How to store your DVDs so they stay on your Mac

Do you travel a lot and wish you would have your whole DVD collection with you? Don't you just wish you could keep an extra copy of your favourite DVD on you computer? Or you just want to know how to rip a dvd?

To store a DVD on your computer you will need to first turn it into a video file (eg. avi, mpeg, mp4, wma etc). This process is commonly referred as a “DVD Rip”, “Ripping a DVD” or “Converting a DVD into a Video File”.

*Note: To avoid copyright infringements you should only copy your own personal DVDs and do not sell or share.

If you are like me and you own a Mac, I will show you how to do this yourself.

Express Tutorial:

    1. Download Handbrake to Rip your DVD.

    2. Install Handbrake.

    3. Install DVD and choose the source to Rip.

    4. Start the Rip

    5. Play your new video file in QuickTime or Itunes. I highly recommend that you download and use VLC for all video needs.

Detailed Tutorial:

For a Mac, I found that using Handbrake to rip a DVD over the years has really been reliable. The best part about Handbrake is that it is absolutely free! It has presets so you can play it on your computer, put it on your iPod or iPhone, or even your PS3.

Step 1: Download Handbrake.

Simply click this link http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php or paste it into the URL of your web browser (Safari or Firefox)

Click the link “For Mac OS X”. I suggest Intel 64bit for most Macs.

The Download Window will appear to show the progress of the Download.

Step 2: Installing Handbrake

Once Handbrake has finished downloading, a Finder window should pop up showing contents of the Download.

You need to Click and Drag the file to the Applications file. First click on the button on the very top right of the window to expand the directory to the left of the window.

Now Click and Drag Handbrake to “Applications”

Once file has finished copying, click “Applications”, find Handbrake and double-click to open the program. 

The following message should appear

Select open. 

You should have now successfully downloaded and installed Handbrake.

Step 3: Install DVD and choose it as the source for the Conversion.

Handbrake is now open and is waiting for you to choose your source to convert/rip.

Install the desired DVD, wait until it shows up under devices, click on the DVD, and then on “OPEN”.

It will take few seconds to load the DVD.

Step 4: Start the Rip.

Usually you can start the rip straight away without changing the settings.

*I’ll do an additional tutorial on customizing the settings, for now leave as it is.

All you need to do is click on the start icon located top left of the handbrake screen.

It will take a second for the encoding (ripping) to start. A progress bar will show up at the bottom of the window.

The time that it takes for the encoding to finish depends on your computer speed, length, and quality of the movie. For a feature film, it takes around 40 – 60 minutes for the encoding to finish on my Mac.

Step 5: Play your new video file.

The completed encoded video should now be on the desktop if you haven’t changed the settings.

It will be in a “.m4v” or “.mp4” format which is good for QuickTime and iTunes.

I highly recommend that you download VLC media player because it will play most video formats without having to download an extra plug-in or a codec. There will be another tutorial on VLC soon so keep an eye out.