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chuk23chuk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 17, 2012
4
0
Here's what I want to do: I want to put a DVD into my computer and use Handbrake to make an as-close-to-perfect rip of the DVD as possible. I'm wanting to plug the computer into the TV and play it there but I want it to look as good as it would if I had just put the DVD in the DVD player. I have a 2 TB external HD so I don't care how big the output file is. What settings do I need?
 

FreakinEurekan

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,423
2,491
Handbrake gives you iTunes compatibility. If that's not critical (since you'll be playing directly from the computer, not Apple TV or iOS device) you might look at MakeMKV instead. That simply copies the DVD to the computer & doesn't transcode at all.
 

chuk23chuk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 17, 2012
4
0
Actually I would like to be able to view all of the movies in iTunes and then select it from there.
 

FreakinEurekan

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,423
2,491
OK for that go with the "AppleTV 3" preset in Handbrake, then tweak the "Constant Quality" RF slider. General consensus seems to be setting the RF to around 16-18 will result in the best possible picture. Setting it any lower doesn't visually improve anything but just makes the files bigger. Default RF is 20 for that preset.

I'd suggest you take a DVD and choose just one chapter to encode, and try it a couple different ways and view the results. I took a random 5-minute chapter from a DVD and encoded it with straight "AppleTV 3" setting (RF 20), then at RF 16, then at RF 0. File sizes were:

RF 20: 81.2MB
RF 16: 145.4MB
RF 0: 977.4MB

Full resolution screen shots from each are attached. I can discern the difference between RF20 and the other two, but I'd be hard pressed to pick between RF16 and RF0 visually.
 

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