Sometimes you find it quite troublesome that you can't play some new DVDs on your standalone DVD player. If you get a new Windows 7 or 8 computer, you may find that it can't play your DVDs as Microsoft omitted this feature in Windows 7and 8. Likewise, there seems to be the same on the Mac. Even though optical media is going the way of VHS tape, there are still many contents in DVD format. So let me share 5 best free DVD player software with you to address the problem of lacking native DVD playback on Windows 7/8/8.1/10 platforms. With these free DVD player software, you could freely play DVD disc on PC.
Help will be appreciated. Dvd decoder HAndbrake(new v. Just out) works beautifully BUT Does anyone know of a decoding software (like dvd 43) I used on my windows machine?
Part 1: 5 Best Free DVD Player Software for Windows
Top 1. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
Download for Mac Download for PC. Load DVD Movies or DVD Folder. Free download DVD decoder on Mac and run it. Click 'DVD Disc' or 'DVD Path' button to import the DVD movie you want to decrypt to MPEG-2 file. Choose MPEG-2 file as Output format. On the pop-up window, pick out 'Main Title Content Copy' or 'Full Title Copy' from 'DVD Backup. The VLC media player does not need a separate decoder to play DVDs, so it's the best free solution for using a computer DVD player with no DVD decoder software. While you can play your DVD's with a VLC player, other media players such as Windows Media Player does require an encoder to play DVD's.
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is the prior free DVD player software for you to play DVD on Windows 8/7/8.1/10 for free. This DVD player software freeware offers lifelong free service for playing DVD folders, DVD discs, DVD ISO files and IFO files on Windows. It is also a region free DVD player software program that could play back all DVD discs from different places and countries. The most recent DVD releases are supported. It is recommended as the best free DVD playing software also since it is a free Blu-ray player to playback all Blu-ray discs (regardless of disc protection and region codes), a free HD media player to play up to 1080p and 4K videos, a music player to tune in favorite music. This free DVD playing software has gradually become the most popular free software to play DVD, Blu-ray and HD movies on the computer. Moreover, it provides both versions for Windows and Mac.
Top 2. BlazeDVD Free
The BlazeDVD Free is mainly featuring all the DVD playback on Windows computers. To be more precise, it has the best compatibility with Windows 10 system. As so many people may have problems with DVD won't play on Windows 10 as well as most media contents because the WMP seems not to work. The free DVD player for Windows 10 also supports DVD, CD, VCD, and SVCD. This software can help solve most formats including MP4, AVI, MPEG, RMVB, VOB, WMV, DTS.
Top 3. MPL Free DVD Player
MPL Free DVD Player is another great Windows DVD player free for all users on Windows XP, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, Windows 8, WinVista, and WinVista x64. You can load up a number of video and audio files in XviD, MKV, MP4, WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG, AAC. While it is able to display DVD media data, you can also play DVD, VCD, SVCD by the tool. Acting as an open-source media player, its codec library can be amended and added to as more as you like.
Top 4. GOM Player
I should mention GOM Player in this list. It's another free software to play DVD in Windows 8. Not only DVD, but it could also play files in formats such as AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF. It's also capable of playing even the damaged video files by skipping the frames. If you come across a file it cannot play, it will direct you to the appropriate open-source codec to install.
Top 5. UM Player
As a free multimedia player, it builds in over 270 video and audio codecs so you can handle nearly all media formats, including DVD, AAC, AC3, ASF, AVI, DIVX, FLV, H.263, Matroska, MOV, MP3, MP4, MPEG, OGG, QT, RealMedia, VOB, Vorbis, WAV, WMA, WMV, XVID and many more. This unique free DVD player software also has unique features such as subtitles search, skinnable interface, customizable hotkeys and a lot more. The UM Player also reads damaged media files and scratched CD/DVD.
Part 2: 5 Best Free DVD Player Software for Mac
Top 1. 5KPlayer
This free DVD player software for Mac has a very reliable capability of playing DVD and DVD ISO image files. Besides, some common video formats like MP4, AVI, DivX, FLV, M2TS, MKV, MPEG, MTV, MXF, OGM, RMVB, SWF are all available. At the same time, all the playback process are coming with good quality and high speed. Additional features like streaming media on different devices via AirPlay, download videos online from Vimeo, screenshots, and more are offered. The interface has a modern design and the navigation is easy to understand.
Top 2. VLC Media Player
For the Mac systems, the second-best free DVD player software recommendation is VLC Media Player. If you have trouble playing a DVD media file or you can't play it in your standard media player, let VLC do you a big favor. This free DVD playback software can be seen as a default player, simply because most individuals never get a message saying that a codec isn't supported. That includes playing commercial DVD movies. However, I know many people spend money on DVD playing software since VLC doesn't support commercial Blu-ray discs due to the copy protection involved. For that, you can trust the above Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for Mac.
