Complete newbie, a couple of questions

[SpoonieTurtle]

Hi, I'm totally new to ripping DVDs and a bit behind the technological times anyway. My main purpose for ripping DVDs is because my laptop drive is temperamental when playing them; I was using Handbrake to rip but it was only handling half the discs I want to rip properly.

My main question is: with the unlocked Beta version of MakeMKV is it possible to compress the files in any way? I was ripping them at 720p in Handbrake and .mp4 files seemed to be smaller than .mkv but not by much, whereas with MakeMKV the files are about twice the size of the 720p files. The MakeMKV file details only tell me the bitrate, not the resolution, and I don't know enough about any of this to work out why there's such a difference in size.

I'm not sure what resolution the original DVDs are; they're an early 2000s release of an 80s/90s programme, so better quality than the original broadcast but certainly not full HD! They're PAL, if that makes any difference (I'm in the UK so that's our default).

I'm perfectly happy to run the files through Handbrake if it's necessary; I just wondered if there was a way in MakeMKV to start with - I downloaded it just as the May 2020 Beta key expired so I haven't yet seen what options are in the unlocked version.

I've had a bit of a browse over a coupel of days but it's quite overwhelming with constant brain fog to find the bits of information I need.
Thanks in advance for any help!

[basdf]

Short answer: it really depends on the original DVD video. MakeMKV is a ripping program only. It doesn't really compress video files and is not a true substitute for Handbrake, although it gives you some of the same options (which video, audio, and captions to rip).

1. MakeMKV rips the "raw" files into MKV format. A typical DVD movie mkv will be around 3-4GB in size or 6-7GB in size (depending on the DVD being 4.7GB or around 8GB and how much extra content they pack in). You cannot compress or encode smaller files with MakeMKV alone. MakeMKV is simply a ripper program.

2. Bitrate, generally a better measure for quality, is different from the video resolution. 720p is typically 1280 pixels wide x 720 pixels tall (for regular widescreen movies). I won't get into anamorphism, but you can look it up if you're curious. The bitrate you encode them at (1000kbps, 2000kbps, 512kbps) will determine how clear/good they look. You can have a 720p video that looks terrible if you encode it at say 128kbps (video) using Handbrake.

You may be using a constant quality (I believe the default in Handbrake is 20, which "degrades" the video slightly but has much better disk space usage (1GB instead of 4GB). I generally use custom presets with constant bitrates rather than constant quality. My presets result in more predictable filesizes, although they theoretically can take up more space than constant quality. The default constant quality can change the bitrate depending on how much movement/action is in a given movie. Typically action movies like Transformers require higher average bitrates to get better looking video whereas something like A Beautiful Mind, which is mostly stationary and dialogue-based, can get similar image quality at a lower average bitrate.

The bitrate for DVD video is usually around 4000kbps, audio is usually 448kbps - 192kbps depending on track and channels.

3. MakeMKV is free in beta (which is its current status). You aren't missing any features (as far as I know), you just have to periodically either update the program to the newest version or enter a registration key. They can sometimes be a few days late with posting the updated key.

4. PAL shouldn't really affect anything. The only thing you might run into is if you try to convert a 25FPS video into a different framerate, but in Handbrake I believe the default is "Same as source." Obviously if you try to go to 30FPS there may be issues with audio/video synchronization, but again, I just keep it the same as the source (which over here is either 23.987 FPS (movie) or 29.97 FPS (TV)). "Same as source" should avoid any of those issues.

[Grauhaar]

I was ripping them at 720p in Handbrake

Sure ?

The nativ resolution for PAL DVD are 720x576i50 (Interlaced). This results after the deinterlace process to 25 Fullframes. If you have specified 720p (this is always the vertical lines specifcation) you waste a lot of time and spcae to "pimp" the 576i interlaced to 720p progressive, means from 50 Halframes to 50 Fullframes without any benefit.

They're PAL

DVDs uses YUV to store the data. The analog (!) FBAS or SVideo output signal to the TV use PAL. In the digital world PAL or NTSC format is obsolet.

