Support NeoGAF

[Lagamorph]

So I'm looking to digitise my DVD and Blu-Ray collection using my PC so that I can stream my stuff around the house rather than having to go looking for DVDs and have all the hassle of swapping discs mid-series binge or film marathon, carry stuff around d on my phone/tablet, etc, but what's the best software and process to go about doing it?
I'd like to keep subtitle tracks if at all possible, but not too concerned with keeping additional audio tracks.
For Blu-Ray I'd like to keep the 3D in my 3D films if possible as well.

My PC currently just has a DVD drive but I'll be looking to upgrade to a Blu-Ray drive soon. Any recommendations on a good one for the purpose?

One other thing to mention, I'm in the UK so DVD Region 2/Blu-Ray Region B, but some of my collection is American, so Region 1/A, so I'd like a method that'll let me get around that so I can digitise my whole collection.

 

[ClivePwned]

So I'm looking to digitise my DVD and Blu-Ray collection using my PC so that I can stream my stuff around the house rather than having to go looking for DVDs and have all the hassle of swapping discs mid-series binge or film marathon, carry stuff around d on my phone/tablet, etc, but what's the best software and process to go about doing it?
I'd like to keep subtitle tracks if at all possible, but not too concerned with keeping additional audio tracks.
For Blu-Ray I'd like to keep the 3D in my 3D films if possible as well.

My PC currently just has a DVD drive but I'll be looking to upgrade to a Blu-Ray drive soon. Any recommendations on a good one for the purpose?

One other thing to mention, I'm in the UK so DVD Region 2/Blu-Ray Region B, but some of my collection is American, so Region 1/A, so I'd like a method that'll let me get around that so I can digitise my whole collection.

I have sorta done this recently. You'll need lots and lots of hard drives for a big collection

MakeMKV for ripping, something like Handbrake for converting to another format for easy streaming (or just stream from the MKVs)

ripping 3D discs is really tricky (or I should say, there's no easy way to play them back as 3D)

1. you need a lot of Hard drive space. I ended up needing about 20TB for the rips and another 12 or so for the converted versions
2. You need a lot of time. Ripping in particular requires you to be around to swap discs. Conversion can be done when you're away from the machine since you can just cue up a bunch of things in Handbrake or whatever.
I was working from home for a while and it took about 6 months to convert my libraries from DVD and Bluray to versions I could play back from a USB on a TV or dump into itunes to use with Apple TV.

Notes:
-movies with a lot of grain tend to end up almost as large as the original bluray (some that caused me problems: Man of Steel, Saving Private Ryan, Life of Brian, MASH) as in 35GB for the movie ripped from bluray ended up being 20GB after conversion (and that takes a long time to do).

-check your subtitle settings. I have a couple of ruined rips that needed subtitles (Downfall, Black Book) but I didn't think to change the settings

-most ripping software doesn't care about the disc region

-Make Make MKV has a weird thing. It's relatively expensive to buy, but you get a fully functioning demo for 30 days. If you update your OS once the trial has expired, you get another 30 days (well, this was on Mac OS).

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

I've been using MakeMKV to do the ripping. My drive is an old drive from my broken HP computer. Which works fine for me.

MakeMKV will rip stuff and let you select what you need, but it makes playing stuff on other devices harder. I'll usually encode my rips to h.264/MP4 files so I can watch them on my iPad as well.

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

MakeMKV is a pretty good program for that. I don't know if it works with BluRays but it worked with pretty much all of my DVDs so far.

You can choose whether to keep any subtitle track, audio track, camera angles, etc.

As the name suggests it creates MKV files out of everything. One file per video track.

 

[johnny956]

h265 is out now. Good compression techniques and file sizes that are substantially better then h264.

AnyDVD is my go to for removing encryption on blu-ray/dvd's. Works on the fly so you can use any program to convert your movie if it's running (I use Handbrake)

 

[Lagamorph]

I think my devices support MKV format so should be ok there on the format.
I'll take a look at MakeMKV, thanks!

Any suggestions on getting around region locks on my PC drive?
I realise I'll need a lot of Hard Disk space, I've got a few external drives to start with but will probably get a NAS box sometime this year when the externals I have are getting full.

