You should be able to read the manual that came with your external DVD drive If you're not sure what type of USB cable connects it to your laptop. According to the capture card you're using, you may need to open the capture card's software first to watch anything from your DVD Player.

As with other programs, there are a number of presets ready for you to choose from, but you can also manually tailor each ripping session if you prefer. Since your laptop most likely has an "HDMI Out" port only, you cannot run an HDMI from the "HDMI Out" port on your DVD Player to the "HDMI Out" port on your laptop. When you download the software, it installs as a trial version, but the DVDFab HD Decrypter – which you need for DVD and Blu-ray ripping – remains free forever. As good as VLC is, we can understand if you're wary of using a third-party software, so we'll provide instructions on Microsoft's software.If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line. Our current pick for the top free DVD ripper is Handbrake, an open-source tool that can save movies in virtually any format.

A stretched cable could cause interruptions in your audio or video output, so make sure the cables between the DVD Player and the video capture card and between the capture card and your laptop aren't pulled too tightly. If you're working with ISO images or disc folders, it's possible to queue up multiple encoding jobs to run consecutively to save having to be around when each finishes. During testing, we found it to be an utter delight to use with an easy-to-understand interface that shouldn't feel intimidating to even beginner users. As well as handling DVDs, the program, is also capable of ripping Blu-ray discs, and the process works in exactly the same way in each case (although it's worth noting that Blu-ray ripping is only be free while the program is in beta).Bear in mind, however, that the free version is only available for 30 days, offering a 30-day trail. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. For the very best output, we found that you need to manually work through quite a number of settings.

Some video capture cards will have a USB attachment at the end opposite of where you plug in the HDMI cable. To play a Blu-ray Disc, you need to use a non-Microsoft program that supports Blu-ray playback and a device capable of reading Blu-ray Discs. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This lacks a few of the features found in the premium version (mainly speed-related and a couple of specific DRM cracks), but you'll still have the best free DVD ripper on your hands that you can use indefinitely. Freemake is a name synonymous with powerful, high quality freeware, and Freemake Video Converter doesn't let the side down.

If you've purchased a computer with a DVD player built in, odds are very good that it came with its own software for playing DVDs. You can choose to rip the built-in subtitles or embed your own, and you can select which audio tracks should be included; it's all beautifully simple and pleasingly fast.