Top 3. KMPlayer
Highly praised open-source multimedia application. You can use this free DVD player software to play DVD on Mac systems as well as Windows 7 and 8. Just like VLC, this DVD player software freeware contains its own internal codecs and is able to play virtually any media file you throw at it including VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, FLV and QuickTime. It has an extra feature to play incomplete or damaged AVI file.
Top 4. Real Player
Decades before, the Real Player had won its majority users on Windows because of its specialty on decoding technologies. Now the developed version has brought its new adventure on Mac OS X computers, and it works fine as it should be. Getting more Mac users with optimistic reviews, you can totally try the download DVD player for Mac free. It succeeds where Windows Media Player fails. With an improved graphic equalizer, users will enjoy the DVD media contents in a richer experience.
Top 5. QuickTime Media player
There is always one reason for people consuming Apple products like Mac OS computers and laptops. That could be the preinstalled utility by the Mac system. QuickTime also has a brilliant functionality to support DVD and multiple video formats playbacks. Since this free DVD player is born with the system, it operates seamlessly on Mac as Mac users can make full use of this tool. However, from time to time, QuickTime might have problems playing uncommon media files.
Part 3: How to Play DVD on Windows
In this part, I will introduce a practical and simple guide to play DVD free on Windows system. You can try out the free DVD player for Windows 10, Leawo Blu-ray Player as the best free DVD player.
Step 1: Download the Windows DVD player free online and install it on the Windows computer.
Step 2: Open the program to get into the home interface. Here, insert a DVD disc into your DVD drive, then the name of the DVD will pop up on the main window. Just click on the disc name and the playback will begin. When the software has loaded the DVD media contents successfully, you will then see it on the playlist.
Step 3: Once the DVD playback is running, there are some shortcuts to adjust settings from multiple aspects. You can move the mouse to the title area where you could see 4 icons showing up to represent subtitle settings, video settings, audio settings, and menu.
Step 4: The first is about the subtitle settings. While you are moving toward the upper-left corner, quickly click on the first icon. That is the image of the subtitle settings. It is able to see a panel like below suggesting the options can be changed, including Enable (Disable) subtitles, Subtitle offset, Subtitle selecting, Browse for subtitle.
Step 5: The second one is for making video changes so as to fully control the DVD playback. So click on the second 'Video setting' icon for reaching the video adjustment panel. Here in the video-setting panel, there are a lot more parameters you can manipulate. You are allowed to select the method for deinterlacing, deinterlace or not, crop black bars to enhance visual effects, modify the brightness and contrast, etc.
Step 6: Try on the third option around the title area to set audio parameters. For some people, audio is one of the most important parts for DVD media contents. So for that, users are able to change options including audio volume, volume amplification that helps boost the sound over the maximum, audio offset, audio stream, the output method, the output device, etc.
Part 4: How to Play DVD on Mac
Mac users could also have a look at how to play DVD with the native free DVD player for Mac, the QuickTime player. Before starting the DVD playback, you should check if your Mac computer is connected to an external DVD disc drive.
Step 1: Put the DVD disc you want to play into the DVD drive.
Step 2: Launch the local free DVD player for Mac by double-clicking on the icon. Actually, some people think the program is not working when the interface would not come up for some versions. But the truth is that it pops as a little icon on the dock meaning it is operating.
Step 3: Once the DVD is inserted, you can find the disc name and information from the Finder. Just double click on the DVD file icon, then QuickTime will be automatically called out with a window to start loading the DVD.
Step 4: Click on the 'Play' button to begin playing DVD media contents.
Extras: How to Convert DVD to MP4
Converting your DVD disc to MP4 video is recommended if you wish to digitize your DVD movies. That is because MP4 is the most popular video format, and you can always easily share it and play it anywhere. You will need a software such as Leawo DVD Ripper for the ripping job, because it is among the best DVD rippers available today. It has top class features such as;
Leawo DVD Ripper
☉ Decrypt and rip DVD discs with disc protection and region code
☉ Convert DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ HD/SD formats
☉ Convert DVD main movie to videos for space saving
☉ Convert 2D DVD movies to 3D movies with 6 different 3D effects
☉ Fast conversion with NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP and Intel Quick Sync acceleration technologies
This software has many more features, which you can learn about form the product page. Whether you are using Windows or macOS, the software is available for both platforms. Once you have downloaded this software, follow the steps below for using it;
Step 1: Load the source DVD disc
Insert your DVD disc into your disc drive, then launch Leawo Prof. Media. Open the “Convert” module, and then click the 'Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD' button on the main interface.
