7 Best Linux Apps for Ripping CDs and DVDs

"Ripping a CD or DVD is one of the most basic tasks for a PC user. But you need the right tools if you want to automate the process. Current ripping programs incorporate video encoding, tagging, and subtitles management. There's no single app that will do everything, so here are our picks for the best Linux apps for ripping audio CDs and video DVDs.

"Getting Started

"Before you can rip audio and video, there are a few things you will need. Audio encoding is fairly straightforward; there is no encryption to break but you will need the codec(s) that translate the source medium into the digital file format you want. For music, you will need a MP3 coder like LAME (or OGG Vorbis, if you prefer using that instead) for lossy audio and/or FLAC for lossless. For video file encoding, you will need libdvdcss2 to break the encryption on retail discs and a video codec like XVID or H.264 to reconvert the original MPEG2 DVD video format into a digital file. (the DVD audio track is handled by the same codecs used to rip music CDs)"

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