Ripping DVDs using external optical drive with MacBook

Quick and possibly ridiculously silly question here. I have a collection of about 475 Region-2 DVDs (i.e., playable in the UK, not in the US) I purchased many years ago that are just taking up space. What I would like to do is rip them and store the files on an external drive.
The problem is that the optical drive on my MacBook is broken (no, I’m not happy about it -- see the dozens of pages of complaints in these Forum on the issue) and I don’t want to spend $1000 right now buying a new one.
This means I need to purchase an external optical drive. Unfortunately, I’m pretty confused about whether these things (by LaCie or Samsung, for instance) can actually rip anything, let alone Region 2 DVDs. I know they can write DVDs, but ripping—that I’m not sure about. Logically, they should be able to but I'm wondering whether their ripping capability has been disabled.
So, does anyone happen to know whether an external Superdrive can rip Region-2 DVDs? And if so, can you recommend any good ones for the Mac?
*Incidentally, I should add that these files are for my personal use, won’t be shared/uploaded, and will serve only as backups to my purchased DVDs. Basically, all I really want to do is clear out my cramped apartment and stick all the DVD boxes in a storage unit once and for all.*
Thanks for your help

I have a collection of about 475 Region-2 DVDs (i.e., playable in the UK, not in the US)
You must have one of those old-fashioned DVD players that looks for region codes.
Most better DVD players are now region free and will play NTSC or PAL DVDs.

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Message was edited by: Mike Boreham
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Ripping DVDs using external optical drive with MacBook

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