best software for dvd downloading

I've done this as follows, quick and easy, but there may be other ways too

Make a "new image" copy of a DVD using disk utlity. Be sure to select "DVD/CD Master" for format.

This gives you a ".CDR" file that can be played with VLC. If you want to create a physical DVD later on you can also burn the .CDR file using disk utlity.

Hope this helps.

Good afternoon,

If the DVDs are commercial and copy-protected, there isn't any Apple software to convert those DVDs into electronic files and it is a prohibited topic on these forums to discuss ways to defeat copy protection. Of course, many commercial DVDs are also available through AppleTV, "on-demand" cable services, streaming services, etc. and it is possible to have those movies available to you without having to store the DVDs at home.

If you made the DVDs, then there are a variety of options to convert those videos and slideshows back from DVD format, including a sidestep of the problem by storing the videos "in the cloud" (iCloud, YouTube, etc.). But if they are your DVDs, perhaps you would get a higher quality result if you work with the original source material -- for example, iMovie projects can be exported as high quality H.264 files from within iMovie.

John

we are downsizing our house and I need to get rid of DVDs and cds. Copied all cds but

how do I download my DVDs to watch on my mac at a later date?

I would strongly encourage you not to get rid of your DVDs. DVDs are a very reliable storage medium. If you must do this make multiple backups stored in different locations.

If space is a premium you can take the individual discs and put them into a 3 ring binder. They sell plastic holders for this purpose.

Of course, many commercial DVDs are also available through AppleTV, "on-demand" cable services, streaming services, etc. and it is possible to have those movies available to you without having to store the DVDs at home.

As long as the movie is "still available" for sale and is not censored to the point where you no longer want to watch it.

For example, despite public pressure for a release, the Disney movie “Song of the South” remains banned. Even cartoons like Johnny Quest are now censored. Only people who purchased physical copies years ago have them as they were originally produced.

Even the original Star Wars has been censored for political correctness.

If you have a DVD, you know you have the movie.

As indicated, both appetites for certain shows (simply because people are bored with them, such as 1-season TV shows) and political sensibilities ("Song of the South"-historically accurate but racially charged, "Speedy Gonzales"-LooneyTunes but racially charged, "Foghorn Leghorn"-LooneyTunes but ante-bellum representation) change.

Keep real copies if you have them