Top 10 VidCoder Alternatives

If you want an un-intimidating yet powerful software that can turn your Blu-ray to videos for your laptop, iPhone or other device, VidCoder will do the job beautifully. It is a free DVD/Blu-ray ripping and video transcoding application for Windows. I really like this program and would highly recommend it. Here are some of my favorite features:

1. The interface: really nice and streamlined.

2. Batch encoding: is very well implemented and intuitive.

3. Set output size: will let you set the desired file output size in megs (i.e. it will calculate the bitrate to use according to that input).

4. Multithreaded: i.e. it will use multiple processors if your PC has them, making the conversion process fast.

5. Resizing the video: will let you determine the width for the output video and automatically calculate the height if you check “keep aspect ratio”. This ensures that your output video has the correct aspect ratio and is not weirdly resized.

6. Output files: convert Blu-ray/DVD/Video to MKV and MP4/M4V video containers, encoded with H.264, MPEG-4, or Theora video codecs and AAC, MP3, Vorbis, AC3 for audio.

7. Can pause/resume encoding: which is handy if you're actually using your computer for other things as you are encoding.

However, for those people who plan to rip commercial Blu-ray or DVD disc with VidCoder, you will be disappointed to find that VideoCoder can rip DVDs but does not defeat the CSS encryption found in most commercial DVDs, while VidCoder does not defeat AACS or BD+ Blu-ray encryption. Plus, you'll need .NET 4.6. If you don't have it, VidCoder will prompt you to download and install it. If you're on Windows 10 you shouldn't need to install anything, it has .NET 4.6 pre-installed. Want a comprehensive program that can complete copy protection removing and video encoding process at the same time, even don't need to download any third-party tool or plug-ins? After a lot of testing and online comparison, we finally select the top 10 VidCoder alternative and similar software for you to choose from.

Top 10 VidCoder Alternative and Similar Software

No.1 Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate

Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate (Mac Version: Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac) - The Best Blu-ray and DVD toolbox to copy commercial BD/DVD movie content, convert 2D/3D Blu-ray, DVD and SD/HD Videos to various video/audio formats.

Primarily, Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate not only can transcode H.265/HEVC, XAVC, MXF, VOB, M2TS, WMV, ProRes, and other 3D/4K/HD videos to regular H.265, H.264 MP4, M4V, MKV, AVI, MPEG-2, DNxHD, Divx, Xvid, MOV, 3D MKV/MOV/MP4/AVI, etc, but also can backup and compress Blu-ray/DVD to H.265/HEVC, MP4, MKV, M4V, AVI, etc and to devices, like iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows phones, game consoles, HD media players, 3D/4K/HD TV, Projector, VR Headsets, Non-linear editing system, and more......

Other Features:

> Get better output video/audio quality by flexibly adjusting the output video codec, bit rate, frame rate, resolution and audio codec, bit rate, sample rate, channels, etc.

> Add external subtitles to Blu-ray/DVD movies, edit video with built-in video editing tool to trim or cut video length, crop out video black bars, split large video, merge separate video, deinterlace interlace video, flip or rotate video angel, add video/image/transparent watermark, apply special rendering effect, remove/replace audio in video, etc.

Read more about Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate: Review

No.2 Handbrake

HandBrake is an open source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD ripper or video transcoder, available for Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. The latest version HandBrake 1.0.7. Handbrake can only rip unprotected DVDs, but most DVDs you buy from the store have copy protection. To get around this, you'll need to install libdvdcss.

Input: DVD (DVD5, DVD9, DVD ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW; only rip non-protected DVDs, not even CSS encrypted DVDs), Blu-ray (Blu-ray disc structure), video file, video folder

Output: MP4 and MKV

You might encounter some problems like crash, out of order, out of sync in using HandBrake. Let's see how to solve them:

Handbrake crashing during encode - Fixed

Handrake Long Time to Encode Blu-ray to H.265

Solve Handbrake Video Audio Out of Sync Issue When Converting Video Format

No.3 Freemake Video Converter

Freemake Video Converter presents us with a powerful set of tools that let you convert videos and DVD movies between different formats, as well as create photo slideshows and music visualizations. The program supports the most popular formats (AVI, MP4, WMV, 3GP, DVD, MP3) and can even upload your newly converted file to YouTube straight away.

The program includes a basic editor with which you can crop, rotate and flip your videos before converting them. In the case of photos and music, the editor lets you create simple visual presentations. On the downside, the editor in Freemake Video Converter was quite unstable during our testing: video playback was a bit clunky and sometimes it didn't load up the images we had selected.

Freemake Video Converter Alternative for Mac

Best 5 Free Alternatives to Freemake Video Converter

No.4 Format Factory

Everybody who uses media files needs a decent file converter, and Format Factory is particularly good for people using photos, music or video files. You can convert music files to or from MP3, WMA, OGG, AAC, WAV and more, video to or from MP4, 3GP, AVI, WMV, SWF and others, and convert images from or to JPG, BMP, PNG, TIF and even Google's WebP format.

