IMPORTANT: MacTheRipper free version does not work on Lion. However, the project has been continued as a paid version in the form of MTR which does work on Lion. You will be given the option to download MTR when you click download.
Although MacTheRipper's site has been shut down due to legal actions, the program still remains an excellent free DVD ripper.
MacTheRipper is perfect when you're looking to extract video from your DVDs, so that you can play them anywhere else. Although the interface will look a little confusing at first you should only focus on the 'Disc' and 'Mode' tabs. The first one allows you to select the regions you want the video to work in, and select which actions to disable while ripping your DVD.
The 'Mode' tab allows you to select your extraction mode, whether it's full disc, a certain chapter or a particular title. Once you're happy with your selection you just need to press 'Go!' and let MacThe Ripper do its work. The process is generally fairly quick.
If you want to update to a newer version of MacTheRipper, you'll have to sign up to the forum and follow instructions. It may not seem like the easiest way to do it, but at least it ensures that a strong community keeps it alive.
However, since version 2.6.6, MacTheRipper has been updated but the problem is that accessing the latest version (reported by those to have found it to be version 4) is quite a mystery. It seems that this has something to do with the legal status of the application and requires signing up for it via various forums. So while you might find that version 2.6.6 of MacTheRipper rips older discs fine, you might need the latest version to rip newer discs although good luck in finding it.
MacTheRipper is an excellent free DVD ripper for Mac.
