If you have a batch of DVD movies, how can you watch them with Windows Media Player? As DVD file is not supported by Windows Media Player, you cannot import DVD to Windows media player directly for playing. So, you have to convert DVD to a Windows Media Player (WMP) format such as Windows Media Video (WMV) that can be played on Windows Media Player.

Part 1: Best DVD to WMV Converter - Leawo DVD Ripper

To convert DVD to WMV, you need to get several things prepared. The very first thing is of course the source DVD disc. As the video converting work must be processed on computer, a computer with a DVD drive is necessary. And to convert DVD to WMV, we have to use a DVD to WMV converter.
In conclusion, to convert DVD to WMV, you need to prepare the following things:

  1. The source DVD disk;
  2. A computer with a DVD drive;
  3. A DVD to WMV converter

The first tool we would like to recommend is Leawo DVD Ripper. It is a robust and user-friendly application that deals specifically with removing copy protection, as well as converting DVD to WMV format with perfect output quality and high conversion speed. It can also extract a movie from a DVD and save it in a number of other different formats, like DVD to MP4, DVD to MOV, DVD to MKV, DVD to MP3, etc., which should be sufficient for most devices of your choice. You have options to select desired subtitles and audio tracks, edit DVD movies, merge multiple DVD movie files into one file, customize the output video and audio parameters, etc.

Download and install Leawo DVD Ripper on your computer and then follow the below steps to learn how to convert DVD movie to WMV file in detail below. The program has Mac OS version. Therefore, if you’re running on a Mac OS, please download Leawo DVD Ripper for Mac to rip and convert DVD movie to video/audio files on Mac as you need.

  • 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

Note: Leawo DVD Ripper is a module built-in Leawo Prof. Media.

Step 1: Add source DVD movie

Kick off Leawo Prof. Media and then enter the “Convert” module. You could see “Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD” option there, by clicking which you could load either DVD disc from disc drive or DVD folder/ISO image file from your computer hard drive for converting.

Note: Leawo DVD Ripper offers 3 different content loading modes. The Full Movie mode loads all source DVD content, Main Movie mode by default loads the longest title (generally the main movie) but allows you to switch to another title for loading, while Custom Mode enables you to select desired DVD title(s) for loading. Choose the one you like.

Step 2. Choose output format

Click the button next to the “Add Photo” button, named “MP4 Video” by default. On the popup menu, click the “Change” option to enter the Profile panel, where you need to select WMV Video from “Format > Common Video” group as output format.

If you need, you could adjust the parameters of the selected profile to meet your devices more. To do this, click the “Edit” button to enter the Profile Settings panel, where you could adjust video codec, bit rate, aspect ratio, frame rate, etc.

Step 3. Set output directory

Click the green icon “Convert” at the top right corner of the main menu. And then on the sidebar, set an output directory in the “Save to” box.

After that, click the bottom “Convert” button on the sidebar to start ripping and converting your own DVD disc to WMV video file. You then only need to wait for the conversion to complete. It won’t take you long to get the WMV files.

With Leawo DVD Ripper, you could not only convert DVD movies to video and extract audio off DVD movies, but also edit DVD movies like trimming DVD length, cropping DVD size, adding image or text watermark, applying 3D movie effect, etc.

Part 2: Convert DVD to WMV with VLC

In this section I'm going to show you how to rip DVD to WMV with the open source cross-platform VLC Media Player. This free program is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X, and most distributions of Linux including Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSe, and many others.

Now, let's take a look at how to convert DVD to WMV with free VLC Media Player.

load-source-dvd-file
output-format
choose-wmv-format
start-to-convert
Step 1: Insert the DVD you want to rip into your computer and open up VLC media player. Select "Media" on the top menu, and select "Open Disc…" from the drop down menu.
Step 2: Click the "Play" drop-down menu, and choose "Convert".
Step 3: Choose "Video – WMV + WMA (ASF)" in the "Profile" drop-down menu.
Step 4: Choose your "Destination file", and then click "Start" to convert DVD to WMV.

You have succeeded to convert DVD to WMV. Enjoy the movie on your portable player to your heart's content!

