To rip Blu-ray discs fast, you need to maximize your hardware read speeds using MakeMKV for a lossless backup, and optionally use HandBrake with hardware acceleration for rapid compression. While traditional ripping can take 45 to 60 minutes per disc, optimizing your software settings, choosing the right optical drive, and leveraging your computer’s graphics card (GPU) can cut that time in half.
The standard, most efficient workflow involves two separate stages: an initial high-speed “rip” (copying data directly from the disc) and a subsequent “transcode” (compressing the file size). 1. Fast Extraction (The Ripping Stage)
The absolute fastest way to get a movie off a disc is to perform a 1:1 bit-for-bit extraction without compressing it at the same time.
The Software: Download MakeMKV. It is the undisputed community favorite because it bypasses disc encryptions instantly and copies the video data raw. It treats the process like a file transfer rather than a heavy video conversion.
The Speed Expectation: A standard 1080p Blu-ray will rip in 20 to 40 minutes depending on your drive’s speed.
The Catch: The output file is an exact clone of the movie on the disc. This means the resulting .mkv file will be humongous, usually between 30GB and 50GB. 2. Fast Compression (The Transcoding Stage)
If you want to save storage space without waiting hours for your CPU to process the video, you need to compress the raw file using Hardware Acceleration.
The Software: Download HandBrake. It is a free, open-source video transcoder.
The Speed Strategy: Instead of using standard software encoders (like x264 or x265) which rely entirely on your processor, select a hardware-accelerated video preset inside HandBrake. Look for encoders labeled with: Nvidia NVENC (If you have a GeForce graphics card)
Intel QuickSync (QSV) (If you have an Intel CPU with integrated graphics) AMD VCE/AMF (If you have a Radeon graphics card)
The Result: Utilizing your GPU allows a movie to compress in 10 to 20 minutes (instead of 3 to 5 hours on an unassisted processor). It easily reduces a 40GB file down to a manageable 8GB to 10GB file with almost zero visible loss in quality. Hardware Traps That Slow You Down
Your software is only as fast as the physical drive reading the laser data. Keep these constraints in mind:
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