WinX DVD Ripper is a DVD ripping application that helps you play DVD content and copy the data to your computer. Whilst it is heavily marketed towards Windows 10 users, the software does work with older versions of Windows and is also available on Mac.
It can be used to convert video files to MP4 so that you can watch movies and TV shows on mobiles, tablets, laptops, desktop PCs, televisions and more.
WinX DVD Ripper is free to download (more on this later), however a premium version of the software should be considered the true version.
A recent addition to my video conversion software page, WinX DVD Ripper was developed by Digarty. This is the same company who created 5KPlayer and VideoProc.
Let’s take a closer look at WinX DVD Ripper and see what you can do with the application.
Why Does Anyone Need a DVD Ripper?
Before I show you WinX DVD Ripper, I first need to address the question “Why does anyone need a DVD ripper in 2020?”.
It’s a valid question.
DVD’s have been out of favour for years now. Today, movie enthusiasts watch films on blu-ray discs and streaming services such as Netflix.
Whilst that is undoubtedly true, a large number of us still have hundreds of DVD films in our collections taking up space (and many people don’t have a DVD player anymore to actually play them).
It is also important to remember that DVDs were not only used for films. DVDs took over from CDs as a cheap way to store large volumes of data. So many of us still have DVDs with files, photo albums, documents, movies and more.
Unfortunately, support for DVDs is quite poor on modern operating systems.
Windows 10 Media Player, for example, does not play regular DVDs. This functionality is available in Microsoft’s Windows DVD Player. Retailing at $14.99, the software allows you to play DVDs in Windows, but it cannot read DVDs from other regions and cannot decode DVDs.
If you’re just looking to play DVDs, I recommend using 5KPlayer or VLC. These applications are free to download and allow you to play DVDs from any region.
If you need to do more, WinX DVD Ripper is a good solution.
It is interesting to see the reasons why people use WinX DVD Ripper. Some want to convert files into MP4 format, others want rip a DVD so they can watch it on their phone.
WinX DVD Ripper Free – A Confusing Mess
Before I go on, I need to preface this section with a few statements.
The developers of WinX DVD Ripper are also behind 5KPlayer and VideoProc. 5KPlayer is a great little media player and I use VideoProc frequently to help me download videos and adjust video files for my YouTube channels. I’ve emailed them about using VideoProc previously and they were very helpful.
Additionally, I need to state that WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, which is the full version of the software, has many amazing features.
With that out of the way, allow me to explain the confusing mess that the developers have created with WinX DVD Ripper.
There are two versions of WinX DVD Ripper.
The free version of WinX DVD Ripper is available for Windows in 32-bit and 64-bit formats. It’s available free on Mac too and supports seven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
Confusion arises with the way WinX DVD Ripper is being marketed.
There isn’t just one sales page, there’s several. This includes the main home page, the main page for the free version, an upgrade page, the main sales page for WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, another sales page for WinX DVD Platinum and many more. This might help WinX DVD Ripper rank better in the search engines, but a pain for potential customers who have to navigate all of these pages.
This is confusing enough for new users, but unfortunately, the sales page for the free version of WinX DVD Ripper is very misleading. You can see this in the above screenshot, which was taken from the main sales page of the free version. It lists features such as MP4 conversion that are actually limited to the premium version (at least, according to their own comparison table).
If you look at their comparison table for the free and premium versions, you can see that many features are restricted to the premium version.
They note that you can use their free software to rip data from DVDs, DVD folders and ISO images. Region locked DVDs can be played and you can output videos in AVI, MOV and WMV file formats.
Annoyingly, the table is not 100% accurate either.
When you click to download the free version of WinX DVD Ripper for Windows, you will download a file entitled winx-dvd-ripper.exe. If you choose to download the platinum version, the file is entitled winx-dvd-ripper-pt.exe.
Yet both installation files will install WinX DVD Platinum.
The problem is that the trial version of WinX DVD Platinum is just that. It’s just a trial.
All of your ripped videos will therefore be limited to 5 minutes.
I suspect that a free version of the software did exist at some point, but at the moment, the company is simply misleading people into believing their software is free in order to push them to the full version.
I know other software companies use this misleading style of marketing their products, but I have absolutely no idea why they have adopted this policy and hope it is something they change in the future.
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum – The Real Version
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is the full version of the software and the one I recommend.
It retails at $29.95 and comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.
It can play almost any type of DVD. This includes DVDs from other regions, burned DVD discs, DVDs with errors and dirty DVDs.
Encrypted DVDs can be played too. This includes Disney DVDs that use copyright protection that stops discs from playing on certain DVD players (this encryption can actually damage some DVD drives).
Content can be edited before you output your videos. You can crop videos, adjust audio and embed subitles. The aspect ratio of the video can be modified too.
DVD chapters are all listed and you can modify each one individually.
Level-3 hardware acceleration ensures that content is ripped from DVDs as quickly as five minutes. It does this by using Intel CPU QSV, Nvidia GPU, AMD GPU, Multi-core CPUs and CPU hyper-threading.
Over 350 profiles are pre-configured to help you optimise content for specific devices such as PS4, Xbox One, YouTube, Apple TV, smartphones, tablets, TVs and more.
The overall design of WinX DVD Ripper is quite dated and reminiscent of Windows applications from the early 2000s, but it’s functional and it is easy to navigate.
Final Thoughts
WinX DVD Ripper addresses many common problems that are associated with DVD playback and copying.
The software can be used to play back dirty DVDs, broken DVDs and DVDs that have been encrypted. It can also help you convert DVD content and backup DVD content to modern file formats.
Like any optical media, DVD discs have a limited life span. Depending on how you store DVDs, they could start degrading after 10 years or 20 years. It depends on the quality of disc that was used, where the DVDs were stored and other factors.
Therefore, it makes sense to make a backup of important files.
It is disappointing that the developers do not offer a true free version of WinX DVD Ripper. The free version should be considered a trial of the premium software to help you see what it can do.
At $29.95, WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is a great solution for anyone looking to play DVDs from their collection and copy content to their computer.
I recommend checking it out.
Kevin
