MKV Ripped File Is Lesser Quality Than Source DVD

[myorion]

This is my first forum post so please let me know where to place this post if this is the wrong board.

I have an LG BP60NB10 ripper/writer, a Sony UBP-X800M2 4K/Ultra HD/HDR blu-ray playback, and a powerful HP Omen desktop PC and an LG 34" monitor 3440x14404 HDR 10-bit color. Using MakeMKV Beta, I have ripped a few DVDs with the following results:

1. When I play the MKV files that MakeMKV created and stored on my computer, they have a grainy look and the edges of features look somewhat blurry. It is like downloading 480p, or less, videos that have been greatly compressed.

2. Using DVDFab DVD Creator, I wrote the MKV files to a blu-ray disc BD-RE 25GB. When playing back the BD-RE disc with the newly written files, they were also grainy with blurry edges.

What do I need to do so that the ripped files retain the same visual quality as the source DVD?

[Woodstock]

You will find that the MKV file is the same as the disk - it's a copy of what is on the original.

What you write to your copied disk has been processed by DVDFab DVD Creator to make it fit on a 25GB disk, which is not the same thing as the MKV file. Arguments about the quality would have to be made on their forum, but they'll probably be answered by saying the quality was reduced to make it fit.

[dcoke22]

MakeMKV is making an exact copy of what's on your DVD, like Woodstock says. What you might be noticing is something called overscan. It is a relic of the analog era of television where it was expected that a television would cut off the edges of the image. Modern displays generally don't do overscan. Depending on the provenance of the source material on the DVD you might be seeing the edge of the image that was expected to be cut off.

It is also the case that modern disc players and televisions might do quite a lot of processing to 'improve' the look of low resolution and/or low bitrate sources like DVDs. A software player on a computer monitor will not do any of that processing, letting you see exactly what the source looks like.

The easiest way to make something from a DVD look better is find a version on a blu-ray.

[myorion]

Thanks for the replies, however, I must have misspoke. Let me try again. Let's forget about the DVDFab DVD Creator process of writing the MKV file to a DVD and just look at the creation of the MKV file.

My question is why is the MKV file created after running MakeMKV Beta is noticeably grainy and blurry (not a lot, but definitely noticeable), whereas the source DVD is not at all grainy or blurry? I'm not questioning at all if MakeMKV extracts exactly the file as it exists on the DVD. I believe that. So, I'm going to walk through my process and hopefully you can find something either in my process or my equipment:

1. I bought the LG BP60NB10

2. I did not flash the LG or run anything on it to change any firmware.

3. I plugged USB-C end of the USB "Y" connector cable into the LG USB-C port, and the other two USB-A connectors into two USB-A SS5 ports on my computer. I did not flash the LG unit. I bought it, took it out of the box, and plugged it into my computer.

4. I inserted my source DVD into the LG.

5. I opened MakeMKV Beta and it opened my DVD.

6. The icon of the "DVD Player" changed from grayed-out to a selectable state. I clicked on the DVD Player icon and MakeMKV Beta began creating the MKV files.

7. When MakeMKV Beta is finished, it shows with a checkmark the files successfully converted to .MKV.

8. I select the "Save Selected Titles, and MakeMKV Beta saves the .MKVs to the folder I selected (default folder MakeMKV creates).

9. When MakeMKV Beta has finished saving the .MKV files and gives me the "Finished" message, I go to the folder where the .MKV files have been saved, I click on one of them to open it, and it plays with noticeable lesser quality than the original DVD.

[Woodstock]

And the MKV that is saved is the same quality as what is on the disk. What are you using as a player to compare them? The same software?

VLC can play DVDs directly on most systems. It is a good comparison program, if you have the "play DVD" and "play a file" settings the same, in terms of filters.

[myorion]

Thanks Woodstock for your reply.

