"I've got several burned dvd's containing rare stuff that I'm trying to back up to my hard drive. One or two were easy, as they are single files, but several have 2 files, audio_TS and video_TS. Do I have to convert them to an avi before I can back them up in on my hard drive? Is there a free converter online I can use, or should I buy one? How do I save these once they've been converted? Many thanks."

Most DVD disc holders would copy DVD to hard drive or blank disc as backup. Due to the large demand of DVD backup, questions like "How to copy DVD to hard drive?" and "Why can't I copy DVD discs?" are frequently seen online. You can get satisfied answers and solutions in this post.

DVD Backup FAQs

  • 1. Is it legal to decrypt protected DVD discs or remove region code?
    The movie industry has every right to its intellectual property. However, when you purchase a DVD, you should be able to do whatever you want with what you've purchased, as long as you don't redistribute the material in an unauthorized way. That means you have the right to decrypt protected discs or remove disc regions upon DVD discs you've purchased. This post aims to offer you effective solutions to copy or/and convert protected DVD discs you've purchased, not encouraging you to decrypt DVD discs you rent or borrow. Meanwhile, decrypted DVD content is not encouraged for commercial or profitable purposes.
  • 2. How to see if my DVD disc is copy protected or not?
    If the disc is licensed, bought in an official shop, it is protected. If you get your DVD discs from other sources, there're also ways to tell whether it's protected or not: 1. Check the box of the disk to see whether the bow of the licensed DVD is qualitative, bright and firm or not. The disk itself should not be dirty or damaged. 2. Play back it on DVD player. The menu of a protected DVD is usually colorful and professionally-made. 3. Try to copy or convert it with non-decrypting DVD copy or converting apps. Protected DVD discs won't let you copy or convert.
  • 3. What about the DVD disc region code?
    Commercial DVDs are protected not only against duplication by CSS protection, but they have region codes embedded — codes that restrict where these DVD discs could be played back. You could change the DVD player region code to play back these region-coded DVD discs, but for only 5 times. To solve the DVD disc region code restriction, you get 2 choices: 1. Remove DVD disc region code with DVD decrypting apps. 2. Make use of 3rd-party DVD players that allows you to adjust DVD player region code unlimited, like Free Blu-ray Player.
  • 4. What should I need if I want to copy or convert protected DVD disc?
    Just find a DVD copy or converting app that has disc decrypting feature to help you bypass these DVD protections and remove the disc region code. There're a lot of DVD backup software apps that could help you do this, like DVD Copy, DVD Ripper, etc. Through decrypting, these apps make DVD backups unencrypted and region-free.
  • 5. How will the disc decryption go on?
    If you use above-mentioned DVD Copy and DVD Ripper for decrypting discs, the decryption would happen automatically, with no manual operation required.
  • 6. Can I just backup DVD main movie?
    Yes. Most DVD backup software offers "Main Movie" copy mode to let you copy DVD main movie for backup.
  • 7. Can I just copy certain DVD titles for backup?
    Yes. Currently, most DVD backup software allow you to select DVD backup mode, which offers accessibility for you to select only desired titles or chapters for backup.
  • 8. Can I select subtitles and audio tracks for DVD backup?
    Of course yes. As long as source DVD movies include subtitles and audio tracks, you're able to select desired ones for adding to the final DVD backups.
  • 9. Can I play DVD movies on my iPad tablet?
    Yes. You could make use of DVD Ripper or other DVD converting programs to convert DVD movies to video files and then play DVD movies on iPad tablet, iPhone, iPod, Android mobile phones and tablets, Microsoft devices, etc.

