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.
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. Spotted a useful open source Linux program not covered on our site? Please let us know by completing this form. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |