How to Rip DVD for Plex with the Best Settings Easily
6.8K
0
Summary: This article will go over how to rip DVD for Plex with the best DVD ripping software.
Plex Media Server is a digital media player as well as an organizational tool, which is available on multi-platforms like Mac, PC, Android, iOS, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, etc. It lets you store music, movies, shows, images, or other media in one place. But it's unable to read DVD file structure like DVD disc and Video_TS folder. If you want to play a DVD movie on Plex, you'd convert it to a digital media format and then upload it to Plex. What's the best way for ripping DVDs for Plex? Move on to learn more details.
Cisdem Video Converter
The Best DVD Ripper for Plex
- Rip DVD and Blu-ray for Plex with high quality
- Convert to MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, MP3, M4A, 4K video format, etc.
- Supports almost all mainstream input and output formats, DVD included
- Rip TV/movie, homemade, 99-title DVD
- Convert DRM protected DVD for personal use
- Crop the black bars, add effects, split or merge DVD videos, etc.
- Add watermarks, subtitles, and audio tracks to your DVD
- Edit videos and enhance their quality before uploading to Plex
- Select video resolution, bit rate, frame rate, encoder type, etc.
- Download videos and audio from 1000+ sites like YouTube
- Compatible with macOS and Windows computer
Free Download macOS 10.13 or later
Free Download Windows 10 or later
Best Format for Plex
Before ripping DVDs for Plex, Find out what formats Plex supports and what is the best format for Plex.
Video formats supported by Plex
| Container | Video Codec | Audio Codec |
|---|---|---|
| MP4 | H.264, H.265, vc1, wmv3, mpeg4, | aac, ac3, eac3, mp3 |
| MOV | H.264 | aac |
| AVI | mpeg4, msmpeg4, vc1, wmv3, etc. | aac, ac3, mp3 |
| MPEGTS, TS | H.264, mpeg2video | aac, ac3, mp2 |
| ASF | vc1, wmv2 | wmav2 |
| MKV | H.264, H.265, vp9, wmv3, mpeg4, etc. | aac, ac3, flac, mp3, etc. |
| WMV | wmv2, vc1 | wmav2 |
Audio formats supported by Plex: AAC, MP3, M4A, WAV, ALAC, FLAC, EAC3
Best video format for Plex
| General Video | 4K Video | |
|---|---|---|
| Container | MP4 | MP4 |
| Video Codec | H.264 | H.265 |
| Audio Codec | AAC | AAC |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 or lower | 3840×2160 or lower |
| Frame Rate | 30fps | 30fps |
| Bit Depth | 8 | 8 |
Best audio format for Plex: MP3, M4A
The Best Way to Rip DVD for Plex without Losing Quality
There are a plethora of apps to help rip DVD for Plex on Mac and Windows. The top-rated one should come with fast speed and high-quality output. Cisdem Video Converter is such an awesome program that does well in ripping DVDs for Plex.
It supports more than 300 output formats (video and audio formats). Many specific formats are provided for iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, Android, PS5, etc., which are in the best settings to avoid compatibility issues. Additional functions include Blu-ray ripping, batch conversion, video download, video editing, compressing and more. Anyway, this best DVD ripper for Plex is dedicated to look after all individual requirements of media files.
Download and install the free trial of Cisdem Video Converter to your computer, and start to use it.
Steps to Rip DVD for Plex Using Cisdem Video Converter:
Step 1. Load DVD videos
Put the optical disc into your DVD drive, and launch the best DVD ripper for Plex.
Directly drag DVD disc from your desktop to the interface of the software. All titles of the DVD videos will be loaded.

*Note: Cisdem Video Converter supports batch conversion, which means multiple titles can be processed simultaneously. You can uncheck unwanted titles before converting.
Step 2. Choose the best format for Plex
Click the "Convert all tasks to" button or the format icon to open the format selection panel.
- Go to the “Video > “MP4”> "Same as source" to get MP4- H.264 + AAC videos in original resolution.
- Choose the “Video > “HEVC MP4” to get MP4- H.265 + AAC videos.

