www.makemkv.com

I've been using MakeMKV to rip my Blu-rays and Handbrake to convert/compress them to smaller-sized M4V files. The odd thing is that some of my MKV files properly make the transition and some don't. The files that don't will display a duration time in VLC of 00:00:00--instead of the length of the movie--and refuse to play (QuickTime won't recognize these M4V files either). Anyone have any ideas?

Successful MKV to M4V conversions:
The Book of Eli
The Prestige
Blood Diamond

Problematic MKV to M4V conversions:
The Grey
The Last Samurai
American Gangster

HandBrake Info:
The only changes I make to the default settings are changing the audio quality from 160kps to 192kps for each file.

https://forum.handbrake.fr/

At the very least, a HandBrake encode log would give some useful information.

Good point, I'll post a log comparison this evening.

Ok, I figured this one out:

"By Default, HandBrake outputs MP4 files with 32-bit chunk offset atoms (stco). This means that if the file grows above 4GB, it will be rendered useless.
Enabling this [large file size] option will force HandBrake to use 64-bit chunk offset atoms (co64)..."

The MKV files that worked with the normal setting--when ripped from the Blu-ray disc--where no larger than 18.97GB. At this size, they were able to be compressed to just under 4GB. Any MKV larger than that, needed to use the high-profile setting in handbrake. My first run with this setting compressed a 28GB file down to 12GB. Still large, but could be worse.

Or you could use the Normal preset and enable "Large file size"