Copy owned Blu-rays and play on Apple TV

[mic j]

Yes I do. But I consider those to be two separate steps. There are lots of rippers that can't natively access the disc (DVD or Bluray), but work perfectly well once the encryption is broken.

But Handbrake can rip from Blurays, provided it has access to it. I wouldn't hold it against it.

I don't hold it against it, but so as to generate confusion, the decryption step should be included in the process. I don't want someone unfamiliar with the process to unhappy with HB, when they slap their encrypted disc into a drive and get error messages.

Also, from the OP's signature, it appeared that they operate in the Mac environment which unfortunately is not supported by AnyDVD, an application I consider to be one of the best around. MakeMKV is about as close as you can get on the Mac side of the world to deal with reliable decryption of both dvd's and BR's.

 

[powaking]

You could follow these steps and have Handbrake use Make MKV's library to rip and encode the Bluray much like how it handles DVDs.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/directly-rip-and-convert-bluray-disks-with-handbrake

 

[mic j]

You could follow these steps and have Handbrake use Make MKV's library to rip and encode the Bluray much like how it handles DVDs.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/directly-rip-and-convert-bluray-disks-with-handbrake

That's a very interesting option I was unaware of. Thanks, will have to try it out.

One thing incorrect in the article is that installing VLC no longer provides HB the dvd decryption libraries. Those libraries need to be directly downloaded and installed (links to those libraries can be found in the HB forum).

Finally, if you're tapping into the MakeMKV decryption libraries, I wonder if you need to install the dvd decryption libraries mentioned above at all?

 

[Toubro]

Can I just ask those of you who first rips to MKV, then run it through Handbrake and finally use Subler. Why do you do the Handbrake step?
Subler will convert the picture way faster, without loss, as it's "muxing" I believe it's called (just changing the container).
For the audio there are programs like mkvdtstoac3 which converts the DTS signal from the MKV file to AC-3 which the ATV can play, which it also does faster than Handbrake.

 

[utazdevl]

Excellent reply.

I would like to ask:

Can I do the above procedure with a 4k video?

Do I need another encoder?

I have read about the H.265 but i cannot understand much....

I haven't had any experience with 4K, but in my playing with Handbrake, I haven't seen any kinds of setting that is above 1920 x 1080, so I am not sure if Handbrake supports it (yet). Also, I know very little about H.265 encoding.

I assume that as the 4K format becomes more commonplace Handbrake will either support it or another program will emerge for the 4K format. I don't plan to rebuy my TV's for a while, so 1080p is good enough for me.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

 

[utazdevl]

Can I just ask those of you who first rips to MKV, then run it through Handbrake and finally use Subler. Why do you do the Handbrake step?
Subler will convert the picture way faster, without loss, as it's "muxing" I believe it's called (just changing the container).
For the audio there are programs like mkvdtstoac3 which converts the DTS signal from the MKV file to AC-3 which the ATV can play, which it also does faster than Handbrake.

I don't use the Subler encoding because I don't have as much specific control over the encode settings. I like to keep all my encodes very uniform and to do that, sometimes I have to make slight adjustments to the sizing of what is being encoded and Subler doesn't offer much customization. Meanwhile, Handbrake let's you make all kinds of custom changes and tweaks and I have never had an issue with one of the encodes.

That said, your post made me wonder if I am missing something by not using Subler's encoder, so I am giving it a shot again. Will report back.

 

[Legios]

I essentially do the same thing you are looking to do. I have a Macbook pro which is the HTPC and have all my movies loaded up into Itunes. From that I airplay it directly to the TV and dont use the ATV interface as it is just easier for me to use itunes. I have a network External HDD which houses the library. I have tried many different encoders but use a combo of MakeMKV and Handbrake to do my ripping.

 

[mic j]

Can I just ask those of you who first rips to MKV, then run it through Handbrake and finally use Subler. Why do you do the Handbrake step?
Subler will convert the picture way faster, without loss, as it's "muxing" I believe it's called (just changing the container).
For the audio there are programs like mkvdtstoac3 which converts the DTS signal from the MKV file to AC-3 which the ATV can play, which it also does faster than Handbrake.

Here is my rational:

iTunes and the aTV require the use of the h.264 codec in an mp4 container. Subler can re-package the to mp4 if the original codec in the source is h.264 but if the original contains anything else, like VC-1, it won't work. Also, because of the higher bitrate of BR source, compared to a transcoded mp4, there can be streaming bandwidth issues. Whether the bitrate issue arises is totally dependent on the quality of the available wifi network.

Also, as you mentioned, if the source contains DTS, you have to add another step to the process.

My personal preference is to avoid all these potential gotcha's and rip to MKV then transcode all video and audio sources in a single process using HB. This also eliminates the potential high bitrate streaming problems. Using appropriate HB setting for the aTV, I do not see any noticeable visual degradation.

For me, the quality and consistency of the process is worth the extra time spent transcoding (which by the way I do overnight). Everyone's situation, visual/audial acuity, and viewing environment is different, so the process can vary a lot. Your process is as valid as any other but is not necessarily universal.

