Ripping DVDs - simply

I own lots of films on DVD and have been trying - and failing - to get them into files that I can play from an SD card in the PPM. At home I’m just using an HDMI cable from a physical player machine but when I’m away I’d like to just be able to use the PPM on its own.

I’d like to ask for some tried and tested methods and/or software recommendations (Windows) to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.

Thanks in advance!

Handbrake I believe was a popular choice of software.

Yes I tried handbrake the other day. It took ages scanning the DVD and even longer to start to rip it, so long that I gave up. I think it’s the result of some kind of anti piracy technique where the DVD has a huge number of chapters. Admittedly I’m a beginner with handbrake so perhaps there’s some way around this, hence asking for tried and tested methods on here.

I also tried VLC but for the few films I tested with, the audio wasn’t synced very well and cut out completely before the end of the film.

Yes - I used Handbrake on my Mac to rip dozens of DVDs. Never had any issues.

Try Plex or MX Player Pro. Those plays better than others in my experience.

Are you using default settings?
What method are you using?
Were they recent DVDs?
Would you mind giving step by step instructions because when I tried the latest version of handbrake the other day it just tied up the DVD drive for in excess of 30 mins and achieved nothing. It sounded like the laser was getting moved backwards and forwards over the surface of the disc, non stop.
Maybe there’s a box that I need to tick in the GUI, or a particular sequence that I need to follow?
It feels like it should be easy because I know people do this, so I must be doing something wrong… I just can’t work out what!

I use makemkv to rip DVDs, Blu-ray and 4K discs to .mkv format. Works very well. Then I use Plex to store and watch them.
Have you tried the DVD with DVD player software to see if it plays? Sounds like there’s a problem with the disc (scratch, finger prints, etc) or the drive.

If you own the DVDs, just download rips from torrents or other places. Your rips will not be as good as those done by experts.

I also recommend makemkv or handbrake.

Handbrake re-encodes/compresses the file, making the resulting video smaller, while makemkv just repackages it in another format without touching the video in any way.

Especially DVD’s are small enough that you can fit a lot of them on a microsd without compressing.