4 Fast Ways to Rip Copy Protected DVDs on Mac in 2025 (Sequoia and Ventura Included)

Whether you wish to play a DVD bought from Amazon.com (USA) on a Canada DVD player or need to back up the favorite TV series DVDs on Mac, you are going to need to rip the DVD. Unfortunately, ripping protected DVDs on Mac can be hard.

Why is Ripping Protected DVDs on Mac So Difficult

The core challenge stems from sophisticated copy protection (DRM) embedded in commercial DVDs to prevent illegal distribution. For instance, these discs use methods like:

• CSS: A foundational encryption system.
• RCE: Region Code Enhancement, locking discs to specific geographical areas.
• UOPs: User Operation Prohibitions, restricting actions like skipping intros.
• Sony ARccOS & RipGuard: Introduce artificial errors to confuse rippers.
• Disney's X-project DRM: Notorious for creating 99 or more fake titles to obscure the real movie.

Despite the varying strength of these encryption algorithms, approximately 80% of DVD rippers on the market are useless against them. Therefore, when applying regular DVD rippers to copy-protected DVDs, most tools either refuse to read the disc from the start or stop midway. Fortunately, you don't have to worry. We've thoroughly researched and identified 4 reliable and fast methods to rip copy-protected DVDs on Mac. This guide will walk you through easy-to-follow steps for each, helping you find the perfect solution to digitize your DVD collection.

Way 1: Rip Protected DVD on Mac (No Watermark, Fast, Easy)

VideoProc Converter AI, developed by Digiarty, is a powerful, all-in-one media processing software for Mac, excelling as a DVD ripper, media converter, and AI-driven video/image enhancer. It allows you to remove copy protection from virtually any DVD on Mac, including movie, TV show, and workout discs within a simple click.

💡 Our test proves its unmatched capability: During extensive evaluation with a tricky Disney DVD featuring 99 fake titles, VideoProc Converter AI successfully identified the correct main movie title and completed the rip in approximately 5 minutes on a MacBook Air M3. In stark contrast, open-source alternatives often either failed to find the correct title or took significantly longer, sometimes over 2 hours.

Key Advantages of Ripping Protected DVD on Mac via VideoProc Converter AI

• Bypass CSS, RCE, UOPs, Sony ARccOS, and more DVD protections without extra plugins.
• Rip Disney 99-title DVDs, commercial movies/TV series/workout DVDs, and more.
• Rip copy-protected DVDs to MP4, MKV, VIDEO_TS, ISO, MPEG-4, and 370+ formats.
• 6 backup modes to digitize your DVD collection with the original content and quality.
• Gain expert-level control over quality, resolution, chapters, subtitles, etc.
• AI-driven！ Upscale DVD and old videos to 4K for perfect big-screen viewing.

How to Rip Protected DVDs on Mac Within a Simple Click

Step 1: Select the Protected DVD.

Insert the DVD into your Mac's optical drive. Install and download VideoProc Converter AI. Next, launch the program. Click DVD and then Disc. Select the protected DVD you just inserted, then click Done to proceed.

Step 2: Choose the Output Format.

Select the desired output format from the options given by the Target Format panel. VideoProc Converter AI allows you to convert protected DVD to MP4, MKV, FLV, MOV, AVI, and 420+ other media formats.

Tips for picking the best format for your needs:

• For a perfect (1:1) backup: In Backup Mode, choose from Main Copy, Title Copy, ISO (disc image), Video_TS (DVD folder), MKV Copy, or H264 MKV.
• To save storage space (ideal for mobile or web): Pick a popular digital format from the Target Format section. Our top recommendation is MP4 HEVC. We've found it's the best way to get up to 50% smaller files than H.264 without losing quality. For instance, a 9GB DVD typically compresses to about 1.5GB in HEVC, making it perfect for your mobile devices and sharing online.
• To tailor your output further: You can easily rip audio from copy-protected DVDs by choosing formats like MP3, FLAC (lossless), M4R (ringtone), etc. Or, optimize your content for specific device playback by selecting profiles for iPhone, iPad, Android, PS4/PS5, Xbox, and many more.

