Blu-ray ripping refers to the process of extracting video/audio and other media files from a Blu-ray disc and converting them into a format for easier access. This process often requires specialized software that can bypass BD encryption and handle large video files (25GB to 50 GB or more). This guide aims to introduce several best ways to rip Blu-ray discs in high quality on Windows.
Depending on your purpose and preferred output results, you may rip your Blu-ray to PC in the following 3 ways:
For most users, converting Bu-ray to a popular video format is often the best solution, providing high-quality output with much smaller file size and max compatibility for easy playback on all devices.
Cisdem Video Converter is a one-click Blu-ray ripper software that allows you to extract video and audio files from Blu-ray disc, BDMV folder or ISO and convert them into common formats including MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, MP3 and more. It can shrink the Blu-ray by up to 90% while maintaining the full 1080p quality.
Key features:
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later
Step 1. Add Blu-ray source
Download Cisdem Video Converter, launch the software and switch to the second tab for disc ripping.
Insert a Blu-ray disc to the BD drive attached.
Drag and drop the the Blu-ray to the interface, or click the + icon at lower left corner and select folder. It will then start decrypting and loading all titles.
Step 2. Select video titles & audio/subtitle tracks
Select the video titles you need, such as the main movie only (uncheck unnecessary titles/chapters in the list) to save time and space. It also allows you to play content to see which is which.
For multi-lingual Blu-rays, select the audio and subtitle language you want to keep from drop-down lists.
Step 3. Set up the output format.
Click the Format icon to choose the ripping format and quality, such as “MP4 > Same as source”. Or click the “Convert all tasks to” button to set output format for all titles.
If you want to further adjust video or audio parameters, click the Settings button or the icon next to the format option to tweak advanced settings including codecs, framerate, resolution, quality (bitrate), etc.
Also, you can click the
icon to perform basic editing including trimming, cropping, adjusting video effects, adding external subtitles, etc.
Step 4. Start ripping
Specify the save location by clicking the “Save to” box. Then, click on the "Start" button to start ripping the Blu-ray on your computer. Check Merge option if you need to combine multiple titles into one file.
MP4 H.264, the default output setting of Cisdem, is more recommended due to best compatibility and faster encoding. H.265 (HEVC) is the next popular format that offers around 50% even smaller size than H.264, but it’s not compatible with native players like Windows Media Player.
Possible. Both HandBrake and VLC can rip and convert unprotected Blu-rays, but most legally purchased or rental Blu-rays are protected by encryption schemes such as AACS and BD+. A workaround is to install decryption files manually to get them to handle copy-protected Blu-rays. But the ripping speed is still very slow and there can be problems like audio and video out of sync. If interested, you may check detailed steps in these posts:
For data hoarders who don't care about saving disk space, MakeMKV is the a great Blu-ray ripper. It's a software free during Beta, used to rip DVD and Blu-ray movies to decrypted MKV files. Since the data is not compressed or converted, the output file size will be almost the same size as the original BD. Also, it doesn't allow you to preview the Blu-ray video or edit the titles.
If the Blu-ray video is in MPEG4 AVC codec, you should be able to open the file with Media Player and most modern players. For Blu-ray videos encoded in VC-1 or MPEG-2, you need a third party media player like VLC and Cisdem Video Player.
Ripping Blu-ray to an ISO image is to create a 1:1 backup of the disc, preserving not just the movie content, but also the full menus and extras. The Blu-ray ISO file size could be even larger than the original BD.
DVDFab HD Decrypter is our recommended tool for the task. It's the free mode of DVDFab, allowing you to rip Blu-ray disc (released more than one year ago) to ISO file in one click. Note that you still need to install the all-in-one DVDFab package, and most other ripping/burning features are paid options.
To play the backed up Blu-ray ISO with menus like a physical disc, you’ll need a professional Blu-ray player such as PowerDVD and PlayerFab, most are paid programs.
Ripping Blu-ray allows you to store Blu-rays on your computer and watch HD movies anytime, anywhere. Of the three ripping methods, the first one converts Blu-rays to more compatible formats with quite compact size, while the other two preserve the original video/audio data without conversion involved. There’s no significant difference in the terms of the output video quality, but the latter two may offer faster ripping speeds. Weigh the pros and cons of different rippers and choose the best one to rip your Blu-ray collection.
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.
