MakeMKV vs. Handbrake

[Paternoster]

Hello, I am new to all of this so I apologise for my stupid questions in advance.

In Handbrake I can chose the chose the target codec to encode to, but it seems I cannot do that in MakeMKV

So I have these questions:

1. What codec will MakeMKV actually use for
- regular old DVDs
- regular Blueray Disks
- UHD 4k Blueray Disks

2. Within macOS Sonoma, how can I tell what codec a mkv file actually has

3. If I want to be able to chose the target codec, how should I rip the disk? Should I first use makeMKV to copy it to disk and then reencode with another software (e.g., Handbrake)? Or should I just to the whole process directly in Handbrake. What other software would you suggest I use on macOS with M2 MacBook Pro?

[Woodstock]

Not sure what you mean by "versus"...

Handbrake is for converting video, for the most part. Handbrake can use other software to rip from a disk, but that's not what it is intended for.

MakeMKV is for ripping disks. It will not convert video; you will get what the original has. Once you have it on disk, you can play it or convert it as you wish, and handbrake generally works fine for that.

[TheStill]

You wouldn't use either or but both together.

First you would use MakeMKV to rip the video from the disc. Depending on what you have ripped this maybe a pretty large file e.g. 50GB. If you have plenty of storage space you may choose to keep this file as it is.

Secondly if the file size is to big you would use handbrake to convert the file to meet your requirements.

If you want to see what codec a file is using open the file in VLC and click Tools -> Codec Information.

[dcoke22]

2. Within macOS Sonoma, how can I tell what codec a mkv file actually has

The program MediaInfo is useful for seeing details about .mkv files. I use the command line version installed via HomeBrew on my Mac all the time. In any case, it is handy no matter how you install it.

[Paternoster]

You wouldn't use either or but both together.

First you would use MakeMKV to rip the video from the disc. Depending on what you have ripped this maybe a pretty large file e.g. 50GB. If you have plenty of storage space you may choose to keep this file as it is.

Secondly if the file size is to big you would use handbrake to convert the file to meet your requirements.

If you want to see what codec a file is using open the file in VLC and click Tools -> Codec Information.

But Handbrake can rip Discs too (I tried it with DVDs only so far) why do I „need“ MakeMKV then?

[Woodstock]

It depends on speed. Handbrake depends on other software installed to do ripping. If you're on a Mac, that software is generally available. On other machines, it depends on what else you have installed, and where it is on your system. Example: DVDs (often) can be ripped by handbrake if you install a library from VLC. It won't work with every disk, though, and it won't work with Blurays unless you have a DIFFERENT library installed.

Typically, MakeMKV will run at the speed your drive is capable of reading the disk, vs. how fast your processor can compress the data. I have run "marathon" sessions where I would rip dozens of disks, while queuing them up for handbrake to process. It's "fun" when you are a full week ahead of handbrake processing, still ripping disks. The various Star Trek series took about a day to rip each one (30 or more Blurays each).

It's possible to rip multiple disks at a time, if you have multiple drives. Start a copy of MakeMKV for each one (there's a parameter you want to set to enable that), and you can rip that many disks at the same time, at 2-20 times the playback speed. Handbrake, running a single task, might make .5 to 2 times speed, depending on your parameters and processor.

If you're only processing a single disk a day, it's not a big issue, though. Generally, though, your encode speed has to be regulated so that the drive never stops... if it stops, your encode ends where it stopped.

[Paternoster]

Thank you, that was a super helpful and comprehensive answer.