What's more, you can rip unprotected DVDs to video. It's particularly useful if you want to convert files to run on phones and other mobile devices, with support for 3GP and various other mobile video formats. This would all be for naught if the interface were confusing or complex, but it isn't; Format Factory is simple and straightforward, and an excellent addition to any PC.

Top 10 Free Alternatives to Format Factory

No.5 Mediacoder

Mediacoder is an awesome tool to use for all file conversions that you have such as, MP4, AVI, MOV, WAV, and many more. It is considered by many as one of the top video converter program that is out in the market. For it can be used by everyone, however it takes a little bit effort for those first timers and the output video quality is cumbersome and needs to improve.

More Features: free, require software download and installation prior to converting your media files, only support Windows OS.

10 Free Alternatives to MediaCoder For Windows/Mac

No.6 StaxRip

StaxRip ia an open source program that is complete free. It is well known as a multiformat video encoding software and a DVD ripper. Plus, it can also handle Blu-ray discs and give you full control over your Blu-ray ripping task. I found it can produce the best quality output, with a small filesize and good speed. Plus, the built-in default settings are fairly good in most cases and the preview window makes it easy to choose the correct settings.

Editor's Note: Although it is possible to encode directly from a DVD, it is recommended to copy it to the hard disk drive first.

Read More:

StaxRip: Review and Rip DVD Guide

StaxRip and Top 15 Similar Tools

No.7 MPEG Streamclip

MPEG Streamclip is a program with all of the features you need to compress and convert your video projects. It's a versatile program with tools to change the appearance, file type, and compression of your videos. Although MPEG Streamclip is engineered specifically for MPEG video, this program excellently handles Quicktime and transport streams too, making it a great tool for preparing your video for sharing on DVDs or on video sharing websites like Vimeo and YouTube.

Perhaps the most useful function of MPEG Streamclip is its compression capabilities and it lets you adjust the codec, frame rate, bit rate, and aspect ratio. MPEG Streamclip is free and compatible with both Mac and Windows, so go ahead and take it for a spin!

Best MPEG StreamClip Alternative for macOS High Sierra

No.8 MakeMKV

MakeMKV has a simple little name, and there's no big trick to transcoding a video from one container format to another. If that were all this utility did, it would be worthwhile, but boring. The discussion gets more interesting when you consider its ability to rip DVDs and Blu-ray movies to your hard drive. It is easy to use. Insert a disc, let the program analyze it, then save it to your hard drive in the free Matroska video container format.

MakeMKV is a free download for all operating systems. DVD ripping will always be free, but Blu-Ray ripping is only free as long as it's in beta, after which it will go to a to-be-determined price, so get ripping now!

Rip a Blu-ray Disc to MKV with MakeMKV

Rip 3D Blu-ray/ISO to Full HD MKV with MakeMKV

No.9 RipBot264

RipBot264 is a an easy to use all-in-one converter. Convert from DVD, Blu-ray or any video to iPod, iPad, PSP, PS3, XBOX360, PC, MAC, MP4, MKV, or AVCHD without exotic filters and unnecessary settings. RipBot264 doesn't install directly to your hard drive. It unzips to a folder and you run it from there. Being portable is nice, but you'll need to create your own shortcuts to the program where you need them.

Once it's launched, Ripbot264 is simple to use. Open the MKV or most other video file types, tell the program to what format you'd like to transcode the video and audio, and just let it have at it.

No.10 RipIt4Me

RipIt4Me allows you to rip protected DVDs in a few easy steps. You can either go through all the steps presented in the wizard, or choose "1-Click" and let the software do all the hard work for you. The time it takes for a full backup can vary, depending on a variety of factors, but we can assure you that the quality of the results is worthwhile.

The tool also provides you with settings necessary for concerning action. These settings include: Video and audio codecs configuration, video resolution and aspect ratio, sound track language and sound value normalization etc.

Summary

Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate, is more powerful than VidCoder and other similar software. It can remove up to 14 types of DVD copy and region code protection including region code, RCE, key2Audio, UOP, CSS, Macrovision, Disney X-project DRM (99 titles DVD encryption included), FluxDVD, Protect, ARccOS, AACS, BD+, ROM Mark, BD-Live, etc; break AACS, BD+ and region code on all commercial Blu-ray disc and even the new MKB61 and MKB62 encryption used by the most recently released new Blu-ray movies. And the full support to all digital file formats (H.265/HEVC, MXF, XAVC/XAVC S, MXF, AVCHD MTS/M2TS, Prores are also included) with the resolution of 4K/2K/HD/SD makes it ranks top among competitors.

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