 

[tuffy]

You're looking for MakeMKV. It offers a menu so you can select which audio tracks/subtitle tracks to extract from each title on disc and it extracts them to .mkv files which are supported by software like VLC, Kodi and friends. Each file can have many possible audio tracks and subtitles so you can swap between them at will. I use it in conjunction with mkvtoolnix which is sometimes needed to split up a big file into multiple episodes by chapters, or to set titles in the file's metadata.

 

[Lagamorph]

You're looking for MakeMKV. It offers a menu so you can select which audio tracks/subtitle tracks to extract from each title on disc and it extracts them to .mkv files which are supported by software like VLC, Kodi and friends. Each file can have many possible audio tracks and subtitles so you can swap between them at will. I use it in conjunction with mkvtoolnix which is sometimes needed to split up a big file into multiple episodes by chapters, or to set titles in the file's metadata.

Never even thought about the metadata but that could be handy, will take a look at that, thanks!

 

[skybald]

Vudu offers the digital version through their ecosystem by scanning the barcode of the movie you own. There is a small fee associated but that saves to all that time of ripping the discs and the cost of the drives, not to mention you might want a cloud back up of the disc images if your HDDs fail.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

I need to try out MakeMKV. Does this work on any Blu-Ray?

 

[tuffy]

I need to try out MakeMKV. Does this work on any Blu-Ray?

It works with everything I've thrown at it, including discs from different regions.

 

[Ran rp]

-Make Make MKV has a weird thing. It's relatively expensive to buy, but you get a fully functioning demo for 30 days. If you update your OS once the trial has expired, you get another 30 days (well, this was on Mac OS).

https://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053

 

[Clockwork]

Isn't it already digitized?


/semantics

 

[Transistor]

Step 1) MakeMKV
Step 2) Handbrake
Step 3) Plex Media Server

BOOM

Done

And as for MakeMKV being expensive, it's $50. That's on par with PC software and is a steal since you only need to buy it once.

The only disc I haven't made MakeMKV work with is John Wick, which has a unique type of copy protection, but I haven't tried it since the last few updates

 

[HammerOfThor]

I've been really wanting to do this.

I can set up an HTC and play everything I digitize from there, right?

 

[kms_md]

For my home plex server, I use MakeMKV for ripping BDs. I then use the Tested Transcoder (which is a VM which automates some Handbrake scripts) to convert the full size MKV (20-40 GB) to something in the range of 4-5 GB.

 

[Transistor]

I've been really wanting to do this.

I can set up an HTC and play everything I digitize from there, right?

Yep. Look into Plex. It's free and you can stream to any device imaginable

And the UI is so gorgeous

 

[Jezbollah]

Another vote for MakeMKV + Plex.

 

[Lagamorph]

Awesome advice guys.
I'll see about giving the MakeMKV trial a go and see about Handbrake/Tested Transcoder, then see about setting up Plex.

Good to know it sounds like MakeMKV will bypass/ignore region restrictions on my drives too.

 

[Barrel Cannon]

I'll have to give this a whirl too. Part of the reason I don't watch my Blu Rays as much anymore is because I'm not always in the main entertainment room where they are all stored

 

[Krakatoa]

You could use Vudu, they are allowing you to convert your DVD's/BR's to digital for a cost. It can be don't from your PC, or Mobile app.

http://www.vudu.com/in_mobile_disc_to_digital.html

 

[Lagamorph]

You could use Vudu, they are allowing you to convert your DVD's/BR's to digital for a cost. It can be don't from your PC, or Mobile app.

http://www.vudu.com/in_mobile_disc_to_digital.html

Looking at the pricing, by the time I've done 10 or so DVDs at maximum quality I could've just bought MakeMKV. When I'm looking at doing dozens of discs it makes way more economical sense to do it myself.

 

[The Iron Yuppie]

Was looking into this as well, but think I'll need a couple more hard drives before I start in earnest.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Looking at the pricing, by the time I've done 10 or so DVDs at maximum quality I could've just bought MakeMKV. When I'm looking at doing dozens of discs it makes way more economical sense to do it myself.

When I did this I ripped all my stuff to ISO's first. It added a few minutes of time per disc, but what was nice is I could just queue them all up in Handbrake. This meant I could rip 10-15 discs to ISO, queue them for conversion and hit GO. Rather than needing to get up and swap out the discs every X minutes.

 

[Wag]

Looking at the pricing, by the time I've done 10 or so DVDs at maximum quality I could've just bought MakeMKV. When I'm looking at doing dozens of discs it makes way more economical sense to do it myself.

I don't know- $2 a movie is pretty convenient for a Ultraviolet digital locker you have access to anywhere. At that price it seems like the time converting each movie over and running your own server isn't worth the effort.

 

[ClivePwned]

https://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053

good to know. I wish I'd known that a while back but I got the job done without issue.

though, it's april now so you still only get 30 days

 

[trembli0s]

I'm on the MakeMKV and Plex train as well.

What's the use for Handbrake, just to encode to a smaller size? Is there an issue with just the regular default MKV and does the encode make a big difference in quality?

 

[tuffy]

I'm on the MakeMKV and Plex train as well.

What's the use for Handbrake, just to encode to a smaller size? Is there an issue with just the regular default MKV and does the encode make a big difference in quality?

MakeMKV just rips discs and puts their contents into an .mkv container, with its only options being to transcode lossless audio at rip-time (I use the built-in FLAC profile for this). Handbrake reduces the size of the video stream and can transcode audio into lossy formats which makes the file significantly smaller. I've tried it a few times with different presets but I haven't found a combination that I like, so I stick with the raw files from MakeMKV.

 

[mrklaw]

Dear Hollywood, if you sold DRM free movies I'd buy all that shit digitally and avoid all this hassle. I watch all my movies digitally but buy physical discs because digital limits my options due to DRM. With bluray rips and plex I can watch pretty much anywhere

 

[family_guy]

Give Vudu $2 a movie to get the digital version.

 

[Ran rp]

good to know. I wish I'd known that a while back but I got the job done without issue.

though, it's april now so you still only get 30 days

It's updated every month. Been using it for over a year now lol.

 

[J-Rzez]

What's the best way to retain sound quality though? I've tried some in the past and that's the first thing I notice taking a hit. It's the reason I still use discs, outside of some PQ nitpicks I have like blocking. I assume I'll just be stuck with large files no matter what.

 

[Choppasmith]

I found an old post of mine from about a year and a half ago detailing my method for getting movies on a HTPC running XBMC/Kodi

I used DVD Fab HD Decrypter for most of my Blurays, it's nice because it's free but you have to use a specific version, and every now and then, there's one where it can't understand the encryption and I use Make MKV (it says the Beta is free, but I couldn't seem to get it to work without paying 50 dollars, seems worth it though)

From there I just use handbrake, compression level 16 (a little overkill maybe, but I like going for as close to the original disc as possible). Manage and scrape with Media Companion and then add it to my HTPC running XBMC with three USB Drives totalling 9 TB of space. Not sure why people are saying XBMC is too cumbersome, my Uncle who's as tech illiterate as can be can use it 95% of the time with no trouble. I use an RF dongle with a specifically programmed Harmony Remote. And with the Video Extras add-on, I can now easily add Special Features.

Nothing's really changed except I use the PC mentioned above as sort of a NAS and an Nvidia Shield as my main streaming software.

With updates to Handbrake I can now encode my rips with H265/HEVC at 20 Compression gets me the same quality for about half the disc space! Only downside is takes a good 10 hours or so for each Bluray movie!

What's the best way to retain sound quality though? I've tried some in the past and that's the first thing I notice taking a hit. It's the reason I still use discs, outside of some PQ nitpicks I have like blocking. I assume I'll just be stuck with large files no matter what.

Handbrake > Passthrough Audio. That's what I do

Step 1) MakeMKV
Step 2) Handbrake
Step 3) Plex Media Server

BOOM

Done

And as for MakeMKV being expensive, it's $50. That's on par with PC software and is a steal since you only need to buy it once.

The only disc I haven't made MakeMKV work with is John Wick, which has a unique type of copy protection, but I haven't tried it since the last few updates

Ripped John Wick just fine with no problems as far as i can tell.

 

[Transistor]

Ripped John Wick just fine with no problems as far as i can tell.

Honest question: have you watched your ripped movie? John Wick (and some other Lionsgate titles) have 900 or so titles on the disc that put scenes in a random order, so it looks like it ripped properly but it will be all mixed up. Only one title on the disc has the correct order.

