How To Rip Blu-ray Discs To Your PC | MakeMKV Steps

Ripping a Blu-ray to a PC takes a Blu-ray-capable drive and MakeMKV, which copies the disc’s video and audio into one MKV file without re-encoding.

Most failed rips trace back to one purchase mistake: a DVD-only drive, which cannot read Blu-ray media no matter what software sits on top of it. Past it, the job needs three things — a drive, a remuxer, and free space measured in tens of gigabytes. What follows covers how to rip Blu-ray discs to your PC with MakeMKV and flags the spots where the process usually goes sideways.

Nothing here shrinks the movie. A remux copies the original video and audio streams into a new container, so a single feature routinely runs past 20 GB.

Which Drive And Software Do You Actually Need?

A Blu-ray-capable optical drive, a PC that recognizes it, and MakeMKV. A DVD-only drive will not read Blu-ray media, and no software change gets around that.

Full-size desktops with a 5.25-inch bay can take an internal Blu-ray drive. Laptops and compact builds need a USB unit. Either works when the operating system sees the drive and the drive supports the disc type. If you are shopping for one, our roundup of the best Blu-ray drives for ripping lists tested models that handle the job.

Standard Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray are separate compatibility cases. MakeMKV’s documentation confirms Blu-ray support but publishes no current list of UHD-capable drives or firmware requirements, so never assume a drive that reads standard Blu-ray will read a 4K disc.

MakeMKV runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

From Disc To MKV, In Order

Insert the disc, pick the main feature, choose the streams you want, and let MakeMKV write the file. The clicking takes a few minutes; the drive does the rest.

1. Confirm the drive reads the disc and that the output folder has room for the full title plus temporary files.
2. Download MakeMKV from the official site and run the installer for your system.
3. Insert the Blu-ray, open MakeMKV, and let it finish reading the disc structure.
4. Select the optical drive from the list and wait for the title scan.
5. Find the main feature by runtime and chapter count. Commercial discs carry menus, trailers, and duplicate playlists, so the first or longest entry is not always the film.
6. Check the video, audio, subtitle, and chapter streams you want. Add a second, more compatible audio track if your player cannot handle lossless sound.
7. Point the output folder at a local drive rather than a network share.
8. Press Make MKV and leave the drive alone until it finishes.
9. Play the finished file all the way through before deleting anything. A finished rip opens with picture, sound, subtitles, and chapters in sync.

One legal note worth reading first: the U.S. Copyright Office’s DMCA overview explains that circumventing protection measures copyright owners use to control access is prohibited, and its digital-files guidance limits the archival-copy privilege in Section 117 to computer programs, not films. Owning a disc is not a blanket license to bypass protection or share the file. Keep rips private.

Ripping Blu-ray Discs To Your PC: Where It Stalls

Most stalls come from the drive, the disc, or the playlist rather than from the software. The table pairs the symptom with the actual cause.

Two moves prevent most of that table: buy a drive whose specs list Blu-ray reading, and confirm the main feature’s runtime before starting. The rest is patience and a wiped disc.