If you desire to have a backup of Blu-ray content or need to rip your Blu-ray collections for flexible playback on other devices, then MKV (Matroska Video File) is one of the best formats to choose from. Why? You will learn everything in this article. We have also curated 3 top converters for ripping Blu-ray to MKV so that you can play your movies anywhere and anytime.
Why Choose MKV Format?
The reasons for the choice of MKV format in converting Blu-ray discs are graded on these aspects presented below. These benefits make MKV a very popular and practical video format choice.
- High-Quality Encapsulates
Well, as a high-quality multimedia container format, MKV is not only a video format. It can pack HD video, high-quality audio, and multiple subtitle streams into one file. Meanwhile, it is able to preserve the original quality of content from Blu-rays and provide a smooth and clear watching experience.
- MKV High Compatibility:
The format is highly compatible with various operating systems and players, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and most media players. In other words, it makes it easy to play video files in the MKV format on different devices.
- Flexibility
Along with multiple audio and video, subtitle tracks, and additional metadata, MKV excels in media files that support playback in multiple languages. It is possible for you to switch between different audio or subtitle tracks while watching. Furthermore, MKV supports a wide range of video and audio encoding formats to give the right encoding for different playback and storage requirements.
1. Best Blu-ray to MKV Converter: VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper
When it comes to the conversion of Blu-ray discs into MKV format, VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is an extraordinary Blu-ray to MKV converter, especially when decrypting various Blu-ray protections. Besides the decryption ability, it gives massive support for output formats so that you can have more options to meet different needs. It also provides lossless quality up to 4K resolution. Files that are converted will retain the original quality, along with even 1:1 ratio support. Compatible with MacOS and Windows, it offers a free trial. Now, try it to unlock your fluent Blu-ray movie playback on your phone, tablet, and computer in MKV format.
Key Features:
- Protected Disc Decryption: Bypass APS, CSS, ARccOS, AACS, BD+, and Cinavia protections, as well as region codes.
- Lossless Quality: No loss of original video quality, offering videos up to 4K resolution and high-quality audio effects like Dolby.
- Customizable Subtitles and Audio: Keep and retain original subtitles and audio tracks.
- User-Friendly Interface: No need for skilled knowledge.
- Hardware Acceleration: CPU acceleration offers 6x speed processing.
- Extra Editing Tools: Editing features like parameter adjusting, cropping, rotating, clipping, etc. are provided to make changes before conversion.
- Wide Format Support: Converts Blu-rays to MKV; also, MP4, AVI, MP3, DVD ISO, and Blu-ray folders.
How to Rip Blu-ray to MKV with VideoByte
An easy process gives the best ripping experience for all levels of users. Follow the guide to start using VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper.
Step 1. Run VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper and insert Blu-ray Disc into your computer. Click the “Load Blu-ray” button on the top left corner.
Step 2. After the software loads the Blu-ray disc, click “Full Movie List” and choose the target Blu-ray movie that you would like to rip to MKV. Alternatively, you can select the title by default.
Step 3. Click the “Rip All to” button to choose MKV format.
You can also adjust parameters like resolution and bitrate or other settings, add effects to the video, and more before the conversion.
Step 4. Click the “Rip All to” icon to rip Blu-ray to DVD immediately. You won’t need to wait too long to get your desired video.
2. Free Blu-ray to MKV Converter: VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is a free and open-source tool that is highly versatile when playing media files. But can VLC Media Player ripp Blu-rays? Yes. It has an attaching feature that allows you to rip a Blu-ray Disc to MKV. Hence, it provides great diversity in supported media formats to different users with varied platforms.
However, it has many limitations in ripping protected Blu-ray discs, compared with VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper, since it was designed for playback. You must install extra libraries to bypass copy protection, like AACS, which adds inconvenience to the ripping procedure. Also, although VLC will convert a Blu-ray Disc to MKV, there are no quality guarantees on the projected output, and it rarely fits the quality of the original Blu-ray disc due to software-based decoding. Below is a step-by-step guide to start using VLC.
Step 1: Download VLC on your computer and insert your Blu-ray disc.
Step 2. Search on the internet to install DATABASE(KEYDB.cfg) and AACS DYNAMIC LIBRARY(libaacs.dll for Windows or libaacs.dylib for Mac).
Step 3. Click “Media” on top and then select “Convert / Save…” to load the Disc.
Step 4. Click “Disc” and then select “Blu-ray”. Choose the title you want to tip.
Step 5. Click the “Convert/Save” button to select the output format as MKV. Set a destination folder and then click to start.
3. Professional Blu-ray to MKV Converter: MakeMKV
MakeMKV is a powerful tool designed to quickly and efficiently rip Blu-ray disks into MKV format. It does a great job of preserving the original video and audio quality and provides an accessible interface for all levels of users. MakeMKV stands out due to the preservation of metadata like chapters and subtitles. Hence, you have a comprehensive digital copy of your Blu-ray content.
Still, MakeMKV is not perfect compared to some all-around tools, such as VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper. That is because it does not support built-in compression, which means the file size would be large and may consume more storage. More importantly, it takes a long time to convert a Blu-ray to a large size because it doesn’t support hardware acceleration to improve the speed of processing. Here is a brief guide to using it.
Step 1. Run MakeMKV and insert a Blu-ray Disc into your BD drive. Click the disc icon and wait while it loads the disc.
Step 2: After the scan, all chapters of the disc are listed on the left panel. By default, all titles are selected by MakeMKV, but you can choose the titles you want.
Step 3. Set up the export file. You should have enough free space in the destination you choose since the movie file will be quite huge.
Step 4. It will be about 20-30 minutes normally. After that, you will get a completion notification.
Conclusion
Ripping Blu-ray to MKV, the converter can simply make or break the experience of conserving and enjoying Blu-ray content on different devices. VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper happens to be one of the most highly recommended converters due to its high performance in decryption protection, full format support, and unmatched quality and speed. If some want a free solution, VLC Media Player provides versatility but lacks seamless handling and quality assurance for protected disks. While MakeMKV strongly holds on to source quality, file size and conversion time can be an issue.
Hence, among the three converters, considering quality, convenience, and a complete set of features for Blu-ray conversion, you would choose the most suitable converter.