1080p Handbrake settings for new Apple TV?

[jaysue]

So that means I select the High Profile preset, Select Anamorphic - custom select Keep Aspect Ratio, move the height box just above that to 1080 with the width at 1920 and use an RF of 18? on the bottom of the Modulus it says display width of like 2592 and a display size of 2553X1080, is this all about right, just want to make sure i'm doing it properly.

 

[khollister]

So that means I select the High Profile preset, Select Anamorphic - custom select Keep Aspect Ratio, move the height box just above that to 1080 with the width at 1920 and use an RF of 18? on the bottom of the Modulus it says display width of like 2592 and a display size of 2553X1080, is this all about right, just want to make sure i'm doing it properly.

Leave the picture controls alone - the defaults are fine. HB clips the non-picture areas ( the letterbox bars ) so the height will vary in anamorphic mode.

 

[jaysue]

Leave the picture controls alone - the defaults are fine. HB clips the non-picture areas ( the letterbox bars ) so the height will vary in anamorphic mode.

When I open my Blu-ray folder the default the picture controls are width 1920 height 816, i thought i was trying to get a size of 1920 x 1080p for the ATV3?

 

[NightStorm]

When I open my Blu-ray folder the default the picture controls are width 1920 height 816, i thought i was trying to get a size of 1920 x 1080p for the ATV3?

The height difference are the black bars at the top and bottom of the picture.

 

[khollister]

When I open my Blu-ray folder the default the picture controls are width 1920 height 816, i thought i was trying to get a size of 1920 x 1080p for the ATV3?

you will only see 1920 x 1080 for 16x9 material. Films in wider aspect ratios will have the letterbox bars cropped from the picture that HB creates. That is exactly how it should be.

 

[jaysue]

you will only see 1920 x 1080 for 16x9 material. Films in wider aspect ratios will have the letterbox bars cropped from the picture that HB creates. That is exactly how it should be.

Gotcha, still trying to figure this program out, thanks guys for the help.

 

[ATJ777]

Also note that for 4:3 content, the black bars are left and right so the height will be 1080 but the width around 1440.

I'm converting Fantasia at the moment and chose the "Normal" preset which set the Output: 1436x1080, Anamorphic: 1436x1080 Strict.

 

[WebHead]

Just to reiterate, since folks keep being obsessed over creating files that are "iTunes Store" Quality. Ain't gonna happen. iTunes (or the studios) are compressing from the original studio masters, which are much higher quality than even Blu-Ray disc (very high quality, but still a lossy format) which allows them to produce a file at a given size and bitrate you will never match.

By the same token, if file size isn't an issue, a Blu-ray rip with lower compression has the potential to be better quality than the iTunes version with higher compression.

 

[bigpatky]

I am very happy with what I got. I took Game of Thrones season 1 blu-ray and ripped it using makemkv on my iMac. I simply threw each episode in handbrake and used the high profile preset. From there, identify and subler (for the 1080p tag) before adding them into iTunes.

 

[khollister]

I am very happy with what I got. I took Game of Thrones season 1 blu-ray and ripped it using makemkv on my iMac. I simply threw each episode in handbrake and used the high profile preset. From there, identify and subler (for the 1080p tag) before adding them into iTunes.

Subler will handle the metadata and cover art - no need to use both Identify and Subler.

 

[CrAkD]

I haven't done anything with subtitles but have been reading hand break can't handle them from blurays like it can from DVDs. I don't care about entire subtitles just worried about forced subtitles since I won't know I need them til I'm watching a movie haha. What should I be doing ?

 

[mic j]

By the same token, if file size isn't an issue, a Blu-ray rip with lower compression has the potential to be better quality than the iTunes version with higher compression.

I tried that yesterday with "Star Trek" blu ray. Used mp4tools to change the container from mkv to m4v. Ended up with a 31GB file (similar to the original). The only problem, it was taking forever to load into the aTV 3 over my wireless network (Time Capsule "n" 5GHz sitting in the next room, so very close). As a matter of fact, I never actually got to a point where it started playing before I lost patience and killed the project. Not sure uncompressed BD's are viable if you are not using ethernet.