 

[Lagamorph]

Ok, I've ripped a DVD using MakeMKV and got an MKV file that has come out at 4.1GB.

I've opened the file in Handbrake and it looks like this,

Now, am I right in saying that for encoding it I'm best with sticking to 720p rather than 1080p due to the source size? Under presets I was looking at the "Matroska" section and thinking I should be picking "H.265 MKB 720p30"

What other options should I be changing? Anything under the Video and Audio tabs?
I've seen a few of you guys mention something about compression, but I don't see any option for that.
Under the Audio tab it's defaulted to,
Codec - AAC
Bitrate - 160
Mixdown - Dolby Pro Logic II


Also, I ripped one of my Anime DVDs and all of the episodes on it come out as a single title, so MakeMKV rips it as a single file just with episodes split by chapter markers. What's the best way to split these up into individual files per episode? Can I do this with MakeMKV or Handbrake?

 

[Lagamorph]

Ok, I've ripped a DVD using MakeMKV and got an MKV file that has come out at 4.1GB.

I've opened the file in Handbrake and it looks like this,

Now, am I right in saying that for encoding it I'm best with sticking to 720p rather than 1080p due to the source size? Under presets I was looking at the "Matroska" section and thinking I should be picking "H.265 MKB 720p30"

What other options should I be changing? Anything under the Video and Audio tabs?
I've seen a few of you guys mention something about compression, but I don't see any option for that.
Under the Audio tab it's defaulted to,
Codec - AAC
Bitrate - 160
Mixdown - Dolby Pro Logic II


Also, I ripped one of my Anime DVDs and all of the episodes on it come out as a single title, so MakeMKV rips it as a single file just with episodes split by chapter markers. What's the best way to split these up into individual files per episode? Can I do this with MakeMKV or Handbrake?

Was just wondering if anyone might have an answer to these questions?
It's pretty much the last obstacle to me getting to work on Digitising my library.

 

[tomjr]

I think you can use the 'Source' section seen in your screencap. The two fields on the right control the chapters Handbrake will select. If you change the value to a specific chapter, which will be an episode if that's how the disc was organized, it will create a single file from the chapter (e.g.: Chapters 13 to 13).

You can select the 'Add to Queue' button to create a list of Handbrake sessions to run sequentially. Change the source chapters and destination file outputs for each session.

I'm just guessing this is how it's done. Someone else may have a better way.

 

[Syriel]

My PC currently just has a DVD drive but I'll be looking to upgrade to a Blu-Ray drive soon. Any recommendations on a good one for the purpose?

One other thing to mention, I'm in the UK so DVD Region 2/Blu-Ray Region B, but some of my collection is American, so Region 1/A, so I'd like a method that'll let me get around that so I can digitise my whole collection.

MakeMKV. It cares not about regions.

I have sorta done this recently. You'll need lots and lots of hard drives for a big collection

MakeMKV for ripping, something like Handbrake for converting to another format for easy streaming (or just stream from the MKVs)

No need to convert unless you can't afford the drive space. Plex handles MKV like a champ.

I'm on the MakeMKV and Plex train as well.

What's the use for Handbrake, just to encode to a smaller size? Is there an issue with just the regular default MKV and does the encode make a big difference in quality?

File size mostly. If you don't have HD space for ~25GB per film, you can use Handbrake to go from Blu -> Netflix/Vudu quality and use ~5GB per film.

Dear Hollywood, if you sold DRM free movies I'd buy all that shit digitally and avoid all this hassle. I watch all my movies digitally but buy physical discs because digital limits my options due to DRM. With bluray rips and plex I can watch pretty much anywhere

Between DMA and UV I've not really noticed DRM. I know it's there, but TBH it's not really a hinderance.

What's the best way to retain sound quality though? I've tried some in the past and that's the first thing I notice taking a hit. It's the reason I still use discs, outside of some PQ nitpicks I have like blocking. I assume I'll just be stuck with large files no matter what.

Don't convert the audio. Just keep the original track (or tracks).

Honest question: have you watched your ripped movie? John Wick (and some other Lionsgate titles) have 900 or so titles on the disc that put scenes in a random order, so it looks like it ripped properly but it will be all mixed up. Only one title on the disc has the correct order.

