Video Converter 'Handbrake 1.0' Released for Mac After 13 Years in Beta

[BornAgainMac]

That is a great marketing concept.

 

[trifid]

So what did they finally do that made them comfortable that this is no longer a beta app?

Probably both optical media dying and Macs/PCs dying, they might as well unbeta it and be ready for the end..

 

[Kabeyun]

As many know, Handbrake is a fantastic workhorse of a product with rich documentation and support, made by very smart, dedicated people. I've used Handbrake much more than many retail apps I didn't think twice to pay for. I hope everyone chooses to donate to support their work.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Still the best.

 

[MacGekko]

The old location for libdvdcss got protected by SIP in 10.11. There is a different folder that is sanctioned that it can be manually moved to that works just fine. Search Google for specifics.

Is this the proper video tutorial to accomplish what you are referring to?

 

[Dan From Canada]

Cross-platform video transcoder Handbrake reached a milestone over the holiday break with the release of version 1.0.0 of the app after over 13 years in beta.

Despite the lengthy beta-test format and the demise of the built-in DVD drive in Apple's Mac line-up, the free open source transcoder has remained the go-to application for converting video files for playback on iOS devices and Apple TVs.

The program has stood the test of time thanks to its ease of use, vast array of options for more advanced users, and extensive video format support.

Version 1 brings a raft of new tools to the Mac version of the app, with updated presets for the latest devices and a number of interface improvements and added settings to keep the app relevant and broaden its appeal. The new features include:

- Updated all tooltips
- Added undo/redo support to the graphical interface
- Improved drag and drop support
- Added Open Recent to the File menu
- Added Add Titles to Queue... to the File menu (batch queueing)
- Preview prompts to open in an external application when the internal player does not support the format
- Preview now displays volume and audio/subtitles language selection during playback
- Picture and Filters settings are now part of the main window
- Settings are preserved when selecting a new title (instead of reloading the last selected preset)
- Improved support for importing/exporting comma-separated (.csv) chapter markers
- Queue is now automatically paused when available disk space is low
- When Done action can now be changed directly from the Queue window
- When Done notification is now interactive (reveals the encoded file in Finder)
- Activity Log window is now searchable (press "?"+"f" to activate)
- XQuartz is no longer required for subtitle burn-in
- Updated Sparkle software update library
- Enabled DSA signature checking for improved security
- Usability improvements
- Miscellaneous bug fixes

Handbrake is a free download available directly from the Handbrake website.

Article Link: Video Converter 'Handbrake 1.0' Released for Mac After 13 Years in Beta

That's the longest beta that I have ever been in. LOL

Great product!!!

 

[deany]

I used to use Handbrake a lot about 10 years ago and still would.
It was often quoted in benchmark tests to measure raw CPU performance.
Nostalgia!

 

[wrldwzrd89]

HandBrake is still my go-to app after all these years for WMV and WEBM -> MP4 conversions.

 

[Starflyer]

I wonder if I can use this to rip dvds again? I got some good ones over Christmas and want to have them on my hard drive. (No, seriously. I'm telling the truth. I'm on the internet.)

The old location for libdvdcss got protected by SIP in 10.11. There is a different folder that is sanctioned that it can be manually moved to that works just fine. Search Google for specifics.

DeCSS. There was a time when HandBrake shipped with the software required to decrypt standard DVD copy protection, but unfortunately that time has passed. Fortunately, you can download and install that file, and then HandBrake will convert copy-protected DVDs just fine.

https://sixcolors.com/post/2015/01/how-i-rip-dvds-and-blu-rays/

 

[RobinInOR]

Love Handbrake, I rip all my DVD purchases (and we buy a LOT OF DVDs). When I got the new MBP i was terrified it wouldnt work, because I didnt want to go through learning something new Luckily someone here on Macrumors had posted how to fix up the missing pieces (you can search and find the post about fixing up libdvdcss with homebrew), and its working flawlessly. We mostly buy old black and white, or old movies that are from the 50s. Great stuff. Im holding off on updating, though, dont want to break what's working

 

[UhFive]

My issue is I could never figure out how to rip movies with subtitles...not always on subtitles, but movies like Avatar. I used MakeMKV to rip it, then handbrake to convert it. I end up with an amazing quality rip, but I can't understand portions of the movie because there are no subtitles for when the na'vi are speaking. I've reached out to people online, but no one seems to be able to help

 

[mateytate]

I like Handbrake, I just use it less and less. Started using iFlicks 2 after iDentify went wonky on Sierra. iFlicks seems to take care of the basic remuxing and meta-tagging pretty well, and there are simple presets for encoding. Only problem is it costs $24 from the app store, if you don't know where else to get it.

Exactly the same here, I used to love IDentify2 and it was a shame the developer gave up on it. I was kind of lost until I found iFlicks, worth every penny imo, especially for tagging tv shows as I always back up my season box sets, and with 24 episodes it would take a long time manually.

