8 Workable Ways to Convert DVD to MP4 on Mac (Free & Paid)

How to rip DVD to MP4 with HandBrake

1. Put a DVD into the optical drive.
2. Free Download and Install HandBrake
3. Choose the target disc from the automatically drop-down window, and then choose “Attempt Scan Anyway” to analyze and import your DVD disc into HandBrake for ripping.
4. Choose “Title” and “Chapters”. Handbrake will automatically identify the longest title as the main title and choose it for ripping.
   
5. Select “Output Format” and adjust output settings.
6. Under “Summary” tab, choose “MP4” from the Format box, and adjust more output settings from other tabs.
   
7. Find a destination folder for the output video.
8. Before converting, if you want to extract other titles from the DVD, click “Add to Queue”. Then go to “Title” box to choose another title and repeat the above steps to add others one by one.
9. When done, click “Start (Queue)” to start to extract DVD to MP4 on Mac.

Rip copy-protected DVD to MP4 with Handbrake

HandBrake can't rip commercial DVDs out of the box - it doesn't have built-in CSS decryption. You can install the libdvdcss plugin to get around basic protection, but even then, newer or more complex DVDs may still fail. For those, a dedicated DVD ripper is usually more reliable.

Best Handbrake DVD to MP4 Settings

Though we can simple choose MP4 and start convert, the output will not so satisfactory. If you are unfamiliar with video codes, here is the best settings for convert DVD to MP4 with Handbrake, this will give you the best quality.
* Preset: Super HQ 480p30 Surround (for NTSC DVDs) or Super HQ 576p25 Surround (for PAL DVDs)
* Constant Quality (RF): 16-18
* Framerate: Same as source (or 30 for NTSC, 25 for PAL)
* Encoder Level: 3.1

More details: https://www.cisdem.com/resource/handbrake-dvd-to-mp4.html.

#3 DVDFab - Convert complex DVD to MP4 with advanced options

Compatibility: macOS 10.13+/Window 7 or above

DVDFab is a powerful DVD processor dedicated on handling DVD, Blu-ray and UHD discs with full features. However, the system can may get stuck sometimes when activated the editing interface. It has a very intuitive interface, easily allowing you to go to the DVD copy, ripper or converter interface based on personal purpose.

For ripping copy-protected DVDs, DVDFab handles most common encryptions and it supports GPU acceleration to help speed things up. Output options include MP4, MKV, and MP3. That said, it's on the expensive side, and the free trial only lets you rip 3 discs within 30 days, after that, you'll need to buy a license.

How to Convert Videos/DVDs/Blu-rays to MP4 with DVDFab

1. Put the optical disc into your DVD drive.
2. Open DVDFab on your Mac and add the DVD files, drag and drop the DVD file to it. It can only show you the main title. If you want other titles, hit on "Choose Other Titles" button to choose your wanted titles.
   
3. Choose the output format as MP4 and output quality on the video thumbnail.
4. If needed, click the other icons to edit the files through trimming, video effects, watermark, etc.
5. Finally, click “Start” to start the process of ripping DVD movies.
   

#4 WinX DVD Ripper Platinum - Fast DVD to MP4 Converter

Compatibility: OS X 10.6+/All version of Windows

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is one of the most popular DVD ripping software on the market focusing on handling DVDs, it is well-known because it supports most of the existing DVD encryption methods. If you have DVDs that are scratched or damaged, you can even try it with this software.

When it comes to ripping speed, it uses Level-3 hardware acceleration (Intel QSV, NVIDIA NVENC, AMD) to convert DVD to MP4 very quickly . It also offers basic editing features like trim, crop, rotate, volume control, and subtitle addition. However, it does not support Blu-ray ripping .

WinX prioritizes speed over maintaining the highest quality. If you just need a quick rip and quality isn't a big deal, it's a solid pick. But if you're backing up your DVDs and want the best quality possible, go with something else.

How to Convert DVD to MP4 with WinX DVD Ripper Platinum

1. Load your source DVD.
2. Open WinX DVD Ripper Platinum and click the DVD Disc like button to load the DVD movies. This app will automatically select the main title. You need to manually select others if you want.
   
