Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Blu-Ray Rip: audio question

K

kapa1686

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
43
0
Hi,

Apolgies in advance if this is stupid question, i searched but did find a clear answer. I just starting ripping some of my blu-ray discs using MakeMKV, all is well. I just got a question about ripping audio, what format do i choose? There are multiple options.

E.g. Avatar, i have a choice of: DTS-HD LOSSLESS, DTS 3/2+1, DOLBY DIGITAL 3/2+1 and Harry Potter i have a choice of DOLBY TRUE HD 5.1 and DOLBY DIGITAL 3/2+1

My av receiver can play all files so I ripped them all but just wanted to know if i should re-rip and just choose one to reduce file size?

thanks
 
R

RcktMan77

macrumors member
May 21, 2008
53
2
Fort Worth, TX
You should choose either DTS 3/2+1 (DTS 5.1), Dolby Digital 3/2+1 (Dolby Digital 5.1), or possibly both... You shouldn't bother with either Dolby True HD or DTS-HD Lossless (DTS-MA) as your mac cannot play these lossless audio formats. They are both part of the Blu-Ray spec, which Apple doesn't license from Sony, so there is no OS or third-party support despite your receiver being capable of their playback.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the consensus sways towards DTS 5.1 over Dolby Digital 5.1 as a preferable format given a choice.
 
P

peterjcat

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2010
457
1
Yes, it depends on what you're going to do with the resulting files: are you going to play them as they are using Plex/XBMC/VLC/etc? Are you planning to convert them with Handbrake to another format? Are they for playing on Apple TV or another hardware media player etc?
 
K

kapa1686

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
43
0
Hey guys, thanks a lot for your replies. I appreciate the information provided RcktMan77, clears some stuff up for me.

@peterjcat, at the moment i plan to play the files back on my iMac via VLC and may connect it to my HDTV/Receiver and use XBMC. I am not going to convert the files, i do have a apple tv but do not intend to use it for the movies as it can't do 1080p, I may invest in a suitable media player which can handle the files.

On the topic of the media players, will one of those players on the market handle the audio files such as Dolby True HD or DTS-HD Lossless (DTS-MA), or is it the case only a dedicated blue ray player will handle them?
 
P

peterjcat

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2010
457
1
Yes, many of the hardware media players (e.g. Dune, Popcorn Hour) now support TrueHD and DTS-HD MA in MKV containers and will bitstream them to your receiver. For that reason you might want to just keep the HD audio track in your MKV as well as the lossy (DTS/DD) track.

Also, my understanding is that software players like VLC and XBMC can decode at least TrueHD and send it out as multichannel PCM audio if you have a recent Mac and an HDMI connection. It's possible in the future that they will be able to decode DTS-HD MA as well. If you're only using optical for audio, then DTS or DD are the best you'll be able to output from the Mac. Just be aware that some of the audio tracks listed by MakeMKV will be director's commentaries and things like that -- the audio track associated with the lossless track is usually the one you want.
 
K

kapa1686

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
43
0
thanks peterjcat, thats good to know they can play them back. I will have a look at some of those players you mentioned and take it from there.
I will also double check i have the right audio tracks and not unnecessary ones. I think in avatar i have ripped a commentary track, is there a easy way to remove tracks from mkv files? or will have to re-rip again?
 
P

peterjcat

macrumors 6502
Jun 14, 2010
457
1
kapa1686 said:
I will also double check i have the right audio tracks and not unnecessary ones. I think in avatar i have ripped a commentary track, is there a easy way to remove tracks from mkv files? or will have to re-rip again?
Click to expand...

You can easily strip out unwanted tracks using MKVMerge (part of the MKVToolnix package), it's just a matter of unticking the tracks you don't want and then recombining into a new MKV file. It takes a little bit of time for full Blu-ray rips but it's quicker than redoing it from the disc.
 
K

kapa1686

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
43
0
peterjcat said:
You can easily strip out unwanted tracks using MKVMerge (part of the MKVToolnix package), it's just a matter of unticking the tracks you don't want and then recombining into a new MKV file. It takes a little bit of time for full Blu-ray rips but it's quicker than redoing it from the disc.
Click to expand...

That worked perfectly, was able to amend the file easily. Thanks once again for all the help and advice, much appreciated. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom