ISO is a sector-by-sector copy of the data on an optical disc. An ISO image contains all contents of the disc, such as the menu, the main movie, every single track and information about the disc structure. Such kind of file makes up for the flaw in DVD that is vulnerable to scratch and can be easily transferred over the internet.
The regrettable things are that ISO images are stored in an uncompressed format (usually 4-8GB) and so far there is no mobile device supports ISO image. So if you want to play ISO image on iPhone, iPad, Android, or other devices, you need to convert and compress ISO image to MP4.
To Convert ISO to MP4 with the Highest Quality, You Need:
MacX DVD Ripper Pro - easily rip MP4 video file from ISO image (UDF & ISO9660) on macOS/Windows with 98% quality (advanced High Quality Engine & constantly optimized conversion algorithm). It also supports ISO image protected by region code, UOPs, CSS encryption, Disney's fake etc. It will convert ISO image to MP4, HEVC, H.264, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, and 350+ profiles.
You might have been troubled by "DVD ripping pushes CPU 95% high usage" and "CPU temperature over 70C" issues. With support to Intel/Nvidia/AMD built GPU hardware acceleration techs, it can convert ISO image to MP4 format mainly on GPU processor instead of CPU, dramatically relieving the computing burden for CPU, at least 50% off, no CPU overheating trouble at all. More importantly, it improves ripping speed 5X faster than any rival.
How to Convert and Compress ISO to MP4 on Mac/PC in Clicks
Step 1: Load DVD ISO
Download and run this DVD to MP4 converter on Mac computer (macOS Ventura supported), click "DVD ISO" to import it on your Mac computer. Note: If you need to convert the ISO image to MP4 on a PC running on Windows 11/10, you can also free download its windows version for your PC.
Note: unlike the open source DVD ripper Handbrake, this one is initially designed to serve those who need the professional DVD service - handle all types of DVDs (DVD discs, DVD Folder, ISO image) with whatever DVD DRM protection techs. So, it's a no brainer for it to select the right title from 99-title Disney DVD, bad sector Sony DVD, workout DVD, Japanese AV DVD, etc.
Step 2: MP4 Is Your Target
Simply go "General Profiles" > "MP4 Video (H264)" as output format and hit the "Done" button. Alternatively, you can access to "Mac General Video" > "MP4 Video (HEVC)", which is almost the same in quality while 50% smaller in size than MP4 H264 codec. Better still, It includes ready profiles for the latest mobiles, web, TV, iMovie, QuickTime, etc.
Step 3: Check Your GPU Acceleration
Target on "Hardware Encoder" at the lower right corner of the home screen, which will be auto selected if your computer supports GPU HW acceleration. If not, you'd better resort to a high-end desktop if CPU high usage and overheating problems do trouble you.
Step 4: Start to Rip ISO to MP4 on Mac.
Hit the "RUN" button to begin to convert ISO to MP4 on Mac after you opt for the destination folder for output file storage.
If you still think the output MP4 file size is a little bit larger beyond your need, you are allowed to apply this ISO compressor to adjust your MP4 file size, with parameter settings avaliable for you. You can adjust resolution (640*480 recommended) and lower the bit rate 20-50% compared with its default one.
Convert ISO Image to MP4 Free on Mac with VLC
It's true that VLC can support you to freely rip an MP4 file from ISO image. And you can't blame it if it doesn't live up to your anticipation, for it's just freeware and the developer team members are not so enough as the paid products to constantly update the program to satisfy your every need. So in short, VLC is great in case you just need it to handle the unprotected ISO image conversion without any dent in your wallet.
Personally, I adore VLC media player a lot as it covers multiple features into one: video playback, video conversion, video editing and ISO image conversion. Yet, advanced GPU hardware acceleration tech is absent from this excellent toolbox. It only supports the basic "Video Decode Acceleration Framework", which actually has few influence on ISO image transcoding speed. I use VLC to convert THOR.iso (7.5GB) file and choose MP4 (H264) as output format. Have to admit that it's quite easy to conduct the conversion:
Step 1: tap "Media" from the top menu
Step 2: select "Convert/Save...."
Step 3: click "Add" to import iso file
Step 4: tap "Convert/save..."
Step 5: select output format MP4
Step 6: browse to choose the destination folder for output MP4 file
Step 7: last hit on "Start".
Errors converting ISO to MP4 on Mac using VLC:
The operating process is simple while the conversion is running at snail's pace. As the right picture shows, VLC divides ISO image into several clips, 40 seconds for each. It consumes 2 hours 11 minutes and 52.25 seconds to finish only 2/5 conversion. Honestly, it kills my patience.
What drives you crazy is that it pushes my CPU usage up to 97% and CPU temperature up to 83C. At last, I give up this project, cuz it seemingly takes forever to finish this task. Now, you might know how significant GPU HW acceleration means to your DVD conversion and video transcoding.
The hardware configuration info of my test computer: 27" iMac (Big Sur) with 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB1333 MHZDDR3 and AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB.
Can Handbrake convert ISO to MP4?
Yes. Handbrake can directly open various discs and DVD backups, including not limited to DVD and Blu-ray discs, VIDEO_TS and BDMV, VOB, EVO, and MTS or M2TS, MKV and ISO images of DVD and Blu-ray discs. As long as the ISO image doesn't contain any protections, Handbrake is able to convert the ISO image to MP4 format. (If the ISO image is copy-protected, the Handbrake libdvdcss may be required in order to open the ISO iamge) Below are the steps:
Step 1. Open HandBrake and click Open Source to select the ISO image from the local Mac computer.
Step 2. Under the Title option, specify the title and chapter you want to convert.
Step 3. Open the Preset dropdown menu and choose Genreal > select fast 480p30, fast 576p30, or 1080p30 based on the source ISO image.
Step 4. Make sure the Format is MP4. Click the Browse button to select destination folder and name the file.
Step 5. Click the green Start Encode button to start to convert ISO to MP4 on Mac/PC with HandBrake.
How do I play an ISO image file?
While ISO image is not as friendly as MP4, there are many apps that are able to open ISO. You can use players like VLC and Windows Media Player to open an ISO image on macOS or Windows. However, macOS apps like QuickTime and iMovie doesn't support ISO image.
Note: The MacXDVD software calls for copying or ripping DVD under the concept of Fair Use and does not encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.
