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Best Format to Rip DVD for Quality, TV, Plex, or Others

"I am now digitizing the DVD collections. I want to rip my DVDs into a format so I could permanently keep a copy on the hard drive within reasonable storage constraints and at the same time having a format that would maintain a reasonable resolution when I would extract scenes for my home movie projects. So what is the best format to rip DVDs for archiving DVD home movies?"

When more DVD collectors are joining the club to turn physical movie libraries into digital files, there's a side subject that must always be broached: which is the best video format for archiving home DVD movies? Which is the best, MPEG2, ISO image, MKV, or MP4? The huge amount of video formats, codecs, and containers makes it confusing for users to select the right one. Some formats are best to rip DVD for Plex, NAS, etc. while some others are the best quality DVD rip formats... Different formats are designed for different purposes. If you don't know the best format to rip DVDs, this post will help you.

Rip DVDs to the Best Format for Plex, TV, Hard Drives, NAS(350+ Formats)

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum can easily convert a protected DVD to the best formats for the best quality, rip DVD for Plex/NAS/TV, for archiving home movies, and more:

  • Rip DVD to ISO, VIDEO_TS, or MPEG2 format for the best quality, audio tracks, subtitles/captions, and menus.
  • Rip DVD to the best formats for Plex, Synology, NAS, TV, PS4/5, Xbox, iPhone, iPad, Android, external hard drive, USB drive, YouTube, etc. It supports MP4, MKV, H.264/265, AVI, MOV, FLV, 3GP, 350+ formats. These DVD ripping formats will keep good output quality with much smaller file size.
  • Rip DVDs protected by region codes, CSS, RCE, Disney 99-title DRM, as well as homemade DVDs, old and even scratched DVDs.
  • Adjust bit rate, resolution, aspect ratio, trim video, merge titles, ad external subtitles, etc.
Free Download for Windows 7 or later
Free Download for Mac OS X 10.6 or later

Please DO NOT use WinX DVD Ripper to rip rental DVDs.
For Windows and Mac only. If you are a mobile user, please click here

Rip DVD to video formats

Best Formats to Rip DVDs Overall

Among various formats, several options are considered the best formats for ripping DVDs for general usage. If you're specifically interested in knowing the best formats for ripping DVDs for Plex, TV, hard drive, NAS, and other devices, check the following sections.

  • 1. H.264/AVC: H.264/AVC provides excellent video quality while maintaining a relatively small file size. This format is ideal for ripping DVDs if you prioritize compatibility across different devices and platforms. It ensures smooth playback and optimal viewing experience, making it a popular choice for digital conversion.
  • 2. H.265/HEVC: H.265/HEVC significantly reduces file sizes while preserving superior video quality. H.265/HEVC is particularly suitable if you wish to store a large collection of ripped DVDs on limited storage space, such as ripping DVDs for hard drives or cloud storage. However, note that not all devices may support this format, so ensure compatibility before choosing it.
  • 3. MPEG-4: MPEG-4 provides a balance between file size and video quality. It supports a wide range of devices, making it an excellent format for ripping DVDs. MPEG-4 is commonly used for streaming, online sharing, and playing videos on portable devices like smartphones and tablets.
  • 4. MKV: MKV can hold various video and audio compression formats. It is highly regarded for its flexibility and ability to preserve multiple video, audio, and subtitle tracks. MKV is the best format for DVD ripping if you want to retain all the original DVD content, including menus and special features. This format is also compatible with most media players and supports HD video playback.

Once you've chosen a format, you'll need to download a DVD ripper to rip the DVD to the format you need.

Part 1. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for Quality?

What is the best format for DVD rips? If you want to keep the original quality after converting a DVD to digital file, you can rip DVD to ISO, VIDEO_TS folder, or MPEG2. Now let's analyze the pros and cons of these formats to help you make the right choice.

1. Ripping DVD to ISO:

ISO image file is a single file that contains the entire content of the DVD, CD, or BD, including subtitles, extras, videos, audio, menus, etc. ISO image is an uncompressed and sector-by-sector copy of a disc. It's the best format to rip a DVD for archiving purposes with 1:1 quality & size. It can be played on most video players like VLC and easily allows users to burn it to another DVD with full quality. To build a digital library exactly same as DVD collections and play the movie as you're playing the disc, use ISO image. Note that the ISO image is large in size. 

Well, how to rip a DVD to ISO file?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, click DVD Backup and then choose Clone DVD to ISO Image.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD to ISO.

Check detailed guide on how to rip a DVD to ISO image >>

Best format to rip DVD for quality

2. Ripping DVD to VIDEO_TS folder:

Video_TS folder, same as ISO image, is also 1:1 DVD copy and can be burned back to DVD. But it's not a single file and contains all the DVD information with IFO, BUP, and VOB files. The  VOB files include the actual video and audio, subtitles, and menus; IFOs are information files or directions that the DVD player uses and the BUP files are backups of the IFO files. It's a format to archive a digital and playable DVD on the hard drive. You can also use VLC or something to play Video_TS folder on your computer.

