Best Free DVD Ripper

VidCoder : http://vidcoder.codeplex.com/

Uses Handbrake engine.

I got a message from Cosmo that Handbrake has 64bit builds for Windows.

You can find the last test builds here:
https://build.handbrake.fr/
https://build.handbrake.fr/job/Windows/

It's not allowed to directly add links in the review. Therefore I mention it here.

Thank you for the information, Cosmo. :D

I see that DVDShrink forums are back online.
http://www.dvdshrink.org/forum/index.php

I have always used a combination of DVD Fab Decrypter to rip the movies, DVD Shrink to process the video and audio files into an .iso image and then whatever burner I want to use to burn the movie to disc. I have had very few instances of either of these software being unable to rip and burn the disks I wish to use. They are simple enough that anyone can use them, free and yet have additional options you can use to do things like remove blank frames from your movies, etc.
DVD Fab Decrypter can and does rip protected dvds but should not be used for that. The only time I have run into that and having the need to perform that function was when backing up my own dvds which I have purchased. Even when I encountered it, the software did what it needed to do to allow me to rip the movie to my pc. I would suggest that anyone looking to do this take a look at some of the websites out there that provide free information such as detailed walk through compilations that take you step by step through using a specific product to do certain tasks when it comes to ripping and burning.

I have been backing up dvd's for quite a few years now and have found DVDfab Decrypter (which is free, btw) to consistently have the most up to date capabilities. Any time I have run into a newer encryption that DVDfab could not handle, I have tried all the other free programs mentioned here with no luck. My only options when this happens are to wait until DVDfab's next update.
My method is to use DVDfab to rip full movie onto hard drive. I then run it through DVD shrink to compress it to a standard 4.5G ISO (removing foreign languages and subtitles that I have no need for), then burn with any image burner. Makes beautiful copies with absolutely no loss of quality.

There is nothing free about Win X DVD Ripper. For any type of meaningful output (e.g., MP4 which is what you used in your example), it forces you to buy the $40 upgrade. You should clarify that in your report.

Couldn't get Win X DVD Ripper to work - video and audio were always out of sync. Handbrake, as long as you increase the video quality setting from the default, does a much better job.

DVD Shrink is available for download at Sofpedia,Filehippo,Afterdawn etc. Why download it from Fileserve?

I have been using DVD Shrink for a few years now and most of the time I have no problems at all with it. As stated...it has not been updated for quite some time which negates it's use for some of the modern encryptions such as what one would find on Disney DVD's, etc. It also allows me to select what portions of the DVD I would like to save and burn to disc such as extras, different languages,etc. I use it in conjunction with IMG Burn, also a free utility, which works fantastically! Just my two cents!!

Is it too old school to suggest a ripper should rip. Then you have a backup of your dvd.

Should you wish to convert to another format, presumably to save space, you then use a converter! However if you do not keep the original rip, you no longer have a backup of the dvd.

Ahhh... the days of smartripper. (I included a link with a green wot but was told the post was spam!)

[Moderator] - Softpedia link below: Note this program is no longer in development and well over four years old. W7 users may not be supported. If by chance the developer is still active at another location, please provide a link.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-Tools/CD-DVD-Rip-Other-Tools/SmartRi...

Please look at DVDx 4.0 Open edition as a candidate. It has come a long way since it was started.

http://www.labdv.com/dvdx/index.php

[Moderator's comment : Unnecessary long list of features edited out. People can read that on their site]

To your list of freeware to be reviewed, could you add "Freemake Video Converter" and "DVDFab (just the free bit)"?

For simple DVD copy, DVDFab offers a free HD Decrypter. Anupam is correct that most rippers transcode instead of simply copy. Personally, I find it simpler just to rip a DVD as .vob then just load the VIDEO_TS.IFO file directly to VLC player. I know it requires more hard drive space, but storage is getting cheaper ;)

[Moderator's note : info about commercial version edited]

Sorry but I am going to echo another comment and agree that this really is one of the worst (if not probably THE worst) articles on the site. The suggested applications are all but useless and probably do more harm than good - in fact, one can and would do better with just a regular google search and trying a random app that looks good. (Which incidentally is exactly what I did, after making the mistake of trying the suggested apps here.)

The only barely-salvageable suggestion from the above is WinX, but all of the already-stated complaints about it hold: the file sizes are completely ridiculous and it is NOT worth the money for Premium. However they occasionally put it and other such apps (there are a large number of them being "marketed" under different names but are essentially the same program) for free on campaigns like Free-App-of-the-Day, if one is patient and monitors that site or RSS feed. However it is still not great.

That said, this entire category needs an overhaul. Or even in a worst case, just shut it down if it can't be maintained to the same quality as the other categories...frankly in my own experience, I would have been better off not wasting my time with the suggested apps, and this just hurt the site's overall credibility.

[Edit] Commercial software references removed.
As you can see from the above designation, this category currently has no editor and will not be updated until another volunteer comes forward to adopt it.

Tried Winx Free DVD ripper on a DVD I created on a DVD recorder and the program came back saying it was encrypted and I needed to upgrade to the Platinum edition. No it isn't encrypted, and I would not trust WinX anymore. It is like those sites that say "your computer is infected by hundreds of viruses, download this program to remove them", only to be conned into buying the platinum edition to find it does nothing more than the free edition.