6 Ways to Convert DVD to Digital (Best Quality & Fast)

When you are at home, you can watch your favorite movies and TV series DVDs by playing them on your computer or your DVD player. However, it is exceptionally awkward to do this when you are on a flight or a train ride. What's worse, recent laptops are scarcely shipped with optical disc drives.

Obviously, converting DVD to digital becomes necessary and urgent at this point. Also, it is a good way to prevent your DVDs from degrading over time, save physical space, archive and categorize DVD collections, and make digital copies for editing and sharing.

For these reasons, we rounded up the 6 best DVD to digital converters (including freeware) and step-by-step tutorials on how to DVD to digital on Mac, Windows, and mobile devices. Check them now.

1. Convert DVD to Digital with VideoProc Converter

In the long term, a quality DVD to digital converter is a better deal than disc to DVD services, because it won't charge you every time you use it or put any restrictions on conversions and locations. If you think it's tiring to cope with disc settings, use – VideoProc Converter, a handy tool with complete DVD digital presets for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, SNS, TV, etc.

VideoProc Converter is an all-in-one video processing program with an excellent DVD digitizing module. With great experience in DVD ripper development of WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, the team has built VideoProc Converter with an advanced High Quality Engine, Full GPU Acceleration tech, and even a versatile toolkit for editing, compressing, fixing, downloading, and recording.

Compatible OS: Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7, Mac (incl. Monterey and Ventura)

Best for: Digitizing DVDs at home easily and quickly on your own.

• Auto DVD detection, beginner-friendly, Safe Mode for care-free DVD conversion
• Smooth and 47x faster DVD conversion on old/low-end PCs and Macs with low CPU usage.
• No limits on DVD count, quality, and file size. Free and professional tech support.
• Convert DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, ISO, VOB, Video_TS, and 370+ formats.
• Shrink up to 90% file size of the source DVD movies with the highest image quality.
• Advanced decryption tech for Disney 99-title, copy-protected, region-locked DVDs.
• One-stop video solutions: cut, merge, crop, subtitles, a/v sync, deinterlace, denoise, upscale…

Now download and install VideoProc Converter to make better digital copies of DVDs!

Excellent

Now insert your disc to your computer via the internal/external optical drive, and digitize DVDs in the following steps.

Step 1. Open the DVD disc in VideoProc Converter.

Open VideoProc Converter and click "DVD" on the main interface. Click the "DVD Disc" button and select the source DVD you just inserted. Click "Done".

Step 2. Choose a format for the DVD digital copy.

Move to the options at the bottom. Click "Video" and select "MP4 H.264", the best digital format for general use.

VideoProc Converter also offers presets for specific use in "Target Format", sorted by device and platform. If you want to make a digital copy without losing any data in your disc, choose "DVD Backup".

If necessary, you can adjust parameters in Codec & Format options, edit metadata, switch audio and subtitles tracks, and apply simple edits.

Step 3. Start to convert DVD to digital.

Activate Hardware Acceleration Engine. Choose an output folder. Hit the "RUN" button to start digitizing DVD in VideoProc Converter.

Video Tutorial on How to Convert DVD to Digital with VideoProc Converter

2. Convert DVD to Digital with VUDU

VUDU is an in-mobile disc to digital service from Walmart. It asks users to scan barcodes through their iOS/Android smartphones or tablets to achieve the conversion. VUDU only digitizes DVDs via clear and valid barcodes. If it's badly torn and smudged, VUDU won't work for you.

You can convert DVDs to digital in VUDU with the following steps:

Step 1. Download the VUDU app to your Android/iOS smartphone.

Step 2. Create your own VUDU account and sign in.

Step 3. Choose Disc to Digital option and scan the barcode of your disc.

Step 4. Select your ideal output quality and tap Submit List.

Step 5. Watch the digitalized DVD file on a VUDU-enabled device.

Note:

VUDU is not budget-friendly for people who have a large DVD collection and imposes limits on conversions per year. VUDU only works with movie DVDs from a few major film studios.

To avoid these issues, check the best DVD to digital solution here>>

3. Convert DVD to Digital with VLC Media Player

VLC is a versatile open-source media player for Windows, Mac, and Linux. With many popular formats supported, it's often used to convert video formats. If you got a DVD drive on your computer, you can ask VLC to read the disc and convert it to a digital copy in MP4, AVI, or MOV container.

Step 1. Open VLC media player on your computer. Click Media and select Convert/Save.

Step 2. Finish DVD selection settings, including DVD type, disc device, titles, chapters, and tracks. Click Convert.

Step 3. Choose a format for the digital copy of your DVD disc, for instance, Video H.264 + MP3 (MP4).

Step 4. Choose a folder to save the digitized DVD movie, and start the conversion.

Note:

VLC does not support copy-protected DVDs, some old and scratched DVDs. And it can't make DVD digital copies with all metadata and menus preserved.

