Free DownloadThe Best Way to Solve HandBrake Copy Protection Ripping Fail
Recommended by the authorRecommended by the authorFailed to copy a protected DVD with HandBrake? This HandBrake copy protection removal guide is for you. Since HandBrake doesn't natively support removing copy protection on DVDs, you'll inevitably run into problems when converting copyrighted DVDs with HandBrake. Fortunately, there is a workaround to remove copy protection: install libdvdcss.
That said, for a hassle-free DVD ripping experience, you can simply get this great DVD ripper software to decrypt and convert DVDs with only 3 steps: https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/download/dvd-ripper.exe
📚 Takeaways:
Many people want to rip DVDs to digital videos for personal use. As a powerful video transcoder, HandBrake offers a convenient way to help you back up DVD resources to digital MP4, MKV, or WebM files.
The steps of using HandBrake to rip a DVD are easy:
General Steps to Rip DVDs with HandBrake
Step 1: Insert the DVD into your computer's DVD drive. Then open HandBrake and select the DVD drive as the source.
Step 2: Select the correct DVD title, which is often the one with the longest duration.
Step 3: Choose a preset based on your needs. For universal playback, make sure you select MP4 as the output format, H264 as the video encoder, and AAC as the audio encoder.
Step 4: Select the save location.
Step 5: Click Start Encode to begin ripping. Then you can find output files in the folder you just set.
It's worth noting that if you try to rip a DVD purchased from a store using HandBrake, you may be disappointed to find that HandBrake simply cannot rip it. This is because these DVDs are commercial DVDs, and film companies use various copy-protection techniques, such as region codes and Content Encryption Systems (CSS), to prevent unauthorized ripping.
Unfortunately, HandBrake itself cannot handle DRM-protected DVDs. In other words, it's difficult for HandBrake to remove copy protection when ripping store-bought DVDs. You might receive error messages such as "your source may be copy protected, badly mastered or in a format which HandBrake does not support" or HandBrake won't rip the entire DVD.
The good news is that this problem is not unsolvable.
Well, you might be wondering if it's possible to break HandBrake copy protection limitations.
In some cases, yes. By installing a third-party tool, libdvdcss, on your PC, you can have HandBrake remove copy protection of some commercial DVDs with CSS protection or region codes.
📑 What is libdvdcss:
libdvdcss is a software library designed by the VideoLAN Project to read CSS encryption in DVD files.
📑 What is CSS:
CSS is short for Content Scramble System. It's a type of digital rights management (DRM) used to prevent the unauthorized copying of DVD content.
To make HandBrake copy protection removal possible, you can install the appropriate libdvdcss-2.dll for your Windows system:
Download libdvdcss-2.dll for Windows 32-bit | Download libdvdcss-2.dll for Windows 64-bit
Next, copy the downloaded libdvdcss-2.dll file to the HandBrake installation folder. By default, it is
C:\Program Files\HandBrake
Copy Liddvdcss to HandBrake
Now, launch HandBrake, follow the general steps above, and it should be able to read your CSS-protected DVDs.
🔔 Note: It's generally not recommended for Mac users to install this library as it involves more complex steps using Homebrew, which is not really user-friendly.
As a reminder, libdvdcss will only help HandBrake to decrypt CSS-DVDs or some region-code DVDs. Its DVD decryption functionality is still strictly limited. You will still encounter DVD ripping failures when more advanced copy protections, such as UOP, RCE, and Sony ARccOS, are used on your DVDs. In this case, it's best to turn to a professional DVD ripper program.
If you find it challenging to properly install libdvdcss on your device, or even after installing the library, you still face all kinds of problems, such as HandBrake no valid source found or HandBrake DVD Rip Scrambled, try a more powerful and simpler HandBrake DVD ripper alternative – WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro. No additional plugins or components need to be installed. It's constantly updated and can easily bypass and remove various copyright protections.
📌 Decrypt DVDs with CSS, region code, UOP, RCE, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-Project DRM, etc.
📌 Rip DVD to MP4 and 500+ presets with GPU acceleration
📌 Make a 1:1 copy with intact content to digital ISO image or VIDEO_TS.
📌 Compress 8 GB DVD to 1-2 GB digital video file
📌 Basic editing features and customize output video/audio parameters.
Now, free download and install WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro on your PC. Then follow the 3-step simple guide below to access your DVD movies without hiccups.
Insert your copy-protected disc into your DVD-ROM drive. Launch the software and click "DVD Disc" to select the DVD drive letter you just inserted. Press "OK" to scan all content of the DVD.
Once loaded, the program will automatically select the main movie title for you.
💡 You can import three types of DVD sources: DVD Disc, DVD ISO Image, or Video_TS folder.
Load a DVD Source
Click the format image on the right to Output Format panel. Select your desired output format or the target device where you want to play the ripped DVD movies.
For general users who want the best device compatibility, it's recommended to use the H264 profile.
💡 If your DVD contains interlaced video, you can also click "Settings" at the lower-right and check the "Deinterlace" option to enhance the video clarity.
Choose the Wanted Format
Below the DVD video, you can select the needed subtitle and audio tracks.
Now, click the three dots at the bottom to specify a new file location, and then click the "RUN" button to start converting the DVD to digital video.
💡 The software can use hardware acceleration based on your graphics card when ripping DVDs to H264, HEVC/H265 or AV1.
Start Ripping DVD
Edit DVD
Before conversion, you can click the Edit button and:
# Crop and cut the desired parts of the DVD video;
# Rotate or mirror the video.
# Add filters to the video.
That's all about how to remove copy protection to rip protected DVDs with HandBrake. As you can see, even with the libdvdcss library installed, HandBrake doesn't support all protected DVDs, especially those using newer, more sophisticated encryption technologies. In such cases, WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro might be a better solution for you. This user-friendly software requires no additional setup and can rip any DVD to various formats, such as MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, iPhone, Android, and TV formats.
Download now to perfectly back up your DVD collection for smooth playback on any device.
Disclaimer: The information provided above is for general informational purposes only. We do not advocate ripping/copying copy-protected DVDs for commercial use and suggest referring to the DVD copyright laws in your country beforehand.
Yes, HandBrake is a popular video transcoder that supports converting many video types, including DVDs.
This is most likely caused by DVD copy protections. HandBrake can only deal with non-encrypted video files.
Yes, HandBrake is safe to use as a DVD ripper. Just make sure you download it from the official HandBrake website or a trusted source to avoid any viruses and malicious threats.
The best ripping format depends on your specific needs. For general use, you can rip DVDs to MP4 format using H.264 and AAC encoding, as this combination is supported by most devices and platforms.
I write about multimedia topics, including video and audio conversion, compression, editing, and downloading. I joined WonderFox in 2020, and my goal is to help readers solve everyday tech problems more easily. In this guide, I have shown you the workaround to rip protected DVDs with HandBrake. However, if the method doesn't work for you, you can try the alternative DVD ripper program.
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