Backup DVD: Copy DVD to Hard Drive

Copying DVD to hard drive with DVD copy software is no doubt the best and most straightforward way to backup DVD to hard drive. DVD copy software would help you retain original quality video and audio onto computer hard drive. To backup DVD to hard drive with DVD copy software, you need to prepare the below things:

  • Computer with DVD drive;
  • Source DVD disc or movie folder;
  • DVD copy software;
  • Enough disk space and Internet connection

Use the best DVD copy software to copy DVD to hard drive

What is the best DVD copy software to copy DVD to hard drive without quality loss? This may exist in every DVD disc holder's mind, especially those who would like to backup DVD to hard drive. The standard might differ upon personal requirements. These standards might be applied: disc decrypting feature, quality lossless DVD copy on video and audio, wide OS and disc compatibility, high quality compression, application stability, ease of use, user friendliness, etc.

Leawo DVD Copy is highly recommended for backup DVD to hard drive. As professional DVD backup software, Leawo DVD Copy offers full-featured solution for quality-lossless DVD backup. It allows 1:1 disc to disc DVD backup, movie-only DVD backup, high quality DVD-9 to DVD-5 disc compression, DVD disc to ISO backup, and ISO to DVD disc backup, etc.

Why use Leawo DVD Copy?

1. Bypass any CSS-DVD discs and remove DVD disc region code for easier DVD backup.
2. Quality lossless 1:1 DVD duplication. Copy DVD movies to disc, folder or ISO freely.
3. 1click DVD copy to directly copy and burn ISO to DVD disc in one click.
4. Different copy modes available: Full Movie, Main Movie and Custom Mode.

How to Copy DVD to Hard Drive

  • Leawo Blu-ray Copy
  • Leawo Blu-ray Copy

    1:1 Blu-ray & DVD Backup
    Copy Blu-ray/DVD in 3 different copy modes
    Burn ISO image to Blu-ray/DVD disc with ease
    Retain subtitles and audio tracks at will
    6X higher copy speed
    Easy to use interface for both novices and veterans

Download and install Leawo DVD Copy on your computer (officially, it's named as Leawo Blu-ray Copy). With all above-mentioned things ready, follow the below guide to learn how to copy DVD to hard drive.

Step 1: Add source DVD movies: Insert DVD disc into disc drive. Click the "Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD" button to import source DVD movies from disc drive or DVD movie folder.
Step 2: Set copy mode: Set output disc type (DVD-9 or DVD-5) from the drop-down box of the bottom-left corner. Select a copy mode from Full Movie, Main Movie and Custom Mode.
Step 3: DVD backup settings: Click the big green "Copy" button. On the popup sidebar, set "Copy to", "Disc Label" and "Save to" option. Select Folder and/or ISO file under "Copy to" option.
Step 4: Start DVD backup: Click the bottom "Copy" button on the sidebar to start copying DVD to hard drive with Leawo DVD Copy.

DVD to Hard Drive Backup: Rip DVD to Hard Drive

Backup DVD to hard drive computer with professional DVD copy software brings direct DVD to hard drive backup, without changing DVD format, but this way requires great storage space to save the copied DVD movies. The even better option is actually to rip DVD to hard drive in different formats you need, like MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, etc. This solution has 2 obvious advantages: less storage required, and wide compatibility (you could play ripped DVD movies with various players or on different devices).

To rip DVD to hard drive, Leawo DVD Ripper (aka Leawo Blu-ray Ripper) is your best choice. It is a top-rated DVD to video converter program that could decrypt, rip and convert DVD to video and audio in 180+ formats like MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, FLV, etc. for nearly all existing media players and devices like iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod), Android phones and tablets, Windows phones, etc.

Why use Leawo DVD Ripper?

1. Advanced DVD disc protection removal feature: decrypt disc and remove region code.
2. Rip and convert DVD to video/audio in 180+ formats like MP4, AVI, MPEG, MOV, etc.

3. Play back DVD movies on almost all existing devices without any difficulty.

How to rip DVD to hard drive?

To begin with, you need to get well prepared. Check whether you’ve already got the below things before you start to rip DVD to hard drive.

