MakeMKV vs ByteCopy vs DVDfab - Top Blu-ray Ripper/Backup Review

Hello, the Blu-ray/DVD Backing up & Ripping Review will show you on how to lossless convert/backup hundreds of Blu-ray/DVD movies to MKV, keep exactly same video and audio quality with original disks, moreover, retain multiple audio tracks and subtitles...For a beginners, The following passages take a brief review of 3 top Blu-ray Rippers: MakeMKV, DVDfab and Pavtube ByteCopy.

Top 1. Pavtube ByteCopy Review

You might have heard Pavtube ByteCopy - It is absolutely a top choice for those who wanna put Blu-ray/DVD to HD media players like WD TV Live and NMT A-210 for playback. So what can it do for you? 

Basically, the ByteCopy is similar to MakeMKV when it cracks and copied Blu-ray Disc and DVD movie to MKV. However, this app does not only everything (selection of forced subtitles is excluded from the "everything" ) MakeMKV does, but also converts/encodes Blu-ray contents. This feature is a lifesaver for HD media players, as not a HDD player plays 100% of Blu-ray features. E.g. When a BD movie is packed into MKV, WD TV Live can not read the Blu-ray subtitles inlaid. 

At this moment ByteCopy plays an irreplaceable role- it is the exclusive Blu-ray Ripper that converts Blu-ray .sup subtitle to .sub without hurting video and audio quality. When it trans-codes and shrinks Blu-ray contents, CUDA acceleration is employed by default when possible.

• Export file format: .mkv
• Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, VC-1, MPEG pass-through; H.264, Xvid, MPEG, VC-1 encoded
• Audio: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital, DTS-HD high-def, DTS-HD MA pass-through; Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, AAC, MP3 encoded.

Read more: ByteCopy Review

Trial and Download

ByteCopy for Windows

• Requires Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (32bit and 64bit).

ByteCopy for Mac OS X

• Requires x86 Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Pavtube ByteCopy rips Blu-ray in 2 ways, lossless copy and lossy conversion. In trial version lossless backup runs 7 times only; for loss conversion, a watermark is put on the screen. A full version is offered at $42. The purchase includes a lifetime license and unlimited upgrades.

Added July 9, 2013: Pavtube ByteCopy is upgraded!It’s now a much more powerful Blu-ray/DVD ripper/converter, and BD/DVD multi track preserver. 

New features:

1. Automatically detect Blu-ray/DVD main movie
2. Full disc copy Blu-ray/DVD by chapters without quality loss
3. Rip/convert/backup BD/DVD to any other format for playback on any iOS/Android/Windows tablets and phones
4. Backup BD/DVD to MKV format with multi audio/subtitle tracks and chapter markers without any quality loss.
5. Convert BD/DVD to MP4/MOV with multi audio (language) tracks
6. Add SRT, ASS, and SSA subtitles to BD/DVD movie
7. Edit BD/DVD movies: trim off commercials, crop off black bars, merge several chapters into one, split one movie into several pieces, and more
8. Support TrueHD 6.1 and TrueHD 7.1 decoding
9. Support latest BD and DVD (BD/DVD/Ultimate/iMedia)

Related Guide

• Lossless Blu-ray to M2TS Backup and Blu-ray to MKV Backup
• Keep multiple audio and subtitle streams when backing up Blu-ray Disc to MKV/MP4/MOV
• Lossless Backup Blu-ray/DVD to MKV file for playback 

Top 2. MakeMKV Review

MakeMKV is a nice choice for those who feel like to make lossless copy of their Blu-ray and DVD collections. The software does one thing- converting the video clips from encrypted disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way- and does it well. It is very easy to remove unwanted audio or subtitle tracks and pretty fast to back up a Blu-ray. The copying of Blu-ray Avatar took only 86 minutes. All video streams, audio tracks and subtitles are included in resulting MKV file.

Import source: Blu-ray Disc/folder/ISO, DVD

Export file format: .mkv (with original codecs)

To add- MKV (also known as Matroska) is a container file format, in which there can be many audio, video and subtitles streams, allowing the user to store a complete movie in a single file. Practically this means that it is possible to put entire movie with multiple sound and subtitle tracks, chapters and movie thumbnail into single file.

MakeMKV 1.6.8 for Windows

• Requires Windows XP, Vista or Win7, x86 or x64.

MakeMKV 1.6.8 for Mac OS X

• Requires x86 Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

MakeMKV 1.6.8 for Linux

MakeMKV allows for a 30-day trial, and $50 is all you pay for lifetime Blu-ray ripping feature. Its DVD ripping feature always stays free, so let's say thank you to the generous developer of MakeMKV.

Top 3. DVDfab Blu-ray Ripper Review

DVDfab used to stand for an excellent free DVD ripper. Now we know they can do more (and ask for more too). DVDfab Blu-ray Ripper decrypts and rips Blu-ray title to various video files playable on next generation consoles like PS3 and Xbox 360, HD player like WD TV Live, or mobile devices like iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc. Unlike MakeMKV, it exports a lot of video codecs and formats:

Video: MPEG-4, H.264, MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, M2TS, TS etc.

Audio: MP3, MP4, M4A, WMA, WAV, AAC, AC3, DTS, etc.

So you see the differences here. With MakeMKV you get lossless Blu-ray backup but only in MKV format; while with DVDfab you lose original Blu-ray quality but get much smaller movie clips in desired format. A preferred feature of DVDfab is their "Lighting speed", i.e., multi-core CPUs and NVIDIA CUDA support. By taking advantage of CUDA accelerating, the conversion time is greatly shorted.

Trial and Download

DVDfab Blu-ray Ripper

• Requires Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (32bit and 64bit).

DVDfab Blu-ray Ripper for Mac

• Requires x86 Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Everyone can evaluate the trial for 30 days before it stops work. To continue using the software, you can buy a one-year license of DVDfab Blu-ray Ripper at $60 and $105.6 for lifetime license. If you purchase Blu-ray Ripper and DVD Ripper in bundle, it'll be $93.5 for one-year use and $154 for lifetime. Pretty high price, isn't it? Especially when you can get a similar Blu-ray Ripper at much lower price?

Compare: MakeMKV vs. DVDfab vs. Pavtube ByteCopy

MakeMKV and ByteCopy are good for lossless Blu-ray and DVD backup, while DVDfab focuses on Blu-ray trans-coding to portable devices like PS3, Xbox, etc.

Q: Which Blu-ray ripper keeps Blu-ray movie structure (including chapters)?
A: MakeMKV and ByteCopy

Q: Which Blu-ray ripper keeps multiple audio tracks and subtitles?
A: MakeMKV and ByteCopy

Q: What about the ripping speed of the three Blu-ray Rippers?
A: MakeMKV = ByteCopy (lossless copy) > DVDfab

Q: Which en-decodes Blu-ray with NVIDIA's CUDA support (GPU computing)?
A: ByteCopy and DVDfab (Tip: CUDA works only when exporting H.264 encoded videos)

Q: Which does better on Blu-ray hacking/cracking?
A: Not a Blu-ray ripper is able to crack all the Blu-ray Discs as decryption always falls behind encryption. So it's a question of upgrade and tech support. All the three updates their software along with the come up of new BD+ keys. MakeMKV and Pavtube ByteCopy charge free for updates while DVDfab asks you pay extra money for the updates.
  
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