How to Rip Blu-ray Discs to Digital (4K UHD Supported) in 2026

Blu-ray discs are popular for storing HD movies and other multimedia content. However, the convenience of digital files has led many users to explore ripping Blu-ray discs. Ripping a Blu-ray allows you to convert the content into digital files that can be easily stored, accessed, and played on various devices. In this post, we will guide you through ripping Blu-ray discs, enabling you to enjoy your favorite movies without relying on physical discs. This write-up will teach you how to how to rip Blu-ray. So without any further discussion, let's start!

Part 1. Preparations for Ripping Blu-ray

Before you begin the digitizing process, you must ensure your hardware and software environment is properly configured. Ripping a Blu-ray is more resource-intensive than ripping a DVD, so pay close attention to these four essential requirements:

1. Choosing the Right Blu-ray Drive (Internal vs. External)

You cannot read a Blu-ray disc with a standard DVD drive; you need a dedicated Blu-ray optical drive.

• • Internal Drives (SATA): Best for desktop users. These connect directly to the motherboard via SATA cables, offering the most stable data transfer speeds and are generally more durable for bulk ripping.
• • External Drives (USB 3.0): Ideal for laptop users or those who prefer portability. Ensure you use a USB 3.0 (or higher) connection; USB 2.0 is too slow for the high bitrates of Blu-ray data and may cause the process to hang.
• • Pro Tip (LibreDrive): If you plan to rip 4K UHD Blu-rays, look for "UHD-friendly" drives that support LibreDrive firmware. This allows the software to bypass hardware restrictions and access the encrypted data on the disc directly.

2. Specialized Blu-ray Ripper Software

Standard video converters cannot handle the complex encryption (AACS, BD+, etc.) found on commercial Blu-rays. You need a professional-grade tool like AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper. It is specifically designed to decrypt latest-release discs, handle high-definition audio tracks, and utilize GPU hardware acceleration to reduce ripping time from hours to minutes.

3. Disc Health and Inspection

Blu-ray discs have a protective "hard coat," but deep scratches or fingerprints can still cause "read errors." Before inserting the disc:

• • Inspect the surface for smudges or physical damage.
• • Clean the disc with a microfiber cloth from the center outward to the edge.

Note: If a disc is physically cracked or has "disc rot" (bronzing), it may fail to rip regardless of the software used.

4. Sufficient Storage Space (The 25GB-50GB Rule)

One of the most common reasons for ripping failure is running out of disk space. Unlike compressed web videos, Blu-ray files are massive:

• • Standard Blu-ray (BD-25/BD-50): A single movie can take up 25GB to 50GB of space.
• • 4K UHD Blu-ray: Can require up to 100GB per disc.

Advice: Always ensure your target drive (HDD, SSD, or NAS) has at least double the size of the disc available to accommodate temporary cache files during the conversion process.

5. Selecting the Right Output Format

Understanding your end-goal is vital for choosing the right container:

• • MKV (Lossless): The gold standard for enthusiasts and Plex users. MKV acts as a multimedia container that holds all original video, multiple audio tracks (DTS-HD, Dolby Atmos), and subtitles without re-encoding.
  1. Pros: Zero quality loss.
  2. Cons: Very large file sizes (30GB+) and limited compatibility with mobile devices.
• • MP4 (The Balanced Choice): Ideal for users who want to watch movies on iPad, Android, or Smart TVs. MP4 uses H.264 or H.265 (HEVC) compression to maintain high quality while significantly reducing the file size.
  1. Pros: Playable on almost every device; smaller file size (around 5GB–15GB).
  2. Cons: Slight loss in fine detail compared to the original disc.

Part 2. Best Way to Rip a Blu-ray [Recommended]

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper is a specialized program for ripping Blu-rays on Windows. This program can rip various Blu-ray discs, including 3D Blu-ray movies, folders, and ISO image files, and convert them into 4K Ultra HD and 1080p HD videos for playback. Moreover, it allows you to rip audio from Blu-ray and convert it to various audio formats.

It supports many output formats, including MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, and more. By ripping a Blu-ray, you can create a digital backup of the disc, watch the content without needing the physical disc, or convert it to a different format for compatibility with different devices and platforms.

Why choose AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper over free tools? While sites like How-To Geek often recommend a combination of free tools (like MakeMKV + Handbrake), AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper offers a streamlined, one-click operation that eliminates the need for multiple software installs.

• • Integrated Editor: Unlike free decoders, it features a built-in video editor to trim, crop, and add watermarks directly before ripping.
• • 500+ Device Presets: No need to guess resolution or bitrate settings; simply select your device (e.g., iPhone 17, PS5, or Samsung S25) and the software optimizes the output automatically.

Refer to the instructional guide below to learn how to rip Blu-ray on Windows.

Let's begin by downloading the program; click the Free Download button below and install AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper on your PC. Before launching it, ensure you have placed the Blu-ray disc on your drive.

1.Before starting, ensure you have a high-quality external or internal Blu-ray drive connected to your computer via USB 3.0 or SATA.

For users looking to rip 4K UHD Blu-rays, we highly recommend using a LibreDrive-compatible drive (such as certain LG or ASUS models). LibreDrive firmware allows the software to access the data on the disc directly without being blocked by hardware-level restrictions or "revocation." This is the most reliable way to ensure 1:1 lossless backups of the latest encrypted discs.

2.Maneuver your cursor over the program’s Ripper tab, then click the + button to add the Blu-ray content to the program. Alternatively, you can upload Blu-ray folders or ISO image files. Click the Load Blu-ray dropdown button and select Load Blu-ray Folder or Load Blu-ray ISO.

We will use Blu-ray ISO files to perform the ripping process for this ripping tutorial.

3.After importing the Blu-ray content into the program, it will analyze the Titles. Select the Full Title List option to display all the titles in the Blu-ray, then click the OK button to proceed.

4.After the program analyzes the titles, it will display them on the main interface; hover your cursor over the Rip All to button and click the Video tab. Use the Search box to locate your preferred output format easily. To guarantee a high-quality Blu-ray output, we suggest you select 4K output like 4K MP4, 4K MKV, etc., As for the video codec, H.265 is a good option. You do not need to worry about the ripping speed when selecting H.265.

Enabling H.265/HEVC Hardware Acceleration reduces the ripping time by over 90% while keeping the CPU cool for other tasks. Even on older hardware, AnyMP4’s optimization ensures a 10:1 speed advantage over free, non-accelerated alternatives.

To demonstrate our technical lead, we tested AnyMP4’s Hardware Acceleration (NVIDIA RTX 5080 + Intel Quick Sync) against standard CPU encoding. The results show a massive difference in efficiency:

5.Head to the Save to option and browse for a folder for the destination of your converted file. Initiate the ripping process by clicking the Rip All button. It will begin extracting the content from the Blu-ray disc and converting it into the selected format.

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper for Windows provides a powerful and efficient solution for Windows users to rip and convert Blu-ray discs. It offers extensive format support, customization options, video editing capabilities, and high-speed ripping to enhance your Blu-ray ripping experience on Windows.

Part 3. How to Rip a Blu-ray by Three Other Ways

In this section, we will use three other Blu-ray ripping software (including the free one) with their steps to show you how to rip a Blu-ray disc.

How to Rip a Blu-ray with VLC

VLC Media Player is a multimedia player program that can play various media file formats. Aside from VLC Blu-ray playback capabilities, as freeware for ripping Blu-ray, it also offers a Blu-ray ripping feature. This feature allows users to extract the contents of unencrypted Blu-ray discs and save them as digital files on their computer. In addition, it enables users to select the desired output format, such as MP4 and MKV, and configure various settings like audio tracks, subtitles, and chapters.

Following the guides below, you will learn how to rip Blu-ray to a computer.

1.First, download VLC and install it on your PC. Insert the Blu-ray disc on your Blu-ray drive, then launch VLC afterward.

2.Click the Media tab on the top menu bar and choose Convert/Save from the dropdown menu. It will open the Open Media dialog box.

3.In the Open Media dialog box, click the Disc tab. Check the Blu-ray option and select the Blu-ray drive from the dropdown menu.

4.Click the Convert/Save button to open the Convert dialog box.

5.Select the desired output format for the ripped files in the Convert dialog box. You can choose formats like MP4, MKV, or others, depending on your preferences.

6.Click the Browse button to select where to save the ripped files. Click the Start button to perform the ripping process.

VLC Media Player’s user-friendly interface makes it relatively easy to navigate and use for ripping Blu-ray discs. While VLC can handle basic Blu-ray ripping, it may lack advanced features in dedicated Blu-ray ripping software, such as specific optimization options and editing capabilities.

How to Rip a Blu-ray with HandBrake

HandBrake is one of the best Blu-ray ripper programs that lets users rip Blu-ray files into other formats. It supports various input sources, including Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and video files. When ripping a Blu-ray to a flash drive, HandBrake provides a convenient and user-friendly interface. It allows users to select a Blu-ray disc as the source, choose their desired output format, adjust settings, and specify the destination folder on their flash drive where the ripped video will be saved.