Though I'd never use iFlicks for the actual conversion, Handbrake is still my go to program for DVDs and BluRays

 

[macduke]

So what did they finally do that made them comfortable that this is no longer a beta app?

Irrelevancy, my friend. The sweet kiss of death. Making it 1.0 is pretty much the only way they could grab headlines at this point. This has been a great app that I've used for many years, but to be completely honest most people don't need to use something like this any more.

 

[mateytate]

My issue is I could never figure out how to rip movies with subtitles...not always on subtitles, but movies like Avatar. I used MakeMKV to rip it, then handbrake to convert it. I end up with an amazing quality rip, but I can't understand portions of the movie because there are no subtitles for when the na'vi are speaking. I've reached out to people online, but no one seems to be able to help

There's a setting within handbrake for subtitles that only appear during certain foreign language parts i.e. Avatar, and they are called "Forced Subtitles" i.e. where they will appear even if you have subtitles turned off. There is actually an option to burn in Forced Subtitles, and Handbrake will automatically identify them and encode them into the output video.

 

[zorinlynx]

Did they finally add a passthrough video codec so we can convert mkv files to mp4 to play on Apple devices, without reencoding the video? This is the biggest feature that was always missing.

I have a shell script that does this using ffmpeg but it would be nice to be able to use handbrake for this.

 

[Plutonius]

I used the Beta all the time until it stopped working on Mac because it wasn't compatible with Sierra (or maybe it was El Capitan when the compatibility issues began.) I ripped my entire DVD library with it so I have them all in my iTunes now and I can play them on my Apple TV.
[doublepost=1482844838][/doublepost]

The way this worked in Beta pre-El Capitan was so long as you had a libdvdcss file on your Mac it would decode the copy protection (which is what is needed to playback DVDs on any platform) and allow Handbrake to rip it.

I use handbrake under MacOS Sierra and it works great. El Capitan and Sierra removes libdvdcss from your Mac but it can be reinstalled.

 

[bent00]

Handbrake? I thought hb been out for longtime?

you may want to re-read the article

 

[Plutonius]

My issue is I could never figure out how to rip movies with subtitles...not always on subtitles, but movies like Avatar. I used MakeMKV to rip it, then handbrake to convert it. I end up with an amazing quality rip, but I can't understand portions of the movie because there are no subtitles for when the na'vi are speaking. I've reached out to people online, but no one seems to be able to help

To get the subtitles when a foreign language is spoken (i.e. na'vi), Click the subtitle button and select the pull down "Foreign Audio Search (bitmap) under track. It causes handbrake to do two passes and to pick up the non-english subtitle. It generally works but it doesn't in some cases.

 

[Canubis]

Really cool! I use this wonderful piece of software at least weekly. Less often to rip dvds or blu rays (never had a problem with any, maybe I am just lucky…). Very often though I use it for EyeTV recordings. Works like a charme and produces much smaller, more optimized files than built-in EyeTV transcoding options.

Thanks to the developers of handbrake, hope you read these forums, you're absolutely amazing! Thank you for all the effort put into this project! <3

 

[UhFive]

There's a setting within handbrake for subtitles that only appear during certain foreign language parts i.e. Avatar, and they are called "Forced Subtitles" i.e. where they will appear even if you have subtitles turned off. There is actually an option to burn in Forced Subtitles, and Handbrake will automatically identify them and encode them into the output video.

To get the subtitles when a foreign language is spoken (i.e. na'vi), Click the subtitle button and select the pull down "Foreign Audio Search (bitmap) under track. It causes handbrake to do two passes and to pick up the non-english subtitle. It generally works but it doesn't in some cases.

I'm trying this now...thank you for your help!

 

[ignatius345]

It's iconic.

"Put down that cocktail."

 

[manu chao]

Wow, I didn't even realize it was a beta product. 13 years, that must be some sort of record.

They wanted to get it out of beta before DVDs and Blue-rays become obsolete.
[doublepost=1482857209][/doublepost]

Usually big-name movies will need to be put through something like http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/ (Windows only, but it might work fine via WINE).

So far I have not found any disk that MakeMKV couldn't decrypt.

 

[HeartMan]

It's my go-to software for converting all the flavors of h264 into h265 mkv's. I usually just set it up to encode a few files when I go to bed and viola, when I get up in the morning, all done!

 

[Juicy Box]

I have used handbrake for over a decade. The software was always easy to use , and very little bugs considering it was in beta.

While it went through many changes, each change made it better, while keeping all the good stuff.

This is very much unlike some other software that seems to remove good features with every update. Such as iTunes, iLife, and others.

 

[ikir]

[doublepost=1482842071][/doublepost]Isn't VideoMonkey better? Seems to produce smaller file sizes with same video quality if I recall.. Because it uses the FF mpeg engine?

One of the best macOS software