Step 2: Select the output format
Click the drop-down list next to the “Add Photo” button.Select“Change” to enter the Profile settings panel where you can choose the output format from the“Format” group, in this case MP4 video.
Note: You can click the same drop-down list and click the 'Edit' button to adjust the video and audio parameters of the output files. They include video and audio codec, bit rate, aspect ratio, frame rate, channel, etc.
Step 3: Start ripping your DVDs
Click the green “Convert” button and then set the output directory to save the final converted DVD movies in the “Save to” box. Click the button again and the ripping should start. The ripped videos will be saved onto your hard drive in the format you chose.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
DVD ripping is increasingly becoming popular because many people wish to convert their premium movies to a flexible format, so they can always play them back without limitation. However, if this is the first time you’re getting to hear or read about DVD ripping, this is the simplest definition to the phrase – DVD Ripping is a process of extracting the audio and visual content of a disc (DVD) and saving it as a portable media format, most preferably – MP4.
Here, we have listed the top free DVD ripper software for ripping DVDs, as well as explain how to rip a DVD on a Windows 10 PC or Mac.
2. Top 10 Free DVD Ripping Software for 2020
We ‘ve gathered the top 10 ripping software most frequently recommended by the users in 2020, see the list below:
Next, let’s find out more about each of those free DVD ripper software and what are they capable of.
Available on: Windows 7/8/10, Mac OS 10.10 and later
Arguably, DVDFab DVD Ripper is the best DVD ripping software you’ll find at the moment. DVDFab DVD Ripper is capable of ripping and converting any DVD to conventional video formats to play back your movies/series on any media player. It is fast and comes with a bunch of impressive features you’ll find to be handy for the need. More so, DVDFab DVD Ripper is far better than most other free DVD ripper software apps, thanks to the numerous cutting-edge technologies and algorithms used in the back-end engine.
Furthermore, it is easier to use DVDFab DVD Ripper because the ripping process is intuitive and straightforward. With multi-platform support – you can use this DVD ripping software either on Mac or Windows computers.
Highlights:
- Reads 2D and 3D DVDs
- Reads DVD folders
- Supports ISO image files as input
- Upscale DVDs up to 1080p quality, thanks to the patented Enlarger AI technology (sold separately).
- Supports insurmountable output formats
- Has a free DVD ripper version and a premium version
How to Rip a DVD on Windows 10
The interfaces on DVDFab DVD Ripper are almost self-explanatory. Plus, the ripping process is swift and straightforward.
First Step:
Download and install DVDFab DVD Ripper on your MacBook or Windows PC, here we would take Windows version as an example. Then launch the software and load your DVD from a source. The source can be a disc, DVD folder on your PC or an ISO file. Interestingly, the main interface allows for drag and drop.
Free Dvd Decoder Vista
Second Step:
Now that your DVD has been loaded to the interface, look to the left panel and select a profile, as well as the audio tracks and subtitles. You can further customize the available audio & video parameters via the Advanced Settings menu. Additionally, a built-in video editor helps you to edit the video (if necessary). When you’re done with all these, go to the bottom pane and choose a path/folder to save your DVD when it is finally ripped.
Third Step:
Click the “Start Button” to trigger the ripping process. You will be able to see the progress in real-time, and you can actually cancel if you wish. More interestingly, DVDFab DVD Ripper provides you with options to either automatically shut down your computer, hibernate your PC, exit the program, or do nothing when the ripping process finishes.
Final Notes:
DVDFab DVD Ripper takes an edge over other free DVD Ripping Software with Enlarger AI tech and other unmentioned techs that power the software’s engine like GPU acceleration. However, DVDFab DVD Ripper is only available for free for the first 30 days of using the software.
Available on: Windows 7/8/10, Mac OS 10.11 and later
Throw your premium DVD to Handbrake and watch as it will carefully rip the disc and leave you with a video file you can playback on any media player. Handbrake is an open-source DVD ripper software that is available across platforms – Mac, Windows, and Linux. With support for many video codecs coupled with its distinctive GUI, Handbrake DVD software can accept any DVD file you present to it.
Interestingly, Handbrake happens to be one of the best DVD ripping software that’s totally available for free.

Highlights:
- Supports various video and audio encoders
- Picks up any DVD file
- Audio Pass-thru: AC-3, E-AC3, DTS, DTS-HD, TrueHD, AAC, and MP3
- Flexible settings
- Supports chapter markers and subtitles
- VFR and CFR support
How to rip protected DVD with Handbrake:
Handbrake is a free and open-source DVD ripping software with a user-friendly interface.
