How to digitize your DVDs

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It wasn't long agone that a bookcase filled with DVDs and Blu-ray discs was a living room staple. These days, almost anything that you lot want to picket can be establish on one of the best streaming services, and odds are that a well-curated DVD shelf is redundant. While commercially produced films and tv shows are protected under copyright law, and we don't condone unlawful reproduction of this material, if you've got home movies (weddings, graduations, sweet 16s etc.) captured on disc format it might exist fourth dimension to consider converting them to digital.

As is the case when you digitize your VHS tapes, digitizing your DVDs and Blu-rays will besides free upwardly shelf space, help preserve your memories, and give you the chance to edit and share them using the best video editing software.

Hither'south how to digitize your DVDs, both at home and past using a service.

How to digitize photos, negatives, and film slides
Best photograph editing software

How to digitize your personal DVDs at dwelling house

Personal DVDs and Blu-Ray are ane of the easier formats to digitize at home, merely you will need a few items:

A computer with a DVD/Blu-ray drive, or an external drive

If you accept a estimator with an optical drive, you're probably all set, but if you lot are working with a newer machine or laptop that lacks a dedicated disc drive, you will need to pick up an external drive.

Basic external DVD drives are relatively inexpensive — generally around $25 — simply if you want a drive that can also read Blu-ray discs, you'll have to spend effectually $100. Here are a few options that are uniform with Windows and Macs.

External CD Drive USB 3.0 Portable CD DVD
5 in i External Blu ray DVD Drive, USB3.0 type-C
Blu-Ray Player External USB DVD RW Laptop Burner Drive
MthsTec USB 3.0 and Type-C Blu-Ray Burner DVD Burner

DVD copying software

In addition to a disc drive, you will need a program to rip the files off of your discs, and a programme to transcode the files subsequently the fact. There are tons of programs out there for ripping and transcoding files; we recommend MakeMKV for ripping and Handbrake for transcoding—both of these programs are free, open source software and available for both Mac and PC.

An external hard drive (optional)

Unless your computer has a ton of storage, we also recommend purchasing one of the all-time external hard drives to save all your video files.

To go started, but pop your DVD or Blu-ray disc into an optical drive connected to your computer.

Open up MakeMKV and click the disc icon to start the procedure. MakeMKV will evidence yous what tin can be ripped from the disc, you lot select the content you want and so select an Output Folder for the ripped files to be saved.

Click the "Make MKV" button to start the process.

After the ripped files have been saved to your hard drive, launch Handbrake to convert them into an MP4 file, which allows you to more easily edit and play the video on a diverseness of devices or platforms. Handbrake includes a lot of built-in presets for certain devices making it easy to optimize your files for wherever you intend to watch. Handbrake besides lets you resize files—something that can exist quite handy when you are dealing with massive Blu-Ray files.

Once more, nosotros only recommend this process for personal DVDs or Blu-Ray discs—material that isn't copyright protected.

How to digitize DVDs: Mail-in services

Digitizing your personal DVDs at home is a lot easier than converting former VHS tapes or pic negatives. The procedure requires way less equipment and specialized knowledge, so it's no surprise that there are relatively few companies that offering this as a mail-in service. All the same, merely similar a VHS tape, the DVD and Blu-ray format isn't considered archival—if you've got personal footage sitting on a disc, it'due south also worth having a fully digital copy. Here are some companies that offer the service.

DiJiFi

DiJiFi is based in Brooklyn, New York and has been digitizing old media since 2007. Information technology handles photos, slides, negatives, sound, video, books, microfilm and has provided digitization services for a number of New York-based organizations like the Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the New York City Fire Department. It is also ane of the few companies that specialize in converting DVD discs to digital files. Standard output is NTSC 720x480 (four:3) and PAL 720x540 (4:iii), but the company can also output 16:nine in an MP4 format for editing or sharing. Footage can exist saved to a USB drive. Get in touch with DiJiFi for an estimate on the service.

Leave a Legacy

Based out of Fort Collins, Colorado, Go out a Legacy has been digitizing media since 2006. It offers digitization on a variety of formats, including converting DVDs into the MP4 format. In improver to conversion, it will save the files on an external drive for an additional charge. Media can exist dropped off in person or mailed in. Contact the visitor for rates and processing time.

DVDWalmart

Walmart offers a more one-size-fits all digitization service through DVDWalmart, a.k.a. YesVideo. Its digital media transfer service is $15.96 for the first xxx minutes of footage, and $five.46 for each additional 30 minutes. Footage tin be saved to a USB for $12.96 and is stored online for sixty days in MemoryCloud. Media can exist mailed in or dropped off in-person. Turn around fourth dimension for the service tin accept up to 3-4 weeks.

Vudu

If y'all are looking to digitize commercial DVDs or Blu-ray discs—basically anything protected under copyright law—a service similar Vudu is going to be your best pick. Vudu'due south disc to digital collect allows you to browse the UPC of your existing DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, convert to a digital format, which is then downloadable or can be viewed through the Vudu app. The conversion service costs $2 per disc and works with iOS or Android. Keep in listen that not every movie is going to exist supported by Vudu, merely it does have a search tool on its website to cheque eligibility.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-digitize-dvds

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How to digitize your DVDs