 

[khollister]

I haven't done anything with subtitles but have been reading hand break can't handle them from blurays like it can from DVDs. I don't care about entire subtitles just worried about forced subtitles since I won't know I need them til I'm watching a movie haha. What should I be doing ?

You need to extract the blu-ray PGS subs, convert them to VOB (DVD format), remerge that back into the MKV and then transcode with Handbrake making sure to select the VOB sub and have HB burn in the sub to the m4v for ATV.

I am in the process of writing up instructions for this, but it will likely be a week or so before I have time to finish it.

Basically, you need mkvtoolnix & BDsup2sub to handle this. High level workflow is:

1. use MKVmerge GUI (part of mkvtoolnix for Mac) to identify the sub you want. You need the ID number
2. use mkvextract (a command line tool also part of mkvtoolnix) to extract that sub
3. Use BDsup2sub (a Java program with GUI) to convert to .SUB format
4. Use MKVmerge GUI to remux the new VOB sub with the original MKV

The hardest part of this whole thing is actually identifying the forced sub. Most of the rippers don't do a great job of tagging the subs correctly in the MKV, so you need to play the movie and experiment turning sub tracks on and off using something like VLC to get the correct one. MakeMKV does a fairly good job of identifying forced subs, but it sometimes creates an MKV with sub tracts that are empty.

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I tried that yesterday with "Star Trek" blu ray. Used mp4tools to change the container from mkv to m4v. Ended up with a 31GB file (similar to the original). The only problem, it was taking forever to load into the aTV 3 over my wireless network (Time Capsule "n" 5GHz sitting in the next room, so very close). As a matter of fact, I never actually got to a point where it started playing before I lost patience and killed the project. Not sure uncompressed BD's are viable if you are not using ethernet.

They aren't in my experience, although there are a few here that will claim they do that with no problem.

 

[mic j]

You need to extract the blu-ray PGS subs, convert them to VOB (DVD format), remerge that back into the MKV and then transcode with Handbrake making sure to select the VOB sub and have HB burn in the sub to the m4v for ATV.

I am in the process of writing up instructions for this, but it will likely be a week or so before I have time to finish it.

Basically, you need mkvtoolnix & BDsup2sub to handle this. High level workflow is:

1. use MKVmerge GUI (part of mkvtoolnix for Mac) to identify the sub you want. You need the ID number
2. use mkvextract (a command line tool also part of mkvtoolnix) to extract that sub
3. Use BDsup2sub (a Java program with GUI) to convert to .SUB format
4. Use MKVmerge GUI to remux the new VOB sub with the original MKV

The hardest part of this whole thing is actually identifying the forced sub. Most of the rippers don't do a great job of tagging the subs correctly in the MKV, so you need to play the movie and experiment turning sub tracks on and off using something like VLC to get the correct one. MakeMKV does a fairly good job of identifying forced subs, but it sometimes creates an MKV with sub tracts that are empty.

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They aren't in my experience, although there are a few here that will claim they do that with no problem.

Wouldn't it be simpler to just download an srt from the internet and let Handbrake make a "soft subtitle"?

 

[141077]

The hardest part of this whole thing is actually identifying the forced sub. Most of the rippers don't do a great job of tagging the subs correctly in the MKV, so you need to play the movie and experiment turning sub tracks on and off using something like VLC to get the correct one.

Try MediaInfo and look at the file sizes of the subtitle tracks. The smallest should be forced.

 

[khollister]

Wouldn't it be simpler to just download an srt from the internet and let Handbrake make a "soft subtitle"?

Maybe. I am going to try this for Avatar because BDsup2sub blows up with an array index out of bounds error for that particular subtitle stream (I'm guessing because of the odd fonts used). However "downloading the sub from the internet" isn't quite as simple as it sounds. I spent a fair amount of time locating a forced sub for Avatar - not sure this is quicker. I have also read some comments about synchronization issues with srt subs

 

[CrAkD]

Well in make mkv the only sub I leave checked is English forced so it should be the only sub. Is there anyway to add them to already encoded m4vs? cause there's no way I'm reencoding haha.

 

[khollister]

Try MediaInfo and look at the file sizes of the subtitle tracks. The smallest should be forced.

Good point - I'll try that on some and see how it goes.

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Well in make mkv the only sub I leave checked is English forced so it should be the only sub. Is there anyway to add them to already encoded m4vs? cause there's no way I'm reencoding haha.