Step 3. Start to Rip the Protected DVD on Mac.

Click Browse to choose your desired output folder and then click Run to begin the process of ripping encrypted DVD on Mac.

Way 2: Rip Protected DVD on Mac for Free with HandBrake

HandBrake is a popular, cross-platform, and open-source freeware primarily known for video conversion. While it can rip unprotected DVDs and convert various video formats, handling protected DVDs on Mac requires an extra step.

Key Advantage: It's a completely free solution for DVD ripping and video conversion on Mac and other major operating systems. When paired with the libdvdcss library, it can rip CSS-protected DVDs on Mac.

⚠️ Important Considerations:

• It does not support protected DVDs natively.
• Requires a separate, technical installation of libdvdcss via Homebrew and Terminal commands.
• Cannot handle newer or more complex schemes like Disney's 99-title DVDs.
• Not support for 1:1 backup as ISO, VOB, or Video_TS format.
• The setup process and interface can be challenging for beginners.

How to Rip Protected DVD on Mac for Free with HandBrake

Step 1: Install HandBrake.

Go to the official site of HandBrake to download and install the latest version of HandBrake on macOS.

If you open up HandBrake right now, the Mac might remind you, "HandBrake" can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer. If you see this notice, press OK to exist.

Press System Preference to launch up the Security & Privacy panel. Hit Open Anyway, and then press the Next button on the shown up new panel.

Step 2: Install Homebrew.

Press CMB + SPACE, enter Terminal to start up Terminal. Alternatively, you can go to Finder > Application > Utility to locate Terminal, and click on this to open the Terminal application. Herein, enter the below Homebrew install command line, and then press RETURN.

• macOS Mojave or later: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"
• macOS High Sierra or earlier: /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Note: Some users might come across a pop-up panel that asks your permission to install the developer tools. In this case, press Enter > Agree. Hit Done once the process finishes.

Enter the administrator password when the Terminal application reminds you to enter your password for proceeding. Your trusty Mac computer now starts to install Homebrew. This may take minutes.

Input brew help when you are reminded to run 'brew help' to get started. Press RETURN to proceed.

Input brew doctor when you are reminded to make a choice for further help. Press RETURN to proceed.

Step 3: Install the Libdvdcss Library.

Enter command line brew install libdvdcss on the Terminal window, press RETURN. Now, you should have libdvdcss successfully installed on your Mac.

Step 4: Select the Target Protected DVD.

Insert the protected movie DVD onto the computer. Launch up HandBrake. Select the right DVD drive on the pop-up sidebar, and choose Open. HandBrake starts to scan the titles of the chosen DVD.

Step 5: Select the Wanted Titles.

HandBrake, by default, will choose the main title of the protected movie DVD. Suppose you want to rip one or several specific chapters, press the drop-down button of Title, and select the needed ones.

Step 6: Choose the Picture Quality.

On the right side of the HandBrake DVD ripper, there are several presets. Choose the one that works best for you. I myself usually select Very Fast 480p30 to rip US DVDs and select Very Fast 476p25 for EU DVDs.

Step 7: Rip Protected DVD on Mac.

Assign a destination folder to hold the output DVD copy file. After that, click on the green Start Encode button underneath the top menu bar. HandBrake now starts to rip protected DVD on your Mac.

Disclaimer: Digiarty Software does not advocate ripping protected DVDs for any commercial purpose and suggests referring to the DVD copyright laws in your countries before doing so.

Way 3: Rip Protected DVD on Mac for Free with MakeMKV

MakeMKV is a free tool designed to handle DVDs and Blu-rays encrypted with basic copy protection techniques, including region codes, AACS, and BD+. It converts them to the versatile MKV format.

Key Advantage: MakeMKV converts DVDs to the versatile MKV format (a 'remuxing' process) very quickly, typically in 10-30 minutes, preserving original quality and structure.

