As laptops no longer incorporate DVD drives as a standard feature, transferring content from DVDs to USB flash drives has become a pressing concern for many. This is especially true if you want to enjoy your favorite movies or music CDs without any restrictions on time and space. Luckily, there are several free solutions available to assist with this task. In this post, we provide a step-by-step guide and recommendation for the best free DVD to USB converter tool.

How to Transfer DVD to USB Flash Drive

Part 1. How to Rip Protected DVD to USB Using a DVD Ripper

The Best Tool to Rip DVD to USB - DVDFab DVD Ripper

How to put movies on a USB with popular video formats for playback on various mobile devices? DVDFab DVD Ripper is the best free DVD to USB converter tool for you to copy DVD to USB stick in the mainstream video and audio formats. 

DVDFab DVD Ripper

DVDFab DVD Ripper

With this DVD Ripper, you can converting any DVD to any audio and video format in less than 5 minsters. Get flawless playback on any device, home theater, or media player.

Key Features of DVDFab DVD Ripper:

  • Supports newly-released encrypted DVDs with RC, RCE, UOPs, etc.
  • Convert DVD to USB drives in 1000+ video/audio formats: MP4, AVI, MKV, AAC, AC3, etc.
  • Rip DVD to 260+ preset output devices such as iPhone, Samsung, Huawei. 
  • Edit videos with ample and stunning tools to make videos personalized
  • Support batch conversion at GPU H/W accelerated speed
  • Convert DVD Subtitles to SRT File via OCR Technology

💡Note: DVDFab DVD Ripper has a sister product - DVDFab HD Decrypter, which is completely free but has limited DVD & Blu-ray decryption, copying and ripping features.

How to Transfer DVD to USB with DVDFab DVD Ripper on Windows and Mac?

Step 1 — Download and install this Free DVD to USB converter on your computer, Windows or Mac.

Step 2 — Open DVDFab 13 and opt for the Ripper module, insert the DVD into the drive, insert the USB into the port, then let DVDFab access the disc from your drive automatically. 

Convert ISO to MP4:(1) DVDFab DVD Ripper [Best Recommended]

Step 3 — Navigate to the profile library via the "Choose Other Profile" option, there choose MP4 conversion profile from Format>Video>General section.

Convert ISO to MP4:(1) DVDFab DVD Ripper [Best Recommended]

Customized options are available to select audio tracks/language, extract subtitles from DVD to SRT format, or add external subtitle. The built-in DVD editing software allows you to crop, trim, merge video, add watermarks and subtitles, and even adjust video color as you like.

Convert ISO to MP4:(1) DVDFab DVD Ripper [Best Recommended]

Step 4 — Finally, click the Folder button at the output selection box to choose your USB stick as the output destination. Click the Start button to start ripping the DVD to the selected USB stick.

Convert ISO to MP4:(1) DVDFab DVD Ripper [Best Recommended]

Of the various formats of media available on the web, anything can be ripped and stored as digital files on your external USB stick, very conveniently.

The most common files are videos and music files and they may be in formats like MP4, MKV, AVI, MP3, FLAC, and so on, respectively. These can be played by any free media player without any problems, and most probably your default media player already supports these formats. However, the copying process from DVD to USB is not hindered by the format of the files themselves. You can feel relieved to convert your DVD to mp4 and any other digital formats.

Part 2. How to Copy Protected DVD to USB Using a DVD Copier

The Best Tool to Copy DVD to USB - DVDFab DVD Copy

When it comes to DVD-to-USB copying software, DVDFab DVD Copy software is a popular choice among users for its impressive features and user-friendly interface. This free DVD to USB converter offers a wide range of options, making it suitable for both beginners and professionals. 

DVDFab DVD Copy

DVDFab DVD Copy

DVDFab DVD Copy allows you to losslessly backup or compress any DVD-9/5 disc to a blank disc directly or save it as an ISO image file or folder on your hard drive.

Key Features of DVDFab DVD Copy:

  • Automatically detect and remove the NEWEST DVD copy protection
  • Lossless copy any DVD9 to DVD9 or compress it to DVD 5
  • Copy any DVD disc to USB in ISO file or Video-TS Folder
  • Offer 6 copy modes: Full Disc, Main Movie, Customize, Clone/Burn, Split, Merge
  • Better preserve the original video and audio quality
  • Support customizable options and batch copying at lightning speed

How to Convert DVD to USB with DVDFab DVD Copy on Windows and Mac??

Step 1 — Download and install DVDFab DVD Copy. It is virus-free and offers a 30-day free trial without any registration.

Step 2 — Open this best DVD to USB converter and select the 'Copy' module first. And go ahead to pick up a Copy mode.

how to copy DVDs guide 1

DVDFab DVD Copy provides 6 copy modes for you, including Full Disc, Main Movie, Customize, Split, Merge and Clone/Burn. Choose any of them to put a DVD movie to a USB, blank disc, tablet, or another portable device.

:Comparison between Free and Paid Versions

Step 3 — Insert the DVD into the drive, insert the USB into the port, then let DVDFab access the disc from your drive automatically. When the disc is loaded, customize your DVD by setting video parameters, selecting chapters, audio tracks, subtitles, titles, and so on. Finally, click the ISO button or Folder button at the output selection box to choose your USB stick as the output destination. 

how to copy DVDs guide 2

Step 4 — Click the Start button to start copying the DVD to a USB stick. 

