How is HandBrake on the MBA?

tekno · Aug 30, 2012, 02:51 AM

I've got a current (I think) MacBook Air and am thinking of getting an external CD drive in order to rip films into iTunes.

I used to do this with my MacBook Pro and it would take a few hours to do a film, but I'm worried how long it'll take with my MacBook Air and a CD drive connected via USB.

I'd be grateful to hear of anyone's experiences and any advice on what CD drive to buy for this purpose.

Thanks

MacDawg · Aug 30, 2012, 03:06 AM

I have Apple's external drive and a MBA and it works just fine for me
I've had no issues and the rip/encode time is faster than my older MBP

taipan61 · Aug 30, 2012, 05:50 AM

with a 2012 (mid) mba with 8gb i find it a tad faster than my old mbp and much faster than my old windows machine (dual core 4gb)
i am one of those that tends to set it and forget it though so i'm not hovering around it much while it does its thing

LlamaLarry · Oct 16, 2012, 09:36 AM

Handbrake works fine for me on my '11 MBA, writing out to a FW800 external drive.

jbzcar · Oct 16, 2012, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekno

I've got a current (I think) MacBook Air and am thinking of getting an external CD drive in order to rip films into iTunes.

I used to do this with my MacBook Pro and it would take a few hours to do a film, but I'm worried how long it'll take with my MacBook Air and a CD drive connected via USB.

I'd be grateful to hear of anyone's experiences and any advice on what CD drive to buy for this purpose.

Thanks

It works well, but not as well as hopping over to Bootcamp and taking advantage of Intel Quick Sync.

giocav89 · Jan 31, 2013, 02:03 PM

Hate to revive an old thread but I would rather that than start a new one. Anyone here have a general idea as to how long it takes to encode a blu-ray? Coming from a MacBook with Core2Duo and I'm really confused about what I need as far as upgrading. I just want to improve the 15+ hours it is currently taking me. Thanks!

Acorn · 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giocav89

Hate to revive an old thread but I would rather that than start a new one. Anyone here have a general idea as to how long it takes to encode a blu-ray? Coming from a MacBook with Core2Duo and I'm really confused about what I need as far as upgrading. I just want to improve the 15+ hours it is currently taking me. Thanks!

you need something with a quad core. processor speed will matter most. anything 720p or 1080 is going to take along time to encode. many use 700x300 or 640x480

BlakeBrattina · Jan 31, 2013, 09:30 PM

Out of curiosity, what settings are you typically using when you rip your DVD's to your external device? Quite a few of my attempts have come out extremely poor when trying to do this. Maybe it has something to do with which HandBrake I am using, or maybe not? I'd like to try and get these nailed down to good quality so I can utilize it properly.

krravi · Feb 6, 2013, 10:10 AM

It took like 30 mins to rip a DVD(not Blu Ray) and the fans were running in full speed and all the cores maxed out.

But it ripped the movie flawlessly with no jitters etc. I used an Apple Superdrive, btw.

Aug 30, 2012, 02:51 AM	#1
tekno macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2011	How is HandBrake on the MBA? I've got a current (I think) MacBook Air and am thinking of getting an external CD drive in order to rip films into iTunes. I used to do this with my MacBook Pro and it would take a few hours to do a film, but I'm worried how long it'll take with my MacBook Air and a CD drive connected via USB. I'd be grateful to hear of anyone's experiences and any advice on what CD drive to buy for this purpose. Thanks
	0

Oct 16, 2012, 09:36 AM	#4
LlamaLarry macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Northern VA	Handbrake works fine for me on my '11 MBA, writing out to a FW800 external drive. __________________ Early 2011 17" MBP - Early 2011 13" MBP - Mid 2011 11" MBA - 2 x 2008 MB - 2006 15" MBP iPhone; iPhone 3G; iPhone 3GS; iPhone 4; iPhone 4S; iPad, iPad v2
	0

Jan 31, 2013, 09:30 PM	#8
BlakeBrattina macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Southeast Michigan	Out of curiosity, what settings are you typically using when you rip your DVD's to your external device? Quite a few of my attempts have come out extremely poor when trying to do this. Maybe it has something to do with which HandBrake I am using, or maybe not? I'd like to try and get these nailed down to good quality so I can utilize it properly. __________________ 13" MacBook Pro 2.3, i5 13" MacBook Air 1.7, i5 Iphone4 WhiteiPad Mini Ipod Touch 3/4 2nd Gen AppleTV
	0

Feb 6, 2013, 10:10 AM	#9
krravi macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010	It took like 30 mins to rip a DVD(not Blu Ray) and the fans were running in full speed and all the cores maxed out. But it ripped the movie flawlessly with no jitters etc. I used an Apple Superdrive, btw. __________________ 27" iMac - 3.4 Ghz Core i7,32 GB RAM, 1TB. Many iPad's,iPhone 4s,Apple TV,rMBP 2012 15" 2.6 Ghz 512 GB 16GB(refurb),MBA 2012,2.0 Ghz,8,256
	0

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Aug 30, 2012, 03:06 AM	#2
MacDawg Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: "Between the Hedges"	I have Apple's external drive and a MBA and it works just fine for me I've had no issues and the rip/encode time is faster than my older MBP
	0

Aug 30, 2012, 05:50 AM	#3
taipan61 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2011 Location: corner starbucks	with a 2012 (mid) mba with 8gb i find it a tad faster than my old mbp and much faster than my old windows machine (dual core 4gb) i am one of those that tends to set it and forget it though so i'm not hovering around it much while it does its thing
	0

Jan 31, 2013, 02:03 PM	#6
giocav89 macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2007	Hate to revive an old thread but I would rather that than start a new one. Anyone here have a general idea as to how long it takes to encode a blu-ray? Coming from a MacBook with Core2Duo and I'm really confused about what I need as far as upgrading. I just want to improve the 15+ hours it is currently taking me. Thanks!
	0