Blu-ray to M4V....preferred Handbrake settings?

[Vercingetorix]

I've plowed through some old threads, but I can't find much that's both fairly recent and straightforward enough for a file-format moron like myself to easily understand. I'm using an external Blu-ray drive and MakeMKV, so I have giant 20+ GB MKV files with VC-1 video. The next step is to convert them with Handbrake. I started with the "high profile" preset, but figured out pretty quickly that Quicktime won't play the files.

So -- is there any consensus as to the best Handbrake settings to use for close-to-archival quality Blu-ray rips? I want something that's as close to original quality as possible (I'm not too worried about file size), has all the audio tracks in it that I'm likely to need in the future, and will play in iTunes. It would be nice if I could watch it on my iPad too, but that would be a bonus -- the fact that iTunes will stream a 1080 movie to the Apple TV already is good enough. I'm way more concerned with getting a good-for-forever rip of the movie than I am being able to watch it on this year's version of the iPad and iPhone.

Or should I be using Handbrake at all? Should I be using MP4 Tools (formerly MKV Tools) instead? Is there anything other than MakeMKV that will rip a Blu-ray into H.264 instead of VC-1, so I don't have to convert an already lossy format? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[Aidoneus]

The Apple TV 2 preset will encode at 1280 by xxx, and I notice a big difference moving the slider from 20 to 18.

 

[MAGNUStm]

I've plowed through some old threads, but I can't find much that's both fairly recent and straightforward enough for a file-format moron like myself to easily understand. I'm using an external Blu-ray drive and MakeMKV, so I have giant 20+ GB MKV files with VC-1 video. The next step is to convert them with Handbrake. I started with the "high profile" preset, but figured out pretty quickly that Quicktime won't play the files.

So -- is there any consensus as to the best Handbrake settings to use for close-to-archival quality Blu-ray rips? I want something that's as close to original quality as possible (I'm not too worried about file size), has all the audio tracks in it that I'm likely to need in the future, and will play in iTunes. It would be nice if I could watch it on my iPad too, but that would be a bonus -- the fact that iTunes will stream a 1080 movie to the Apple TV already is good enough. I'm way more concerned with getting a good-for-forever rip of the movie than I am being able to watch it on this year's version of the iPad and iPhone.

Or should I be using Handbrake at all? Should I be using MP4 Tools (formerly MKV Tools) instead? Is there anything other than MakeMKV that will rip a Blu-ray into H.264 instead of VC-1, so I don't have to convert an already lossy format? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!

Hello, I'm a bit of a newb to all of this myself. I'm curious if you could tell me which external bluray drive you're using and how well, or efficient, rather, it is when ripping blurays?

Dont mean to hijack your thread but I was unable to PM you as I'm new to the site. Please feel free to respond via PM if you rather not let your thread go off topic.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Peteman100]

Use the high profile setting in Handbrake. If you want better quality, slide the "constant quality" selector up to 19 or 18.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Use the high profile setting in Handbrake. If you want better quality, slide the "constant quality" selector up to 19 or 18.

When I use the high profile setting -- or the normal setting, too -- I can't open the ensuing M4V files. Not in Quicktime, not in VLC or MPlayer. Anybody have an idea why that might be the case?

(The Apple TV 2 settings work fine, but that doesn't keep it at 1080p unless I go into picture settings and change it to strict anamorphic. Which is why I ended up posting this question.)

 

[Vercingetorix]

Hello, I'm a bit of a newb to all of this myself. I'm curious if you could tell me which external bluray drive you're using and how well, or efficient, rather, it is when ripping blurays?

Dont mean to hijack your thread but I was unable to PM you as I'm new to the site. Please feel free to respond via PM if you rather not let your thread go off topic.


Thanks in advance.

I bought this Asus external burner. Works fine so far. You could get a faster one if you went with a full-size drive, but I decided that given the setup on my desk, it would be a bigger hassle to have to deal with an extra AC adapter than to plug this one into two USB ports. I've only ripped a handful of disks so far, but no complaints yet.

 

[Cave Man]

Just follow the "Blu-ray to Apple TV" thread. It's very simple.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Just follow the "Blu-ray to Apple TV" thread. It's very simple.

Not exactly. That post offers this advice about Handbrake:

3. Choose the Apple TV preset in Handbrake for your version of the ATV. You can change it to 720p with "Picture Settings" if you so desire (1280 by xxx) so long as it is no more than 25 fps (Apple TV 1) or 30 fps (Apple TV 2). If the disc has a DTS track, Handbrake should automatically set to transcode it to AC3 for track 2 audio.

