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Angelique's avatar
Angelique
Iron Contributor
Apr 22, 2025

Help: How to rip DVD on Mac? Is there a DVD ripper for mac that is compatible with the new system?

I recently found some old DVDs and wanted to back them up as digital files and save them on my computer. But I'm using Mac (M1 chip, macOS 14) now, and I found that there seems to be no particularly ...
DanielRobinson's avatar
DanielRobinson
Iron Contributor
Apr 22, 2025

I have tried this before. Here are some methods that do not require third-party tools. I have tested it on macOS and it is suitable for those who want to rip DVD on Mac but don't want to install anything randomly:

💡 Method 1: Use the "Image Capture" built into macOS to back up the entire DVD
Although it is not a DVD ripper for Mac in the strict sense, you can:

  1. Insert the DVD;
  2. Open "Disk Utility";
  3. Select the DVD and click "New Image" in the upper right corner to save it as .cdr;
  4. Change the .cdr suffix to .iso;
  5. Then this .iso file can be opened and played with QuickTime or VLLC, and can also be taken to other places for ripping.

(This is the first step to rip DVD on Mac. You can do it slowly with ISO)

 

💡 Method 2: Use dd command to copy the entire DVD from the terminal
This method is super primitive but effective:

bash
sudo dd if=/dev/disk2 of=~/Desktop/my_dvd_backup.iso bs=2048


Where /dev/disk2 is your DVD drive number, you can check it with diskutil list.

This method can completely copy the contents of the entire disk, and then manually extract the video.

It can also be regarded as one of the most hardcore DVD ripper for Mac.

 

💡 Method 3: Use QuickTime Player to record the screen to "intercept" DVD playback
It's not a real rip, but it's also useful:

  1. Play with a DVD player;
  2. Use QuickTime's "New Screen Recording" at the same time;
  3. Record a video and save it as mp4;
  4. Although the quality is not as good as direct extraction, it is better in that you don't need to install any software, and rip DVD on Mac is acceptable for temporary use.

In summary, although the function of DVD Ripper for Mac without third-party tools may not be so powerful, it can actually be easily rip DVD on Mac with the system's built-in tools + a little script, especially if you want to back up old movies, animations, etc., it is still quite practical.

If you want to automatically extract subtitles, chapters, etc., that's another story~

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