How to Record DVD to Hard Drive

You can rip virtually any DVD, including DVDs of home movies.

Portable media devices allow users to watch and listen to their favorite media while on the go. You can't get the most out of your portable media player if you don't know how to transfer your DVDs to your hard drive. From there, you can send them to any other computer or portable storage device. With the help of a variety of freeware programs, you can record, or rip, the data from a DVD and transfer it to a hard drive.

Things You'll Need

• DVD
• DVD ripper freeware

Instructions

1. Insert the DVD you want to record into your computer's DVD drive.

2. Open the DVD ripper freeware of your choice.

3. Click on your DVD drive in the "Source" list.

4. Click on the "Chapters" field to select the chapters you want to record. Leave these fields blank if you want to record the entire DVD.

5. Click on the "Browse" button by the "Destination" field, and select the desired location for the ripped video file.

6. Click on your desired format for the finished file in the "Format" drop-down menu. The MP4 format works well for most applications.

7. Click the "Start" button to transfer the DVD data to your hard drive.

References

• Handbrake: Details
• CNET Downloads: Easy DVD Rip
• Ideal DVD Copy: How to Copy DVD to Hard Disk and Playback

Resources

• DVD Decrypter: Home