How to extract audio from DVDs

Many of the live concerts of the singers or musical groups can be listened to, after a few months from the event, on special DVD Videos, containing all the high-quality footage and recordings of the songs (made directly by the mixers in use during the event ). If you like songs sung live so much that you want to listen to them on your smartphone, car or any other listening device, in this guide we will show you the programs to be used to extract audio from DVDs at the highest quality, so as to convert the digital songs listenable on modern devices. In order to maintain the high quality of the recordings on DVDs, we will also provide you with tips on the audio format to choose during the procedure and on the hardware components to be used for the purpose, so that you can proceed quickly and smoothly. Obviously we will only report the free programs so that, if we already have everything we need from the hardware point of view, the extraction will be able to run it without paying a euro.
READ ALSO: Extract audio from video quickly and easily

Hardware needed

In order to extract audio from DVDs, you need to have a DVD player or DVD burner installed or connected to our computer. If our computer has a few years on its shoulders or we use a fixed PC, it is likely that the reader or the burner is already included, you will only have to open the special door and insert the optical disc inside it.
If, on the other hand, we have a modern ultra-thin notebook or a fixed PC assembled by us, the DVD burner is hardly part of the devices included in the data sheet (this is because optical discs are in sharp decline). In this case we can remedy, with a minimal expense, by purchasing an external DVD burner, connectable via USB to any computer. Below we have collected some of the cheapest DVD burners to choose from:

1. External CD DVD Writer, Cocopa External USB 3.0 DVD Drive (19 €)
2. Antika External DVD Burner External USB 3.0 CD Drive (20 €)
3. AUCEE External Dvd CD Burner, External USB 3.0 Type-C Dvd Drive (24 €)
4. Lg GP57EB40 Slim External Optical Unit (26 €)

These devices are very simple to use: they connect to a free USB port on the computer, wait a few minutes and are immediately ready, given that the drivers are self-installing on any recent version of Windows. Immediately after connecting the recorder, we can insert the DVD inside and prepare to use one of the following programs.

Best programs to extract audio from DVD

With the DVD inserted in the player or the burner, let's see together the best programs to extract audio from DVD in a simple and fast way.

Movavi Video Converter

One of the best programs we can use to extract audio from DVDs is Movavi Video Converter.

To add the DVD, click on the top left on Add file -> Add DVD -> Open DVD . We wait a few minutes of scanning, then select the video track that contains the songs we want to listen to, click on the Audio menu at the bottom and select AAC 320 Kbps conversion profile . At the end of the configuration we click on the bottom Convert . In a few minutes the program will extract the audio from our DVD and save it chosen directly from the interface (with the Save in button).
The program is undoubtedly one of the best for converting the audio tracks included on the DVD, but it also has some limitations: we can use all the functions for only 7 days, plus we can only convert half of the selected audio track.

ImTOO DVD Audio Ripper

Another program we can try to extract audio from DVD is ImTOO DVD Audio Ripper.

This program is designed exclusively for the purpose, that is to extract the audio from any DVD "given in meal". First we start the program, insert the DVD in the player or in the burner and click on the disc symbol at the top, so we can open it inside; after uploading, we select the video track containing the songs we intend to listen to, we select the AAC profile at the bottom, we choose a file name in the File name field, we select High audio quality, we choose the destination folder in the Destination field and finally click on Convert (the button above). In a short time we will have our audio file ready for listening.
However, this program also has some limitations: we can only convert the first 3 minutes for each video for free, thus obliging us to use the paid license to be able to convert all the video (which will often exceed the hour in length).

VLC

If we want to extract audio from DVDs completely free of charge, without having to submit to the limits of the programs seen previously, we can use VLC.

Already known as one of the best free players for Windows, few know of its potential as a video converter. In order to use it to extract the audio of the DVD, let's prepare it by clicking on the top on Tools -> Preferences, we insert the DVD in the burner or in the player, we click on the top on Media -> Open disc, we use the Browse button to select the DVD and, in the bottom menu, we select Convert instead of Play, using the small triangle-shaped button.
The window will change its shape: select the Audio - FLAC profile from the Profile item, choose a saving path using the Browse button (choose any folder on the computer), then press the Start button.
The video will play quickly from VLC while the conversion is in progress. At the end of the process, press on Stop and listen to the FLAC file with the same VLC, also available for mobile (in case we wanted to listen to the FLAC file on smartphone) -> VLC for Android and VLC for Mobile iOS.

How to unlock protected DVDs

Some DVD Videos may have anti-copy protection to combat piracy, which in our case would prevent the use of the recommended programs; since we are going to make a personal audio extract of a regularly purchased DVD, we can safely use tools to unlock protected DVDs on our PC .
The best program to use to unlock protected DVDs is AnyDVD HD.

This program is placed in auto start and, completely automatically, removes the protections while reading the DVD, so that you can create the audio extract without any problem. The program is available for free for 21 days in all its features, after which we will have to purchase a user license to continue using it. To learn more about DVD protections and how to remove them, please read our article on How to Copy Protected DVDs or Compress them for 4.7 GB DVD5s .