Try 00202.mpls or 00859.mpls depending on your disc.

Ok, I've ripped a DVD using MakeMKV and got an MKV file that has come out at 4.1GB.

I've opened the file in Handbrake and it looks like this,

Now, am I right in saying that for encoding it I'm best with sticking to 720p rather than 1080p due to the source size? Under presets I was looking at the "Matroska" section and thinking I should be picking "H.265 MKB 720p30"

What other options should I be changing? Anything under the Video and Audio tabs?
I've seen a few of you guys mention something about compression, but I don't see any option for that.
Under the Audio tab it's defaulted to,
Codec - AAC
Bitrate - 160
Mixdown - Dolby Pro Logic II


Also, I ripped one of my Anime DVDs and all of the episodes on it come out as a single title, so MakeMKV rips it as a single file just with episodes split by chapter markers. What's the best way to split these up into individual files per episode? Can I do this with MakeMKV or Handbrake?

DVD is 480p native. Don't try to upscale to 720.

If you're going to compress the DVD with Handbrake shoot for 852x480 as the base resolution (reducing the height as necessary so you're not encoding the black bars).

 

[Confusion Illusion]

Ok, I've ripped a DVD using MakeMKV and got an MKV file that has come out at 4.1GB.

I've opened the file in Handbrake and it looks like this,

Now, am I right in saying that for encoding it I'm best with sticking to 720p rather than 1080p due to the source size? Under presets I was looking at the "Matroska" section and thinking I should be picking "H.265 MKB 720p30"

What other options should I be changing? Anything under the Video and Audio tabs?
I've seen a few of you guys mention something about compression, but I don't see any option for that.
Under the Audio tab it's defaulted to,
Codec - AAC
Bitrate - 160
Mixdown - Dolby Pro Logic II


Also, I ripped one of my Anime DVDs and all of the episodes on it come out as a single title, so MakeMKV rips it as a single file just with episodes split by chapter markers. What's the best way to split these up into individual files per episode? Can I do this with MakeMKV or Handbrake?

720p and 1080p is for the vertical resolution. DVD's are are basically 720x480/576 or 480p or 576p. Converting it 720/1080p would be blowing up the picture. It won't look good lol.

Under audio, you can always select AC3 pass through for DVD. That just takes the audio and transfer to the new MKV or Mp4 container without converting it or it leaves it intacted.

As for anime DVDs, that seems be case with some of them. You can split it up with handbreak during encoding. For example chapters 1-5 is episode 1, chapter 6-10 is episode 2 etc.

 

[Lagamorph]

720p and 1080p is for the vertical resolution. DVD's are are basically 720x480/576 or 480p or 576p. Converting it 720/1080p would be blowing up the picture. It won't look good lol.

Under audio, you can always select AC3 pass through for DVD. That just takes the audio and transfer to the new MKV or Mp4 container without converting it or it leaves it intacted.

As for anime DVDs, that seems be case with some of them. You can split it up with handbreak during encoding. For example chapters 1-5 is episode 1, chapter 6-10 is episode 2 etc.

So am I right in saying that I can choose the "H.265 MKB 720p30" preset in order to get the right video codec, but under the picture tab for the Height setting, manually adjust it to match the Source listing?

For the container format, I'm thinking I'll just keep it at MKV even for single audio DVDs.


Edit - And after the latest Windows 10 updates today, Handbrake now refuses to open....wonderful.

 

[Confusion Illusion]

So am I right in saying that I can choose the "H.265 MKB 720p30" preset in order to get the right video codec, but under the picture tab for the Height setting, manually adjust it to match the Source listing?

For the container format, I'm thinking I'll just keep it at MKV even for single audio DVDs.


Edit - And after the latest Windows 10 updates today, Handbrake now refuses to open....wonderful.

No, for DVD's use a 480p preset. DVD's are not 720p. Also, under the video tab, where it says frame rate, I suggest changing it to same as source for DVD's (and Blu-rays) as well.

 

[Lagamorph]

No, for DVD's use a 480p preset. DVD's are not 720p. Also, under the video tab, where it says frame rate, I suggest changing it to same as source for DVD's (and Blu-rays) as well.