  • Computer with DVD disc drive;
  • DVD ripping and converting software;
  • Source DVD disc or movie folder;
  • Internet connection.
  • Leawo DVD Ripper
  • Leawo DVD Ripper

    ☉ Decrypt and rip DVD discs with disc protection and region code
    ☉ Convert DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ HD/SD formats
    ☉ Convert DVD main movie to videos for space saving
    ☉ Convert 2D DVD movies to 3D movies with 6 different 3D effects
    ☉ Fast conversion with NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP and Intel Quick Sync acceleration technologies

If these things are prepared, just download and install Leawo DVD Ripper on your computer and then follow the below guidance to learn how to rip DVD to hard drive on your computer.

Step 1: Add Blu-ray Movies: Open Leawo DVD Ripper and click the "Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD" button to browse source DVD movie from disc drive or DVD folder. You could select what content to rip by choosing from “Full Movie”, “Main Movie” and “Custom Mode”.
Step 2: Set output format: Click the drop-down box before the big green "Convert" button and then select "Change" option to enter the "Profile" panel, where you could select a profile as output format. You could even reset selected profile's video and audio parameters.
Step 3: Convert DVD to hard drive videos: Click the big green "Convert" button and then set an output directory on the popup sidebar. After that, click the "Convert" button on the sidebar to start ripping DVD to hard drive videos.

Note:

  1. Choosing to rip DVD to hard drive means you get choice to play back DVD movies on various media players or portable devices. Thus, it’s strongly suggested you choose profile according to your media player or device.
  2. This DVD ripping software even allows you to create 3D movies out of common DVD movies and edit DVD movies before ripping to videos like trimming, adding watermark, adjust effect, etc.
  3. Mac users need to turn to Leawo DVD Ripper for Mac to rip and convert DVD to hard drive on Mac for DVD backup.

How to use Leawo DVD Ripper?

Here is a video guide on how to use Leawo DVD Ripper:

Free DVD Player to Play Back Copied DVD

It seems easy to play back copied DVD movies on computer or portable devices after reading the above 2 solutions. However, sometimes it is just the opposite. Microsoft has announced no support for DVD playback on Windows 8 Windows Media Player, while you need to download DVD Player on Mac to play back DVD movies on Mac. For copied or ripped DVD movies, you now get a better and free DVD Player to play back. That’s Leawo Free Blu-ray Player.

  • Leawo Blu-ray Player
  • Leawo Blu-ray Player

    Region-free Blu-ray player software to play Blu-ray disc and DVD disc for free, regardless of disc protection and region restriction.
    Play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc. without quality loss.
    Support the conversion from Blu-ray/DVD discs to MKV in the premium version.
    Deliver super high-quality stereo audio experience with the support of various advanced audio decoding technologies like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD (including 5.1, 7.1 channels), etc.

Why use Leawo Free Blu-ray Player?

1. Play DVD discs, DVD folders, DVD IFO and ISO files without quality loss.
2. Free ISO file player to play ISO files through drag-and-drop playback.
3. Play back ripped DVD movies in 180+ video formats of both HD and SD.
4. 1080P image, advanced audio support of Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

How to use Leawo Free Blu-ray Player?

Here is a video guide on how to use Leawo Free Blu-ray Player:

Conclusion

People may have requirements to clone DVD and backup DVD to hard drive videos out of various reasons. This article has extensively introduced mostly frequently asked FAQs about DVD backups and shared some views on that. Besides, in order to back up DVD to hard drive, we offer two common methods, one of which is to copy the entire disc to hard drive, and the other is to rip the disc to hard drive. By comparison, copying DVD to hard drive will require more space and ripping disc to hard drive will be more space-saving, depending on users’ requirements. Anyway, we have competitive apps recommended for each process, for example, Leawo DVD Copy and Leawo DVD Ripper. I do believe you will enjoy them a lot.

Last but not least, we would like to mention the perfect Blu-ray player for you. Leawo Blu-ray Player ranks top in the industry and it is 100% free. With absolutely high-quality playback, you will get the most out of this media player. Don’t you want to have a try!