Only by remuxing in a srt sub. The ATV doesn't support either bitmapped sub format (PGS or VOB) I believe, so those would have to be burned in. I'll try muxing a m4v with VOB subs to verify.

Don't feel bad - I have about 350 MKV's I have to transcode. My Mac Pro is going 24x7.

 

[mic j]

Maybe. I am going to try this for Avatar because BDsup2sub blows up with an array index out of bounds error for that particular subtitle stream (I'm guessing because of the odd fonts used). However "downloading the sub from the internet" isn't quite as simple as it sounds. I spent a fair amount of time locating a forced sub for Avatar - not sure this is quicker. I have also read some comments about synchronization issues with srt subs

I did that for Avatar. Forced subs were labeled as such at the site I was at. With my other unit, I just dropped the srt into the same folder as the movie file and it played perfectly, including synchronization.

For the aTV, I have been using Subler to incorporate the srt into the movie file. There have been some sync issues. But those are easily fixed. I just watch the movie and use a stopwatch on my phone to measure the offset. Then I go back to Subler, add that offset and redo. It's fairly quick because you are not really doing any encoding, just remixing.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Here is what I'm using as my settings. NOTE: This is for the Handbrake Nightly builds. To use the file, just go "Presets" -> "Import" and you should be all set.

Apple TV3 1080

If anyone has any suggestions to updates to the settings, please let me know.

 

[shortcut3d]

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I haven't done anything with subtitles but have been reading hand break can't handle them from blurays like it can from DVDs. I don't care about entire subtitles just worried about forced subtitles since I won't know I need them til I'm watching a movie haha. What should I be doing ?

You need to extract the blu-ray PGS subs, convert them to VOB (DVD format), remerge that back into the MKV and then transcode with Handbrake making sure to select the VOB sub and have HB burn in the sub to the m4v for ATV.

I am in the process of writing up instructions for this, but it will likely be a week or so before I have time to finish it.

Basically, you need mkvtoolnix & BDsup2sub to handle this. High level workflow is:

1. use MKVmerge GUI (part of mkvtoolnix for Mac) to identify the sub you want. You need the ID number
2. use mkvextract (a command line tool also part of mkvtoolnix) to extract that sub
3. Use BDsup2sub (a Java program with GUI) to convert to .SUB format
4. Use MKVmerge GUI to remux the new VOB sub with the original MKV

The hardest part of this whole thing is actually identifying the forced sub. Most of the rippers don't do a great job of tagging the subs correctly in the MKV, so you need to play the movie and experiment turning sub tracks on and off using something like VLC to get the correct one. MakeMKV does a fairly good job of identifying forced subs, but it sometimes creates an MKV with sub tracts that are empty.

----------

I tried that yesterday with "Star Trek" blu ray. Used mp4tools to change the container from mkv to m4v. Ended up with a 31GB file (similar to the original). The only problem, it was taking forever to load into the aTV 3 over my wireless network (Time Capsule "n" 5GHz sitting in the next room, so very close). As a matter of fact, I never actually got to a point where it started playing before I lost patience and killed the project. Not sure uncompressed BD's are viable if you are not using ethernet.

They aren't in my experience, although there are a few here that will claim they do that with no problem.

I use DVDfab mkv.remux to get an idx sub file and mkv. Then I remux them with mkvtoolnix mkvmerge GUI. The problem is the sound hiccups after I encode this newly remuxed mkv in handbrake. It's not a deal breaker. Oddly it always happens in the studio introduction (ie 20 century fox). The biggest offenders were Star Wars where it would happen in the prologue and randomly through the movie (~5 times).

 

[mic j]

Thor Recode

I recoded the Thor.iso (30GB blu ray) using HB High Profile preset and Web Optimized checked. I have a MBP duo core, 8GB ram, so the recode took around 10-11 hours. Final file size was 5.7GB. Loaded it on to a usb-HD connected to Time Capsule (aTV 3 in adjacent room). It took about 2s to load and played flawlessly (however, I did not watch the entire movie, just pieces). Looked and sounded flawless, too. Very happy with the quality and quick load time. Wifi transmission rate was around 2.5MB/s and, per the progress bar, it seemed to be loading faster than playing.