Well, how to rip a DVD to VIDEO_TS folder?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, click DVD Backup and then choose Clone DVD to Folder.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD to VIDEO_TS folder.

Check detailed guide on how to copy DVD to VIDEO_TS folder >>

Video_TS

3. Ripping DVD to MPEG2:

MPEG2 is the video codec used in the DVD with linear PCM, AC-3 or DTS audio within the VOB wrapper. It's also the best video format for DVD conversion when you want the DVD only with original quality. This is because when you rip a DVD to MPEG-2(.mpg), you will have the full video, but lose any extras, including subtitles, hidden files, adverts, alternative audio formats, etc. 

Commercial discs store movies in the highly efficient MPEG-2 compression format. MPEG-2 images have four times the resolution of MPEG-1 images and can deliver both interlaced and progressive-scan content. Due to different frame rates and resolutions, DVDs is encoded in MPEG-2 in either NTSC or PAL standard. MPEG-2 is a lossy video compression method that is not as efficient as the H.264 or H.265, to reduce the overall size of the video data.

E.g.:

MPEG 2 (DVD quality) -> approx. 3.6 GB per hour of video.
H.264 (720P) -> approx. 1GB per hour of video.

Disc

Picture Standard

Format

Resolution

Frame Rate (FPS)

Video Bit-rate (Kbps)

Audio Bit-rate (Kbps)

DVD

NTSC

MPEG-2

720x480

29.97

6000

224

DVD

PAL

MPEG-2

720x576

25

6000

224

Note: Anyway, you should know that DVD format MPEG2 has quality loss when a disc is made. Therefore, you can't go lossy-to-lossless DVD conversion. But you can archive your home DVD movies on the hard drive without further quality loss by extracting the intact content from DVDs.

Well, how to convert a DVD to MPEG2?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, click DVD Backup and then choose Main Title Content Copy or Full Title Copy. The difference between them is that the first will copy DVD with selected audio/video tracks while the second will copy DVD with all audio/video tracks.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD to MPEG2.

4. Rip DVDs to MKV:

MKV is a good format for DVD ripping for its high output quality. It can store multiple video, audio, and subtitle tracks. It is capable of preserving the original quality of the DVD, including high-resolution video and lossless audio, and supports advanced features such as chapter markers, menus, and metadata.

Check detailed guide on how to copy DVD to a single MPEG2>>

Part 2. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for Hard Drive with Best Quality & Smallest Size

ISO image, Video_TS folder, MPEG2 all provide full DVD quality, but also very large size. For example, the ISO image file ripped from a DVD can also be as large as 4.7GB. Though hard drives are becoming cheaper these days, it's also important for owners of large DVD library to copy DVDs on hard drive in a format that well balances the size and quality.

What's the best format to rip DVD to an exteranl hard drive? You can mainly consider two formats: H.264 or H.265. But which to choose is based on your needs.

1. Ripping DVD to H.264:

H.264 supports up to 4K high-quality video with relatively small size. It's widely supported by modern mobile devices and other platforms. If you're ripping DVDs to a format for easier playback, H.264 is the way to go.

Well, how to convert a DVD to H.264?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, choose a preset with H.264 as the video codec. For example, you can click General Profiles and choose MP4 Video.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD. Once done, you'll get a .mp4 file encoded with H.264.

Rip DVD to H.264/MP4

2. Ripping DVD to H.265:

H.265 saves 50% space than H.264 with the same high quality. It's the ideal format for 4K and 8K videos - best format for BD disc rip for quality/space reasons. But H.265 is less common than H.264 and requires more system power to encode, transcode and decode. If you're interested, check details on how to rip DVD to HEVC/H.265.

Part 3. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for Plex?

Some people are ripping DVD for easier playback on TVs and other devices via Plex media server. Plex won't support VIDEO_TS, ISO image, BDMV or other DVD-type files, so users can't play DVD 1:1 on Plex. The formats supported by Plex include ASF, AVI, MOV, MP4, MEPGTS, TS, MKV, and WMV. You can rip a DVD to any of these formats. But if you have to ask which video format is the best to convert a DVD for Plex, we will recommend MKV.

MKV supports almost all the audio and video compression formats and offers a plethora of extra features like subtitles, menus, multiple video and audio tracks and chapters. It also has high quality and more future-proof compared to MP4. By the way, you can easily rip DVD for MKV format for Plex or other players using Handbrake and MakeMKV.

Check how to rip DVD for Plex>>

Part 4. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for Mobiles

Different devices support different formats. What's the best video format for archiving & playing DVD movies on phones & tablets? It depends.

* iDevices: MPEG-4 at 640 x 480 pixels and H.264 at up to 720p on most iPads, and up to 1080p on the iPad mini and iPad Air. You can use Apple's MPEG 4 video container format MOV or other H.264 formats for the DVD conversion.

