BluRay Ripping, MakeMKV and Handbrake

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by mic j

So far, I have had good luck using "Foreign Audio Search" in HB and just burning them in. I would always have forced subs visible regardless, so I just burn them in.

I agree with the use of mkv's, would love to have that capability. I used them with the infamous Popbox. However, I had to have HDD connected directly to the unit. Wifi streaming was problematic, to put it mildly. I think the advantage of the use of mp4's for the aTV is the lower bitrates and limited codecs it uses, which make streaming work really well. And subtitle support is really an mp4 limitation, not necessarily an aTV limitation. For $99 subtitles is only a mild annoyance for me.

The primary reason I can't use ATV is that it can't do full bitrate BDs, and on a 65" TV with a good film, the difference is noticeable (if subtle) between the raw BD sourced MKV and an ATV3 handbrake conversion.... the limited codec support is another problem (I have quite a few VC1 titles).

On the whole though it's a very good box for the majority of consumers. Subtitles though is a real sticking point.

[xp0z3d]

Okay , I have resolved subs issue , with srt files which I add using subler to m4v. Although I am just going with whatever default options I get regarding font size etc as I am still learning the process.

Now my next obstacle seems to be multiple audios. In Handbrake , I did another movie file which gave me by default to have 2 sound tracks in HB , first one was listed as AAC core audio and second one was AC3 Passthrough. So I went with this option thinking I will have 2 soundtracks in iTunes , first one to be Stereo sound and second one being Surround but in iTunes I can only play stereo and Surround is greyed out. but in vlc can play both. Plz help

[mic j]

Originally Posted by xp0z3d

Okay , I have resolved subs issue , with srt files which I add using subler to m4v. Although I am just going with whatever default options I get regarding font size etc as I am still learning the process.

Now my next obstacle seems to be multiple audios. In Handbrake , I did another movie file which gave me by default to have 2 sound tracks in HB , first one was listed as AAC core audio and second one was AC3 Passthrough. So I went with this option thinking I will have 2 soundtracks in iTunes , first one to be Stereo sound and second one being Surround but in iTunes I can only play stereo and Surround is greyed out. but in vlc can play both. Plz help

That's all normal. What is allowed depends on what you play your audio on. If a PC/Mac laptop, you only have 2 speakers...thus stereo. Even though VLC gives you the option of which track to play, it still downmixes it to stereo if you only have a stereo player.

[phrehdd]

Originally Posted by hackers79

Hi guys

I have recently decided to rip all my BluRays to my HDDs for use with my media player. I have purchased an external Samsung SE-506AB and downloaded Make MKV and Handbrake.

When ripping the BluRay in MakeMKV the file size is ranging from 35GB to 45GB.

Now for me I want to maintain good quality, however to keep the files at the above size is just not an option. I am aiming for around 20GB to 25GB per movie.

I have had a look at Handbrake and to be honest I am totally BAFFLED!!!!

I really have no idea what I should be changing/selecting to achieve the above. Can someone point me in the right direction????

Also is 20GB to 25GB going to maintain good quality??

Thanks in advance for any help guys.

You are getting lots of interesting advice so I'll add my own which is less interesting but something to think about -

Get more drive space and skip Handbrake entirely. WD Live can handle the video stream and core audio (DD and DTS). I am unsure why you are resistant to more drive space (including NAS). As for those that can't distinguish between some of the output from HandBrake etc. then you are lucky because many of us can with both vid and audio streams compressed.

You have a large nice TV why bother with compressing anything and losing out on some detail? Contrast changes, crushed shadow/black areas etc. As for audio - DD and DTS is not bad and is akin to DVD.

The only thing that MakeMKV can be problematic is with some subtitle challenges that can be worked out with the correct tools.

I have all my DVDs and Blu Rays archived on NAS and have various units to play back. I base much of my comments on a few years of playing around with compression, comparing original to HandBrake created and a few types of players (ATV, Dune 3 Base, Oppo Blu Ray, Mac Mini w/ Plex and XBMC and the Panasonic plasma I have now which handles quite a few files directly etc.).

Hope you find a solution that is a good formula for long term. HB is a great tool for ATV, iPhone, iPad but really a last resort for viewing on large screens like yours.

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by phrehdd

You are getting lots of interesting advice so I'll add my own which is less interesting but something to think about -

Get more drive space and skip Handbrake entirely. WD Live can handle the video stream and core audio (DD and DTS). I am unsure why you are resistant to more drive space (including NAS). As for those that can't distinguish between some of the output from HandBrake etc. then you are lucky because many of us can with both vid and audio streams compressed.

