Back Up Blu-ray to Hard Drive: A Complete Guide in 2026

Blu-ray discs provide excellent video quality, but physical media can be inconvenient to store, carry, and play. Copying Blu-ray to a hard drive allows you to create a digital backup, protect your collection from scratches or damage, and enjoy movies without repeatedly inserting discs.

However, Blu-ray discs contain complex structures, including menus, multiple video streams, subtitles, and high-quality audio tracks. Simply copying files from a Blu-ray disc to a hard drive usually does not create a playable backup.

In this guide, we will show you how to copy Blu-ray to a hard drive, what formats you can choose, and how to preserve original Blu-ray video and audio quality during the process.

Part 1. Why Back Up Blu-ray to a Hard Drive

1. Protect Your Blu-ray Collection: Blu-ray discs are durable, but they are still vulnerable to scratches, aging, and physical damage. Creating a digital backup on a hard drive provides an additional protection layer for your movie collection.

2. Watch Blu-ray Movies Without a Disc: A hard drive backup makes Blu-ray playback more convenient. Instead of using an external Blu-ray drive every time, you can directly play your Blu-ray disc movies from a computer, media server, or smart TV.

3. Save Storage Space and Organize Movies Digitally: Many movie and TV show enthusiasts build personal media libraries using NAS devices or media servers. Copying Blu-ray discs to a hard drive helps organize movies by title, genre, and release year.

Can You Backup Blu-ray Directly to a Hard Drive?

No. You cannot simply drag and copy all Blu-ray files to a hard drive and expect the movie to work properly. Blu-rays may have copy protections that prevent you from copying them directly.

Moreover, Blu-ray discs contain a special folder structure, including BDMV folders, .m2ts video streams, playlists, menus, and protection mechanisms. Even though you can directly copy them from a simple Blu-ray without encryption, those files cannot be directly played on your hard drive. To create a usable backup, you need Blu-ray copy software that can read the disc and convert its structure into a video file that can be played directly.

What Do You Need to Copy Blu-ray to Hard Drive?

1. Blu-ray Drive: A Blu-ray drive is required to read the physical disc. Standard DVD drives cannot read Blu-ray discs.

2. Enough Hard Drive Space: BD25 Blu-rays have up to 25 GB of data, BD50 Blu-rays have up to 50 GB, and 4K UHD Blu-rays have up to 100 GB. Make sure you have sufficient space on your hard drive to accommodate the backup files even though you can compress them as digital video files.

3. Blu-ray Copy Software: To copy Blu-ray to a hard drive, you need software that can read the disc, bypass copy protections, and convert the content into a playable format. Popular options include Tipard Blu-ray Copy and MakeMKV.

Part 2. How to Back Up Blu-ray to Hard Drive in 2 Efficient Ways

1. Tipard Blu-ray Converter - Copy Blu-ray to Hard Drive as MP4 or Other Video Formats

For most users who want to copy Blu-ray movies to a hard drive for offline viewing, whether it is a NAS, external hard drive, or another type of storage device, converting Blu-ray content into a digital video format is often the best solution. Popular formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, and more offer broad compatibility and can be played directly on computers, TVs, smartphones, and other devices. Tipard Blu-ray Converter is an excellent choice for this purpose. It can convert Blu-ray discs into various video formats while preserving high-quality video and audio. The software also helps bypass Blu-ray copy protections, including AACS, BD+, and region restrictions, allowing you to digitize and enjoy your Blu-ray collection more conveniently.

How to Use Tipard Blu-ray Copy to Backup Blu-ray to Hard Drive:

Step 1 Download, install, and launch Tipard Blu-ray Converter on your Windows or Mac computer. Insert your Blu-ray to an optical drive and connect it to your computer. If you need to save Blu-ray movies to your external hard drive, connect the drive to your computer.

Step 2 Click the Load Blu-ray button on the top left side and then select Load Blu-ray Disc to load your Blu-ray disc. You can also select Load Blu-ray ISO to load an ISO file.

Step 3 You can load Full Title List or just select the Main Movie. Then, click the Output Format dropdown menu on the bottom left side, and then select the Video tab. Now, you can select a digital format:

Step 4 Click the Save to dropdown menu and click the Browse and Select Folder button to select a destination on your internal or exernal hard drive. Finally, click the Rip All button to save the Blu-ray movies to your hard drive.

2. Tipard Blu-ray Copy - Copy Blu-ray to Hard Drive as ISO or BDMV

Here comes a reliable, secure, and efficient software that can clone or copy your Blu-ray losslessly: Tipard Blu-ray Copy. This software has a fast and easy process for backing up your favorite Blu-ray movie to an internal or external hard drive without affecting its quality. Furthermore, it lets you back up your Blu-ray discs as ISO images or BDMV folders. You can also compress BD50 to BD25 to shrink the target file size, which will save storage on your hard drive.

Tipard Blu-ray Copy offers four copy modes. The first mode is Full Disc mode:

How to Use Tipard Blu-ray Copy

Step 1 Click the Free Download button above to download and install Tipard Blu-ray Copy on your computer. Insert the Blu-ray disc and your hard drive into your computer.

Step 2 Once you get to its main interface, choose a copy mode you want to use. Then, click the dropdown button of the Source option to select your inserted Blu-ray disc. You can also click the Open Blu-ray Folder button to import your BDMV folder.

Step 3 To save Blu-ray movies to your hard drive. Click the Target dropdown button and select Save as BD Folder or Save as ISOoption. Then, choose the external hard drive where you want to save your Blu-ray backup files. If you just need to copy Blu-ray to your internal hard drive, just select a file folder.

Step 4 You can also customize the encoding settings of the process. To do so, click the Tools tab menu, then choose the Preferences option. In the pop-up window, click the Blu-ray Copy tab, and start to customize the given options on the right side. Apply the changes by clicking the OK button after.

Step 5 Finally, hit the Start button to begin backing up the Blu-ray to your hard drive. Wait until the process finishes, then check your ISO or BDMV folder on your hard drive.

3. MakeMKV - Quickly Remux Blu-ray to MKV (No Transcoding)

MakeMKV is another popular choice for backing up Blu-ray movies to a hard drive. As a dedicated Blu-ray ripper, it can create lossless MKV copies by preserving the original video, audio tracks, subtitles, and chapters from Blu-ray discs without re-encoding. Its simple and intuitive interface makes it easy for both beginners and experienced users to digitize their Blu-ray collections. In addition, MakeMKV includes built-in decryption capabilities that can handle many common Blu-ray copy protections, allowing users to access and back up their discs more conveniently.

However, MakeMKV is mainly designed for lossless Blu-ray backup rather than video conversion. It typically only outputs MKV files and does not provide options to convert Blu-ray movies into more widely compatible and smaller formats like MP4 or H.265. It also offers limited editing and customization features compared with full-featured Blu-ray converters. If you are looking for more flexible output options, you can explore MakeMKV alternatives. Nevertheless, here’s how to store Blu-ray movies on a hard drive using MakeMKV.

Step 1 Launch MakeMKV after installing it on your computer. Then, insert the Blu-ray disc you want to back up into the disc drive as well.

Step 2 MakeMKV will load your Blu-ray automatically. If your Blu-ray isn't loaded, click the File button in the top left corner and select Load disc.

Step 3Once the Blu-ray is ready, set the Output Folder and choose the hard drive you have inserted. After that, click the Make MKV button to copy Blu-ray to your hard drive.

Part 3. FAQs about Backing Up Blu-rays