Want to learn how to use HandBrake to rip Blu-ray to a hard drive, particularly a flash drive? Then, follow the steps below.

1.To start with, download HandBrake and install it. Put the Blu-ray disc into the Blu-ray drive and open the HandBrake afterward.

2.Click the Source button to scan and detect the Blu-ray disc.

3.Afterward, Handbrake will display a list of titles on the Blu-ray disc. Select the title you want to rip.

4.Under the Output Settings section, choose the desired output format for the ripped video.

If you want to optimize parameters (RF & H.265), just Go to the Video tab and select H.265 (x265) as the Video Codec for the best size-to-quality ratio.

Set the Constant Quality (RF) to 20-22 for 1080p or 22-24 for 4K. Lower RF numbers result in higher quality but larger files.

5.Click the Browse button and choose the flash drive as the folder where the ripped video will be saved.

6.Click the Start button to initiate the ripping process. Handbrake will convert the Blu-ray into the selected format and save it to your flash drive.

While HandBrake can rip Blu-rays directly into a flash drive, its ripping speed may be slower than other ripping software focusing solely on Blu-ray disc extraction. The transcoding process can take longer, especially for high-quality Blu-ray videos.

How to Rip a Blu-ray with MakeMKV

MakeMKV is a free Blu-ray ripper for Windows, macOS, and Linux that offers a 30-day free trial. It converts proprietary, protected Blu-ray discs with the latest versions of AACS and BD+ to MKV files. This file format retains most of the information such as video, audio tracks, chapter information, and so on without changing in any way, and almost all platforms support the playback of this file format.

Next, let's start ripping Blu-rays with MakeMKV.

1.Launch MakeMKV and ensure your LibreDrive-compatible optical drive is recognized in the "Source" dropdown.

Insert the Blu-ray Disc into your Windows or Mac computer's drive. Launch MakeMKV and let it automatically recognize your Blu-ray disc. Then, click Open Blu-ray disc.

Click the "Large Drive" icon to scan the disc. Once finished, check the box for the Main Movie title (usually the one with the largest file size and 15+ chapters).

2.After loading, you can see the detailed information on the Blu-ray disc content, including titles, chapters, subtitles, and so on. You can check the boxes according to your needs.

3.After selecting the content you want to save on the Blu-ray disc to be ripped, click the Make MKV button and wait for the Blu-ray ripping to be completed.

Part 4. Comparison of the Four Methods to Rip a Blu-ray

To provide the most objective data for speed and quality, we conducted all tests in a standardized, high-performance environment designed to minimize bottlenecks.

1. Hardware Configuration (The Test Bench)

• • CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K / AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (Ensuring maximum multi-core processing for encoding).
• • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (Used to test HEVC/H.265 Hardware Acceleration).
• • RAM: 64GB DDR5 @ 6000MHz.
• • Optical Drive: LG WH16NS60 (Flashed with LibreDrive firmware to ensure full access to 4K UHD encryption).
• • Storage: 2TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD (To ensure high-speed data writing without lag).

2. Test Media (Reference Discs)

We didn't just test one disc; we used a variety of media to challenge the software’s decryption capabilities:

• • Standard Blu-ray: Oppenheimer (BD-50, high-bitrate VC-1/AVC).
• • 4K UHD Blu-ray: Dune: Part Two (Triple-layer BD-100, featuring Dolby Vision and Atmos).
• • Old/Scratched Disc: A legacy 2010 Blu-ray disc to test the software's Error Correction and "Read Retry" capabilities.

3. Software Version

All tests were performed on Windows 11 (24H2) and macOS 16, using the latest stable builds of each software as of January 2026.

Whether you prioritize speed, original quality, or budget, here is how they stack up:

Quick Verdict: Which One Should You Use?

• • Choose AnyMP4 Blu-ray Ripper if: You want a hassle-free, fast experience and need your movies to play on specific devices like iPhone, PS5, or Smart TVs. Its built-in editor and GPU acceleration save hours of work.
• • Choose MakeMKV if: You are a "Quality Purist" with massive storage space who wants an exact 1:1 digital replica of the disc in MKV format.
• • Choose Handbrake if: You already have a decrypted file or ISO and simply want to compress it to a smaller size for mobile viewing.
• • Choose VLC if: You are in a rush and need to rip an old, unencrypted disc without installing new software.