DVD Shrink is a good option to copy and compress a DVD into a smaller size. And it can remove some basic DVD copy protection schemes, including DVD region codes, CSS copy protection, and user operation prohibitions. So some Mac users wonder if they can install DVD Shrink on Mac. The short answer is No.
There is still no macOS version of DVD Shrink, and the development was discontinued in May 2005. But luckily, there are some useful alternatives to DVD Shrink that can work on Mac.
Part 1: Top DVD Shrink Alternatives for Mac
| Name | Best for | Overall Rating | Overall Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacX DVD Ripper Pro | Best for: Best DVD Shrink for Mac alternative to backup and compress protected DVDs to 350+ different formats. |  |
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| MacTheRipper | Best for: Backup DVDs to ISO or VOB. |  |
|
| RipIt | Best for: Rip and compress DVDs. | |
|
| Handbrake | Best for: Rip homemade DVDs to MP4, MKV, and WebM. | |
|
| MakeMKV | Best for: Compress DVDs to MakeMKV to MKV. | |
|
No.1: MacX DVD Ripper Pro
Latest version: 6.8.2 | January 10, 2024
OS Support: macOS (macOS 14 included) and Windows 11/10
Licence: Free to try | One-Year Subscription / 3 Macs: $34.95; Lifetime License / 1 Mac: $59.95
MacX DVD Ripper Pro is the best alternative to DVD Shrink on Mac for handling different protected DVDs. It's able to copy DVDs to ISO, Video_TS Folder, MKV, or MPG with all extras, subtitles and audio tracks in 100% original quality, as well as rip DVDs to MP4, MOV, HEVC, M4V, AVI, WMV, FLV, as well as iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, and 350+ profiles.
It can compress a DVD more efficiently than DVD Shrink. There is an efficient compression engine to compress a DVD (7.5GB) to a digital file (less than 1GB), with no key frame drops or pixilation.
It's a more powerful DVD Shrink for Mac program to remove the DVD copy protections. Different from DVD Shrink, it doesn't need extra tools to copy DVDs with CSS encryption, AACS 2.0, RCE region protections, ARccOS copy protection, Disney 99 titles, and more. It runs about 5x faster than DVD Shrink to rip a DVD to MP4 with advanced GPU (Intel QSV/AMD/Nvidia) hardware acceleration.
No.2: MacTheRipper
Latest version: 5.0.0.3 | Aug 5, 2015
OS Support: Mac OS X (except Mountain Lion)
Licence: Free (before version 2.6.6)|$40.00
MacTheRipper is another free DVD-Shrink alternative for Mac that should not be overlooked! It can save your commercial DVD movies as in ISO Image or VOB files on your hard drive. When backing up DVD movies, it did compress the DVD size, but at a lower compression ratio than any other DVD Shrink for Mac alternatives.
Third-party software is needed to substantially reduce the DVD size by converting VOB to MP4, MOV, M4V. As far as I can tell that MacTheRipper is an easy and fast alternative in aspect of copying DVD without too much compression.
No.3: RipIt
Latest version: 1.6.9 | Aug 12, 2015
OS Support: Mac OS X(Yosemite/El Capitan)
Licence: Free to try | $ 24.95
Another similar program like DVD Shrink comes to RipIt. It's known for its ease of use and powerful decrypting feature, which is even better than Handbrake and Mac The Ripper. RipIt offers two methods for backing up DVDs to Mac: ripping DVDs, which copies everything to the Mac, including movie extras, subtitles, and alternate audio tracks for playback on DVD players, and compressing DVDs, which produces a smaller video file that you can export to iTunes and sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
The second way reduced the DVD size greatly, and to some degree, achieved the equivalent effect of DVD Shrink for Mac. Furthermore, copying a DVD on a Mac usually takes about a half hour. It will take longer to compress a disc.
No.4. Handbrake
Latest version: 1.7.2 | December 24, 2023
OS Support: macOS, Windows, Linux
Licence: Free
Handbrake may work as a free DVD Shrink for Mac alternative when you need to convert a DVD. It offers no DVD copying or authoring ability, but it's very popular for converting a DVD to MKV, MP4, WebM formats, and presets for some Android, Apple, TV devices, etc. There are different filters and settings to help compress a DVD to a smaller video. In addition, there are different GPU and software encoders to allow users to rip a DVD at the speed or quality they want.
While DVD Shrink has a DeCSS decryption algorithm to handle DVD copy protections, this Mac alternative doesn't. Handbrake only supports non-protected DVDs. Extra libdvdcss is needed to help Handbrake rip DVDs with region codes and CSS.
No.5. MakeMKV
Latest version: 1.17.6 | January 20, 2024
OS Support: macOS, Windows, Linux
Licence: Free for 60 days | $ 50
MakeMKV is a simple and powerful DVD converter. It's capable of creating a copy of an entire DVD or Blu-ray disc and converting it to MKV. It supports DVDs and Blu-ray discs protected by common copy protections such as AACS and BD+. No additional software is required for conversion or decryption. However, unlike DVD Shrink, you cannot shrink the DVD to a smaller size. The output format is MKV, which is about the same size as a DVD. So when you use this DVD Shrink alternative on Mac, make sure you have enough free space on the hard drive.
MakeMKV is free with full functions for the first 60 days. Then it will stop working and you will need to purchase it. However, you can always download the latest version and use it for free. Free download the DVD Shrink alternative on Mac, then you can extract and save a DVD into MKV.
Note: If you want to download free open-source software such as DVD Shrink, MacTheRipper, RipIt, and others, you should go to their official website first. As DVD Shrink says on its official webpage, there are varied types of scams like DVD Shrink 2014, Official DVD Shrink, DVD Shrink Gold 2011, etc. Check its legitimacy before you download those freeware for DVD decrypting and ripping.
Part 2: How to Copy DVDs on Mac with Best DVD Shrink Equivalent
Different strokes for different folks when it comes to shrinking DVDs. For those who want to shrink DVDs for storage for safe backup or rip DVD to MP4, MOV, M4V for offline watching on iPhone iPad, MacX DVD Ripper Pro is strongly recommended for its powerful ripping and compressing functions and easy-to-use interface as a DVD Shrink for Mac alternative.
Step 1: Add DVD.
Free download the Mac DVD Shrink alternative and launch it. Insert your desired DVD into the optical drive of your Mac and click "DVD" to import the DVD.
Step 2: Choose the output formats.
Click the "DVD Backup" icon to determine your target format. You can choose to backup DVD originally with multiple tracks and subtitles or backup a single one. Alternatively, standard formats like MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV etc are also available for MacX DVD Ripper Pro as you want to shrink DVD greatly to save storage space by selecting other profiles such as "General Profiles".
Step 3: Specify output file path.
Specify output folder on your computer to save the output files. Click "Browse" button to choose the destination of DVD to be shrunk.
Step 4: Start shrinking DVD.
Click "RUN" button to start the fast DVD shrinking on your Mac. You can view the whole backup progress and are able to cancel it at anytime.
Notice: We only advocate copying and ripping DVDs under the concept of Fair Use and don't encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.
Bella has been working with DVD digitization for over 12 years. She writes articles about everything related to DVD, from disc drive, DVD copyright protection, physical structure, burning and backup tips. The unceasing passion of DVD movies helps her build a rich DVD library and ensure a practical solution to address almost all possible DVD issues. Bella is also a crazy fan for Apple products.