I don't want to change it to 720p, which the Apple TV 2 preset appears to do by default. I want to leave it at 1080p, and, as I said above, both the Normal and High Profile presets give me files that are for some unknown reason unplayable on my system. I can get decent-seeming 1080p files by choosing the Apple TV 2 present and then just manually changing it in Picture Settings to strict anamorphic, but I don't know if that's optimal. Which is why I'm asking.

 

[peterjcat]

Do you have "Large File Size" ticked in Handbrake? If not, all your 1080p rips will be unplayable as they'll all go over 4GB.

 

[Kristine]

This is my workflow for converting Blu-Ray movies on my Macbook Pro (I have an external Sony Blu-Ray burner to do this).

1. Rip Blu-Ray movie to an MKV file using MakeMKV (currently free).
2. Add to the encoding queue in Handbrake using my custom preset to convert to m4v (I call it Apple Custom Blu Ray Rips).
3. Lastly, I usually add movies into iFlicks (use 'flatten to Quicktime movie setting') to add the metadata and have movies automatically added into iTunes.

On the AppleTV 2, all movies will show with correct titles, artwork, summary of movie etc.

I am looking at dropping Handbrake and iFlicks and using iVI as it can encode my MKV files to m4v and add meta-data all in one program, and I think it was only about $5 from the App Store. Also, iVI takes advantage of all cores (as far as I remember, iFlicks does not). I can provide you a copy of my handbrake preset file if your interested (I will change the Framerate settings for you first as I have mine set to PAL - I am in Australia).

 

[MAGNUStm]

I bought this Asus external burner. Works fine so far. You could get a faster one if you went with a full-size drive, but I decided that given the setup on my desk, it would be a bigger hassle to have to deal with an extra AC adapter than to plug this one into two USB ports. I've only ripped a handful of disks so far, but no complaints yet.

Thanks for the quick reply... I'm definitely ordering one asap... A few other questions if you dont mind; how long does your ripping/converting process take. I'm aware this will vary depending on everyone's machine's specs. I have a 2010 27" iMac (i5 quadcore).



Thanks again,

 

[Cave Man]

I don't want to change it to 720p, which the Apple TV 2 preset appears to do by default. I want to leave it at 1080p, and, as I said above, both the Normal and High Profile presets give me files that are for some unknown reason unplayable on my system.

What software are you using? I typically use Plex for playback (and keep the DTS audio in an mkv container) and have never encountered problems with 1080p or anything else.

I can get decent-seeming 1080p files by choosing the Apple TV 2 present and then just manually changing it in Picture Settings to strict anamorphic, but I don't know if that's optimal. Which is why I'm asking.

That's precisely what you should do.

 

[Kristine]

I can get decent-seeming 1080p files by choosing the Apple TV 2 present and then just manually changing it in Picture Settings to strict anamorphic, but I don't know if that's optimal.

That's precisely what you should do.

It is my understanding that for DVD movies you should set anamorphic to strict, but for Blu Ray movies that this should currently be set to none.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Do you have "Large File Size" ticked in Handbrake? If not, all your 1080p rips will be unplayable as they'll all go over 4GB.

Ah, this seems to have been why my Normal and High Profile conversions were unplayable. Weird that High Profile doesn't default to having "Large File Size" checked. Thanks.

 

[Vercingetorix]

This is my workflow for converting Blu-Ray movies on my Macbook Pro (I have an external Sony Blu-Ray burner to do this).

1. Rip Blu-Ray movie to an MKV file using MakeMKV (currently free).
2. Add to the encoding queue in Handbrake using my custom preset to convert to m4v (I call it Apple Custom Blu Ray Rips).
3. Lastly, I usually add movies into iFlicks (use 'flatten to Quicktime movie setting') to add the metadata and have movies automatically added into iTunes.

On the AppleTV 2, all movies will show with correct titles, artwork, summary of movie etc.

I am looking at dropping Handbrake and iFlicks and using iVI as it can encode my MKV files to m4v and add meta-data all in one program, and I think it was only about $5 from the App Store. Also, iVI takes advantage of all cores (as far as I remember, iFlicks does not). I can provide you a copy of my handbrake preset file if your interested (I will change the Framerate settings for you first as I have mine set to PAL - I am in Australia).

