www.makemkv.com

Anyway to find out which files to go with, if i select the files the only thing that changes is the name 0001.mpls or 0016.mpls both play fine, for instance everest has two of these ?
Thanks

I assume you mean Everest (2015)? I don't have that movie, so all I can do is speculate.

On a blu-ray (or UHD), the actual movie is contained in .m2ts file(s). If you make a decrypted backup of a disc, you can see & play these files in the /BDMV/STREAM/ folder inside the backup. The blu-ray specifications require them to be stored there. All of those files are required to be named with a 5 digit number. #####.m2ts (e.g. 00365.m2ts or 59999.m2ts or 00012.m2ts)

.mpls files can be thought of as a playlist of .m2ts files. .mpls files also contain chapter information and can describe the audio and subtitle tracks available.

In MakeMKV, when you highlight a title (on the left), you'll see something called the segment map in the info on the right. That segment map is the ordered list of .m2ts files that make up that title. It might be one .m2ts file or it might be 20 (multiple .m2ts files is how a single disc contains both the theatrical release and the Director's Cut of the same movie).

So, if a movie has multiple .mpls files/titles that appear to be the same… if the segment map is the same between them, then the video is the same. It is the same .m2ts files in the same order. And when this is the case, usually there are differences in audio tracks available in a title. Often one will be just English and Japanese and the other will be English and every other language. Or, one will be normal audio and the other will have a commentary track. There's no rhyme or reason sometimes why certain discs are authored the way they are.

https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=39757
^ that suggests the movie has a commentary track… I wonder if that's the difference?

RobTi wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2024 5:50 pm

Anyway to find out which files to go with...

See this post.

Edit: Just noticed you're the same poster who asked in that thread. Can only repeat that the methods I posted there haven't failed me yet.

Edit: I'm just ripping a few borrowed UHD's (I'm sure we all do that)! I noticed that Wolf Of Wall Street has two titles of the same size, so to explain the Process Monitor method of identifying the correct .mpls (YouTube tutorial linked in the post) I ripped the whole disc and then used the Process Monitor method. I'm aware that some say this method is a bit dated, but as previously mentioned it hasn't failed me yet. I've also seen variations on the Process Monitor setup posted on this forum but cant find that thread now. Edit: That thread (variations on the procedure below). A Better Way To Find The Correct Playlist/Segment Map

Windows, no idea of Linux/Mac.

Get MS Process Monitor: Setting up the mpls filter in Process Monitor:
From the Filter menu choose Filter, a dialog will appear allowing you to create a new filter. From the first dropdown choose Path. In the second dropdown choose Contains. In the text dialog enter mpls – Click Add, click Apply, click OK, the filter is now created. Any pre configured filters for other stuff were deleted.



Procedure:
Loaded the disc and noticed two titles of same size:



So to be sure, ripped the full disc. Load the disc again - don't click as you normally would to read the disc and instead use the folder icon with the arrow on the MakeMKV toolbar, tick Decrypt video files in the dialog that pops up then OK to rip the full disc. When the copy has completed, play the ripped folder in PowerDVD, and as in the linked Youtube tutorial start Process Monitor recording events when you click to play the main movie, it shows which .mpls is playing.



Make a note of or remember the .mpls which Process Monitor showed you, close Process Monitor or stop it recording events from File menu. Now back in MakeMKV/File/Open and browse for the index.bdmv file and MakeMKV will load the ripped disc. Scroll down the left column until you see the correct .mpls. and choose which streams you want to keep and rip the main movie.



Main movie ripped, do whatever you do with it, encode whatever. Optionally delete ripped disc folder or whatever.

Note that with BluRay, rather than ripping the whole disc, you can just get to the main menu screen in PowerDVD, start Process Monitor recording events and then play whatever title you want, and Process Monitor will show the relevant .mpls

An Update To This:
As is known, Lionsgate BluRay's use playlist obfuscation - as on Deepwater Horizon. Although this is mentioned in other threads on this subject, it may be worth repeating here. The Process Monitor method above indicates 00352.mpls but there is no 00352.mpls in MakeMKV, a look at the MakeMKV log shows "Title 00352.mpls is equal to title 00185.mpls and was skipped" so rip 00185.mpls and sure enough it's the main movie.