I recommend using the H.2p30 preset for Blu-rays, and the H.264 MKV 576p26 or H.264 MKV 480p30 presets for DVDs. In the Presets drawer, click the disclosure triangle next to Matroska (MKV stands for Matroska video) and choose one of the presets. If you want to retain your videos in MKV format but save space, you can use HandBrake to convert these videos to smaller MKV files. When you have an MKV file, you choose it as a source in HandBrake, and follow the same procedure as with a DVD. My previous article explains how to rip a DVD with HandBrake. I won’t go into detail here about how to do this. If you do want to convert your video to an Apple-compatible format that you can add to your iTunes library, play on an Apple TV, and sync to an iOS device, it’s time to use HandBrake. If you click the disclosure triangle next to the disc, you can choose to exclude different parts of a disc, such as the main feature and bonuses, or different episodes for a TV series you can also exclude any audio and subtitle tracks you don’t need. The MakeMKV interface lets you select which elements from a disc you want to rip. MakeMKV will read the disc, then display its contents.

Launch MakeMKV, insert a disc in your optical drive, then click the big button that looks like an optical drive. While macOS doesn’t support Blu-ray discs, any software that can read such discs will be able to do so from this drive, or any other. I have long used the Pioneer BDR-XD05B, which is a bus-powered drive (it doesn’t need a separate power supply) that supports USB 3. You’ll need an optical drive to rip DVDs, and if you want to rip Blu-rays, you’ll need a Blu-ray drive (which can also rip CDs and DVDs).

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