When you said, "And the MKV that is saved is the same quality as what is on the disk.", the MKV that is created and saved is NOT the same quality as the DVD. I am using 3 different video players: VLC, Movies & TV, and media player. The created MKV is the same lesser quality (not a lot, but noticeable) than the DVD when viewed on all three players.

I have attached 3 png files with screenshots of my steps. Unfortunately, I cannot give screenshots of the video as I'm sure that videos of, "The Mating Habits of Fish and Octopus in the Sea" are not allowed here. I'm sure you understand. However, the screenshots in the pngs are numbered to match the numbered steps below:

1. I open MKV asnd insert my DVD into the player.
2. thru 7. are the MKV settings
8. I select the icon circled in red to start MKV
9. When MKV is finished converting the files, I select the Save to Folder icon.
10. MKV has finished copying the files to the folder on my computer.

Please let me know if I have done something wrong in the above steps.

Then I opened some of the MKV files and compared them alongside with the source DVD video. The MKV files are slightly grainy and slightly blurry, not a lot, but enough to see a difference. I truly believe that it is something I'm doing. I truly believe MKV is copying the exact contents from the DVD. I'm not that conspiracy theorist person who goes around looking for something wrong with things. I havwe ran MakeMKV Beta on a total of 3 DVDs and have had the same results with all 3.

I'm hoping that you find something in my screenshots that makes you say, "Oh! That's what he's doing wrong!"

Best, Stephen

[Woodstock]

The MKV file generated by MakeMKV is a copy of what is on the disk, in terms of the tracks you select. The video is the same as what is on the disk, right down to the encoding used; the audio and subtitle tracks can be altered by settings (I often have them split).

Video playback depends on the player. VLC often is set up to "soften" video from disks, in part to deal with drop-outs and other flaws, but play files and streams exactly. You can configure it to play both the same, which is what I was indicating before. You can also tell it to soften stream/file playback, but that is not the default.

What are you proposing that MakeMKV or some other program do to make your player not compensate for the flaws in disk playback?

[Coopervid]

Thanks for the replies, however, I must have misspoke. Let me try again. Let's forget about the DVDFab DVD Creator process of writing the MKV file to a DVD and just look at the creation of the MKV file.

My question is why is the MKV file created after running MakeMKV Beta is noticeably grainy and blurry (not a lot, but definitely noticeable), whereas the source DVD is not at all grainy or blurry? I'm not questioning at all if MakeMKV extracts exactly the file as it exists on the DVD. I believe that. So, I'm going to walk through my process and hopefully you can find something either in my process or my equipment:

1. I bought the LG BP60NB10

2. I did not flash the LG or run anything on it to change any firmware.

3. I plugged USB-C end of the USB "Y" connector cable into the LG USB-C port, and the other two USB-A connectors into two USB-A SS5 ports on my computer. I did not flash the LG unit. I bought it, took it out of the box, and plugged it into my computer.

4. I inserted my source DVD into the LG.

5. I opened MakeMKV Beta and it opened my DVD.

6. The icon of the "DVD Player" changed from grayed-out to a selectable state. I clicked on the DVD Player icon and MakeMKV Beta began creating the MKV files.

7. When MakeMKV Beta is finished, it shows with a checkmark the files successfully converted to .MKV.

8. I select the "Save Selected Titles, and MakeMKV Beta saves the .MKVs to the folder I selected (default folder MakeMKV creates).

9. When MakeMKV Beta has finished saving the .MKV files and gives me the "Finished" message, I go to the folder where the .MKV files have been saved, I click on one of them to open it, and it plays with noticeable lesser quality than the original DVD.

Please apply logic. There is nothing wrong how you are creating the copies. And they are not in any way degraded by Makemkv. Your trouble starts when and with what you are playing the files. Please check VLC or MPC-HC on a PC or put them on an USB stick and plug it in your TV or standalone player if they are supporting playing back MKV files. Many TVs and players do.

[myorion]

Hi again.

I'm not proposing that MKV do anything as I believe what I am seeing is not due to MKV at all. I didn't hear you say anything about my MKV settings so I assume they are not a factor.