4. Convert DVD to Digital Free in HandBrake

When it comes to how to convert DVD to digital file for free, open source DVD converter HandBrake could come to play a role. It is a cross-platform program available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can use it to make a digital copy of a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, and an ISO file without being encrypted to MP4 or MKV. Let's see how to digitize DVDs with HandBrake.

Step 1. Insert a disc into your computer. Launch HandBrake and click "Open Source" to load the disc file into it.

Step 2. Open the drop-down menu of Title and Range to select a desired title and chapter.

Step 3. Choose to convert the DVD to MKV or MP4 in the Format option. Then click "Dimension" to set the resolution to match the source DVD videos. Alternatively, you can choose "Fast 480p30" in its presets to finish output settings with a single click.

Step 4. Click "Browse" at the bottom to select a folder to save the digitalized copy. Hit "Start Encode" to transfer the DVD to a digital file.

Note:

Almost all DVDs you bought from Amazon or offline store are copy protected. However, HandBrake can't rip copy-protected DVDs. Even with libdvdcss installed, HandBrake may fail to handle some strictly encrypted DVDs.

5. Convert DVD to Digital with MakeMKV

MakeMKV is a piece of popular DVD ripping software that lets you make an MKV copy of the DVD collection for free. It runs on both Windows and Mac (64-bit only). In addition to DVDs, it accepts Blu-ray discs protected by AACS and BD+. And it offers detailed information of the disc and allows you to choose titles and chapters freely.

Step 1. Launch MakeMKV and open your DVD disc in it. And it will take a while to scan the disc.

Step 2. Select the content that you want to include in the digital copy.

Step 3. Choose an output folder and ask it to convert the DVD to an MKV file.

Note:

MakeMKV only converts DVD to MKV, a format not supported by many devices and video platforms/apps these days. And compared with other DVD to digital converters, MakeMKV performs more slowly.

6. Convert DVD to Digital with Walmart DVD Transfer Service

If you are looking for a DVD to digital service near you, you can try Walmart Home Movie and Photo Transfer Service which is powered by Capture, a partner of walmart.com. Its DVD transfer service supports DVD, MiniDVD, YesVideo DVDs, VCD, and CD, and saves the digital content in AVI, MOV, WMV, and MPEG-2 for you to store and back up on Google Photos and hard drives. Here's how it works.

Step 1. Check if there's a Walmart Photo located in your region. Then create an order online.

Step 2. Ship the physical DVD(s) or drop off it at a Walmart near you.

Step 3. Wait for a month and you'll receive a digital copy.

Note:

It takes 3-4 weeks to transfer your DVD to digital and charges you per disc ($12.96 for the first 30 minutes and $5.46 for each additional 30 minutes). So if you have lots of DVDs and want the digital copy in a short time, VideoProc Converter might be your best option as it enables you to rip DVDs at home easily and fast at the least cost.

Comparison of the Best DVD to Digital Converters

With factors to consider when making digital copies of DVDs on your own, we made an overview of the 5 best DVD to digital converters. Check the chart below and choose the best one for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Digitizing a DVD

What is the best format for a DVD digital copy?

It depends on your specific needs. To keep all of the content, copy full title to MKV or clone DVD to ISO image. As for space saving and compatibility, convert DVD to MP4 H.264, a format that can shrink 80% file size and get supported widely.

How to convert DVD to digital for free?

You can use VideoProc Converter to free convert any DVD disc with a video under 5 minutes without limits on file size, quality, or amounts. After getting its lifetime license, you can enjoy its DVD digitizing, video converting, editing, downloading, and recording features without any limit forever. Get VideoProc Converter discount coupon here>>

Is a digital copy the same as a DVD?

The digital copy is supported by more devices and apps and can be played, uploaded, and edited on your computer and mobile device easily. As for the media content, such as menus, titles, and chapters, it depends on the format of the digital copy and the conversion settings. If you don't want to lose any data on your DVD, you can make a full copy of it in VideoProc Converter.

Does Walmart still do Disc to digital?

No, Walmart stopped the support for VUDU To Go/In-Home Disc to Digital services in January 2020. It removes all the VUDU signs from the register, but you can use this app on your mobile phones.

Does Costco convert DVD to digital?

Yes. You can drop off your DVD at your local Costco Photo Center or ship it after starting an online order. It's Home Video and Photo Transfer Service will digitize your DVD and send it back in MP4 format.

DVD to digital converter and DVD to digital service, which is better?

We have to admit that the disc to digital service is more convenient, because you don't need to cope with any disc settings. But there are more reasons you should give it up and turn to a powerful DVD ripper like VideoProc Converter.

First, it's a better deal without restrictions on conversions and locations. Second, it provides handy presets so that anyone can make digital copies at home without waiting any longer.

Disclaimer: We do not advocate ripping or converting authorized or copy-protected DVD videos. Please check your local laws before you digitalize DVDs.