3. Choose the output as MP4.
   
4. Set the destination of the output file and click “RUN” to start the DVD to MP4 conversion.
   

#5 MacX DVD Ripper Pro - Fast ripper for Mac only

Compatibility: OS X 10.6 or later/Windows 7 or later

MacX DVD Ripper is another decent DVD to MP4 converter for Mac. Besides MP4, it also digitalizes DVD disc to MOV, MKV, HEVC, H.264, Huawei, Air Playit, TV, PS4, and so forth. The most attractive feature is that the software supports unique hyper-threading, hardware acceleration, and multi-core CPU technology, which can maximally enhance the ripping speed.

Steps to Convert DVD to MP4 on Mac Using MacX DVD Ripper:

1. Load up the DVD, regardless of homemade or copy-protected DVD.
   
2. Choose MP4 format from the drop-down window.
   Note: it can only load the main title at first. If you want to convert other titles, you can manually choose them after you selected the format.
3. Check the box - “Intel/AMD/Nvidia” at the lower right to enable hardware acceleration.
4. Click "Browse" and go through the folders on Mac, and select one to save your final output MP4 files.
5. Hit “RUN” to begin DVD ripping.
   

#6 Wondershare Uniconverter - All-in-one DVD to MP4 converter for unencrypted discs

Compatibility: macOS 10.13 or later/ *Windows 7 and later

Wondershare Uniconverter is a full toolset for converting and burning DVDs, which can easily convert DVDs into MP4 or many other formats with rich customization features, such as add meta tags, trim file length, apply video effects/volume/speed, add watermark/subtitles etc. In addition, this tool also allows you to download online videos, compress media files, record screen, and more. Thanks for the simple and intuitive interface, people can master the App in a short time.

However, although Wondershare is a multipurpose tool with miscellaneous features, it doesn’t show ultimate performance in each field. And for ripping DVDs, it cannot deal with copy-protected DVDs.

How to Convert DVD to MP4 on Mac with Wondershare Uniconverter

1. Insert a DVD into the DVD drive.
2. launch Wondershare UniConverter and choose the “Converter” tab.
   
3. Click the "Add File/Folder" button to add DVD from your computer. Or directly drag-n-drop the DVD folder to the interface.
   
4. In the popped-up “Load DVD Files” dialogue, choose the “Main movies only” or “All movies” to load the DVD content.
5. In the output format, make sure MP4 as the output format. If needed, make other settings according to your needs.
   
6. If you care about video quality, be-sure to turn on “High Speed Conversion”
7. Click “Convert All” to start converting DVD to MP4.

#7 Movavi - Fast DVD to MP4 Converter for Mac

Compatibility: OS X 10.15 or later/Windows 7 or later

Movavi Video Converter is also a solid choice for DVD to MP4 conversion on Mac. It is specially made for converting video files, but it also support ripping DVD movies, though it don’t support copy-protected DVDs. It has an easy-to-use interface and supports converting DVD to MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, WMV, 3GP, and 17 other formats. It also offers diverse editing features, and permits people to change the file name at will.

However, the speed is an issue, which loads the DVD videos slowly. Plus, the free version printed its watermark on the converted digital file.

1. Open Movavi Video Converter. Click Add Media >>Add DVD >>“the inserted DVD name”.
   
2. At the bottom of the main interface you can set MP4 as output format, or make other settings.
   
3. Click the Convert button to start the converting process.
   

#8 VLC - Free but slow, only for emergencies

Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later/ All versions of Windows

VLC is enormously popular as a free multimedia player working on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has many hidden features, and one well know feature is that it can convert normal or low-class encrypted DVD files. As an assist function, it is understandable that you can only use it to export video. don’t expect any editing features or video options for controlling the DVD to MP4 converting process.

How to Convert DVD to MP4 on Mac with VLC

1. Insert a DVD disc into the DVD drive on Mac.
2. Open VLC, go to the top menu, choose File > Open disc.
3. Go to the Disc tab and select the inserted DVD disc, then click the “Disable DVD menus”.
   