Part 3. How to Copy DVD to USB Via Copy-Paste

Do you need the Windows 10 USB DVD download tool to put DVD movies on the USB memory stick? Not necessarily. There is the simplest copy-and-paste method to transfer DVD to USB flash drive. The requirement is a DVD drive on your laptop, desktop, or an external DVD drive that can run your DVDs and CDs. The USB ports are ubiquitous nowadays, and you would already have at least 2 of them.

Step 1: Insert your DVD into your drive and the USB stick into any one of your USB ports.

Step 2: Go ahead and click on the DVD drive that is now active on your computer. On opening it, you will be able to select all the files using Ctrl+A or you can manually select desired files with Ctrl+Left Click on that file name. Simply put, copy the whole DVD to USB or just part of it. Then, hit Right Click and choose Copy or do so by pressing Ctrl+C.

Step 3: The last step is, Ctrl+V, at the desired location, which in this case is your pen drive or USB stick. It must be shown as removable media. Alternatively, you can also directly send your files to removable media, after the Right Click option above, instead of choosing to Copy first.

One more word, how to copy a CD to a flash drive? Similarly, just follow the above steps.

:Part 1. How to Transfer DVD to USB Flash Drive without Third-party Assistance

Although copying DVD to USB drive may appear straightforward, the playback of the copied files can pose difficulties. Certain media players may not be compatible with the copied files from a DVD. Furthermore, DVDs frequently employ different encryption methods, so you are unable to rip copy protected DVD directly onto other storage devices, including USB drives. Therefore, in these cases, you will need a professional DVD to USB converter like the above-mentioned programs. 

Part 4: How to Transfer DVD to USB via Offline DVD to USB Transfer Service

Transferring DVD to USB using a DVD copier or DVD ripper software is quite straightforward. But what if you don't have access to a computer or prefer an offline method? Luckily, there are standalone devices and services that can help with that too. Here's a table of three offline DVD to USB Transfer Services next. These services offer convenience by doing all the work for you - from extracting content from DVDs to transferring them onto a USB stick.

  CVS Photo Forever Studios Walmart Photo
Accepted Media YesDVD, CVS YesDVD, DVD, CD, VCD, MiniDVD DVD, CD, Data & Mini Disks, SD/CF/Micro cards, USB drives YesDVD,Walmart DVD,DVD,VCD,CVCD
What You Get DVD/Blu-ray/USB + digital copy in MemoryCloud (60 days access) Forever Safe USB or Cloud link or DVD set Digital copy in MemoryCloud (60 days access) + optional DVDs/USBs
Price $25.99/DVD(90 mins), $33.99/Blu-ray(90 mins), $34.99/USB $15/DVD digitizing service and additional $29 per USB drive $12.96 for first 30 min digital copy; extra: $3.96/DVD,$12.96/USB
How It Works Create order->Bring media->Wait->Receive copies Enter quantity->Send media->Wait->Receive copies Create order online -> send media -> wait -> receive copies
Note Please note that DVD to USB transfer services may not be available at all Walmart Photo, CVS Photo, or Forever Studios locations. Pricing and turnaround time can also vary. For specific details, contact your local store or studio directly.

Part 5: FAQs

How to copy DVD to USB with VLC?

  • Step 1: Open this free DVD to USB converter and tap the Convert/Save button and set the output format for the DVD rip.
  • Step 2: Click Profile menu and select the format you wish.
  • Step 3: In the Destination category, tap Browse and choose a folder for the  DVD converted video file and give a name to the output file。
  • Step 4: Lastly, tap the Start option to being the ripping process.

How to copy DVD to USB to play on TV?

To copy a DVD to a USB for playback on your TV, you need to first check which video formats are supported by your specific TV model. Some common formats include H.264 (.m4v, .mp4, .mov) for Apple TVs; H.264/HEVC (MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV) and VP9 (WebM) for Roku TVs; MP4, MPEG, WMV, MTS for Sony TVs; and AVI, MKV, MP4 and MOV among others for Samsung TVs.

Then you can use free DVD Ripper to rip your DVD to any of the formats in USB based on your TV model. You can also go to "Choose Other Profile" windows to select "Devices" where you can find some TV output presets. 

What USB flash drive format and capacity do you need to save your DVD collections?

The capacity of the USB flash drive you need to store your DVD collection depends on the size of each movie. A standard single-layer DVD can hold up to 4.7 GB, while a dual-layer DVD can store up to 8.5 GB.

If we assume that most movies are around 2 hours long and encoded with good quality at about 1-2GB per movie, a 128GB USB flash drive could hold approximately between 64 and 128 movies. However, this is an estimate; actual storage may vary based upon the specific file sizes.

As for format, it depends on what device you plan on using to play these files:

  • FAT32: This is compatible with almost all systems but has a file size limit of only 4GB.
  • NTFS: Works well with Windows systems and supports large files but might not work perfectly with other operating systems like macOS without additional software.
  • exFAT: This works well across both Windows and macOS systems and supports large files as well.

So if you're planning on storing full DVDs (as ISOs or Video_TS folders) which are larger than 4GB in size, then choosing NTFS or exFAT would be better options than FAT32.

Part 6: Final Words

There are best free DVD to USB converters you can carry your stuff from those old DVDs in your pen drives that come now in sizes of 128GBs as well. Thus, you can comfortably keep them and even store them forever as digital files on your hard disk. Once done, you do not need the DVD drive anymore. Therefore, DVDFab DVD Ripper Mac is the best tool to rip DVDs to digital files that can be stored on USB.