Looking for help/advice - wanting to rip dvd collection

[pramsing]

I'd like to rip the dvds I have, and have been trying with the external dvd drive that I have, which has been semi-successful, successfully reading maybe around 50% of what I've thrown at it.

So in an attempt to find a way to be able to rip all of them, I have a few questions, some of which might be a bit silly, but I hope you can forgive me anyway.
Here are the questions:

1. If I understand it correctly, the failure to read the rest is likely to be protection on the discs, which can be solved with a flashed dvd drive, is this correct?
2. I have looked at the big "Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2025" post on here, but there's so much information, and I can't really figure out which drive would be right for me, or if I would be able to flash it myself, or if I should go with a pre-flashed seller, if there are any ship to Denmark.
3. What's the difference between "UHD drives", and "LibreDrive drives"? Are there specific scenarios where one is better than the other?
4. Are there drives that can do both dvds and blurays? I'm pretty sure I only have dvds, but it'd be good to know either way.
5. Are there other types of discs (for movies/shows/series) other than just dvd and bluray?
6. Any other information at all that you think I should know before getting a drive, and trying to rip my collection?

Long story short, I'm looking for any guidance on how I can get started on ripping my collection.
My collection is exclusively dvds, I'm pretty sure

In advance, I appreciate any and all responses.
Thank you.

[MartyMcNuts]

I'd like to rip the dvds I have, and have been trying with the external dvd drive that I have, which has been semi-successful, successfully reading maybe around 50% of what I've thrown at it.

So in an attempt to find a way to be able to rip all of them, I have a few questions, some of which might be a bit silly, but I hope you can forgive me anyway.
Here are the questions:

1. If I understand it correctly, the failure to read the rest is likely to be protection on the discs, which can be solved with a flashed dvd drive, is this correct?
2. I have looked at the big "Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2025" post on here, but there's so much information, and I can't really figure out which drive would be right for me, or if I would be able to flash it myself, or if I should go with a pre-flashed seller, if there are any ship to Denmark.
3. What's the difference between "UHD drives", and "LibreDrive drives"? Are there specific scenarios where one is better than the other?
4. Are there drives that can do both dvds and blurays? I'm pretty sure I only have dvds, but it'd be good to know either way.
5. Are there other types of discs (for movies/shows/series) other than just dvd and bluray?
6. Any other information at all that you think I should know before getting a drive, and trying to rip my collection?

Long story short, I'm looking for any guidance on how I can get started on ripping my collection.
My collection is exclusively dvds, I'm pretty sure

In advance, I appreciate any and all responses.
Thank you.

First of all, if you are only wanting to rip DVD discs, why are you posting this in the UHD drives thread???

1. No, the errors that are shown in the MakeMKV log window will provide reasons why the rip has failed. DVD protection was cracked wide open over 20 years ago, so there shouldn't really be any disc protection issues.

2. If you are ripping only DVD's, you don't need a UHD capable drive. You can simply get any blu-ray writer which will allow you to rip DVD and BD discs.

3. Libredrive is required to rip UHD discs. It is not required for BD and DVD discs. Libredrive can be useful for BD as it will still allow you to continue ripping BD discs if the drive certificate has been revoked. This happens when a BD disc containing a new AACS revision is inserted in the drive. None of this is relevant for DVD discs.

4. Yes, any BD drive is also capable of ripping CD and DVD discs.

5. Disc tyoes are DVD / BD / UHD. I don't know if any TV series have been released on UHD yet. There are plenty of movies on UHD discs.

6. If only ripping DVD discs, then no. Just get yourself a blu-ray drive and call it a day.

[pramsing]

Thank you for the response and information.

I do apologize if I've posted this in the wrong section. I posted it in the section that I thought was most fitting. If there's any way to move it, I'd happily do that.

You mentioned that dvd protection should not be the issue, so I guess it must be something else.
The issue I've been having is that a lot of dvds are just completely not recognized, by Windows or MakeMKV. Windows shows my external drive, but no disc. MakeMKV says no disc.
For the unrecognized dvds, I don't believe them to be damaged. Some were still factory sealed until I opened them to try to rip them.
And with some "multi disc" boxes, where there are maybe 4 discs for the same show or movie in a single dvd box, I'd be able to rip 1 or 2 of the discs, but not the others, even though they originated from the same box.
Do I just have a bad external drive?

If I do just have a bad drive, and I should get another one, I think you said I should get a bluray drive, right? Anything specific to look for, or any advice as to what to get or not to get, or are they all kind of the same?

I apologize for my complete ignorance on the subject, and appreciate the help.

[MartyMcNuts]

Thank you for the response and information.

I do apologize if I've posted this in the wrong section. I posted it in the section that I thought was most fitting. If there's any way to move it, I'd happily do that.

You mentioned that dvd protection should not be the issue, so I guess it must be something else.
The issue I've been having is that a lot of dvds are just completely not recognized, by Windows or MakeMKV. Windows shows my external drive, but no disc. MakeMKV says no disc.
For the unrecognized dvds, I don't believe them to be damaged. Some were still factory sealed until I opened them to try to rip them.
And with some "multi disc" boxes, where there are maybe 4 discs for the same show or movie in a single dvd box, I'd be able to rip 1 or 2 of the discs, but not the others, even though they originated from the same box.
Do I just have a bad external drive?

If I do just have a bad drive, and I should get another one, I think you said I should get a bluray drive, right? Anything specific to look for, or any advice as to what to get or not to get, or are they all kind of the same?

I apologize for my complete ignorance on the subject, and appreciate the help.

They are all pretty much the same performance wise. I do recommend Pioneer drives over any other manufacturer as they are simply better build quality.

I haven't touched a DVD in almost 20 years!! This can help with Blu-ray so may help with DVD's. You could try giving them a wipe with a microfiber cloth then see if it reads. Even if a disc is new and looks pristine, it could still have some marks or dust etc on it.

Also, don't open MakeMKV until after Windows has initialized the disc.