Experienced Mac MakeMKV users - Please Help

[Samazar]

Hi fellow members - I am a new here and came across a video that triggered a strong interest in my endeavour to find a simple and effective solution that would allow me to backup all my 2K and 4K blu ray movies. I an interested in generating 1:1 copies that are an exact replica of the original and do not compromise video or audio quality.

There is a solution out there that has been designed to accomplish this like a breeze, it's called Kaleidescape and it is excellent but it's rather expensive. Hence, I've been looking for a way to:-

1. RIP all my blu ray discs (1:1), movie only and must include Dolby TrueHD/DTS HD Master/Atmos/DTS:X and HDR/SDR meta files.
2. Use a front-end presentation or server app that presents all my movies and documentaries on the screen in a way that is similar to Kaleidescape.

At the moment I am using an NVIDIA Shield 2016 Console which I believe is sufficient as an independent movie server. Hence, I could attach a big-capacity USB 3 external drive to my Shield and then use an app to present all the movies on the screen and play them back without any transcoding. Sound would be bit-streamed to my processor.

I hear Plex is a good option for this but people also mention Kodi.

Any input from experienced fellow members and AV enthusiasts will be appreciated.

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Plex is a bit hit and miss at the moment with regards to HDR, and you'll have a hard time finding out what their plans are in that area, as the developers are hard to juggle. Their software is also pretty buggy (I've been a Plex user for 8 years). Take a look at Infuse instead, as the developer is extremely easy to communicate with, and has a wider range of supported codecs compared to Plex.

[Samazar]

Sorry for the lat reply but thanks for the information.

Any new developments since your response ?

[dcoke22]

I have limited experience with both Plex and Infuse. I use an AppleTV 4K as the front-end. It is my observation that Plex is the most popular solution but each one has fans.

Both Plex and Infuse will play 4K files and basic HDR. All my reading about playing Dolby Vision suggests it is complicated, but possible if one really wants it. It is only recently that MakeMKV can save the Dolby Vision bits: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=22513. I suspect playing Dolby Vision content will get easier in the future.

As I understand it, TrueHD & DTS HD Master audio both require a license for a player and as such, in the case of Infuse, one gets access to them only on the paid version of Infuse. This does work and Infuse isn't that expensive. It only is available for Apple things, however, and may not be suitable if you're still using an Nvidia Shield. The Nvidia Shield, however, will supposedly do TrueHD, etc. audio passthrough to your receiver, assuming your receiver can decode all the various formats.

All of this stuff is constantly moving. The file formats of today may not be relevant in the future, just like all those VHS tapes I purchased in the 90s are irrelevant today. The most recent versions of MakeMKV can take care of getting all the bits off a DVD, Blu-ray or UHD and into an open container format, mkv. From there, the details of one's situation dictate what happens next. On a fancy 4K TV with the right hardware, maybe watch the raw rips. When loading up your phone or iPad to go on a trip, transcode a 30GB blu-ray rip down to an excellent quality 8GB .h264 file. In the future, when the file format of today is no longer the format of choice, there will undoubtedly be a way to convert your mkvs from today into the format of tomorrow.

[Samazar]

Hi dcoke22 and sorry for the delayed reply.

Any idea how things stand currently pertaining to my original post and your last response?

Here are a few points:-

1. Yes, I am using an NVIDIA Shield and KODI for playback.

2. I need a player that can present all the movies on screen in a simple and elegant manner.

3. It would be nice to categorise them e.g. Action, Musical, Documentary etc.

4. Yes, I'd definitely want to bit-stream everything to my processor. Video (2K, 4K, HDR) Audio (all formats including object sound).

[dcoke22]

I'm not really sure what you're asking. You said you're using Kodi on a Nvidia Shield. Do you not like that interface?