Image​

Thanks for the suggestions. iVI looks interesting -- and it's only $4 US, so I'll definitely check it out. And yes, I'm curious to see your handbrake preset file if it's much different from the built-in presets. Thanks!

 

[spacepower7]

This is my workflow for converting Blu-Ray movies on my Macbook Pro (I have an external Sony Blu-Ray burner to do this).

1. Rip Blu-Ray movie to an MKV file using MakeMKV (currently free).
2. Add to the encoding queue in Handbrake using my custom preset to convert to m4v (I call it Apple Custom Blu Ray Rips).
3. Lastly, I usually add movies into iFlicks (use 'flatten to Quicktime movie setting') to add the metadata and have movies automatically added into iTunes.

On the AppleTV 2, all movies will show with correct titles, artwork, summary of movie etc.

I am looking at dropping Handbrake and iFlicks and using iVI as it can encode my MKV files to m4v and add meta-data all in one program, and I think it was only about $5 from the App Store. Also, iVI takes advantage of all cores (as far as I remember, iFlicks does not). I can provide you a copy of my handbrake preset file if your interested (I will change the Framerate settings for you first as I have mine set to PAL - I am in Australia).

The iFlicks beta versions 1.3.5 and higher will convert the MKV to m4v while tagging. It's working great for me. It will also just pass thru the video and audio like subler, if that is all that is needed.

 

[Kristine]

The iFlicks beta versions 1.3.5 and higher will convert the MKV to m4v while tagging. It's working great for me. It will also just pass thru the video and audio like subler, if that is all that is needed.

Yeah, I am aware of that, thanks.
My concern with iFlicks is that it does not use all cores.

Cheers

 

[NightStorm]

Below are the video settings I use for my HDDVD/Bluray encodes, targeting iOS playback (particularly iPad and AppleTV v2). The x264 settings are basically the official x264 "slow" preset combined with the "film" tune. I've been very impressed with the output so far.

Anamorphic - Custom (mod2), 1280x720
Advanced x264 Settings - b-adapt=2:rc-lookahead=50:ref=5:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=8:deblock=-1,-1sy-rd=1.0,0.15

More info here: https://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19426

 

[adent04]

handbrake preset file

Hi Kristine, I live in Australia as well and would appreciate please if you could also send me a copy of your handbrake preset file. Thanks and cheers from a new mac user in Melbourne

 

[Kristine]

Hi Kristine, I live in Australia as well and would appreciate please if you could also send me a copy of your handbrake preset file. Thanks and cheers from a new mac user in Melbourne

PM me your email address and I will send them across.

 

[rdb71]

Blu Ray Issues

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie (1 day old) to blu ray ripping and am having a problem with my very first disc and not sure what the issue is to search for a possible answer. I've used MakeMVK on Iron Man 2 which seems to have worked ok, but when I open the file in Handbrake and check the picture preview it is grey with large pixelated blocks. I have gone on and converted 1 chapter and the resulting file plays with the same issue, and the audio is unrecognizable. I'm sorry if i'm sounding stupid, i've been ripping dvd's for years, but this blu ray thing is all new to me. Thanks in advance for your help. Rdb

Oh and I have a screen grab I can post if that's of any help.

 

[rdb71]

PM me your email address and I will send them across.

Hi Kristine, i'm a newbie to blu ray in New Zealand, and would love a copy of your handbrake preset if at all possible
Rdb

 

[Kristine]

Ok, I have had a few requests for the preset files, so I have uploaded them here in a zip file and people can grab them as needed.

Please note these are for the PAL FPS. If you need NTSC, just import the file, make your changes then save the preset file.

 

[Kristine]

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie (1 day old) to blu ray ripping and am having a problem with my very first disc and not sure what the issue is to search for a possible answer. I've used MakeMVK on Iron Man 2 which seems to have worked ok, but when I open the file in Handbrake and check the picture preview it is grey with large pixelated blocks. I have gone on and converted 1 chapter and the resulting file plays with the same issue, and the audio is unrecognizable. I'm sorry if i'm sounding stupid, i've been ripping dvd's for years, but this blu ray thing is all new to me. Thanks in advance for your help. Rdb

Oh and I have a screen grab I can post if that's of any help.

Can you post a screenshot of your picture and audio settings? Maybe I can help you.

 

[rdb71]

Ok, I have had a few requests for the preset files, so I have uploaded them here in a zip file and people can grab them as needed.

Please note these are for the PAL FPS. If you need NTSC, just import the file, make your changes then save the preset file.

Awesome!! Thank you