⚠️ Important Considerations:

• Limited Protection Support: It struggles with highly complex DVD structures, such as Disney's 99-title DVDs and Sony ARccOS.
• Large File Sizes: The resulting MKV files are uncompressed and can be very large (often 20GB+).
• Limited Output: It only outputs to MKV and doesn't offer compression or conversion to other popular formats like MP4, MOV, AVI, and WebM.
• Beta Status: MakeMKV remains in perpetual beta, meaning it's currently free, but there's a possibility it could become paid in the future.

Step 1: Load the Protected DVD.

Download and install MakeMKV on your Mac, then launch the program. The initial screen will display a list of available optical drives. If you haven't inserted the encrypted DVD yet, do so now. Click on the source menu and select the DVD you just inserted to load it into the program.

Step 2: Choose DVD Titles.

MakeMKV will then take a few minutes to read the disc, remove the DVD copy protection, scan the DVD contents, etc. Once finished, it displays the titles. Video and audio content of each title are displayed as well, in a tree-like structure. By default, MakeMKV selects all titles to be copied to MKV on Mac, but you can choose specific titles by unchecking those you don't want. Generally, the title with the most chapters and the largest size is the main movie.

Step 3: Rip Copy Protected DVD on Mac.

Choose an output folder to store the ripped DVD video, then click the MakeMKV button to start the process of ripping protected DVDs on Mac.

Way 4: Rip Protected DVD on Mac for Free with VLC

LVLC Media Player is a widely popular, free, and open-source multimedia player that also offers DVD ripping functionality on Mac. While it can handle some basic ripping tasks, it's essential to understand its specific strengths and limitations when dealing with protected discs.

Key Advantage: As open-source freeware, VLC is a zero-cost solution for basic DVD ripping. It can rip DVDs protected by CSS, region codes, or UOPs on Mac.

⚠️ Important Considerations:

• VLC cannot rip DVDs with advanced protections like Disney's X Project DRM, APS, or ARccOS.
• It doesn't automatically detect the main DVD title; you'll need to know the correct title number and input it manually.
• The ripping process is very slow, often taking as long as the DVD's runtime.
• Offers minimal control over output file size, quality, or advanced formats, focusing on raw stream extraction.

How to Rip Protected DVD on Mac for Free with VLC

Step 1: Add the Protected DVD.

Go to the VLC official site and download the most recent release of VLC for macOS computers. Insert the DVD you want to rip onto your Mac and launch VLC media player. Then click on File at the top left corner of the main window, then choose the Open Disc... button. Choose the DVD disc for loading to the program.

Step 2: Select DVD Titles.

Click Disable DVD menus. Check Stream output. Click the Settings button at the bottom right corner to choose the proper title. If you're unsure which title to choose, you can play the DVD in VLC to identify the correct title. However, it may not always work, especially with heavily protected DVDs.

Step 3: Specify the Output Format.

Check the Stream output box and hit the Setting button. Click Browse… to choose the destination folder on your Mac where you want to save the ripped video and give it a name. Open the Encapsulation Method dropdown menu. Select the desired output format (e.g., MP4, AVI) for the ripped DVD content.

Step 4: Rip Protected DVD on Mac.

Click Start to begin ripping your protected DVD on Mac via VLC. Wait for the process to complete. This can take several minutes to a few hours depending on the length of the video and your computer's processing power.

Which Method is Right for You? Our Recommendation

Choosing the best method to rip your protected DVDs on Mac depends on your priorities regarding ease of use, cost, output quality, and the complexity of the DVD's protections. To help you decide, here's a side-by-side comparison of the methods:

In Summary: While free options like HandBrake, MakeMKV, and VLC can address some basic DVD ripping needs, they often come with significant limitations, complex setups, or slower performance. For a fast, reliable, and effortless experience that handles virtually any protected DVD with ease and efficiency, VideoProc Converter AI stands out as the superior choice for Mac users.

Free download and install VideoProc Converter AI to rip any protected DVDs on Mac!