* Android: the format supported by Android mobiles is H.264:

 

SD (Low quality)

SD (High quality)

HD (Not available on all devices)

Video codec

H.264 Baseline Profile

H.264 Baseline Profile

H.264 Baseline Profile

Video resolution

176 x 144 px

480 x 360 px

1280 x 720 px

Video frame rate

12 fps

30 fps

30 fps

Video bitrate

56 Kbps

500 Kbps

2 Mbps

Audio codec

AAC-LC

AAC-LC

AAC-LC

Audio channels

1 (mono)

2 (stereo)

2 (stereo)

Audio bitrate

24 Kbps

128 Kbps

192 Kbps

How to convert DVD to a format supported by mobiles?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer. This program has hundreds of output presets for mobile devices.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, choose a device preset or a format that your device supports. For example, you can click Apple Device, choose to iPhone Video, and then select iPhone 13.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD. Once done, you'll get a file perfectly compatible with your device.

Best format to rip DVD for iPhone

Part 5. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for TV

Some people want to rip DVD for playback on TV. So, what's the best format to choose? It depends on the brand and model of your TV. You should check the user guide for your TV and see what video file formats the TV is compatible with via USB flash drive or other digital sources. Most TVs support all the common formats, such as MP4.

How to rip DVD to TV format?

Step 1. Download WinX DVD Ripper and install it on your Windows or Mac computer. This program has output presets for Samsung TV, Sony TV, Panasonic TV, LG TV, and Apple TV.

Step 2. Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive and click the DVD Disc button on WinX DVD Ripper to open the DVD.

Step 3. On the Output Profile window, choose a TV preset or a format that your TV supports. For example, you can scroll down to TV Video and then choose Samsung TV Video.

Step 4. Click the RUN button to begin ripping DVD. Once done, you'll get a file that can play on your TV with good image and audio quality.

Best format to rip DVD for TV

You can convert DVDs to following formats of different TVs:

  • Samsung TV: avi, mkv, wmv, mp4, 3gp, mov, flv, vob, etc.
  • Sony TV: mpg, mp4, wmv, mts, etc.
  • LG TV: wmv, mp4, mov, 3gp, mkv, mts, vob, mpg, etc.
  • Panasonic TV: mp4, mkv, flv, 3gpp, ts, avchd

Part 6. What's the Best Format to Rip DVD for NAS

NAS is a storage device, so the best format to rip a DVD to a NAS depends on your specific needs and preferences. For example:

If you want a format to rip DVD to NAS with the best possible quality, you should rip your DVDs to a lossless format like MKV or FLAC. However, lossless formats are much larger than lossy formats, so they'll take up more space on your NAS.

If you're not sure what format to use, consider rip DVD to NAS in MP4. MP4 can be played on most devices, including computers, smartphones, and tablets. It's also a relatively small file size, so it won't take up too much space on your NAS.

If you're going to be watching your ripped DVDs on a mobile device, you'll need to choose a format that is supported by your device. Most mobile devices support MP4, but some also support MOV and WMV. You'll need to check the specifications of your device to see which formats are supported.

If you plan on editing your ripped DVDs, you'll need to choose a format that is compatible with your editing software. Most editing software supports MP4, MOV, and WMV. You'll need to check the specifications of your editing software to see which formats are supported.

Part 7. Best DVD Ripper to Archive DVD Movies in Any Format

There are different transcoding programs designed to rip DVDs to the best format you need. For example, MakeMKV will extract MKV video from DVD/BD "as is"with original quality and Handbrake will transcode DVDs to MP4/MKV. You can also find the functions in one program that allows you to archive DVDs in formats for quality, for Plex, for mobiles and any other purposes, just like WinX DVD Ripper Platinum.

The DVD ripper supports 350+ output profiles, allowing DVD rip to any format one may need. Specifically, it will rip DVD to the best formats for quality, namely, full DVD to ISO image/Video_ts folder, full/main DVD title to mpg to save 1:1 DVD copy on hard drive for archiving purpose; convert DVDs to MP4, H.265, H.264, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc. with 98% quality reserved; move DVDs for NAS, Plex, TVs, iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Huawei, game consoles, other platforms directly.

Extra bonus - it supports almost all DVD encryptions; its Level-3 Hardware Acceleration offers 5x faster DVD ripping speed.

Free download WinX DVD Ripper Platinum to rip DVD to the best format you need.

Please DO NOT use WinX DVD Ripper to rip rental DVDs.
For Windows and Mac only. If you are a mobile user, please click here

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

author - Donna Peng

Donna Peng

Donna Peng's fascination with multimedia began at an early age - shortly after she licked the physical disc and then she's been obsessed ever since. Her decade-long career at Digiarty after the graduation has seen her unmatched expertise in the field of DVD, digital video, software and anything related to home theatre. She is currently fascinated with photography.

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