- Step 1: Download and install Handbrake on your computer and load your DVD file(s)
- Step 2: Set the various parameters for your video – make sure that you select an output profile for your DVD movie. Click on the dropdown box beside “Format.”
- Step 3: Choose a folder on your storage drive to save the ripped DVD movie.
- Step 4: Trigger the process by clicking on the “Start” button
Final Notes:
The main UI of Handbrake is a bit complex – there are lots of options shattered on the software window. Someone may get confused and activate some settings he/she shouldn’t have touched.
Available on: Windows, Mac OS
MakeMKV is a free DVD ripper software for Windows, Linux, and macOS PC users. It is a handy software app you can get to rip any DVD you’ve got. This software features a graphical user interface that is not so difficult to understand and navigate. Loading your DVD into the interface isn’t done through drag n drop method as with the DVDFab DVD Ripper software; you’ve got to click on the “bar” below “Source” and select your disc.
However, it is important to note that this software will only rip DVD to MKV format. Most media players widely support MKV format, but it's obviously not as compatible as MP4.
Highlights
- Totally free to use
- Reads protected discs
- Preserves chapters information and metadata
- Opens all kinds of DVD discs for free
How to Use MakeMKV

- Download the software from the official website and install on your computer
- Launch the app and select your DVD disc (supports only discs as input)
- Customize the available video and audio parameters to suit your taste
- Click on the “MakeMKV” button to trigger the ripping process
Final Notes:
MakeMKV is limited in quite so many ways, and it cannot be used to rip DVDs to any other format asides MKV.
Available on: Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
The developer of Freemake DVD Ripper software claims that hundreds of millions of people have used this software for ripping their DVDs. Well, the Freemake DVD Ripper is a piece of handy utility software for ripping DVD discs to different output formats. The app flaunts a modernized interface where users can easily access the app’s features and customize the various supported settings for ripping DVDs. With Freemake, you have what is likely the best free DVD ripper software for Windows.
Highlights:
- Rips your DVD and retain the subtitles in the ripped file
- Reduce the size of your DVD videos
- Supports a variety of formats
- You can save ripped videos to the cloud
How to rip a DVD with Freemake
- Download and install Freemake DVD Ripper on Windows computer
- Add your DVD file by clicking on the 'DVD' button.
- Choose an output profile/format for your video.
- Alternatively, you can customize the video parameters.
- Pick a storage directory and click on “Convert” to rip the DVD for free.
Final Notes:
Freemake DVD Ripper is a decent-enough free DVD ripping software for Windows. The app's interface is neat and easy to understand. However, Freemake doesn’t support ISO file images or DVD folders as with DVDFab’s DVD Ripper software.
Available on: Windows, Mac
One of the reasons people like the Winx DVD ripper free edition is because it provides a bunch of handy features for ripping DVD discs. Winx DVD Ripper boosts of a reliable, modernized engine that assures of fast-speed processing while ripping DVDs. The software is easy to use, supports a wide variety of formats, and comes with some patented technologies. There’s a macOS version of this app.
Highlights:
- Hardware encoder, decoder, and processor techs
- Supports over 200 codecs for video and audio
- Read all DVDs and ISO files.
- Intuitive and clean interface
How to use
Winx DVD Ripper works in a few steps and does not take too long to rip a disc.
- Launch Winx DVD Ripper on PC after downloading it from the developer’s site
- Load your DVD disc, DVD folder or ISO file – the options are available on the top menu
- Pick an output profile for your video.
- Customize other video/audio parameters if you wish
- Click on 'Run' to rip the disc.
Final Note
WinX DVD Ripper may appear as the closest alternative to DVDFab DVD Ripper software because of its high-tech features and support. However, the free version of WinX DVD Ripper does not rip DVD to MP4.
Available on: Windows, Mac OS
We all know VLC to be a top-notch, versatile media player with support for so many codecs and techs. Well, it can also be used to rip and convert DVDs to other flexible formats that can play on other media players. The process is quite different from other software apps listed in this article. VLC is a free audio/video player – also, it is a free DVD Ripper software for Windows and macOS users.
Highlights
- Supports all kinds of DVD discs
- Totally free to use
- Available across platforms – Linux, Windows, and macOS
How to rip a DVD with VLC:
- Download and install the VLC media player on your computer
- Launch the app and right-click on the blank interface, from the context menu, select 'Convert/Save.” You can simply click CTRL + R to get to the convert settings immediately.