 

[westrock2000]

Can I just ask those of you who first rips to MKV, then run it through Handbrake and finally use Subler. Why do you do the Handbrake step?
Subler will convert the picture way faster, without loss, as it's "muxing" I believe it's called (just changing the container).
For the audio there are programs like mkvdtstoac3 which converts the DTS signal from the MKV file to AC-3 which the ATV can play, which it also does faster than Handbrake.

Like several others mentioned, I like the consistency of my files all being the same layout and all working no problem. I am ok with transcoding. It did take a while playing with settings to find ones that all worked well. I do not notice any anomalies that aren't in the source material to begin with.

I understand the rational about the extra time, but I queue it up and do something else. Using TeamViewer I can even initiate it from my phone or laptop so I'm not even at the house.

I have a i7-3770 (Handbrake on Windows) and I get about 20-30 minutes on a DVD and 2-3 hours on a Bluray. That's using "slow" processing to get better picture quality. You use something like Quicksync from Intel and itcan do a DVD in like 5 minutes and a bluray in about 30. But the quality was insufficient for me because its the equivalent of "fast" processing.

 

[utazdevl]

I don't use the Subler encoding because I don't have as much specific control over the encode settings. I like to keep all my encodes very uniform and to do that, sometimes I have to make slight adjustments to the sizing of what is being encoded and Subler doesn't offer much customization. Meanwhile, Handbrake let's you make all kinds of custom changes and tweaks and I have never had an issue with one of the encodes.

That said, your post made me wonder if I am missing something by not using Subler's encoder, so I am giving it a shot again. Will report back.

OK, I just tested the Subler encoding and it is pretty impressive. In fact, I really like that I can embed ALL the subtitle tracks in my file. It is also a lot faster than the Handbrake encode.

I might be skipping Handbrake and start using Subler instead. More testing needed, but I am liking what I am seeing.

Thanks for the tip!!!!

 

[mic j]

OK, I just tested the Subler encoding and it is pretty impressive. In fact, I really like that I can embed ALL the subtitle tracks in my file. It is also a lot faster than the Handbrake encode.

I might be skipping Handbrake and start using Subler instead. More testing needed, but I am liking what I am seeing.

Thanks for the tip!!!!

Subler is a great app which does many things (subtitles, metadata, re-packaging and track modification, etc). To be clear, it's not encoding like HB does. All it does is change the container that holds the video stream. That is why it is so fast. It really isn't doing much. Where as HB basically re-writes the entire video & audio streams (of multiple codecs) and compresses them. So, as I mentioned above, if you have no network issues with streaming high bitrate files and you are starting with a file that uses the h.264 codec, using Subler is definitely a good option.

 

[utazdevl]

OK, I just tested the Subler encoding and it is pretty impressive. In fact, I really like that I can embed ALL the subtitle tracks in my file. It is also a lot faster than the Handbrake encode.

I might be skipping Handbrake and start using Subler instead. More testing needed, but I am liking what I am seeing.

Thanks for the tip!!!!

Just to follow up, Subler has crapped out on about 50% of the encodes I tried to "convert". That is enough for me to go back to Handbrake for my conversions.

Too bad, because when it worked, the files I saved had a great picture on my AppleTV and I was able to retain all the subtitle tracks from the disc (something I have yet to be able to get HandBrake to be able to do). I'll probably keep experimenting, but I am starting to realize why I (and so many other people) use Handbrake.

 

[mic j]

Just to follow up, Subler has crapped out on about 50% of the encodes I tried to "convert". That is enough for me to go back to Handbrake for my conversions.

Too bad, because when it worked, the files I saved had a great picture on my AppleTV and I was able to retain all the subtitle tracks from the disc (something I have yet to be able to get HandBrake to be able to do). I'll probably keep experimenting, but I am starting to realize why I (and so many other people) use Handbrake.

This is what I have been referring to. Subler only works with certain type BR's. I have to say though that HB does a good job with subtitles. It might be worth your starting a separate thread, explaining what type and number of subtitles you are trying to encode, to figure out why you are encountering subtitle issues.

 

[Toubro]

Thanks for your replies regarding Subler/Handbrake. It's always nice to learn how other peoples workflow is and why 🙂

 

[priitv8]

I was using MakeMKV + handbrake on Windows too. But after moving to Mac, it's much troublesome to find a mac-based program ripping Blu-rays well.

What's wrong with MakeMKV??? Or HandBrake?

 

[Darby67]

I was using MakeMKV + handbrake on Windows too. But after moving to Mac, it's much troublesome to find a mac-based program ripping Blu-rays well. Recently I downloaded a BDMagic from pc2download with quite simple interface. I am not such guys who obsessed with kinds of technical stuffs so it's just fine🙂

Huh? Why not use use MakeMKV for the Mac? Shill?

 

[2010mini]

OP

this is the easiest way:

Most of your Blu-rays should have an iTunes digital redeem code on it. enter that into iTunes and the movie will automatically be available on your Apple TV.