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New handbrake user. Can someone tell me what settings to use?

Mintin8

Mintin8

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 4, 2009
689
0
United Kingdom
Hello Macrumors!

I have a very large DVD collection and I would like to rip them to my computer using handbrake (So I can transport all my films around).

I'm wondering which settings I should use to get the BEST quality on a Hi-Res 15inch MacBook Pro. The resolution of the mac is 1680x1050.

Thanks in advance.
 
Mintin8 said:
Hello Macrumors!

I have a very large DVD collection and I would like to rip them to my computer using handbrake (So I can transport all my films around).

I'm wondering which settings I should use to get the BEST quality on a Hi-Res 15inch MacBook Pro. The resolution of the mac is 1680x1050.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I have been happy with the default settings. i default to the appletv setting and it loooks good to me.
 
Mintin8 said:
Hello Macrumors!

I have a very large DVD collection and I would like to rip them to my computer using handbrake (So I can transport all my films around).

I'm wondering which settings I should use to get the BEST quality on a Hi-Res 15inch MacBook Pro. The resolution of the mac is 1680x1050.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I've always found Handbrake too 'confusing' to use unless you're willing to devote a large amount of time to playing around with it. I'd recommend checking out RipIt. Best $17 I ever spent. They recently added a compression feature which was the main reason I got it.
 
NathanMuir said:
I've always found Handbrake too 'confusing' to use unless you're willing to devote a large amount of time to playing around with it. I'd recommend checking out RipIt. Best $17 I ever spent. They recently added a compression feature which was the main reason I got it.
Click to expand...

Does RipIt have good quality presets?
 
Handbrake isn't that complicated. It just takes a few mins to figure it out. If you are having trouble then watch a couple YouTube videos on how to use it. The default settings are good but if you want better quality I do a 2-pass. Both are good quality though 2 pass is just slightly better.

Just so you know handbrake is a huge resource consumer. Compressing takes time even on the fastest computers.
 
Reelknead1 said:
Handbrake isn't that complicated. It just takes a few mins to figure it out. If you are having trouble then watch a couple YouTube videos on how to use it. The default settings are good but if you want better quality I do a 2-pass. Both are good quality though 2 pass is just slightly better.

Just so you know handbrake is a huge resource consumer. Compressing takes time even on the fastest computers.
Click to expand...

The whole process takes like 2 seconds on my powerbook G5. it takes even less time on my 144 core mac pro.:D All kidding aside. what Reelknead1 said is right. It does takea lot of time and isa processor hog so i suggest doing overnight conversions so it will be ready by tomorrow morning.
 
Mintin8 said:
Does RipIt have good quality presets?
Click to expand...

The compression presets it lists are: High Quality MP4, HQ M4V, Apple TV, iPhone/ iPod Touch, iPad, Xbox 360 and PS3.

For a 2hr movies Ripit takes about an hour to an hour and half to rip and compress the film (to iPhone/ iPod Touch format anyways). Which is why I like RipIt, it automatically rips and compresses the movie. I can go out and do errands and come back and the movie is completely done.

EDIT:
If I recall correctly, you get 10 free rips before it prompts you to buy a key, so give it a try and play around with the presets and if it's what you want, then great, if not then you haven't wasted any money.
 
Hmmm... I used the default settings when ripping a couple DVD's and they were ripped with the chapters out of order :confused: Anyone had that happen before?
 
Another small question, does it matter which preset I use if we take into account the high resolution of the macbook pro? Is there a setting I should use if I want to play my dvd's at the native resolution of my screen or does it resize automatically?
 
Just my 2c, but I use DVD ripper pro, it's literally one click to rip. Handbrake is sorta complex.
 
Mintin8 said:
Another small question, does it matter which preset I use if we take into account the high resolution of the macbook pro? Is there a setting I should use if I want to play my dvd's at the native resolution of my screen or does it resize automatically?
Click to expand...

Sorry to bother you guys but could anybody answer my question? I'm a bit worried that the presets in handbrake cater for low resolution devices such as the iphone. Does it matter which one I use for a hi res macbook pro? How can i make it optimal quality on it?
 
unless you are one of those intense hi-def people, you should be fine. if you are worried though, change the preset to apple universal and high profile.

i have a question too. i was wondering if handbrake works with dvd-r. or have there been some know complications with writable dvds?
 
Mintin8 said:
Sorry to bother you guys but could anybody answer my question? I'm a bit worried that the presets in handbrake cater for low resolution devices such as the iphone. Does it matter which one I use for a hi res macbook pro? How can i make it optimal quality on it?
Click to expand...

If you are really worried, why not just rip the DVD's to HD without altering it's format? Something like MacTheRipper would do the job just fine!! Once that's done, you can perhaps experiment with Handbrake, until your heart's content?? It'll be much quicker to do it this way then trying to rip direct from the DVD itself.

Personally when it comes to Handbrake, I choose the mp4 file format, set constant quality to around 96% using H.264; preview the settings, tweak the audio section and leave the picture size to 720, otherwise it'll look crap!
 
Handbrake

I didn't think Handbrake would convert copy protected DVDs. I tried Mel Gibson's Edge Of Darkness just for the heck of it on a DVD I purchased. It worked and I put it in Itunes and then on my Ipad. Was this a quirk or does it convert the protected DVDs?
 
Bulldog3777 said:
I didn't think Handbrake would convert copy protected DVDs. I tried Mel Gibson's Edge Of Darkness just for the heck of it on a DVD I purchased. It worked and I put it in Itunes and then on my Ipad. Was this a quirk or does it convert the protected DVDs?
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the digital copy thats been included with DVDs in the past year or so? Or just the general protection on DVDs in general? The CSS protection for DVDs has been cracked for nearly a decade.
 
Handbrake

CorporateFelon said:
Are you talking about the digital copy thats been included with DVDs in the past year or so? Or just the general protection on DVDs in general? The CSS protection for DVDs has been cracked for nearly a decade.
Click to expand...

I have AnyDVD which will break the protection so I realize the protection can be cracked. But I took the original DVD(not the digital copy) and used Handbrake. It worked and I put it on my Ipad. Ran perfectly. My question is, does Handbrake normally do this or is just a quirk that it happened. My son said Handbrake does not remove the protection.
 
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