How to copy a DVD to laptop?

[spikey]

Mrs Spikey is doing an advanced German course, and needs to keep referring to a DVD which came with the course book.  It would make her happy if I could copy the DVD to her laptop so she doesn't have to keep loading and unloading it, but alas this is beyond me.

 

Her laptop runs Windows 10, and it has Windows Media Player on it, but I was advised to download VLC Media Player in order to do the copying.  This plays the DVD just fine, but when I follow the instructions at https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/rip-dvd-vlc to copy it, I end up with a correctly-named MP4 in the correct location but ... it's just 40 bytes!

 

Unfortunately I don't have a grandchild handy to sort this out for me, so can any kind soul please help with words of wisdom for the technologically-challenged?

[Grasshopper John]

I'm no expert but if you open windows media player on the top there is a button BURN, you have to insert dvd and burn it just follow inst.

 

PS i always get confused between Burn and Rip.

 

HTH

[Brit70053]

Rip will copy the contents of the pre recorded disc to your media player library. Burn would copy selected data from your library/ playlists onto a blank disc if you wished to create a new portable copy.

 

That's the limit of my knowledge of such things.

 

Good luck with it Spikey.

 

Regards,

 

              John

[tender]

You will need to install some DVD ripping software. Windows 10 doesn't come with anything to do this, just playback.

 

Google 'dvd ripping software' , there's lots. The free stuff is usually time limited so depending on your requirements you may have to buy something.

[spikey]

Cheers chaps.  The problem with the free stuff I've looked at so far is that it's all way too complex for either my understanding or my very limited need.  VLC is one of the best, but even when I carefully follow the very clear instructions, it still doesn't work for me.  I suspect that something very silly is stopping it performing properly, but I have no idea what ...

[RFS]

Alll you need to do is to copy the DVD using Windows copy.  Create a directory somewhere and copy the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories to there.  Then VLC media player can play it directly from there. It's what I do with the BRM monthly DVD to save having to keep mounting the physical DVD.

 

But I think this will only work however if your DVD is not copy protected.

Edited October 5, 2017 by RFS

[tender]

VLC is a media player, not a DVD ripper. To extract data from that DVD, use Handbrake. Open Source, so freeware and as long as you download it from the official supplier ( <-see link!) safe as well. (there are some highly unofficial mirrors, most are fine but some dodgy ones too and by default always lag behind on the official version)

 

HTH!

 

Never been able to get Handbrake to work, only recognises one chapter (about 3 minutes worth) and after copy the playback sound is out of sync.

[spikey]

Thanks, Dutch_Master.  Handbrake did the job