Gotcha. Just need to try and get Handbrake to launch again now. Compatibility Modes and Run as Admin aren't working. I did install the Win 10 creators update today so I suspect it's down to that.
Might have to wait for an update to Handbrake before I can get back to things.

 

[Stinkles]

Dear Hollywood, if you sold DRM free movies I'd buy all that shit digitally and avoid all this hassle. I watch all my movies digitally but buy physical discs because digital limits my options due to DRM. With bluray rips and plex I can watch pretty much anywhere

You grinded my gears. Here's my list of annoyances:

4k streaming is almost pointless in terms of fidelity and is basically a bandwidth fine that gets you slightly better than 1080p visuals and lol at audio.

My "owned" collection is all over the place from Amazon to Vudu and beyond.

Props to Disney for handling linking ultraviolet etc. best of a bad bunch.

Some movies I own have changed owners at a studio level and effectively killed my copy.

I've watched more discs (4k) this generation than last gen because fidelity.

No fidelity measurement in the metadata. Honestly it would be great to press info and see what you were actually watching. Including color depth.

The only people who ever see your rude as fuck fbi warning are legitimate customers. Pirates edit it for brevity. And your forcible advertising.

 

[RoninChaos]

You grinded my gears. Here's my list of annoyances:

4k streaming is almost pointless in terms of fidelity and is basically a bandwidth fine that gets you slightly better than 1080p visuals and lol at audio.

My "owned" collection is all over the place from Amazon to Vudu and beyond.

Props to Disney for handling linking ultraviolet etc. best of a bad bunch.

Some movies I own have changed owners at a studio level and effectively killed my copy.

I've watched more discs (4k) this generation than last gen because fidelity.

No fidelity measurement in the metadata. Honestly it would be great to press info and see what you were actually watching. Including color depth.

The only people who ever see your rude as fuck fbi warning are legitimate customers. Pirates edit it for brevity. And your forcible advertising.

I have so many digital codes not redeemed because I have to go to 30 different places. It's the biggest pain in the ass. I've never stolen a movie but god damn, the studios sure do make it difficult for people who bought shit legit and legal.

 

[Lagamorph]

Even trying the latest Handbrake Nightly it won't launch on Windows 10 with the new Creators update installed
Tried it on my laptop, which doesn't have the creators update installed, and it launches fine there though, so definitely a Win 10 update that's broken things.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Started this a few weeks ago with my old DVD's.
I'm making disc images, finished a box of about 100 discs and am at over 700GB.
I have 7 boxes to go before starting on the Blu's.
iamalreadydead

 

[Lagamorph]

Found a fix for Handbrake (Older versions of Rivatuner are causing problems with .Net Applications in the Windows 10 creators update), so now trying out my first encodes.

I started out with my Ghostbusters Special edition DVD. Ripped it using MakeMKV and it came out at a 4.10GB file. Opened it up in Handbrake and chose the Matroska H.265 MKV 480p30 Preset. Didn't make any alterations in terms of Width/Height, left all the settings at default and let it encode. The final file came out at 728MB.

Opening it I didn't see any real drop in quality, though one thing I did notice is that my original rip isn't Widescreen, but the re-encoded rip is.


So am I doing this right? Or should I be making adjustments when the source isn't widescreen to prevent it from being stretched like this?

 

[NekoFever]

Is it actually stretched? Are you sure Handbrake didn't simply crop the black bars? I did over 1,000 movies on DVD and BD when I ripped my collection using MakeMKV and Handbrake, and I don't think they misjudged the aspect ratio on a single one.

 

[Roge_NES]

Been interested in doing this for a 500+ Bluray collection, I'd love to do 1:1 rips of the movies but I know it would take a Terabytes of space. would a RAID station with multiple 1TB drives be the best option regarding storage?

And if PLEX is used for playback on an Apple TV or Roku does it output at 1080P@24 and DTSHD or Dolby True HD?

 

[Lagamorph]

Is it actually stretched? Are you sure Handbrake didn't simply crop the black bars? I did over 1,000 movies on DVD and BD when I ripped my collection using MakeMKV and Handbrake, and I don't think they misjudged the aspect ratio on a single one.

Actually you might be right on that. When I open the file in Handbrake it automatically sets some cropping options, so I assume that's it cropping out the black bars.