The venerable DVD is a removable media format that was conceived almost 20 years ago. However, it still remains a useful medium, although online streaming has massively reduced its popularity in many areas.
DVDs continue to be a popular removable format for Linux distributions.
This article focuses on selecting the best free software which can use the DVD format. We select the best of breed Linux software to play DVD multimedia, to create DVD videos, software to write to them, as well as applications that copy video content from DVD media to a hard disk. Furthermore, we also examine software which helps users to catalogue their DVD collection, as well as software which offer a textual version of dialog.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 21 high quality Linux DVD tools. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who wants to revel in multimedia.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Both graphical and command-line user interface software is included.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool.
| DVD Tools | |
|---|---|
| VLC | Multimedia player and streamer |
| mpv | Media player supporting a wide range of formats |
| HandBrake | Multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter |
| QMPlay2 | Qt based video and audio player |
| fre:ac | Audio converter and CD ripper |
| Subtitle Edit | Editor for video subtitles |
| Asunder | Audio CD ripper and encoder |
| FFmpeg | Record, convert and stream audio and video |
| grip | cd-player and cd-ripper for the Gnome desktop |
| Shutter Encoder | Accessible and efficient video converter tool |
| cyanrip | Fully featured CD ripping software |
| GCstar | Manages a movie collection |
| Gaupol | Subtitle editor for text-based subtitle files |
| DataCrow | Media cataloger and media organiser software |
| Tellico | Collection manager for KDE |
| MPlayer | Very popular movie player |
| DVDStyler | DVD authoring application |
| Aegisub | Tool for creating and modifying subtitles |
| Q DVD-Author | GUI frontend for dvdauthor and related tools |
| whipper | Python CD-DA ripper |
| DVDAuthor | Generate a DVD-Video movie from a valid MPEG-2 stream |
This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |