I've been using makemkv for a while and have processed tons of DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K discs to add to my now extensive library.
There is one minor thing that confuses me, and searching the forums has not yielded any answers (or maybe my search terms were ineffective).
Many, if not both disks, especially 4K discs, present two video tracks, in addition to smaller special feature tracks, that are roughly the same estimated filesize. One specifies the number of chapters, the other one does not.
Even a simple 4K like Sicario, which when I pop in the disk to my 4K player, doesn't have a lot in the way of audio and subtitle options, has two "main feature" tracks in makemkv, exactly as I described above.
I normally pick the one with the number of chapters shown.
Recently, I selected both tracks, and after viewing both mkvs in VLC, I can't for the life of my tell the difference. Each has the same runtime, almost identical file sizes (to the 100's of MB), and at first glance, the same codec stats in VLC.
Should I just continue to process the track with the chapters as I do now, and ignore the rest?
Disks with two "main feature" tracks
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shadow-archetype
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2025 3:15 pm
Re: Disks with two "main feature" tracks
Blu-ray discs and 4K UHDs have a fairly well defined structure to them. If you use MakeMKV to make a decrypted backup of one you can poke around in that structure and understand them a little bit.
You can make a backup of a disc in MakeMKV by selecting the icon of the yellow folder with the green arrow on the first screen of MakeMKV. Make sure the 'decrypt' box is checked on the next screen.
In the backup you'll find a BDMV folder and inside that will be a STREAM folder and PLAYLIST folder among other things. The STREAM folder will contain a bunch of #####.m2ts files. They're all named with a 5 digit number. These 'segments' are video files that you can play in most players like VLC (assuming you have made a decrypted backup). The PLAYLIST folder contains all the playlists the disc contains (*.mpls files I think).
In the context of a blu-ray, a playlist contains 1 or more segments (the .m2ts files). It also contains chapter information.
Blu-rays have a feature called seamless branching. A title can be defined by a playlist that has multiple segments. The player can play these segments, in order, and switch between them fast enough as to appear seamless to the viewer. This allows for a single disc to contain two versions of a movie, like the theatrical release and the director's cut. The movie would be chopped up into segments with one playlist defining the theatrical version and another playlist defining the director's cut version. Since most of the movie is usually the same in both versions of the movie, most of the segments used in both versions will be the same. The menu system on a disc lets one pick which version of the movie to watch, but what it is really doing is just loading one playlist or the other for the player to play.
Some movies might only have one segment, but multiple playlists might be defined for it. One playlist will 'allow' one subset of the language tracks while a different playlist will 'allow' a different subset of the language tracks. The menu system of the disc presents the 'correct' playlist based on the default language of the player. I've seen this most often where one playlist has every language but Japanese and another playlist has only the Japanese and English languages.
Not all the things you might watch on a blu-ray need to be defined by a playlist however. Some stuff might only be defined by a segment. When one picks that item to play in the disc's menu, the player loads the one segment defined and plays it.
What this all means is when MakeMKV reads a disc and tries to interpret the structure to present it to you in the interface so you can decide what to rip, it has to interpret all the playlists and all the segments since some titles on the disc might only be defined as a segment. Usually lots of segments are used in playlists and aren't 'standalone' titles and MakeMKV tries to eliminate those from the UI. It doesn't always do a perfect job. It generally errors on the side of showing you too much as opposed to not enough which would effectively hide titles from you.
When you find a disc that seemingly has two 'main feature' tracks, one with chapters and one without, you're probably seeing a case where MakeMKV got a little confused about the playlists and the segments and errored on the side of showing you too much. The one with the chapters is defined by a playlist. The one without is probably just the segment, not the playlist. In MakeMKV, if you highlight each title and look at the 'segment map' it will be the same for both. The 'source file' will show a playlist for one and a segment for the other. If you've made a decrypted backup, you can find that segment in the <backup>/BDMV/STREAM/ folder. If you play that segment, you'll see the video and every audio track, but it won't have any chapters since those are defined by the playlist.
This long winded explanation is why most of the time folks on the forum answer the question by just saying, "Pick the one with chapters," and leave it at that.
You can make a backup of a disc in MakeMKV by selecting the icon of the yellow folder with the green arrow on the first screen of MakeMKV. Make sure the 'decrypt' box is checked on the next screen.
In the backup you'll find a BDMV folder and inside that will be a STREAM folder and PLAYLIST folder among other things. The STREAM folder will contain a bunch of #####.m2ts files. They're all named with a 5 digit number. These 'segments' are video files that you can play in most players like VLC (assuming you have made a decrypted backup). The PLAYLIST folder contains all the playlists the disc contains (*.mpls files I think).
In the context of a blu-ray, a playlist contains 1 or more segments (the .m2ts files). It also contains chapter information.
Blu-rays have a feature called seamless branching. A title can be defined by a playlist that has multiple segments. The player can play these segments, in order, and switch between them fast enough as to appear seamless to the viewer. This allows for a single disc to contain two versions of a movie, like the theatrical release and the director's cut. The movie would be chopped up into segments with one playlist defining the theatrical version and another playlist defining the director's cut version. Since most of the movie is usually the same in both versions of the movie, most of the segments used in both versions will be the same. The menu system on a disc lets one pick which version of the movie to watch, but what it is really doing is just loading one playlist or the other for the player to play.
Some movies might only have one segment, but multiple playlists might be defined for it. One playlist will 'allow' one subset of the language tracks while a different playlist will 'allow' a different subset of the language tracks. The menu system of the disc presents the 'correct' playlist based on the default language of the player. I've seen this most often where one playlist has every language but Japanese and another playlist has only the Japanese and English languages.
Not all the things you might watch on a blu-ray need to be defined by a playlist however. Some stuff might only be defined by a segment. When one picks that item to play in the disc's menu, the player loads the one segment defined and plays it.
What this all means is when MakeMKV reads a disc and tries to interpret the structure to present it to you in the interface so you can decide what to rip, it has to interpret all the playlists and all the segments since some titles on the disc might only be defined as a segment. Usually lots of segments are used in playlists and aren't 'standalone' titles and MakeMKV tries to eliminate those from the UI. It doesn't always do a perfect job. It generally errors on the side of showing you too much as opposed to not enough which would effectively hide titles from you.
When you find a disc that seemingly has two 'main feature' tracks, one with chapters and one without, you're probably seeing a case where MakeMKV got a little confused about the playlists and the segments and errored on the side of showing you too much. The one with the chapters is defined by a playlist. The one without is probably just the segment, not the playlist. In MakeMKV, if you highlight each title and look at the 'segment map' it will be the same for both. The 'source file' will show a playlist for one and a segment for the other. If you've made a decrypted backup, you can find that segment in the <backup>/BDMV/STREAM/ folder. If you play that segment, you'll see the video and every audio track, but it won't have any chapters since those are defined by the playlist.
This long winded explanation is why most of the time folks on the forum answer the question by just saying, "Pick the one with chapters," and leave it at that.