4. Move to the bottom, tick out the “Stream output” box and then click “Settings” button.
5. On the popped-up window, choose a destination to save the file.
6. Choose "MPEG 4" as the encapsulation method, "h264" as the video codec, and "mp4a" as the audio codec. Click "OK".
   
5. Finally, click “Open” to start the conversion.

Can VLC rip copy-protected DVD to MP4?

Yes, VLC can convert some copy-protected DVDs for free, but it's safe to say it only works reliably on basic CSS encryption. For other protections like 99-title DVDs or region-locked discs, VLC will likely fail.

Can VLC Handle DVD with Multiple Episodes?

For DVD with multiple title, you can use VLC to play the video first and find the real title, then choose the title to convert.

*Note: there are unexpected issues with the process of ripping DVD to MP4 with VLC. If you want to figure out the corresponding solutions, welcome to read the article here: https://www.cisdem.com/resource/rip-a-dvd-with-vlc.html.

How to Convert a DVD to MP4 Online

Is it possible to convert DVD to MP4 online? There are many online site which state that they can convert DVD to MP4 online for free. We test some of the options and found that with online site you can’t load a DVD disc and convert it directly, what they can is that you need go to the VIDEO_TS folder and select the main movie in that DVD.

Online sites also have limit on file size, Zamzar only support files up to 50 mb, which is very limited for a DVD movies. also, the video converting time is very long. takes 3 hours for a very small home DVD.

How to rip DVD to MP4 with Zamzar
1. Visit https://www.zamzar.com/

2. Go to VIDEO_TS folder and find the main movie of that DVD. and add it to Zamzar
3. Choose MP4 as output format in the Convert To drop down list.
4. Click Convert Now to start the process.
5. Check the email when you see the done box.
6. Download the output video file.

FAQs

1. Is it legal to Convert DVD to MP4?

Generally, ripping DVD movies that have footages shot by yourself then it is perfectly legal.

If you want to ripping protected DVD to video formats like MP4, then it is illegal to circumvent DRM. But you do have to remove DRM from copy-protected DVDs to convert it. but it should not be a problem as long as you do it for personal use rather than selling copies. Title 17 of the U.S. State Code explicitly states that it is illegal to reproduce a copyrighted work.

2. Can iTunes Convert DVD to MP4?

The answer is no. iTunes doesn’t support DVD format, and only supports some popular video file formats like MP4, MOV.

3. Can iMovie Convert DVD to MP4?

No, DVD is not included in the iMovie supported video format list: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MJPEG, MP4, MOV, M4V, DV, HDV, AVCHD, XAVC, iFrame, ProRes, AIC, and HEVC. If you add DVD video to iMovie you will receive message like “Incompatible Video Format”.

4. Can QuickTime Convert DVD to MP4?

Many people know that we can use QuickTime to convert between video format, so they are wonder whether QuickTime can convert DVD to MP4. As a matter of fact, Currently, QuickTime Player does not support DVD file not to mention convert it.

5. How long does it take to rip a DVD to MP4?

There are many factors that influence how long it takes to rip DVD to MP4. Typically, ripping a standard DVD takes 15 to 40 minutes.
1. The size of the DVD.
2. The output quality you choose like bitrate, resolution, etc.
3. Computer hardware level.

6. Can I keep DVD menus and bonus features after ripping?

DVD converters only extract the titles, audio, subtitles without menus and bonus features. To fully preserve the DVD structure, including menus, you should create an ISO image or make an exact 1:1 backup by copying the VIDEO_TS folder.

Final Words

It's a good way to keep your movie collections by ripping them to a popular digital format like MP4. The above mentioned tools can help you convert DVD to MP4 on Mac. Handbrake, VLC and the online tool can only complete the most basic DVD converting tasks. The rest 6 professional DVD to MP4 converters have their own pros and cons. You can choose one based on your habits. But considering from user experience and ripping result, based on my testing, Cisdem VideoPaw will be the better one that possesses more stable operating environment and powerful performances.