Best Free Software for Ripping DVDs on Mac: HandBrake or MacTheRipper?

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Handbrake VS MacTheRipper: Which is the Better Free DVD Ripper for Mac

I’m currently using HandBrake 1.5.1, but know MactheRipper is extremely popular…. Is MactheRipper better than Handbrake, can MactheRipper rip things faster? - MacForums

By Bella Brown ｜Last updated onJanuary 21, 2022

Handbrake and MacTheRipper are two popular free DVD rippers on the Mac platforms. The two Mac DVD rippers can easily rip DVDs on Mac, whereupon you can enjoy movies on the go without stuffing the cumbersome DVDs into your knapsack. In view that many users don’t know how to choose between Handbrake and MacTheRipper, here we list the nitty-gritty about Handbrake vs MacTheRipper review, with pros, cons, and detailed features of both rippers.

Handbrake vs MacTheRipper

Short Answer

MacTheRipper is a better choice when the output quality is your first priority. It must be admitted that MacTheRipper is more powerful than Handbrake. However, even the latest MacTheRipper V4.0 may have compatibility problems on a Mac with the latest macOS. Moreover, getting a license of MTR is a bit of a hassle.
Handbrake DVD ripper for Mac will be your top choice to rip DVD to MP4, MKV, and WebM. It will even convert protected DVDs with the libdvdcss tricks. Meanwhile, it’s easier than MTR to get.

Handbrake and MactheRipper can’t Rip Protected DVDs [Fixed]

Free download the DVD ripper better than Handbrake and MacTheRipper MacX DVD Ripper Pro:

More output formats - Rip DVD to Mac MP4, MOV, H264, HEVC, QT, iPhone iPad, iMovie, Apple TV, etc. 420+ preset profiles with 98% quality. 1:1 DVD copy to ISO image, MPEG-2, and MKV with intact content.
More copy protections supported - Rip DVDs with CSS, region code, RCE, UOPs, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project, etc., no libdvdcss required.
Faster than MTR or Handbrake - DVD ripping speed accelerated by AMD, QSV, Nvidia GPU tech. Less than 5 minutes to rip a 2-hour full DVD into MP4.

Download for Mac Download for PC

Rip DVD on Mac for Free with MacTheRipper

MacTheRipper (as known as MTR) is a free DVD ripper (extractor) working under macOS. Same to Handbrake, MTR has received wide recognition for its powerful abilities to rip a DVD. To be specific, it offers 4 modes to help extract content from a DVD: ISO image, Rip & Rebuild (RnR), Batch extraction, and Main feature. Currently, there are three versions available: MTR 4.1, MTR 300, and MTR 2.6.6. Only MTR 2.6.6 is free but it only works on Mac OS X 10.6 Leopard and older.

MacTheRipper

Pros:

Mac The Ripper has a stand-alone DVDProbe application to help disable CSS encryption and Macrovision protection, remove region code by setting the disc’s region to ‘0’ for region-free and get rid of RCE region checking. Better still, it allows you to copy DVDs on Mac in VIDEO_TS folder, regardless of ARccOS copy protection.
Unlike the complicated Handbrake, MacTheRipper has a very clear manual and an intuitive interface, which makes it more acceptable by non-professionals.
MacTheRipper can rip DVD to VOB without quality loss. It contains the full menus, and extra features.
MacTheRipper endeavors to rip the main feature of a 100-min DVD movie in 22 minutes and 52 seconds, which is really a shorter period of time compared with other similar DVD rippers for Mac.

Cons:

MTR 2.6.6 does not work on macOS later than Snow Leopard. Even the latest MacTheRipper 4.1 only works on Mac OS X 10.7 or older OS. Compared to MactheRipper, Handbrake has a better compatibility with the latest macOS.
MacTheRipper 3.0 and MacTheRipper 4.1 is not free. And you have to send a gift which can cost up to $40 and finish the complex process to get the registration code.
Mac The Ripper can only copy DVD to hard drive in VIDEO_TS folder, which is not supported by most portable devices. And the extract media can be large in size. If you want to watch DVDs on your iPhone, iPad, Android, Handbrake is better than Mac The Ripper.
MacTheRipper only supports part of the Macrovision and CSS protections. Note that MacTheRipper 4 doesn’t support commercial DVD movies. Same to Handbrake, MacTheRipper won’t deal with other protections like ARccOS, AACS, CPRM, Disney, etc.