You have a large nice TV why bother with compressing anything and losing out on some detail? Contrast changes, crushed shadow/black areas etc. As for audio - DD and DTS is not bad and is akin to DVD.

The only thing that MakeMKV can be problematic is with some subtitle challenges that can be worked out with the correct tools.

I have all my DVDs and Blu Rays archived on NAS and have various units to play back. I base much of my comments on a few years of playing around with compression, comparing original to HandBrake created and a few types of players (ATV, Dune 3 Base, Oppo Blu Ray, Mac Mini w/ Plex and XBMC and the Panasonic plasma I have now which handles quite a few files directly etc.).

Hope you find a solution that is a good formula for long term. HB is a great tool for ATV, iPhone, iPad but really a last resort for viewing on large screens like yours.

I actually agree with MOST of what you have to add, but for me personally, with over 400 movies (most blu-ray) and over 60 seasons of TV shows, even with a 12TB NAS (I have a Synology with 10 bays) it becomes necessary to prioritize what is going to be stored bit for bit and what is going to be compressed.

Most of my TV seasons I compress with ATV3 preset. Certain jewels such as Game of Thrones I will usually leave at full bit-rate but many others don't benefit terribly from it even on my calibrated 65" plasma.

For movies, if it's a "good" movie then I will store it bit for bit including the lossless audio track. If it's a "decent" movie then I will store it with ATV3 handbrake. If it's a movie my wife likes (and that I will never or rarely watch), then it gets the ATV2 treatment, as she really can't tell the difference between 720P and 1080P anyways, and, in any event, she watches most of them on a much smaller 720P TV in our bedroom.

It's also worth pointing out that my NAS plus extra bays plus hard drives has a retail price of about $2200. While I consider this a very reasonable cost to store all of my media and not have to schlep or ruin disks, many people will balk at even the price of a $400 NAS plus a few 3TB drives.

[xp0z3d]

Originally Posted by mic j

That's all normal. What is allowed depends on what you play your audio on. If a PC/Mac laptop, you only have 2 speakers...thus stereo. Even though VLC gives you the option of which track to play, it still downmixes it to stereo if you only have a stereo player.

Oh really? I had no idea. Yeah I was testing that on my Macbook. Thanks for excellent replies.

[phrehdd]

Originally Posted by jmpage2

I actually agree with MOST of what you have to add, but for me personally, with over 400 movies (most blu-ray) and over 60 seasons of TV shows, even with a 12TB NAS (I have a Synology with 10 bays) it becomes necessary to prioritize what is going to be stored bit for bit and what is going to be compressed.

Most of my TV seasons I compress with ATV3 preset. Certain jewels such as Game of Thrones I will usually leave at full bit-rate but many others don't benefit terribly from it even on my calibrated 65" plasma.

For movies, if it's a "good" movie then I will store it bit for bit including the lossless audio track. If it's a "decent" movie then I will store it with ATV3 handbrake. If it's a movie my wife likes (and that I will never or rarely watch), then it gets the ATV2 treatment, as she really can't tell the difference between 720P and 1080P anyways, and, in any event, she watches most of them on a much smaller 720P TV in our bedroom.

It's also worth pointing out that my NAS plus extra bays plus hard drives has a retail price of about $2200. While I consider this a very reasonable cost to store all of my media and not have to schlep or ruin disks, many people will balk at even the price of a $400 NAS plus a few 3TB drives.

Your point is very well taken. I have two NAS with 10 tb and the other 12 tb (before RAID 5). It can be difficult to choose what you decide is not compressed and what is to be compressed. I agree that TV shows are good candidates for further compression. - Remember that even Blu Ray VC-1 and H.264 are forms of compression for video. Given that I have all my original discs, I have at times opted to simply play the discs. I think most people could easily afford smaller NAS units vs the time it takes to convert files AND have an inferior product. Btw, I find that compressed DVD is for me less noticeable than highly compressed Blu Ray (if its a decent transfer).

For me, it is just video and HD audio track (subtitles only if needed and those are usually forced subs). I am considering upgrading one of the NAS to 4tb drives (it has 2 tb drives x 5). Best to you and nice to see someone else who values best possible image over compression. I often think a good DVD looks as good as a highly compressed Blu Ray.

Panasonic VT50 65", Marantz NR1602, Oppo Bdp103, (retiring) Dune 3 Base and PS3. QNAP 559pro and QNAP 469L. (gifted out ATV3 and older WD media player.)

