Software that lets you copy your DVDs into digital files is nothing new. In fact, this software has generally been available in one form or another ever since DVDs first hit the market. There are actually tons of programs now that can provide this basic functionality. However, how well they work can greatly differ, which can affect the quality of the DVD copies as well as many other factors. At the heart of all of this software, though, are many of the same basic technologies, meaning that most of the software tends to work in a very similar way.
Before going into specifics about DVD ripping software, it would be helpful to know a bit about how DVDs work, in order to help you understand the process of copying them. Those who are old enough to remember VHS tapes will probably remember that copying a VHS tape was a relatively straightforward process that usually involved connecting two different VHS players together. One VHS player was used to play the tape, while the other was used to record the playback from the tape. All it needed to do was play through from beginning to end while the other VCR recorded it, and you had an extra copy of your favorite movie ready. Recording video from TV was even more simple, as it only required one recorder.
Due to the fact that VHS to DVD converters exist, some people tend to think that copying DVDs may be similar, but nothing could be further from the truth. DVDs work in a very different manner than VHS did. Whereas VHS used magnetic tape to record an analog signal that was then converted into a video image, DVDs are purely digital. This means that all of the data stored on a DVD is in digital format, just like all of the data on your computer or mobile device.
What makes DVDs much harder to copy are two main things. First, the video on a DVD requires a “codec” (short for “coder-decoder”) in order to play. A codec is either software or hardware that decodes compressed data and then turns it into data that can be played. DVD players usually have the codecs built into the hardware of the device, whereas computers require special codec software in order to play the DVD. Separate codecs are used for the DVD’s audio and video data, mainly the MPEG-2 codec for video and AC-3 for audio. Many computers that come with DVD drives usually have the proper codecs installed on the computer, which allow you to easily play the disc. However, there is something else that makes copying DVDs difficult.
Most commercial DVDs use a form of encryption to prevent unauthorized copying of the audio and video data on the disc. If you are not sure what encryption is, it is a method of changing the audio and video data into something that can’t be played by normal video players, and it requires decryption hardware or software in order to play. DVD players generally have the encryption tools built-in to the hardware, and computers use software to achieve the same effect. The method of the encryption protection used means that you can’t just simply copy the encrypted data and play it through DVD player software, so it is necessary to decrypt the content before it can even be copied.
In order to rip movies from DVD so that it can be played from a computer or mobile device requires the use of DVD copying software that is able to extract video from DVD discs, process the compressed audio and video data, and then write it back into a similar format onto your computer. Only then can you play this content on a computer or mobile device. Most DVD ripping software helps to make this process quite easy by automatically performing all of the steps required in order to get the audio and video data from the DVD onto your computer’s hard drive. There have been many types of software to copy DVD titles that have been released over the years, and they all tend to vary in many different ways. However, there have been few of these that anyone has ever considered to be ideal, as almost all of them have some type of flaw that detracts from the experience. This makes finding the best DVD ripping software quite hard, and most people don’t even know where to begin to look.
If you have been searching for the best DVD ripping software and haven’t been able to find any success in this venture, then consider your search to be over. The WinX DVD Ripper Platinum software has been the top-rated DVD copying software for some time now, and it brings with it years of development in utilizing the best DVD copying technology to give you the capability to import DVD titles into a digital format to be quick and easy.
This software is available for both Windows and macOS operating systems, letting those with either PCs or Macs to equally share in the advanced DVD copying technology that this software has to offer. As such, it contains a very easy-to-use interface that helps walk even newcomers through the process of copying their DVDs. Along with its ease of use, it offers three distinct advantages over most other DVD copying applications that all help set it apart from the rest of the competition. These three distinct advantages all deserve a closer look in order to show you how this application can work wonders for helping you convert your DVD collection into a portable digital format.
As mentioned before, standard commercial DVDs use the MPEG-2 video format. Although this format has certainly had its advantages over the years, it now tends to lag behind many much newer formats that offer much better video quality while keeping the size of the video files to a minimum. This software supports many of the best and most common video formats, including the following:
- MP4
- H.264
- AVI
- HEVC
- MPEG
- MOV
- M2TS
This selection of formats gives you a great deal of flexibility in how you can view your copied DVDs, such as the ability to convert DVD to MP4 for use with Apple iOS products such as the iPhone, iPad, iTunes, and Apple TV, along with formats for Android devices, Windows computers, and even video game consoles such as the PS4 and XBox One. Basically, by using this software you will have the ability to watch your DVD collection on virtually any device that you own.
In addition to the ability to copy your DVD’s video to almost any common video format, this software gives you the ability to easily copy DVD to computer by using one of the four unique copy modes that are included:
- Save DVD as an ISO image file
- Clone to a folder at a 1:1 data ratio
- Backup DVD for use on various game consoles and media centers
- Copy to a multi-track MPEG-2 file with all video, audio, and subtitles included
Each of these copy modes has its own distinct advantage to using it. For instance, cloning your DVD to an ISO image file helps make it easy not only to create backup DVDs of the title, but you can also use special software to play the ISO file on your computer as if it were a physical disc. Likewise, copying to a multi-track MPEG-2 file allows you to recreate the DVD as a file on your computer that can be played while preserving the quality of the video along with all of the aspects of the physical DVD, such as the different tracks along with any special audio tracks as some DVDs include. As you can see, these copy modes help add to the flexibility of what you can do with your copied DVDs.
The third main advantage of using the WinX DVD Ripper Platinum software is that it is blazingly fast with copying your DVDs. Anyone who has copied DVDs in the past knows how slow this process can be, with some DVDs taking many hours to copy. With this software, though, you can convert a DVD in about 5 minutes. This software accomplishes this by utilizing all of the hardware on your computer to help speed up the process, including using your video card, multiple processor cores, and hyperthreading. All of this hardware can work together with the software to make the process of copying DVDs faster than it has ever been before.
Along with the three main advantages listed above, there are many other features of this software that all help make it the best DVD copying software around. These features include the ability to edit converted DVD video by cropping or even merging separate videos, adding subtitles, and even support for all kinds of DVDs, including homemade DVDs or even discs that have scratches that affect the playback of the DVD on an actual DVD player. In short, all of the special features of this software work together to make this the most fully featured DVD copying software around.
After reading through all of the information that we have gathered here, you can see that DVDs are actually pretty complicated technology, and that copying one is not as straightforward as one would think. However, by using the WinX DVD Ripping Platinum software, you will now have the ability to quickly and easily back up your entire DVD collection, letting you view your favorite movies and TV shows in virtually any manner that you desire. If you are still unsure about using this software, then download the free trial and give it a try. We promise you won’t be disappointed!