Best Mac for Handbraking?

[Trivial rock]

As many others on these forums I am in the process of converting my very large DVD collection into a digital format. I use handbrake on the Apple Universal settings. Films look great on my 32" Philips 720p HD TV.

My problem is I owned a 2.8GHz 8 core MacPro for a few months. The plan was to sell my iMac and my MBP to fund it. I sold the iMac but the MBP wouldnt sell for a reasonable price so the MacPro had to go.

The MacPro would take 30-45 mins to do a film. My late 08 uMBP 2.4GHz takes ~ 3 hours. This is a real drag. Now although I cant afford a MP at the current time I can afford an iMac however is there going to be any great speed increase in the time it takes to rip a film? If there is not much difference then would there be much difference between my MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini?

If there was little difference between the MBP and Mac Mini then I could buy a mini, and just leave it to rip. I cant do this with my MBP because the fans need to be at 6200RPM to keep it at a nice cool 72C. All the time it is on my lap because I dont want to have to stop using it a 3 hours at a time while it rips DVDs! The MBP is my primary and only machine at the moment.

Another thought is, is there a better setting to rip with that will take less time but keep the quality the same?

Any thoughts much appreciated.
Triv

[Eidorian]

Do it under Windows on a quad or greater. Lynnfield is coming out next month as well.

[rhett7660]

Hmm.. that is weird. My Mac Pro 2.8 with 8gigs takes 10minutes or so to rip a movie. I have been using pretty high bitrates etc. Most of my files are between the 4-6gig range when done.

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by rhett7660

Hmm.. that is weird. My Mac Pro 2.8 with 8gigs takes 10minutes or so to rip a movie. I have been using pretty high bitrates etc. Most of my files are between the 4-6gig range when done.

My 30-45 minutes was a rough guide, I do remeber it doing many in ~ 20 mins, sizes were usually 1.2 - 1.8 GB. Either way my current Mac takes 3 hours! While its on my lap annoying me. Any ideas?

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by Eidorian

Do it under Windows on a quad or greater. Lynnfield is coming out next month as well.

Sorry not up to date on the latest releases I assume Lynnfield is a new processor architecture?

If I was to purchase a quad core pc now (I have dabbled with the idea). Is there a manufacturer or model you would recommend to someone who doesn't want to build one themselves? If I was to go this route I would like to do some casual gaming.

Edit: Also which program would you recommend to rip films? i have read under windows you require more than just handbrake to rip a film?

[Eidorian]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

Sorry not up to date on the latest releases I assume Lynnfield is a new processor architecture?

If I was to purchase a quad core pc now (I have dabbled with the idea). Is there a manufacturer or model you would recommend to someone who doesn't want to build one themselves? If I was to go this route I would like to do some casual gaming.

Edit: Also which program would you recommend to rip films? i have read under windows you require more than just handbrake to rip a film?

I use DVD Fab to rip under Windows and then move on to Handbrake.

Core 2 Quad on a budget or Lynnfield (Core i5/Core i7 8xx) or upward to Bloomfield (Core i7 9xx).

AMD tends to suffer on the HandBrake benches.

[sjjordan]

It takes about the same amount of time on my MBP.

Try ripping 4 movies to your HD at a time and then queue them in handbrake to run overnight. (MactheRipper takes about 20min/DVD)

My brothers and I converted our entire library using handbrake, running 3 MBPs 24/7 for 3 days. The Queue option is awesome.

[cantthinkofone]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

Sorry not up to date on the latest releases I assume Lynnfield is a new processor architecture?

If I was to purchase a quad core pc now (I have dabbled with the idea). Is there a manufacturer or model you would recommend to someone who doesn't want to build one themselves? If I was to go this route I would like to do some casual gaming.

Edit: Also which program would you recommend to rip films? i have read under windows you require more than just handbrake to rip a film?

Build a hackintosh

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by rhett7660

Hmm.. that is weird. My Mac Pro 2.8 with 8gigs takes 10minutes or so to rip a movie. I have been using pretty high bitrates etc. Most of my files are between the 4-6gig range when done.

he is converting, not ripping..

[xraydoc]

My 2006 Mac Pro quad 2.66GHz will do an Apple Universal encode on Handbrake in 30 minutes or so for an average DVD.

So, think about an older, used Mac Pro to keep things less pricey.

[soLoredd]

Originally Posted by sjjordan

It takes about the same amount of time on my MBP.

Try ripping 4 movies to your HD at a time and then queue them in handbrake to run overnight. (MactheRipper takes about 20min/DVD)

My brothers and I converted our entire library using handbrake, running 3 MBPs 24/7 for 3 days. The Queue option is awesome.

That's my method as well. I am going to be getting a desktop at some point, and would love an octo-core But it would be nice to have something else to do the work so my MBP isn't tied up all the time.

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by xraydoc

My 2006 Mac Pro quad 2.66GHz will do an Apple Universal encode on Handbrake in 30 minutes or so for an average DVD.

So, think about an older, used Mac Pro to keep things less pricey.

30 minutes to do an average film. I have heard Handbrake cant use more than 4 cores so that would make sense. Thats excellent news thank you xraydoc and some good advice. I think I'll have a look on ebay.

