Use Your Mac to Copy Your Old DVDs & Burn Them to Disc [How To]

By

Screen shot 2010-09-20 at 9.37.39 PM

One of the biggest problems with physical media is that it breaks. As soon as your DVD gets a couple scratches it’s rendered un-usable and worthless. Copying a DVD with encryption isn’t as easy as it should be. The good news is that with this walkthrough Cult of Mac will show you how to do it.

Before we begin you’re going to need the following to download a free program called MacTheRipper. You can download the installation file HERE.

You’re also going to need to download some compression and burning software, which unfortunately there’s not a real viable option in the freeware department. I’m going to be using a program that compresses and burns all at once called Roxio Toast ($79). You can also use Roxio Popcorn ($49), DVD2oneX (39 Euros). DVD2oneX has a 30-day trial period if you’re not wanting to shell out some money.

First: Assuming your DVD is already inserted into your Mac, open up MacTheRipper. The software will automatically scan the disc for its region encoding. A few areas you’ll want to pay attention to are A) Disc Extraction – if you don’t want to rip all the special features and just want the main video then you have the option to just select it. B) DISC RCEif your disc contains Region Code Encryption, MacTheRipper will notify you. If such an instance occurs, make sure that you select the region you purchased your DVD from (USA is Region 1).

Second: Hit the Go button and wait while your movie is getting ripped.

Third: Now that you have the video file ripped you need to put it on a DVD-R. If you want your video to be as clean as the original then you can try burning it onto a Dual Layer DVD-R, but before you do that make sure to check the your DVD Player has the capability to play dual layer discs (a lot of older DVD Players like mine can’t) . Should your DVD player be able to play MP4 and AVI files then you can use Handbrake to compress and burn the files. But if you want a real 1 for 1 copy of your DVD and need to fit it on a Single Layer DVD-R the next steps will show you how to compress and burn the video file onto a Single Layer DVD-R that can be played on any DVD Player.

All three programs I mentioned earlier have the capability to compress and burn the DVD.

Here’s how to do it using Toast:

1) Select the Video Tab, and then select the “Video_TS Folders” Option on the left hand side.

2) Drag and drop the Video_TS folder of your DVD that was created by MacTheRipper into the Toast window.

3) Make sure the “Use Fit-to-DVD video compression” option is checked. By checking this Toast will calculate the compression rate needed to fit all the video onto your DVD. Now click the Burn option in the right hand corner.

4) Check that the quality and compression rate meet your standards. If you want a better looking video you can get rid of the features and choose to just burn the Main Feature of your video file. The less amount of data you have to compress the better quality you will have in the end.

5) Hit the OK button and wait while Toast compresses and burns your DVD. Once it’s done you have a DVD copy of your original encrypted DVD that can be played on your DVD player.

To burn a DVD in Popcorn, follow these steps: (courtesy of Wired)

1)  Open the application and click on the “Video_TS Folders” option from the menu on the left.
2) Grab the folder you saved using MacTheRipper and drag it onto the Popcorn window. Drop it on the big landing zone in the middle of the window.
3) Make sure the “Use Fit-to-DVD video compression” option in the lower left is checked.
4) Click the big red button in the lower right, then put in a blank DVD and click Burn.
5) Sit back and relax, you’re done. Your New DVD will be free of any DRM and region encoding and now you have backup copy should your original disc get lost scratched or otherwise become unplayable

Instructions on how to burn using DVD2one can be found on the company’s help website.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.