H.265 encoded videos have a smaller size than H.264, while at the same quality.
Step 3. Adjust DVD rip settings for Plex (Optional)
If necessary, click the “gearwheel” and go ahead to configure the best rip settings for Plex.
For example, change frame rate to 30fps, bit rate to 320kbps, and more. But if you are not an experienced user, I don’t recommend you change the advanced options. The auto option will keep the original DVD parameters.
Step 4. Rip DVD for Plex on Mac or Windows
After you have DVD rip settings for Plex and destination configured, click the "Start" button at the bottom right corner to begin ripping DVDs for Plex.
For Windows users, WinX DVD Ripper is a dedicated option used to rip DVD for Plex. It can digital different types of DVDs and remove common protections like Region codes, CSS, RCE, etc. But it lacks some features when compared to Cisdem Video Converter, such as adding watermarks, modifying contrast and brightness, etc. The trial version has a 5 min-limitation.
Ripping DVDs for Plex via Open-source Software
No doubt Handbrake is a decent tool to rip DVD for Plex on Mac and Windows. It enables you to rip DVD to preset profiles for iPhone, Android, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, and WP8. With a wide range of custom options offered, you can change codecs, effects, chapter markers, filters, video dimensions, etc. You can’t rip copy-protected content unless you have the libdvdcss library installed.
Advantages:
- Free, no malware
- Available for multi-platforms
- Customize video and audio parameters
- Support tons input formats
- Batch converting
Disadvantages:
- Only rip DVD to MP4, MKV or WebM (limited output formats)
- Can’t merge DVD videos
- Take long time to process
- Need to install an extra decoder to cope with encrypted DVDs
- Only rip a single title at a time
Steps to Rip DVD for Plex Using Handbrake:
Step 1. Download and install Handbrake for free from its official website.
Step 2. Insert a DVD into the DVD drive on your computer.
Step 3. Open Handbrake, which will prompt you to select the source file.
On Mac: Choose the DVD drive > VIDEO-TS folder > “Open”. On Windows: Choose “Folder (Batch Scan) > VIDEO-TS folder.
Step 4. Click the “Title” drop-down menu to select a DVD title you intend to rip.
To rip multiple titles, you have to do the same work multiple times.
Step 5. Choose either MP4 or MKV as output format. Both of them work file for Plex.
Step 6. Name your output video and select a folder to save it.
Step 7. Click the “Start” button.

Ripping DVDs for Plex with 1:1 Ratio
MakeMKV, available on Mac and Windows, is a well-known program to rip DVD for Plex. Instead of compressing your DVD videos, it extracts the video stream from the DVD and stores it in an MKV file. That's why MakeMKV rips so fast. But it also leads to a large size of the output videos. If your movie DVD is 4 GB, the ripped one will take up 4GB too. It's merely a DVD ripping tool and can't perform video transcoding.
Advantages:
- Cross-platform support
- Rip protected DVD
- Fast ripping speed due to no re-encoding process
- Rip Blu-ray disc
- Keep high quality
Disadvantages:
- Thee only output format is MKV
- Not sure about the correct ripping title
- Retain large video size
- Can’t change the video & audio codec
- No preset profiles
Steps to Rip DVD for Plex Using MakeMKV:
Step 1. Install and launch MakeMKV on your computer.
Step 2. Put the DVD disk in the disk drive, and the software will auto load it.
Step 3. Click the “Open DVD Disc” button to analyze the disc.
Step 4. Select a title to rip. Although MakeMKV is able to identify the titles, it’s not always correct.
Step 5. Choose the location to store the output file and click “Make MKV”.

How to Upload Ripped DVD to Plex?
After you rip DVD for Plex, you can now add the digital files to Plex Media Service.
- Go to Plex.tv and sign up an account.
- Download and install Plex.
- Open Plex home page.
- Next to “Libraries”, click the “+” icon.
- Choose a type of media for this library, name it and select the language.
- Click “Browse for media folder”, and specify the content location.
- Click “Add Library”.

*Note: To stream videos on Plex, there are two apps you need to install. One is the server app running on computer to house your media files. Another one is the Plex media player app. You can download it for Mac, PC, iOS, Android, Roku, PlayStation, and other devices.
Conclusion
Have you had the full picture about ripping DVDs for Plex? Handbrake and MakeMTV are free to use. But they support a limited output format. The Handbrake degrades video quality, while MakeMTV generates large files. The best way to rip DVD for Plex is to install a paid and more professional program like Cisdem, which retains original DVD quality in a smaller size and supports other useful functions such as video editing, downloading, etc.
Copyright Disclaimer:
The above guide is intended to show what is technically possible for educational and personal use. Please note that ripping DVDs without legal ownership or permission may violate copyright laws in your country. Use this information at your own risk and never for illegal distribution.
Jenny is a technology editor who has been blogging since she was a student. Since joining Cisdem, she focuses on writing articles about video software and how-to guides. She loves exploring new tools and techniques.
Ryan Li is a senior developer at Cisdem. Since joining the company in 2017, he has led the development of Cisdem Video Converter and now serves as the editorial advisor for all articles related to Video Converter.