With its grey and purple interface, Wondershare Uniconverter is a striking application that combines its good looks with an enormous amount of capability. Far more than just a DVD ripper, the program has tools to help with almost every aspect of digital video encoding, and branches out into still image format conversion and CD ripping and burning too. It's one of the best DVD rippers you can buy in 2020.
It’s also supremely easy to use - you load a DVD, wait for it to be analyzed, then either let it decide your target file settings or choose them yourself. The GPU-accelerated ripping process is speedy, although doesn’t display a frame counter for us to compare it with other programs. It feels about the same as other GPU-enabled DVD ripping programs, though, outpacing the unaccelerated Handbrake and MakeMKV.
DVD ripping, however, is just a scratch in the surface of its capabilities. If there’s an online video you want to edit, or use as part of a project, then you can use Uniconverter to download it as a file, and also immediately convert it to a format more in keeping with the other videos you’re using. There’s CD and DVD burning capability too, plus a neat trick of transferring files to an Android phone using its USB debugging mode. Screen recording and TV casting have been bundled too, making this a truly comprehensive video package.
Wondershare Uniconverter review: Ease of use
Free trial: Yes, limited
GPU support: Yes
H265: Yes
CD ripping: Yes
Blu-ray ripping: Yes
OS: Windows, Mac
Device presets: Yes
- Very easy to use
- Wide range of features
There are some big wins for Wondershare Uniconverter in terms of how easy it is to use. That’s because no effort has been spared in streamlining the process, enabling you to make it as complex as you like. If you want to just get the disk in the drive, have it analysed by the application, then an MP4 file spat out as quickly as possible, then the program is perfectly capable of doing that. If you’d rather spend some time considering exactly how large you need the output file, then you have that option. If you want to adjust the brightness and contrast, or apply a filter, to the final result, then you can do that too.
What all this means is that, while Uniconverter can be straightforward to use as a basic DVD Ripper, it rapidly increases in complexity when you start clicking at the small icons underneath the preview windows generated of the titles you’re about to rip. Luckily, there are enough pop-up tooltips that you’re not clicking around completely in the dark, and you have to commit to your changes before the rip takes place, so you’re never in danger of ruining a perfectly good completed conversion. It's more feature-packed than our top pick, WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, but less easy to use.
As you explore the app further, uncovering the breadth of functionality that’s been packed within it, the ease of use remains about the same - simple sliders are employed to alter brightness, for example, while even something as potentially complex as screen recording is enabled with a simple rectangle to define the area to be recorded, and a big orange ‘rec’ button. The complexity is there if you want it - level meters for sound, for example - but you can record your screen simply just using the basic controls. This holds true for the entire application.
Wondershare Uniconverter review: Speed
- GPU-accelerated ripper
Wondershare Uniconverter is a GPU-accelerated DVD ripper, meaning it makes use of your PC’s graphics processor to speed up the process of creating the output file. It doesn’t matter if you are using the built-in graphics chip in Intel or AMD’s CPUs, or have a hulking great discrete graphics card meant for gaming (both Nvidia and AMD are supported), the program can make use of it. There is a list of supported GPUs on the Wondershare website, but it’s a pretty comprehensive list stretching back to the integrated Intel HD Graphics 2000 from 2012’s Ivy Bridge line of Intel CPUs.
The more powerful your GPU, the more assistance it’s going to be able to give to the process, and on our gaming tower PC with an Nvidia 10-series GPU the ripping process positively flew past. Wondershare Uniconverter doesn’t give an idea of the number of frames per second it’s converting, but the time taken was on a par with other GPU-enabled rippers such as WinX DVD Ripper Platinum.
Wondershare Uniconverter review: Cost
- Quite expensive
This is commercial software, so don’t go expecting it to be free. Wondershare Uniconverter is available as a one-off payment of $70 for a lifetime license on one PC, or as an annual subscription of $40/year on one PC. The lifetime license includes all the same updates as the subscription package. Alternatively, if you’re using the software for commercial purposes, you can buy as many licenses for as many PCs as you need, and choose whether to pay the lifetime or subscription price.
The app’s free trial only encodes the first third of any DVD you try to rip with it, and limits other features too, such as screen recording being cut off after a minute. It’s not a useable product in this state (much like Freemake Vide Converter), strongly pushing would-be users toward a purchase. That one third of a movie is enough, however, for you to judge whether you like the Uniconverter way of doing things, and whether it produces an acceptable output quality. We certainly had no problem with the files we produced in testing.
Should you buy Wondershare Uniconverter?
If you’re looking for a comprehensive set of video converting tools in addition to a DVD ripper, then Wondershare Uniconverter is worth your time. Much of its additional functionality, such as screen recording or acting as a media server, may be duplicated in other applications, but for those new to the video scene, or someone starting out with a new PC, this many tools in one application must look very tempting indeed. It’s a program you’re likely to stay with for some time, as it ticks so many boxes, and therefore one purchase now could prevent several purchases in the future. If you already have applications for screen recording, running a media server, and CD ripping on your hard drive, then its DVD ripping powers are still impressive enough to justify a purchase if you feel that the free alternatives like Handbrake aren’t giving you what you want.
