Holding a DVD in hand and wondering how you can make the movie inside easier to watch and safer to preserve? Try converting it to an MP4 video onto your computer.

When A DVD-MP4 conversion is complete, you may watch the movie without relying on the disk. Furthermore, a DVD is so fragile that warp, scratch, smudge will make it unreadable, which is no big deal when the movie is perfectly converted and stored as an MP4 file. Transferring to a USB or external hard drive later sounds great too. Besides, you are available to transfer and watch the MP4 file on cellphones.

A DVD-TO-MP4 conversion is never a gordian knot, instead, with the right tools, you can finish converting your DVD to an MP4 video in just a few minutes. And based on the full suite of tests, we finally come out with a must-have list for the BEST DVD to MP4 converters as well as detailed steps. Check out the following content and choose one that fits you most to start the conversion right away.

1. Tipard Blu-ray Converter

The first recommended DVD to MP4 converter goes to the Tipard Blu-ray Converter, famous for its simplicity and efficiency in ripping and converting DVD. With this tool installed, you can easily convert your DVD into MP4 or other regular formats without the concerns of converting failure. Besides, depending on the screen that you’ll use for later viewing, you may decide the resolution and ratio of the output.

Features of Tipard Blu-ray Converter:

  • Converts/rips DVD/BD to multiple digital formats losslessly, MP4, AVI, WMV, MKV are all included.
  • Decrypts all DVDs, including copy-protected and commercial DVDs.
  • Very easy to operate.
  • Supports GPU acceleration that helps quicken the process for conversion.
Free Download:

How to convert DVD to MP4 with Tipard Blu-ray Converter?

Let’s see how to use this powerful tool to convert your DVD to MP4.

Step 1 Get ready to convert

Pop your DVD into your computer disk drive and launch this converter on your computer.

Step 2 Start to convert

On the interface, locate Ripper, then, click the Load DVD button and import the disk into the program.

Load DVD to Tipard Converter

Tip: Most DVDs are copy-protected and the Ripper feature can decrypt and convert the protected content.

Tipard Blu-ray Converter will read the DVD and list all the titles as well as clips.

Next, decide the movie that you plan to convert as well as the audio channel, subtitle, destination. And most importantly, set the output format as MP4.

Here, you’d better choose the Same as source option to convert the movie in lossless quality.

All properties are set, click Rip All to start. To accelerate the process, you may choose GPU Acceleration.

Convert DVD to MP4 with Tipard

Step 3 Locate the output

When the ripping is complete, the MP4 file will lie still on the target location. You may click the Open Output Folder button to have quick access.

2. Ashampoo (DVD Ripper feature)

As a universal DVD manager, Ashampoo enables users to rip, copy, convert, and create DVDs. As for DVD-to-MP4 conversion, Ashampoo is undoubtedly good at it since this great converter supports multiple output formats, MP4 included for sure, and loads of video editing effects as well as multiple custom configurations for the output.

Features:

  • Supports lossless conversion and 3D enhancement(2D DVD to 3D MP4).
  • Offers access to decide the frame rate, resolution, ratio, bit rate, size, and quality of the output as well as the encoder for the file production.

DVDFab DVD Converter

Downside:

  • The pricing is pretty high that it charges around $50 per year for the DVD Ripper/Converter service alone while most of its competitors charge a range from $15 to $30.
  • It offers video editing tools that require downloading an external package.

3. Leawo Prof. Media

Similar to Ashampoo, Leawo Prof. Media is another helpful DVD manager that enables users to copy, rip, convert, and create DVDs. With this powerful tool, you’re able to convert all DVDs as well as online videos(YouTube/Netflix) and local SD/HD videos to more than 180 formats for multiple screens like iPhone, iPad, Samsung phones, OnePlus, all the TVs and computers.

Also, it’s a highly flexible tool as well, maybe one of few that allows users to truly personalize the output videos by offering a whole set of practical video editing features. And surely, you’re available to set the profile parameters of the output too.

Features:

  • Offers multiple personalized choices for users.
  • 6 kinds of 3D technology are available to meet the need of watching 3Ds with different screens and glasses.
  • Provides more than 180 digital formats, MP4 included.
  • Converts (or we say download) online videos as MP4 files at your will.

Leawo Prof Media Rip Copy

Free Download:

4. Cyberlink Power2Go

Developed by the tech giant “Cyberlink”, the Power2Go is a very good example for DVD lovers and movie viewers to solve all kinds of DVD issues, such as converting the DVD to MP4 onto a computer or smartphone. Yes! If you hanker to watch the DVD movie on a phone, Power2Go is the perfect choice since it supports to export the MP4 videos directly to your Android device or iPhone as long as you connect one to your computer.

Besides, some people are asking how to protect a DVD from being copied or ripped, well, try Power2Go. Offering a DVD military-grade encryption service, your disk content will be secure.

And TrueTheater, the video enhancement technology developed by Cyberlink, enables users to maximumly improve the quality of the output.

Features:

  • Supports to copy, burn, create, encrypt, and convert all DVDs.
  • Offers TrueTheater Enhancements to improve the quality of the output MP4 video.
  • Detects smartphones and exports videos to one.

