www.makemkv.com

Quick question. Background. Plex + Roku for primary video playback. For most of my library I keep both a 4k and 1080 version on the server to avoid the on the fly transcoding I'm having good luck running the 4k MKV rips native without having to transcode, willing to eat the extra storage size for the simplicity.
Most of the discs I've bought come with both the 4k and the 1080 discs as a set.

Question - for my 1080 files is there any meaningful difference between using the native 1080 MKV file (second rip) vs transcoding the 4k down to 1080 via Handbrake?
I'm guessing there isn't much difference, but wanted to get some other opinions.

"It depends."

I'd go with the 1080p rip because it is optimized for that size. But, if you want HDR at 1080p, you're going to have to start with the UHD and transcode down.

For that to work well, you'll also need a beta version of handbrake, to maintain the 10-bit color.

I agree with Woodstock. The HDR and Dolby Vision on most UHDs add complication to transcoding. Beta versions of Handbrake 1.4 can retain the HDR, but I don't think Handbrake will retain Dolby Vision. There are threads on this forum about ways to transcode a 4K UHD with Dolby Vision and retain the DV, but it is multiple steps and tools to get it done.

For me, I just leave my UHD rips alone. They're really only useful for watching on the one 4K TV I have in my home theater. Everything else (other TVs, laptops, phones & tablets), the 1080 is usually more than enough. Standard blu-ray rips are the ones I take the time to transcode because meaningful space savings can be had with little noticeable loss of quality, especially when watching from a laptop or tablet when traveling.

Woodstock, dcoke22, - solid feedback, thanks.