Part 3: Convert DVD to WMV with Tipard DVD Ripper

Tipard DVD Ripper is another wonderful tool that could help you easily rip and convert DVD movies to videos in various formats like MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV, etc. It’s quite simple to use. Similar to Leawo DVD Ripper, it could also help you edit DVD movies before converting. Still, it enables you to customize the output video and audio parameters for various devices.

Follow the below steps to learn how to convert DVD to WMV files:

  1. Download and install Tipard DVD Ripper on your computer. Get source DVD movies ready for converting.
  2. Launch Tipard DVD Ripper and then click the “Load Disc” button to browse and add source DVD movies.
  3. In the “Profile” panel, choose WMV as output format. If you need, you could click the “Settings” button to adjust the output video and audio parameters.
  4. You could also select subtitles and audio tracks, play back loaded DVD movies, etc.
  5. In the “Destination” box, set an output directory to save the output WMV files.
  6. Finally, click the “Convert” button to start converting DVD movies to WMV files. It will take you a little while to get the final result.

You then only need to wait for the conversion to complete.

Part 4: Comparison and Conclusion

All these 3 DVD converter tools enable you to easily rip and convert DVD movies to WMV files and files in other formats. But you may want to know the differences between these 3 DVD converters. Just check the below table:

 

Leawo DVD Ripper

VLC Media Player

Tipard DVD Ripper

Disc decrypting

Yes

 

 

Convert DVD to WMV

Yes

Yes

Yes

Convert DVD to MP4, AVI, MTS, and other video formats

Yes

 

Yes

Extract audio off DVD movies

Yes

 

Yes

Convert DVD full movie to WMV

Yes

Yes

 

Convert DVD main movie to WMV

Yes

Yes

Yes

Play back DVD movies

Yes

Yes

Yes

Edit DVD movies

Yes

 

Yes

Select subtitles and audio tracks

Yes

 

Yes

Add 3D effect for DVD to WMV conversion

Yes

 

Yes

Preview subtitles and audio tracks

Yes

 

Yes

Windows version

Yes

Yes

Yes

Mac version

Yes

Yes

Yes

Obviously, among these 3 DVD to WMV converter tools, VLC Media Player is mainly a DVD player that enables you to play back DVD movies on your computer, and at the same time supports DVD to video conversion. It doesn’t get other useful bonus features like DVD editing, 3D movie applying, etc. As to Leawo DVD Ripper and Tipard DVD Ripper, they are much like each other. But you could see that Leawo DVD Ripper gets powerful DVD disc decrypting feature, while Tipard DVD Ripper doesn’t. This feature is especially useful when you are going to rip and convert encrypted DVD movies, while nowadays most DVD discs are protected. Meanwhile, Leawo DVD Ripper offers 3 different DVD movie loading modes, while makes it easier to rip and convert the DVD content you want, while Tipard DVD Ripper hasn’t. So, just choose one according to your own needs. Different needs have different tools to meet.

Part 5: Basic Knowledge about WMV

Windows Media Video (WMV) is a file type which can contain video in one of several video compression formats developed by Microsoft. WMV files use Microsoft's Advanced Systems Format (ASF) container format and are therefore very similar to ASF files, which is another file format developed by Microsoft.

The original video compression format used in the file, also known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other compression formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater for specialized content. After standardization by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), WMV 9 was adopted for physical-delivery formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

There is an audio file similar to Windows Media Video, called Windows Media Audio, abbreviated as WMA that only contains audio data - no video.

WMV

Section 2: Applications to Play WMV

windows-media-player
Application #1: Windows Media Player

Most versions of Windows have Windows Media Player installed, so this is the best solution to open WMV files if you're using Windows.

leawo-blu-ray-player
Application #2: Leawo Blu-ray Player

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is a free WMV media player. Unlike Windows Media Player, Leawo Blu-ray Player not only has Windows version, but also has Mac version. Therefore, Mac users can well ultilize Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac to play WMV.

vlc-media-player
Application #3: VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is another Windows Media Player alternative, and it is completely free, allowing users to play WMV files on both Mac and Windows operating systems.