[SpoonieTurtle]

basdf thank you, that explains everything really clearly! I suppose for converting/compressing on Handbrake it will be a case of trying out different settings to see what gives me the best quality/file size combo. Annoyingly enough the smaller (Handbrake) MKVs don't tell me the bitrate in the details tab - it literally says 0kbps - though the MP4s are around 1300-1700kbps for different files from the same series.

Grauhaar I was using the Fast720p30 preset in Handbrake but the files came out 706x576 or 710x576 for different ones, with the frame rate set 'same as source' resulting in 25fps. I just knew the 1080p preset gave much larger files and I didn't think there was any benefit with the source being DVD, and didn't want to go down to 480p in case it lost quality ... like I said, I don't know very much about this! I've only needed to be vaguely familiar with resolution for displays.

From your comment it's just dawned on me that the p stands for progressive scan, not, er, pixels! For future reference, would I be better off using the 576p25 preset then?

[basdf]

basdf thank you, that explains everything really clearly! I suppose for converting/compressing on Handbrake it will be a case of trying out different settings to see what gives me the best quality/file size combo. Annoyingly enough the smaller (Handbrake) MKVs don't tell me the bitrate in the details tab - it literally says 0kbps - though the MP4s are around 1300-1700kbps for different files from the same series.

Grauhaar I was using the Fast720p30 preset in Handbrake but the files came out 706x576 or 710x576 for different ones, with the frame rate set 'same as source' resulting in 25fps. I just knew the 1080p preset gave much larger files and I didn't think there was any benefit with the source being DVD, and didn't want to go down to 480p in case it lost quality ... like I said, I don't know very much about this! I've only needed to be vaguely familiar with resolution for displays.

From your comment it's just dawned on me that the p stands for progressive scan, not, er, pixels! For future reference, would I be better off using the 576p25 preset then?

Happy to help.

I'm guessing you're using Windows Explorer to view the mkv properties? At least that's what happens when I used it. I switched over to Linux Mint a couple years ago but I remember mkv files not having their properties read correctly in the File Properties window on Windows 10/8/7.

Yes, the p is progressive and i stands for interlaced. 1080p, 1080i, etc. I personally dislike interlacing, but that's probably because I have progressive screens to look at.

Quick explanation of anamorphism (if you're interested)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwuAKi1ZB4&t=19m

I'm not as much of technical expert as Grauhaar, though, especially with PAL or YUV stuff. From what I understand 576p25 is typical PAL for 4x3 video. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/364 ... or-768x576
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/576p

[SpoonieTurtle]

Happy to help.

I'm guessing you're using Windows Explorer to view the mkv properties? At least that's what happens when I used it. I switched over to Linux Mint a couple years ago but I remember mkv files not having their properties read correctly in the File Properties window on Windows 10/8/7.

Yes, the p is progressive and i stands for interlaced. 1080p, 1080i, etc. I personally dislike interlacing, but that's probably because I have progressive screens to look at.

Quick explanation of anamorphism (if you're interested)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwuAKi1ZB4&t=19m

I'm not as much of technical expert as Grauhaar, though, especially with PAL or YUV stuff. From what I understand 576p25 is typical PAL for 4x3 video. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/364 ... or-768x576
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/576p

Thank you, yes I'm on Windows 10 (eh, it's miles better than Vista or 8!) and yep, just checked and even MKVs I've downloaded don't show the properties properly. I guess I never realised because the source from which I got them told me the properties to start with. However! It turns out that in at least one media player I can find all the details, which is very helpful, incredibly cool, and I wouldn't have thought to look had you not prompted me down that path of trying to find them

I had a look at the links you provided but boy do I know nothing! Reading the wiki is kind of, the words all make sense but I can't quite connect it with anything I already know - a few years ago before I was ill I may have been able to get my head round it but now I can't seem to dredge up enough context from my mental archives to make much sense of anything I've just read But now that I can see all the details of the files, I might be able to start piecing together at least the things I *need* to know, if nothing else!

[Harmonium]

Hi,

I'm using an OPPO 203 as a player. Is there a way to access the chapters list? The Popup menu and Menu button are not working. And it is working when I use the original disk.

Thanks!