 

[rayward]

You need to extract the blu-ray PGS subs, convert them to VOB (DVD format), remerge that back into the MKV and then transcode with Handbrake making sure to select the VOB sub and have HB burn in the sub to the m4v for ATV.

I am in the process of writing up instructions for this, but it will likely be a week or so before I have time to finish it.

Basically, you need mkvtoolnix & BDsup2sub to handle this. High level workflow is:

1. use MKVmerge GUI (part of mkvtoolnix for Mac) to identify the sub you want. You need the ID number
2. use mkvextract (a command line tool also part of mkvtoolnix) to extract that sub
3. Use BDsup2sub (a Java program with GUI) to convert to .SUB format
4. Use MKVmerge GUI to remux the new VOB sub with the original MKV

The hardest part of this whole thing is actually identifying the forced sub. Most of the rippers don't do a great job of tagging the subs correctly in the MKV, so you need to play the movie and experiment turning sub tracks on and off using something like VLC to get the correct one. MakeMKV does a fairly good job of identifying forced subs, but it sometimes creates an MKV with sub tracts that are empty.

----------



They aren't in my experience, although there are a few here that will claim they do that with no problem.

If I may be so bold, I posted this all-GUI workflow for Mac users a while back. It works very well for me, but I'd be interested to see another workflow if it''s better than this one.

Regarding the issue of finding the correct track, you can view the subtitle text in BDSup2Sub. It's pretty easy to spot the correct track this way. I select all English subtitle tracks when I'm ripping the movie, extract all using MKVTools (it is the same processing time to extract multiple tracks as it is for one) and then view them in BDSup2Sub until I find the right one. Convert that and mux it back in.

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Wouldn't it be simpler to just download an srt from the internet and let Handbrake make a "soft subtitle"?

This gives you closed captions, rather than burned in subs, which require that you have closed captions turned on but they look like crap on an ATV.

It's much netter to spend a little extra time when processing your movies to get the pretty subs burned in.

 

[mic j]

If I may be so bold, I posted this all-GUI workflow for Mac users a while back. It works very well for me, but I'd be interested to see another workflow if it''s better than this one.

Regarding the issue of finding the correct track, you can view the subtitle text in BDSup2Sub. It's pretty easy to spot the correct track this way. I select all English subtitle tracks when I'm ripping the movie, extract all using MKVTools (it is the same processing time to extract multiple tracks as it is for one) and then view them in BDSup2Sub until I find the right one. Convert that and mux it back in.

----------



This gives you closed captions, rather than burned in subs, which require that you have closed captions turned on but they look like crap on an ATV.

It's much netter to spend a little extra time when processing your movies to get the pretty subs burned in.

I will amend my workflow a bit. I actually re-encode with HB first, then add the downloaded srt to the m4v using Subler. I did this for Incendies and Tree of Life and they looked perfect (not like closed caption at all) and it results in a soft subtitle track (able to be turned on/off). Plus, Subler has the ability to change the offset if needed (I did have to adjust the timing a bit for both movies), add metadata and set the HD flag for iTunes (if HD video).

Not trying to start an argument, but this is an alternative that provides very nice looking soft subtitles. I just prefer to let someone else do the job of creating a subtitle file to mux into my movie.

 

[rayward]

I will amend my workflow a bit. I actually re-encode with HB first, then add the downloaded srt to the m4v using Subler. I did this for Incendies and Tree of Life and they looked perfect (not like closed caption at all) and it results in a soft subtitle track (able to be turned on/off). Plus, Subler has the ability to change the offset if needed (I did have to adjust the timing a bit for both movies), add metadata and set the HD flag for iTunes (if HD video).

Not trying to start an argument, but this is an alternative that provides very nice looking soft subtitles. I just prefer to let someone else do the job of creating a subtitle file to mux into my movie.

No argument; to each his own.

I prefer burned-in subs because soft subs (on the ATV) have a gray box around them which I find ugly. On other devices, closed captions look just fine, but I'm encoding primarily for viewing on an ATV hence my preference.

FWIW, the above workflow adds about 15 mins of extra time between finishing the rip and starting the encode in HB. Extracting the subtitle tracks and remuxing the rip file - both done in the background - is most of this. Converting the track using BDSup2Sub takes no time at all.