MKV Help Please - Extracting Chapters!

[OliverTwist]

I'm trying to rip a DVD disc containing a compilation of shorts.

I want to extract several shorts from numerous discs to compile into my own themed compilation.

I'm having problems... As you can see in the screen capture below, MKV is indicating that there are 32 chapters (in this case the number of shorts on the disc) however it is not allowing me to select from these chapters and is instead chosing to rip this only in it's entirety:



I do not want to rip complete discs and have exact copies nor make replicas of my DVDs. I'm simply trying to extract specific shorts from them.

How can I work around this effectively to achieve my goal?

Also, is there a way to "preview" the selected video(s) that you intent to rip in the MKV window?

For instance, if I were able to select only one chapter to rip (currently not able to do so!) would I be able to preview it somehow?

When I click "open files" expecting video playback, a popup asks me to instead "select an existing video source file"... I'm not entirely sure what that even means.

I'd be greatly appreciative of any help that's offered!

[Chetwood]

So how difficult can it be to use a proper subject like "how to extract chapters" or something?

MakeMKV can't do it, convert to MKV and split by chapters in MKVToolnix. Mike said he's working on a preview function but there's no ETA.

[OliverTwist]

Thanks,

How would I create chapters with MKVToolnix?

I'm not familiar with the program and have been reading up on it a bit but am still uncertain of how to do this. Could you please explain?

[Smithcraft]

It's a somewhat long process with mkvtoolnix, but after you rip the disc with the big file(thank the company that mastered it that way) you need to do something like this:

Open the big file in VLC, or other player that can read, and work, with chapters.
Open mkvtoolnix and Add the big file.
I think you'll also need to open up the file in the Chapter Editor so you can get the chapter times.

I can't remember where it is in mkvtoolnix, but you need to find the part where you can split the files, and select to split at timecodes.

With the player, find the start of the chapter that you need to split(sometimes there are more chapters in a file like intros and outros and commercial breaks). In this case you'll have the fun of doing this 31 times(thank the company that mastered it that way).

With the approximate chapter time from the player, find that specific time in the chapter editor. Copy and paste that value into the splitting information in the splitting menu. Lather, rinse, repeat.

After the last timecode has been entered, tell mkvtoolnix to mux the file and it should spit out 32 files. You can then rename them.

If there is an easier way to do this, I would love to hear it!

SC

[Woodstock]

Rip with MakeMKV, then open the big file in Handbrake. You can specify the range of chapters to include in the output file, give that a name, and click "Add to queue". Select next range of chapters, assign name, add that one, etc. Then click Start Encode. HB works its way through the queue, generating recoded files from the one big on.

Have one such rip going on right now...

[OliverTwist]

Thank you both so much!

I started working with mkvmerge and have gotten the hang of it.

Does Handbrake allow you to do any simple editing to the file, such as adding a fade-in or fade-out at the start and end of chapters?

I'm trying to extract the Night on Bald Mountain sequence from Fantasia and would like to add a fade-out at the end of the chapter.

[Woodstock]

No, Handbrake just transcodes the file (uncompress whatever format it is in now, then encode it as something else). The default settings will generally compress a DVD by at least 50% while maintaining the same video quality, but you can trade off output quality for smaller files if you want. A typical 24 minute animated feature from Bluray will drop about 70% in size, from 4GB down to .8GB.

But, changing transitions is not something it was intended to do.

[Knocks]

No need to re-encode anything. Just use the script in this post.

http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic ... 690#p23236

It's super easy and takes a minute or two.

[blofeldscat]

After considerable research, and trialling various software, I have found an uncomplicated workflow for extracting chapters (and sections) from MKV files, without re-encoding, that have been produced by MakeMKV.

My workflow is great for those who have no desire, or do not posses the knowledge, to utilise scripts such as those made available via this forum thread.

Following conform of Blu-ray material to an MKV file in MakeMKV, I then load the MKV into a prog called Bigasoft Total Video Converter. This software facilitates the extraction of one, several, or all chapters from the MKV. If a customised extracted clip is required (i.e. sections which fall outside the limits of chaptered material), the Bigasoft software allows the marking and extraction of the required section via a process of simply navigating to a preferred 'in point', marking it, and then navigating to the preferred 'out point' and marking it.

It needs emphasising that the Bigasoft software can produce clips that are not re-encoded. But for those who actually want to produce smaller files, or files for a particular device, the software allows this across a range of formats and device targets.

For literally years now, I've been looking for a straightforward way to extract only 'the good stuff' from my purchased action/sci-fi Blu-rays so that I can play the clips in a playlist on my HTPC.

I wish to make it clear that I have no affiliation with the Bigasoft people. I'm just so chuffed that I can finally achieve my aim in so uncomplicated a manner that I wanted to share it with others who might find the above workflow a boon.