Free Rip DVD Movie on Mac with Handbrake

Handbrake, similar to MacTheRipper, has a long history and still dominates the DVD ripper market whether you are using Mac, Linux, or Windows. This free DVD ripper allows Mac users to liberate movie content from the stiff disc and make it viewable on iPhone iPad without striking a blow. One of the big reasons that people love it is: it’s free and open-source, and it gets the job done easily.

Handbrake

Pros:

Handbrake provides handy presets for Apple devices, etc, making it pretty easier. So if you want to rip DVD for playing on iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, this free DVD ripper for Mac can be your first choice.
Compared with Mac The Ripper, Handbrake supports more output formats. It rips DVD to MP4, MKV, and WebM formats with smaller size while MacTheRipper only helps to save DVD in VIDEO_TS folder.
Handbrake supports GPU acceleration techs to speed up the whole DVD ripping. It is able to rip DVD to H.264/H.265 at a fast speed with high quality.
There are a wide range of settings and editing features to customize the output video.

Cons:

MacTheRipper is better than Handbrake in dealing the copy protection as Handbrake itself can’t rip any DVDs protected by CSS, Sony ARccOS, Region protection, UOP, APS, etc. But it’s able to remove CSS with the VLC libdvdcss library.
While Handbrake is able to rip DVD to other formats, it can’t keep the special features/menus. That’s to say, compared to MacTheRipper, Handbrake will generate quality loss.
While MacTheRipper is easy to use, Handbrake is not. While there are various settings and parameters in Handbrake to customize the DVD ripping, getting started with Handbrake requires a steep learning curve.
Handbrake DVD ripping problems occur now and then, including unable to detect DVD disc, no valid source found, DVD ripping hangs, jagged edge, poor CPU utilization in Handbrake, video audio garbled, incomplete DVD rips, etc.

Head-to-Head Comparison of Handbrake and MacTheRipper Features

Both Mactheripper and Handbrake realize your different needs of ripping DVDs. To make things clearer when you decide which is better in the Handbrake vs MacTheRipper battle, below we list the main features of the two rippers. We also include the popular DVD ripper for Mac MacX DVD Ripper Pro as the alternative to Handbrake and MacTheRipper so as to help you figure out where the two free DVD rippers are.

About the Handbrake and MacTheRipper alternative: copy protected DVD 1:1 to ISO image/MPG/MKV and rip DVDs to MP4, FLV, AVI, MOV, WMV, Apple, Android, PS, Xbox One, etc. Fast speed and reliable DVD ripping performance.

Feature	Handbrake & MTR Alternative	Handbrake	MacTheRipper
Decrypt DVDs	Keep updated with the latest protections like CSS, region code, RCE, UOPs, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project, etc.	No. With libdvdcss, it will support DVDs with CSS.	CSS, Macrovision, region code, and RCE
Copy DVD	1:1 DVD to ISO image, Video_TS folder, MPEG2, and MKV	No	Video_TS folder
Rip DVD	MP4, MOV, HEVC, H.264, MPEG4, QT, WMV, FLV, iMovie, more.	MP4, MKV, WebM	No
Presets	420+ presets for mobiles, TVs, game consoles, social media, etc.	A slew of presets for mobile phones, tablets, TV media players, and game consoles	No
Advanced settings	Adjust the video/audio parameters like frame rate, bit rate, aspect ratio, subtitle/audio channel, etc.	Adjust the video/audio parameters like frame rate, bit rate, aspect ratio, etc.	No
Editing	Merge, trim, crop, compress, add subtitles, etc.	Flip, rotate, crop, resize, deinterlace, and more.	No
GPU support	Unique Level-3 hardware acceleration to rip a DVD within 5 minutes	AMD, QSV, and Nvidia for H.264 and H.265	No
macOS supported	macOS 10.12 and later	macOS 10.12 and later	Mac OS X 10.6 Leopard & older for V2.6.6 and V3.0; Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion & older for V4.0

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bella Brown

Bella has been working with DVD digitization for over 12 years. She writes articles about everything related to DVD, from disc drive, DVD copyright protection, physical structure, burning and backup tips. The unceasing passion of DVD movies helps him build a rich DVD library and ensure a practical solution to address almost all possible DVD issues. Bella is also a crazy fan for Apple products.

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Best Free Software for Ripping DVDs on Mac: HandBrake or MacTheRipper?