Contents

Part 1: The Best Way to Record DVDs (Lossless)
1. Record a DVD on Windows
2. Record a DVD on Mac
Part 2: Comparison: DVD Recording vs. Ripping
Part 3: How to Digitize DVDs By Ripping
1. With Handbrake
2. Via VLC
Part 4: FAQs about Recording a DVD

How to Record and Digitalize Movie/Home DVDs on Windows 11 & Mac

March 09, 2026Andrew Miller

This guide will talk about how to record a DVD on Windows and Mac. Although it has become an outdated format, you might still have a collection of movie or music DVDs in your hand. To protect the contents and prevent customers from making copies, studios usually added encryption to commercial DVDs or compressed it. In result, you can only play your DVD but not digitalize it. Don't worry! This guide tells you three ways to do the job easily.

Part 1: The Best Way to Record DVDs (Lossless)

To bypass the encryption and other restrictions on your DVD, you will need a powerful DVD recorder. Aiseesoft Screen Recorder is the right answer. It has the ability to record any playable DVDs into digital video files so that you can watch them anytime and anywhere.

Downloads

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder – Best DVD Recorder

Record DVD movies and videos into digital files easily.
Use hardware acceleration to do the job without lag.
Produce high quality video files from your DVD collection.
Let you edit and customize the results.

Free DownloadFor Windows

100% Secure. No Ads.

Free DownloadFor macOS

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Record a DVD on Windows

Step 1.

Insert your DVD into an external or built-in DVD drive of your Windows PC. Open it using a DVD player software. Launch Aiseesoft Screen Recorder and choose “Screen Recorder”.

Step 2.

Select full screen (recommended for DVDs), or choose custom region if you only want to capture the video window.

Step 3.

Turn on “System Sound” to record DVD audio. Disable “Microphone” if you don’t want external noise.

Step 4.

Click “REC and begin playback on your DVD player.

Step 5.

Click the red square “Stop” button when finished. It will auto-save your recording; you can click “Open Folder” to see where it was saved.

Record a DVD on Mac

Step 1.

Insert your DVD into an external DVD drive (if your Mac doesn’t have one). Using a DVD Player to play DVD on Mac. Open Aiseesoft Screen Recorder on your Mac and choose “Video Recorder” mode.

Step 2.

Choose “Full” to capture the entire DVD playback. Or select “Custom” to record only the video window.

Step 3.

Turn on “System Sound” to capture DVD audio. Turn off “Microphone” unless you need narration.

Step 4.

Click “REC”. Immediately start or continue DVD playback

Part 2: Comparison: DVD Recording vs. Ripping

When it comes to digitalizing your collection, you generally have two paths: Recording with a tool like Aiseesoft Screen Recorder or Ripping with software like Handbrake. While they may seem similar, the technology behind them is vastly different.

The Technical Breakdown:

Feature	DVD Recording (e.g., Aiseesoft SR)	DVD Ripping (e.g., Handbrake)
Speed	Real-time: It takes as long as the movie's duration to finish.	Fast: Can be 2x to 5x faster than playback, depending on your drive.
Compatibility	Universal: If it plays on your screen, it can be recorded. No DRM issues.	Limited: Often struggles with encrypted commercial discs without extra plug-ins.
Quality	Visual Copy: Excellent for viewing, but technically a re-encode of the signal.	Original Data: Can extract the exact bits from the disc (remuxing) without loss.
Convenience	Set and Forget: Simple "Record" button; no complex title selection needed.	Technical: Requires picking the right title, audio track, and subtitle stream.

Part 3: How to Digitize DVDs By Ripping

With Handbrake

Handbrake is an open-source DVD recorder for both PC and Mac. It is absolutely free of charge with some downsides, such as limited output formats, complicated setup, and general output quality. If you do not mind, follow the guide to record a DVD for free.

Step 1.

Run Handbrake from your desktop. If you do not have, download it from the official website. Put the DVD into your computer too.

Step 2.

Click Open Source, select your DVD drive to open the DVD video file. Then head to the main interface and you can decide to record entire DVD or certain chapters.

Step 3.

Click the Browse button in the Destination section and set an output folder. Click and expand the Container list, and choose a proper format. Then go to the Presets tab on the right side and select a preset based on your need.

Step 4.

Optionally, you can also customize a wide range of options in Picture, Filters, Video, Audio, Subtitles and Chapters tab at the bottom. For beginners, we suggest you keep them default.

Step 5.

Click on the Start Encode button to begin recording the DVD immediately.

Note: Since Handbrake is an open-source project, it can only process unencrypted DVDs.

Via VLC

VLC is another way to record a DVD without paying a penny. As a media player, VLC offers plentiful useful tools including DVD recording. Considering the workflow is complex, we share the steps below:

Step 1.

Make sure the DVD is inserted into your computer. Open VLC and click Convert/Save in the Media menu.

Step 2.

Go to the Disc tab on the open-media dialog and select DVD in Disc Selection area. Click the Browse button and select your DVD drive. Then hit the Convert/Save button to move on.

Step 3.

In the Convert window, click the Profile dropdown list and choose your favorite video format, like MP4. Then hit the Browse button and select the output folder.

Step 4.

Once you click on the Start button, VLC will begin record the DVD. Technically, VLC is streaming the DVD to a video file on your hard drive, so it takes full runtime of the disc.

Step 5.

Wait for the DVD playback is done or at any moment you want to stop, and click the Stop button. According to our research, the video quality recorded from DVD is poor.

Part 4: FAQs about Recording a DVD

Is it legal to record DVDs for personal use?

Though there is no rule about it, recording DVD is illegal generally speaking. When it comes to personal use, the thing may be a bit ambiguous since the payment of DVD should contain a digital copy.

Can I record a DVD to USB stick?

You cannot record a DVD to USB flash drive directly. Alternatively, you should record a DVD to computer and then transfer the digital files to your USB stick.

How to record a DVD to another DVD?

If you need to record a DVD to another disc, you must have a DVD recorder with two drives, or you can do it on your computer using a DVD recorder program.

Conclusion

This guide has shared three verified methods to record a DVD on PC and Mac. Handbrake is a well-known DVD recorder software program, but it cannot handle commercial discs. VLC is a free way to record a DVD, although the output quality is not very good. Aiseesoft Screen Recorder is the best choice to do the task without losing quality. If you have other questions about the topic, leave a message below this post.

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Free DownloadFor Windows

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