- Toggle to the “Disc” tab, select DVD and load your disc
- Leave the settings as they are, or you can customize them if you know the implications.
- Click on the 'convert/save' button.
Final Notes:
VLC player doesn’t pack many features for effective and accurate DVD ripping. However, it can help if you need a totally free software.
Available on: Windows, Mac
This is quite an advanced utility for ripping and converting videos. It supports a wide range of output formats and boasts of sturdy techs being used for the back-end engine. However, VideoProc isn’t primarily a DVD Ripping software, but it has the capability to do that. It comes with an impressive user interface that anyone could easily understand and packs a couple of built-in tools for the job it is expected to do.
Highlights:
- Supports various inputs and output sources
- Rips DVD to digital formats in quite a good speed
- Flexible advanced settings and options
- Easy to use interface
- Mac and Windows support
How to use VideoProc in ripping DVDs
Firstly, you have to download the software on your computer, and then follow the steps below.
- Select DVD from the options you’ll see on the main interface, and load your DVD disc.
- Keep the DVD file system as 'auto-detect.'
- Click on the 'video' tab and select an output profile/format.
- Choose an output folder to save the video file.
- Now click on “Run” to start the process.
Final Notes:
Free Dvd Decoder Mac Version
VideoProc is a multi-feature software for running quite a lot of tasks. In addition to DVD ripping, VideoProc allows you to download online movies, as well as run other disc operations.
Available on: Windows only
This is a popular software for video conversion and DVD ripping. It is quite an advanced app for Windows PC users, and it comes with a stylish interface. The built-in tools you’ll find on MediaCoder are much; however, they are all customizable. As the name connotes, this software supports many codecs for video and audio.
Highlights:
- Video conversion in-between formats
- Supports DVD ripping
- Media enhancement techs
- Flexible parameters and multi-thread design
How to Use
- Launch the software on your computer and load your DVD via “Add Track.”
- Configure the video parameters
- Pick a digital output format
- Choose a location for the ripped file and click the “Start” button
Final Notes:
The interface of MediaCoder is quite a complex free DVD ripper and may confuse a PC user who is unfamiliar with such multipart interfaces.
Available on: Windows, Mac
The Tipard DVD Ripper software promises of 30x faster-processing speed than other similar free DVD rippers. It is a premium software with quite a lot of features. The software supports a wide variety of output formats – so, you can easily choose between MP4 and over 250 digital media formats. Using Tripard’s software, you can rip any DVD movie to your computer for playback on other media players.
Highlights
Free Dvd Decoder Windows 10
- The main interface supports drag and drop
- Recognizes DVD folders, discs, and image files
- Flexible settings for customizing the video output
- Built-in video editor
How to Use
- Download and install Tipard DVD Ripper and launch the program on your computer
- Load your DVD from either of the supported sources
- Select an output by clicking on the “MPG lossless” dropdown menu (at the top-right corner)
- Edit the video if you wish and also customize the parameters
- Click on “Rip All” to start the ripping process

Final Notes:
Tipard DVD Ripper comes with a whole lot of features and is specially designed for DVD ripping purposes. It is one of the closest alternatives to DVDFab DVD Ripper software.
Available on: Windows only
Last on this list is DVDShrink, a totally free utility software app that can be of great help when you’re looking for free DVD ripper software apps. However, this free app doesn't support so many features, and the interface isn't as friendly as you may have wished. There are quite a lot of parameters you can customize for your video when you use DVDShrink for ripping your DVD movie.
Highlights
- Capable of ripping any DVD movie
- Features customizable settings for ripping DVDs
- Supports re-authoring and video compression
How to Use DVDShrink to Rip DVD to Computer
- Install and launch DVDShrink on your computer
- Load your DVD movie by clicking on 'Open Disc.'
- Select “Backup” from the top menu
- Choose a storage location where the ripped file will be saved
- Toggle the tabs and configure the setting, you really understand the implications; otherwise, ignore them and head to the 'Burn Settings.'
- Click “ok” on the burn settings tab to rip your DVD
Final Notes:
You are presented with the choice to choose a custom format for your digital video. More so, DVDShrink isn’t as fast as DVDFab DVD Ripper, and it also doesn’t support a lot of features you may like to use, such as a built-in video editor.
Summary:
These are the best DVD ripping software apps you can get for Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. However, while some of these apps aren’t totally free, they offer flexible free-trial period, which you can leverage to get your movies converted into digital formats that can be easily played on portable media players and mobile devices.
You might be intereted in the Top 10 Best Free DVD Burning Software lastest in 2020, read more to find the suitable DVD burning method for yourself!