a/v out of sync on mac

[questionmark]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but if so, I was unable to find the relevant posts.
I ripped a movie file from a blue-ray, only 25 minutes long. It plays fine in VLC, but not in Quicktime player. The sound gets more and more out of sync over the course of the file.
I wanted to convert to something smaller. I tried mp4, avi and mov, but the sound is always out of sync and even VLC does not play these converted files correctly. I don't know how far this is due to makemkv or mkv in general (on the Mac?), because I avoid mkv files as much as I can (because of the size). Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any other blue-ray ripper that works on the Mac at all, so I would very much appreciate some help with this.

[Woodstock]

On the Mac, your best bet seems to be to use MakeMKV to rip the disk, then Handbrake to compress the files into something that Quicktime can handle better. It can still retain full resolution.

Are you playing a MakeMKV-created MKV file, or from an MakeMKV-created backup? I wasn't aware that Apple had added MKV support to Quicktime.

[questionmark]

Thanks for your reply.
I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean with "Makemkv-created backup". Perhaps I didn't explain it well enough.

Both VLC player and Quicktime player can play mkv-files. Just that the ones that I made with makemkv were out of sync in Quicktime. And as I also already said, the converted files of these mkvs - I tried avi, mp4 and mov - were also out of sync, and even VCL player could not play them correctly.

I used a different converter though, MacX, which I usually like better than Handbrake. MacX compresses much more without noticeable loss in quality, is faster, has more options etc. But meanwhile, I installed Handbrake again and converted with that: that DOES work, only that the files are much larger. If I compress those again, that will reduce the quality.

I just never had problems like this before with mkv-files from other sources, neither playback nor conversion. The only thing I don't usually like about them is the huge size (takes up space and the navigation is sluggish, simple playback is usually smooth).

[Woodstock]

MakeMKV-created backup is when you use the File->Backup option that is available for Bluray disks (also on the tool bar when a BD is loaded, greyed out for DVDs). This option copies the contents of the BD to the hard drive, optionally decrypting the video files as it does so. You then can use a player that understands BD files and structure to play it, but it will play "just like the BD", including menus.

VLC can work with this, as can Handbrake as a source. Not sure about Quicktime; haven't tried it. If the audio still gets out of whack, the issue is the the source material.

During the rip, were any AV sync errors displayed? To see them, you have to enable them in the MakeMKV preferences, General section, "Show AV synchronization messages".

[questionmark]

Then I used an makemkv created single mkv-file, not a "backup".

No, there weren't any error messages, and like I said, VLC plays these files correctly, and the blue-ray itself also plays fine with Macgos blue-ray player, so I don't think it's due to the source material.

I havent tried it, but I doubt that Quicktime could play things that look like blue-rays since Apple as such doesn't support blue-rays. And VLC can only do it if it is decrypted.

[Romansh]

If MakeMKV's MKV output play in sync via VLC, then it's a QuickTime or QuickTime-related bug. You can only play MKV files in QT via the now discontinued Perian plugin anyway…

[questionmark]

Yes, I have Perian. I think it's great, and I didn't realize that that was one of the things it did.

But why do other mkv-files play fine in QT then?

Why do the mkv-files made by makemkv have to be so huge?

I won't ask why it has to be mkv-files in the first place.

[Woodstock]

Why do they have to be so huge? Because they're huge on the DVD or (especially) BD, and MakeMKV copies what is on the disk into the file. It doesn't change its encoding, it just copies.

There are exceptions - some audio recoding is available. But, you're going to get the video as it is on the original disk. Which means 5GB for a 25 minute episode, that compresses to .5GB when recoded as h.264 video with Handbrake or similar tools.

[questionmark]

The data on the blue-ray of the movie is approx. 7 GB, the mkv-file is 5 GB (without any audio reduction), so it seems to me that there must be some compression. The mp4-file made with Handbrake is 3 GB, the one with MacX only 1 GB (without significant loss in quality; the original print of the film is very bad, not even worth a blue-ray anyway). So there are cases where mkv is simply inconvenient (especially on the Mac) and not worth the trouble with regard to quality.

[Romansh]

But why do other mkv-files play fine in QT then?

Lower bitrate. QuickTime tends to lose A/V sync when it can't decode the video track fast enough.