Downsides:

  • It charges a bit more than other fellow DVD converters.
  • Currently, only the Windows version is available (detects both Android and iOS models).
Free Download:

5. VLC

VLC, known as an open-source and popular media player to play videos and audios for most of the time, is equipped with a disk converting feature that allows its users to convert the DVD content to MP4 and a few more formats.

I guess most of us used or are currently using it, and if you have one on your computer, just use this as the DVD-to-MP4 converter.

Noted that VLC is not a professional DVD converter program, and relatively, its DVD converting feature is flawed. But still, it’s worth trying.

Features:

  • Open-source software, completely free to use and compatible with all OS.
  • Serves as a media player and a DVD-to-MP4 converter.
  • Compatible with all DVD formats and capable of decrypting all DVDs.

Drawback:

  • No access to decide most profile parameters except the format, audio, and subtitles.
  • Some may find it difficult to use.
  • Comes slowly to convert the files since it lacks hardware acceleration.

How to convert DVD to MP4 with VLC?

Now, let’s see how VLC can help users convert the DVD to MP4.

To get started, load up the DVD and launch VLC on your computer. Locate Media on VLC and choose Convert/Save, or more easily, press the default shortcut ‘Ctrl + R’ to activate the feature.

Next, on the Open Media window, go to the Disc tab. There, you may decide the audio and subtitles of the output. The value of ‘-1’ is the default parameter of the DVD content, change it into ‘0’ or others that you prefer.

VLC Convert DVD to MP4

Then, click the arrow of the Convert/Save option and choose Convert, or press the shortcut ‘Alt + O’ to open the Convert window.

On this new window, set the Profile as Video – H 264 + MP3 (MP4) to convert your DVD to an MP4 video file with MP3 audio.

Then, look down and find the Destination file, choose a location where you want to MP4 file be saved.

Convert DVD to MP4 with VLC

Click Start to initiate the DVD-to-MP4 conversion. When it’s complete, go to the target location and check your file.


6. Handbrake

And the last DVD-to-MP4 converter is the famous and open-source freewareHandbrake. A lot of professional DVD viewers and creators will take Handbrake as the only choice thank largely to its inclusiveness.

Designed to be open-source, some experienced DVD fans will download and install all kinds of plugins and packages into the program to make it more powerful than many charged apps.

Load DVD in Handbrake

But it takes knowledge, skills, and practice to finally upgrade it to an ultimate helper. And without those, Handbrake is one of the most user-unfriendly DVD converters since it can only read and convert those unprotected DVDs while most commercial DVDs we find in stores are protected. And don’t need to mention its complex interface and low success rate.

Features:

  • Open-source freeware for DVD copy, conversion, and ripping.
  • Allows users to install multiple plugins and decrypter packages.

Cons:

  • Very complex interface.
  • It cannot decrypt copy-protected DVDs originally.

Handbrake Reading:


Conclusion:

Above all the information of 6 best DVD-to-MP4 converters that will help you solve the DVD storage, viewing, or backup issue. Choose one that suits you best or you may check out my suggestions below.

  • For normal DVD fans, Tipard Blu-ray Converter will the optimal choice since it’s powerful and meanwhile, very easy to use, and cheap.
  • DVDFab and Leawo Prof. Media will fit those who are yearning for a perfect MP4 movie.
  • Power2Go is the must-have tool for people who are planning to watch the DVD content on mobile devices or those who are concerned about the security of the DVD content.
  • If you have the VLC installed already and only look for a simple conversion, try it.
  • A professional DVD viewer or creator looking for personalized freeware? Pick up Handbrake.

FAQs:

1. Is converting DVD to MP4 legal?

Any DVD backup, conversion, or ripping for personal use will be no crime at all. In other words, as long as you don’t profit from the MP4 output or won’t damage the benefits of the DVD publishers by uploading the movie online, your action is completely legal.

So, remember these: Don’t sell it and never upload it online.

2. How long does it take to convert DVD to MP4?

There’s no certain time for the process of converting DVD to MP4 since there’re incredibly multiple factors that can affect the speed.

Case in point:

  • Computer hardware: GPU, CPU, RAM.
  • DVD-to-MP4 converter: Professional, lightweightness, CPU usage, encoder.
  • Profile parameter: Format, bit rate, file size, etc.

These are all the factors that influence the process, but generally speaking, the time of converting a DVD movie to an MP4 file may rank from 5 minutes to half an hour.

3. Does ripping or converting a DVD ruin it?

No, it doesn’t.

You may consider the ripping as a special way of copy, and what differs from the regular copy is that during the process, the ripper or converter software will transform the movie into another format.

4. What is the difference between DVD ripping, converting, and copying?

First of all, DVD copying is to copy the content and burn to another blank disc.

And DVD ripping and converting both mean to transfer the DVD to a computer as regular video formats. And the difference between them is that DVD decryption is involved amid the process of ripping, and for DVD converting, no decryption.

Since many DVDs are copy-protected, ripping is to break through the protection first and then rip the content out of the disk into video files.