I am viewing the source DVD differently than how I view the MKV files. The source DVD is played from a direct HDMI connection from my Sony UBP-X800M2 to my LG 3440x1440 monitor, whereas the MKV files on my computer are viewed using computer video playblack programs (VLC, Movies & TV, Media Player) from the HDMI connection on my computer directly to my LG 3440x1440 monitor.

Which of the following five blu-Ray players do others say is the best quality for DVD and Blu-Ray ripping:

1. LG BP60NB10
2. ASUS BW-16D1X-U
3. Archgon MD-8107-U3YC-UHDB-S
4. Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD or BDR-X13U-S
5. Something else not listed here

MakeMKV comes highly recommended mainly because of it's lossless exact reproduction of the DVD contents into MKV files. I believe my problem has nothing to do with MakeMKV. I will take your recommendations and look at the settings on my playback programs. If I do found something that works for me and may help others then I will post it here in this forum.

Best, Stephen

[Coopervid]

Again you are on the wrong track. Your hardware is fine and can't degrade anything. Put the MKV on an USB stick and stick it in your Sony player. Watch and post again.

[myorion]

To Coopervid.

Thanks!!! Yes, after creating the MKV files, then copying them to a USB, then plugging the USB into my DVD//BD player, selecting the USB option on the DVD/BD player, the movie image quality on the USB is EXACTLY the same as the source DVD!!! I experimented with other USBs that I have and when plugged directly into the DVD/BD player the videos are awesome just like the source DVD.

I did other experimenting and the source of the lesser quality is my computer. When bypassing the computer and going straight to the USB port on the DVD/BD player, the video is high quality. When playing through my computer, it is lesser quality. I'm going to assume I'm missing necessary drivers on my computer, OR, would an internal DVD/BD player be an answer?

I tried writing the MKVs to a BD-RE disk, then playing the disc on my BD player, but it gives me the same lesser quality. I want to make my own compilation discs from various DVDs.

What to do next? Stephen

[Coopervid]

Identify the player that degrades the quality. VLC and MPC-HC shouldn't. Applying logic: Get rid of your current player.

[dcoke22]

The Sony UBP-X800M2 has a 4K upscaling feature. As I mentioned the other day, a modern disc player might be doing quite a lot of processing to improve the look of a DVD. Your experiments of playing the .mkv file on your Sony player would seem to confirm that the Sony player is processing the DVD to make it look 'better'.

I think the correct characterization to have is your computer is showing you what the DVDs really look like. The Sony is processing the video to make it look the way you see it when the Sony plays the file/disc.

If you're really stuck with only DVD sources and you really want them to look better you could try some upscaling software. I have not personally used it, but others on this forum have spoken about Topaz Video AI. It isn't free but it seems well regarded. I'm sure there are other upscaling software that you could use as well.

[myorion]

To dcoke22 and Coopervid.

After doing some digging, the main features that some set-top Blu-Ray players like mine have that can enhance DVDs visually are upscaling, hardware acceleration, and de-interlacing. The somewhat grainy and blurriness I see in the MKV files are exactly what the DVD files have, so MKV was accurately copying the exact contents of the DVD. The Blu-Ray player is taking the same contents and enhancing them to "correct" (not the best word) the graininess and blurriness.

But, I'm sure the two of you were way ahead of me on this. I had to do the research on my own to understand.

On a different note, in the process of researching, I downloadined and installed K-Lite Codec Pack. I also tried viewing my MKV files in VLC, MHC, PotPlayer, Movies & TV, and Media Player without making any changes to them. The only one where the MKV files looked exactly like the Blou-Ray player was the PotPlayer. However, I'm hoping you all might tell me how to set VLC and MHC to view my MKVs like PotPlayer and my Blu-Ray Player. Also, are there other "fixes" I can download to help the software players to view my MKVs like PotPlayer?

Thank you all very much for your help. Stephen