You should back up your Blu-rays and DVDs before they break

Digital Decay: Preserving Your Blu-ray and DVD Collection

The unfortunate truth is, everything deteriorates over time. This includes your cherished Blu-ray and DVD collection. While a well-maintained archive can extend their lifespan, home shelving or haphazard storage isn't ideal. From accidental damage to natural wear and tear, your discs are vulnerable. Proactive backup is crucial.

Prioritize saving irreplaceable home videos – wedding recordings, family events, etc. – but even replaceable movies are frustrating to repurchase due to scratched discs. Backing up your collection to a computer hard drive provides a vital redundant copy.

What You'll Need:

To begin, you'll need a computer with a Blu-ray drive and sufficient hard drive space.

Important Note: Ripping copyrighted TV shows or movies may violate copyright laws depending on your location. Sharing these files is almost certainly illegal.

Ripping Blu-rays with MakeMKV

MakeMKV (available for Windows, macOS, and Linux) is a user-friendly, free (beta) solution for copying Blu-rays. While technically in beta for over a decade, license keys are regularly provided on their forum. Register the application using a current key found on their forum.

Insert your disc, click the disc drive icon in MakeMKV. The program scans and lists video files. Select the files to rip. While previews aren't available, file lengths help identify content (longest file is usually the main feature). For TV shows, episodes are usually listed sequentially. Double-check afterward.

You can choose specific audio tracks (commentary, dubbed versions, etc.), deselecting unwanted ones. Select a destination folder and click the "MakeMKV" button. Note that even discs playing perfectly might fail to rip; clean the disc with a microfiber cloth and retry if this occurs.

UHD (4K) Blu-rays: A More Complex Process

Ripping UHD Blu-rays is more challenging due to stronger copy protection. Specific drives are compatible, and custom firmware might be necessary. Consult the MakeMKV forum for a list of compatible drives and firmware flashing instructions.

Playing MKV Files

MakeMKV outputs MKV files. VLC media player (available for all major operating systems) is a simple and free option for playback. Plex or Jellyfin allow streaming from anywhere.

If your preferred player doesn't support MKV, Handbrake can convert files to other formats, often creating smaller file sizes. Simply select your MKV files, choose the desired output format, and let Handbrake do its work.

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