What are Best Alternatives to HandBrake for Blu-ray and DVD Ripping

Last Updated: September 19th, 2022By Categories: Rip Blu-ray, Rip DVD

HandBrake is one of the most popular Blu-ray and DVD ripper to extract the original movies. But it does not always work, especially the copyright-protected discs. Just learn more about the reasons that the program fails to work, as well as the 5 best HandBrake alternatives from the article. You can choose the desired one according to your requirement.

Why HandBrake Fails to Rip Blu-ray and DVD?

When you need to extract the movies from homemade or unencrypted Blu-ray and DVDs for free, HandBrake is always the best choice. But it might not work for ripping Blu-ray and DVDs for the following reasons.

  1. An over-loaded CPU could stop HandBrake ripping Blur-ray and DVD. Just optimize the performance of your computer, or even wipe out some unwanted files to find whether the program works.
  2. The unsupported subtitles of the Blu-ray and DVD. You can disable the subtitle option to have another check. If you want to rip Blu-ray or DVD with subtitles, you can choose professional alternatives to HandBrake.
  3. DRM protection of the DVD and Blu-ray disc. HandBrake does not work with DVD with Disney X-project DRM, CSS encryption, ARccOS, region code, RCE, UOP, and other DVD encryption technologies.
  4. The corrupted or damaged disc is another reason you should know. It may fail when your Blu-ray or DVD is scratched on the surface. The damaged or corrupted IFO files may also lead to the error.

5 Best HandBrake Alternatives to Rip Blu-ray and DVD

#1 Leawo Blu-ray Ripper

Leawo Prof. Media Ultra is a versatile HandBrake alternative to rip Blu-ray and DVD. It enables you to download, convert, copy, burn, play, and edit the media files with 6X fast speed. It can convert the Blu-ray and DVD to more than 180 file formats. You can also backup and copy the Blu-ray and DVD in 1:1 original quality.

  1. Decrypt the DRM protection of the Blu-ray and DVD content with ease.
  2. Provide hardware acceleration to fast convert the Blu-ray and DVD.
  3. Convert the Blu-ray/DVD to more than 180 file formats with original quality.
  4. Edit the video files, trim the desired part, merge different videos and more.

Step 1: Download and install this HandBrake alternative, you can launch the program on your computer and click the Convert menu on the user interface. Then click the Add Blu-ray/DVD button to import the source file, including Blu-ray/DVD disc, folder, or ISO files.

Step 2: Choose the desired ripping mode, such as the Custom Mode option to get the desired titles for the movies. Click the OK button to start importing source files. Then you can preview the movies, select the subtitles and the audio tracks according to your requirement.

Step 3: Then you can choose the desired video format from the Profile panel, such as the MP4 format under the Format tab. Moreover, you can also tweak the different parameters, such as the frame rate, aspect ratio, channel, and even the sample rate for the output file.

Step 4: After that, you can choose the destination folder for the output video. Once you click the Convert button at the bottom of the sidebar, the HandBrake alternative will convert Blu-ray and DVD to the desired video files. Then you can transfer to another device.

#2 MakeMKV

MakeMKV is the HandBrake alternative that enables you to extract the lossless video files from Blu-ray and DVD with the original quality. Moreover, you can also remove the region code, AACS, and BD+ encryption. It can backup and save the movie collections within clicks.

Pros:

  1. Convert the Blu-ray and DVD files free of charge without a watermark.
  2. Process the conversion as HandBrake without recoding in a fast speed.
  3. Enable you to remove the DRM protection for Blu-ray and DVD files.
  4. Available for multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Cons:

  1. The output source is limited to MKV only and always in large size.
  2. Customization of the video or audio codec cannot be achieved.

Alternative to Handbrake - MakeMKV

#3 Format Factory

Format Factory is another alternative to HandBrake for ripping DVDs and converting media. The open-source DVD ripper only enables you to convert the homemade DVDs and compress any video file or DVD to several video formats. Moreover, it can also convert image files.

Pros:

  1. Convert the DVD files and videos within a batch process rapidly.
  2. Enable you to rip CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray disc with original quality.
  3. Provide multiple editing features, like file mixing and joining utilities.
  4. Add watermark, AV Mux, or tag lines with the desired font and sizes.

Cons:

  1. Installer includes potentially unwanted programs that are no security.
  2. It only works with DVDs and Blu-ray discs without DRM protection.

Alternative to Handbrake - Format Factory

#4 FFmpeg

FFmpeg is an open-source project that develops libraries and programs for handling multimedia data. It supports the most obscure ancient formats up to the cutting edge. FFmpeg should be a professional alternative to HandBrake for ripping Blu-ray and DVD titles.

Pros:

  1. Cross-platform solution to record, convert and stream audio and video.
  2. Provide advanced functions with great flexibility and streaming support.
  3. Use the command line to tweak the frame rate, sample rate, and more.
  4. Automate the conversion in conjunction with PHP, Perl, and Python.

Cons:

  1. It should be difficult to handle the converting and ripping for beginners.
  2. Difficult to ensure the bitrate consistency across a set of files.

Alternative to Handbrake - FFmpeg

#5 Freemake Video Converter

Just as the name indicated, Freemake Video Converter is a versatile video converter. It also provides a free Blu-ray or DVD ripper and video converter as the alternative to HandBrake. You can extract the videos with the original files, such as the 1080P and 4K files.

Pros:

  1. Rip the DVD to video formats with or without subtitles in the original quality.
  2. Provide advanced editing features, such as cut, join, and rotate the clips.
  3. Encode converted clips to Flash FLV, SWF, or HTML5 media formats.
  4. Send the videos, DVDs, photos, and music files to YouTube directly.

Cons:

  1. Crashes may happen during the converting or ripping Blu-ray and DVD.
  2. Provide free Web Pack is requested to unlock all the advanced features.

Alternative to Handbrake - Freemake Video Converter

FAQs of HandBrake Alternative to Rip DVD/Blu-ray

No. HandBrake has made it very clear on its official introduction that it can only process the sources that do not contain any kind of copy protection. In other word, HandBrake cannot rip a copy protected DVD and Blu-ray disc by default.

Video Settings: Select MP4 file container, video codec is H.264, check Avg Bite rate (kbps), and input 1400.

Audio Settings: If possible, the audio codec is AAC when the mixdown is usually Dolby Pro Logic II, the sample rate is either Auto or 48, and bitrate is 160, try to always use higher settings and you won’t regret it later.

When you need to rip Blu-ray files or DVDs, you can learn more about HandBrake and the best alternatives to HandBrake to extract the files from the DVD and Blu-ray collections. Just choose the desired one and extract the movies from the Blu-ray and DVD with ease.

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