[kcaruso]

hey jmpage2, i thank you for your help with the make mkv/handbrake issues...everything is going smoothly as far as ripping and transcoding. however i have another issue...

since i've switched to using the mac mini i had noticed that my page outs was absurdly high...around 50GB. so i went and purchased a RAM upgrade to 16GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333 mhz from the stock 4GB of DDR3 RAM at 1600mhz. the page outs were instantly down to zero, but now over the past 2 days, its back up to about 5GB and slowly increasing. my page ins are at around 3GB too. swap is at just under 12mb. ive also noticed that my used memory is like 15.9GB sometimes until i use the "purge" command in terminal to temporarily free up the inactive memory. do you think this is normal or weird? and if you think its off, what can i do about it?

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by kcaruso

hey jmpage2, i thank you for your help with the make mkv/handbrake issues...everything is going smoothly as far as ripping and transcoding. however i have another issue...

since i've switched to using the mac mini i had noticed that my page outs was absurdly high...around 50GB. so i went and purchased a RAM upgrade to 16GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333 mhz from the stock 4GB of DDR3 RAM at 1600mhz. the page outs were instantly down to zero, but now over the past 2 days, its back up to about 5GB and slowly increasing. my page ins are at around 3GB too. swap is at just under 12mb. ive also noticed that my used memory is like 15.9GB sometimes until i use the "purge" command in terminal to temporarily free up the inactive memory. do you think this is normal or weird? and if you think its off, what can i do about it?

I have no idea on this. I have 24GB of RAM and do notice large amounts of inactive memory but not sure if it's handbrake causing that. I would recommend asking this question in the OS X forum.

[kcaruso]

ok thank you sir.

[kcaruso]

so i've now ripped about 20 blu rays into mkv files and transcoded them into m4v files for atv3 playback, and to my knowledge successfully...except for 1. i was watching the beginning of rambo: first blood part II and heard what sounded like a helicopter type interference for about 2-3 seconds, twice within about 30 seconds in one chapter. i tried the actual blu ray disc and its not on there. i re-ripped the blu ray into a new mkv and transcoded just that section, same thing happened. anyone know what could cause this?

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by kcaruso

so i've now ripped about 20 blu rays into mkv files and transcoded them into m4v files for atv3 playback, and to my knowledge successfully...except for 1. i was watching the beginning of rambo: first blood part II and heard what sounded like a helicopter type interference for about 2-3 seconds, twice within about 30 seconds in one chapter. i tried the actual blu ray disc and its not on there. i re-ripped the blu ray into a new mkv and transcoded just that section, same thing happened. anyone know what could cause this?

It could still be a problem with the disc, or it could be a problem with MakeMKV or handbrake.

When you play the ripped MKV file (not the m4v) is it there? If so then the problem is with your blu-ray reader and/or MakeMKV, you can see if MakeMKV is reporting any error correction when reading the disc as well as filing a trouble report on MakeMKV forums.

If the problem does not happen on the MKV but does happen on the M4V then the problem is with handbrake, report the problem to them, you might have to upload the sample clip, that when encoded through handbrake has the problem.

[kcaruso]

Ok good idea. I'll check into that and see what happens. Thank you.

[xp0z3d]

So one of my movies has subs if i play it in iTunes but same movie does not display subs on Atv3 . I activated subs and for other movies it does play but for this one particular movie Atv3 did not.

Second issue I am having at this time is sound. Atv connected to my Yamaha 7.1 receiver with HDMI , when I play a movie (with surround track) there is no sound , then I change track to Stereo and sound starts coming and then if i switch to Surround track then Movie has the sound. What could be causing this?

[kcaruso]

Jmpage2, the noise is in the mkv file as well. Didn't see anything off in the log either.

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by kcaruso

Jmpage2, the noise is in the mkv file as well. Didn't see anything off in the log either.

Then you need to file an error report with the MakeMKV forums about what is going on (e.g. I am ripping disc xxx and having a playback problem with the resulting MKV file). You might also scan the forums to see if other users are having similar issues.

You could also roll back to the previous version of MakeMKV (1.7 I believe) and see if it works, if so then they changed something in the way the ripping is done that is causing problems with some titles or BD drives.

Is this an original factory BD and not a boot leg? Any chance you could rent the title and try with another copy?

[kcaruso]

Yeah I sent something to admin mike this morning. I actually haven't upgraded to 1.8 yet so I'm still running the same 1.7 version I've been using the whole time. The bluray is an original. Bootlegs are garbage.

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I actually don't know any place that rents bluray discs

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I actually don't know any place that rents bluray discs

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by kcaruso

Yeah I sent something to admin mike this morning. I actually haven't upgraded to 1.8 yet so I'm still running the same 1.7 version I've been using the whole time. The bluray is an original. Bootlegs are garbage.

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I actually don't know any place that rents bluray discs

I don't know that emailing Mike direct is the right approach. You want to go to this forum;

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewforum.php?f=8

And create a new thread with the needed details.