How to rip DVDs and Blurays to MP4 iTunes Apple TV with Bluray/DVD Cover Art on macOS

I am looking for a DVD and Bluray ripping software for the sole purpose to rip all of my DVD movies as well as the Bluray discs I have already purchased sitting in bins collecting dust. I want them in my iTunes library so that I can watch them whenever and wherever I go. Another request is when I rip DVDs or Bluray to MP4 iTunes, I can retrieve the cover art/artwork in some way and have that in the cloud as well. I really want the movies to look like they were purchased on my computer in iTunes or Apple TV and easy to pick out.

I have no problems ripping my Bluray DVD collections to MP4 iTunes, Apple TV or whatever video formats but the output all lose the cover art. I start looking for a Bluray DVD ripper that is able to rip Bluray DVDs along with the cover art but no luck. Although this is not my first time ever ripping movies, I really would like to have them look good on my computer or Apple TV devices or even the cloud(Google Drive or pCloud).

After quite a long time wandering around, I see the only option to rip DVDs to MP4 with DVD cover art is to separate the task, one ripping DVD to MP4 and then add the original cover art or even your own artwork. So, below is my guide on how to rip Bluray DVDs to MP4 iTunes Apple TV with the cover art/artwork and it would be in two big steps.

Rip DVD to MP4 iTunes Apple TV on Mac

Follow the below Download button to have a copy of the Bluray DVD to MP4 iTunes Apple TV Ripper. There are a great many DVD rippers that are able to rip DVDs to MP4 or whatever video format you like, but for Bluray ripping as well as DVDs I would like to recommend Leawo Bluray DVD Ripper as it is the fastest with 1:1 quality.

Install and launch the program. The trial version is limited to rip the first 5 minutes of any Bluray or DVD to MP4. You can have a trial first to see how the program works for you and they always have a great discount for the ripper here. And, insert a Bluray or DVD to get ready.

Now, with everything ready, we can simply follow the below steps for ripping. MP4 will take as an example of the output as I found it to be the universal output for iTunes, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and many other devices. But you will see it actually supports various video formats like AVI, MOV, WMV, etc. and devices from Samsung, HTC as well as VR headsets.

Step 1. Load DVD

Generally, you are free to load a disc from the Bluray DVD drive, load ISO or VIDEO_TS or BMDV folder from the hard drive via Drag-and-drop. Or, just click the Add Bluray/DVD button to do so. 

ipad bd ripper load bd

Tip: Leawo can select the right DVD title for ripping but it is still possible it selects a wrong title. Or you want to rip other titles for a workout DVD like CIZE, P90X3, PiYo, check to see how to find the right title for ripping.

Step 2. Custom Profile

After the Bluray DVD is loaded, you will be presented to choose the main/full mode. Click OK for Main Mode (Custom Mode for BBC TV shows) and you will see MP4 Video comes as the default output for DVD ripping. For better compatibility, I just click on MP4 Video-Change and make sure H264 is selected for ripping.

leawo bluray dvd ripper change profile

Step 3. Rip Bluray DVD to MP4 H264.

Click the big Convert button to start ripping to MP4. As far as I can see, MP4 H264 also works for iTunes, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. But in case, you want a specific profile for your device, go to MP4 Video-Edit and pick up the specific profile.

Add Cover Art for iTunes

To be able to add DVD cover art the ripped MP4 file, we will need a totally free program called Subler and it is fully compatible with the latest macOS Catalina. Double click to unzip to reveal the Subler app. Move Subler.app to Applications folder if you like or you can just leave it.

Tips:

  • Subler is flagged from an unidentified developer since it is not code signed. To work around this, please read their Open an app from an unidentified developer help article.
  • Unlike most apps, Subler will simply appear in your Dock, and won’t display any windows or interface until we give it a file to process.
  • Each update Subler registers itself as the default app for certain video formats such as MP4, MKV. This is a bit annoying since you may use IINA for playback, but not a big deal to set it back.
  • You will have the delete a movie that is already in your iTunes library if still want to add cover art or metadata to it. This is because iTunes won’t automatically process or recognize the changes we make to a file’s cover art/metadata if it’s already in your library. Just make sure you save the original file when you delete it.

Now, let’s begin to add DVD cover art to MP4 files we rip for iTunes/Apple TV.

  • When a rip finishes, the program automatically opens the output folder. Locate the file you want to add cover art and add it to Subler by dragging and dropping to Subler icon or right click-Open with.
  • You will be presented the below window with the basic video and audio information about the file.
  • Go to the Search button and search for the movies name. This way, you are able to pull all relevant information and cover art/artwork. Alternatively, you are free to add metadata yourself.
  • Click Add and go Artwork to see how it looks like:
  • Click Command-S to save the metadata as well as the cover art or Shift-Command-S to save a new copy of the movie and preserve the original.

Tips:

  1. You will have to select Movie or TV Episode, or you won’t get any result.
  2. You may have to delete the title number for a better search result.
  3. I recommend you select iTunes Store as the source from the drop-down menu for better compatible with iTunes.
  4. TheMovieDB also works and offer more images for DVD cover art or artwork while iTunes store only offer one.

Now, take a look at how it looks like in your iTunes library.

Hey, does it look better? For Windows, I currently use Media Preview, a thumbnail maker, to add a thumbnail preview for my movies. However, I noticed it no longer working on Windows 10 and I am able to find an alternative to add a thumbnail to my MP4 videos!

One More Thing

Leawo combines all its programs into one launcher and what you download would always be Leawo Prof. Media, and Leawo Bluray Ripper is a module of it.

Leawo Bluray Ripper supports both Bluray and DVD ripping. If you just need to rip DVDs, you can simply go for Leawo DVD Ripper and it is cheaper. 

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