MakeMKV

Step 2. Select the titles, audios, and subtitles you want to preserve.

Rip DVD to MKV with MakeMKV

Step 3. Specify an output folder to store the resulting MKV file.

Step 4. Hit Make MKV button to begin ripping DVD to MKV.

While ripping DVD with MakeMKV, you may encounter errors like DVD failed to open, backup option greyed out for DVD, A/V out of sync, crashes, missing beginning, etc. This is because MakeMKV doesn't support some copy protections. In this case, you can give WinX DVD Ripper a try. Among all the DVD rippers, WinX DVD Ripper is the strongest one to decrypt DVD.

Part 4. How to Rip DVD to MKV with HandBrake

HandBrake is one of the most puplar choices to free convert DVD to MKV and MP4 on Windows and Mac. It supports DVDs, Blu-rays, ISO images, Video_TS folder, and various video files. You can use Handbrake to rip DVDs to MKV in HEVC, H.264, MPEG-4, and VP8/9. It provides stable ripping performance and there are a lot of settings that help you adjust the output. There are also hardware encoder for MKV outputs that can deliver fast ripping speed.

However, HandBrake can't handle copy-protected DVDs on its own. You need a third-party tool called libdvdcss for Handbrake to recognize encrypted discs.

First of all, let's learn how to download and install libdvdcss for Handbrake:

  • Go the VideoLan official site and download the latest libdvdcss.
  • After the libdvdcss-2.dll is downloaded, copy and paste it to the Handbrake folder in "C:\Program Files\HandBrake". Then you can use Handbrake to rip protected DVDs to MKV. If you're still not clear with the download process, see how to install libdvdcss for Handbrake.
Rip DVD to MKV with HandBrake and libdvdcss

After you finish the installation of HandBrake and libdvdcss, you can follow the steps to rip DVD to MKV with HandBrake.

Step 1. Put target DVD to your optical drive. Open HandBrake and select your DVD. Then, HandBrake will scan DVD titles.

Step 2. Select the title and chapters you want to convert to MKV.

Rip DVD to MKV with HandBrake

Step 3. Click Preset > Matroska, and then choose a MKV format. You're commended to choose H.264 MKV 480p30 for NTSC DVD and H.264 MKV 576P25 for PAL DVD.

Step 4. Hit Start Encode button to begin ripping DVD to MKV. Note: HandBrake will decode the DVD and re-encode the video into MKV in H264, H265, or other codecs, during which quality loss will happen.

Part 5. How to Rip DVD to MKV with VLC

The famous media player VLC offers the ability to convert DVDs to MKV and various other formats. Some users may already have it on their computer. So there's a good chance that you don't need to get extra software to rip DVDs to MKV.

However, there are things you need to know when ripping DVDs to MKV using VLC. VLC doesn't support DVDs with copy protections, though it has no problem playing them. You don't have many options to control the outputp quality or settings. VLC is not the best DVD to MKV converting solution, but it will work if you have only a few of DVDs to rip.

Now let's learn how to rip DVDs to MKV usingi VLC?

Step 1. If you haven't already installed VLC Media Player, you can get it from VideoLan website. Then insert the source DVD into your computer's disc drive and open VLC.

Step 2. From the top menu bar, click Media and then choose Convert/Save. Then click on the Disc tab to select and load your DVD. Then you need to:

  • Check the "No disc menus" box to avoid VLC makeing mistakes with the DVD menus.
  • If you need to rip a protected DVD, here is a workaround. Play the DVD using a DVD player and mark down the correct DVD title. Then enter the DVD title and chapter in VLC under Starting Position. But this method doesn't work all the time.
VLC protected DVD to MKV

Step 3. Click the Convert/Save button and then you'll need to select the output profile. Open the Profile dropdown menu and check if there is an MKV profile. By default, VLC will choose to rip DVDs to "Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4)". If there is no MKV option, click the gear button next to it and under Encapsulation, choose MKV and save it.

Step 4. Choose an output destination folder and then click Start. VLC will then begin ripping DVDs to MKV.

Rip DVD to MKV with VLC

Part 6. How to Rip DVD to MKV with Movavi Video Converter

Movavi Video Converter is a versatile video converter which has the function to rip a DVD into MKV and various other formats. As a video converter, there are many tools to compress the video, adjust colors, insert effects, enhance the video quality, and more. You can rely on its reliable ripping performance. However, this DVD to MKV ripper doesn't support copy protections. And it you need to rip an unprotected DVD to MKV, there are many free alternatives.

Now let's learn how to rip DVDs to MKV usingi Movavi Video Converter?

Step 1. Download and install the DVD to MKV converter on Windows or Mac. Then insert the source DVD into your computer.

Step 2. Open the program and click the Add Media button in the upper left corner and select Open DVD.

Step 3. Open the Video tab at the bottom of the window and find the MKV category. Expand the list and choose one of the MKV presets.

Step 4. Click Convert to start ripping DVDs to MKV.

rip DVDs to MKV Movavi

In Conclusion

DVD to MKV converters play a valuable role in the digital transformation of physical media. These converters provide users with a convenient and efficient way to convert DVD content into the widely supported MKV format, preserving both video and audio quality. The flexibility offered by MKV, including support for multiple audio and subtitle tracks, makes it a popular choice for users looking to create digital backups or enjoy their DVD content on various devices. Let's select the best fit DVD to MKV converter and start converting DVD to MKV right now!

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