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

30 minutes to do an average film. I have heard Handbrake cant use more than 4 cores so that would make sense. Thats excellent news thank you xraydoc and some good advice. I think I'll have a look on ebay.

dont quote me on this but i was under the impression that the latest handbrake (or maybe SVN) is completely multi-core?? *googles*

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by DoFoT9

dont quote me on this but i was under the impression that the latest handbrake (or maybe SVN) is completely multi-core?? *googles*

It may have been an older thread I read that information (I have looked at many recently). Either way Im totally happy with 30mins per DVD into Apple Universal.

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

It may have been an older thread I read that information (I have looked at many recently). Either way Im totally happy with 30mins per DVD into Apple Universal.

yea totally!! that is basically nearly 50 movies a day! (if you have them all ripped onto HD of course)..

i found this::

this guy seems to think that his 8-core rips in 8minutes.. (its down in the comments)

I'm getting 291fps on a 8-core mac with all processors maxed out - very nice - hardly any programs do this. Just ripped an entire DVD in 8 minutes.

mind you though he doesnt say at what settings..

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by sjjordan

It takes about the same amount of time on my MBP.

Try ripping 4 movies to your HD at a time and then queue them in handbrake to run overnight. (MactheRipper takes about 20min/DVD)

My brothers and I converted our entire library using handbrake, running 3 MBPs 24/7 for 3 days. The Queue option is awesome.

The problem is, is that the latest free version of MactheRipper is getting on a bit now. Does it manage to do the latest releases?

Otherwise, yes this is a possibility until I can get a new machine.

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

The problem is, is that the latest free version of MactheRipper is getting on a bit now. Does it manage to do the latest releases?

Otherwise, yes this is a possibility until I can get a new machine.

oh you dont have the Intel release of MTR?? i do PM me! (it is a few years old also, but much faster then the crappy PPC version, it hasnt failed me at all yet).

[Trivial rock]

DoFoT9: by the sounds of it, he has ripped the film and not converted it / compressed it. When I owned an 8 core 2.8 MP it could rip a film very fast and compress it it 20 - 30+ minutes depending on length.

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

DoFoT9: by the sounds of it, he has ripped the film and not converted it / compressed it. When I owned an 8 core 2.8 MP it could rip a film very fast and compress it it 20 - 30+ minutes depending on length.

yup good call, i would have to agree with you on that! was just making sure *COUGH* lame excuse *COUGH*... haha..

still.. 30minutes is great! compared to my 3hrs on my MBP

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by DoFoT9

yup good call, i would have to agree with you on that! was just making sure *COUGH* lame excuse *COUGH*... haha..

still.. 30minutes is great! compared to my 3hrs on my MBP

Yup thats my problem at the moment too, Im finding it such a drag to convert a film on my MBP 3hrs is crazy. If a older 2.66 quad MP will do it in 30 mins and I can pick one up on eBay for £1000 I think I may go for that option.

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

Yup thats my problem at the moment too, Im finding it such a drag to convert a film on my MBP 3hrs is crazy. If a older 2.66 quad MP will do it in 30 mins and I can pick one up on eBay for £1000 I think I may go for that option.

yes that is insane! would be worth it, you could probably sell it off after you convert all the movies for the same price too lol..give it a week of solid converting and away it goes!

imagine how quickly the new octo would do it in.. 10minutes faster you reckon?

but yes, i am liking your idea.

[Trivial rock]

Its interesting to see that although my MBP is newer and the proc is faster the HB converting time is very similar. That shows that a new 2.66 iMac is unlikely to give much of a speed increase, and what we are really looking for is a quad core machine.

I would imagine the new 2.93 octo would be a very fast machine, however the price is a little astronomical (especially for handbrake and light video editing)!

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

Its interesting to see that although my MBP is newer and the proc is faster the HB converting time is very similar. That shows that a new 2.66 iMac is unlikely to give much of a speed increase, and what we are really looking for is a quad core machine.

great point, i actually guessed my conversion time - i rarely use the 'universal' setting, but if yours is around 3hrs then mine would be at 4, my machine is an original CoreDuo MBP, there is quite a slow down!!

in reference to the iMac, there would not be much difference between that and the MBP, there CPU speeds are the same.. going to quad core would give you a very nice speed increase (anywhere from 30% up to 60% faster).

it would be interesting to see the difference between the 'top' 2006 MP quad core compared to a 2.93GHz 2009 MP quad core. see if the 'new' technologies make a difference.

[Trivial rock]

Originally Posted by DoFoT9

it would be interesting to see the difference between the 'top' 2006 MP quad core compared to a 2.93GHz 2009 MP quad core. see if the 'new' technologies make a difference.

Or perhaps the 2006 2.66 quad vs the 2009 2.66 quad MP. That would nicely show the architecture difference. Perhaps if an owner of a new 2.66 quad sees this thread would be kind enough to convert a dvd in handbrake using the apple universal preset we can see if there is much difference. (Purely for handbrake).

[DoFoT9]

Originally Posted by Trivial rock

Or perhaps the 2006 2.66 quad vs the 2009 2.66 quad MP. That would nicely show the architecture difference. Perhaps if an owner of a new 2.66 quad sees this thread would be kind enough to convert a dvd in handbrake using the apple universal preset we can see if there is much difference. (Purely for handbrake).

that would seem much more related to this thread! Nice choice, I sure hope somebody can chime in