Downsizing the files from MKV?

[mazzo]

Hi folks,

LOVE this software. But it does have a pretty high output (I'm sure because it's good quality) for the rips I'm making. I've just done the Leverage series and each episode is taking up around 2GB each. I've managed to fill up my 5TB hard drive pretty quickly with only a few films and shows.

I have Handbrake and am happy to pass it through that, but I'm a novice for ripping and sizing.

Does anyone have any recommendations for settings-- either on handbrake or MKV that will ensure good quality when watching, but also give me back some space for more rips?

thank you! Sorry for the basic question, I'm sure this is very obvious to most of you but this is all still very new to me.


Cheers!

Edit to add-- If there is a certain setting in MKV or handbrake, I'd be grateful for suggestions. But if you could also tell me where to find those settings if it's MKV, that would be grand.

These are the options I've got for Handbrake. let me know if any of these would be suitable?

[Woodstock]

DVD disks are already limited in their quality; using an RF setting around 20 is pretty much the best you can manage. How much this will shrink things depends on your source... For anime, I typically see a reduction to about 15-20% of original size, non-anime can be as much as 50% of original.

A lot of people set the RF higher (higher means more compression, smaller output), but I just use 20.

[mazzo]

DVD disks are already limited in their quality; using an RF setting around 20 is pretty much the best you can manage. How much this will shrink things depends on your source... For anime, I typically see a reduction to about 15-20% of original size, non-anime can be as much as 50% of original.

A lot of people set the RF higher (higher means more compression, smaller output), but I just use 20.

Thank you for the reply.

As I said, I am a novice, I do not understand your comment. What is an RF setting and where do I find that?

[Woodstock]

In handbrake, Video tab, Quality, Constant Quality, adjust it until 20 shows up for the RF. It sets the quality that the encoder uses to convert the video. If you select different presets, it changes the quality to match, but most of the older presets set 20 or 22.

[mazzo]

In handbrake, Video tab, Quality, Constant Quality, adjust it until 20 shows up for the RF. It sets the quality that the encoder uses to convert the video. If you select different presets, it changes the quality to match, but most of the older presets set 20 or 22.

Ah, thank you, I did find the RF. It was at 22, I've moved it to 20. But do I need to do something specifically for the preset tab (under title, as seen in image above)? Or is the move to 20 enough?

appreciate your time!

[Woodstock]

Generally speaking, there are a crapload of things you can change in handbrake...

My personal use of it has been anchored in the days prior to the removal of all support for Windows 7 and earlier, and I actually use one of the old "SVN" branches because it still generates command line interface output. When they dropped their forum years ago, I stopped visiting there, since (as a Win7 user) I couldn't update anymore.

I end up creating batch files from the output of the SVN version, with lines like:

Title "PatLabor New Files HD01" & "C:\Program Files\Handbrake0103\HandbrakeCLI.exe" -i "F:\Ripped Video\PatLabor\PatLabor New Files HD01.mkv" -t 1 -o "Z:\VideoSource\Anime\Dubbed\P\PatLabor\PatLabor New Files HD01.mkv" -f mkv --decomb -w 1440 --crop 0:0:242:238 --loose-anamorphic --modulus 2 -e x264 -q 20 --vfr -a 3,3,1,1 -E ac3,copy:dtshd,ac3,copy:dtshd -6 dpl2,none,dpl2,none -R 48,Auto,48,Auto -B 160,0,160,0 -D 0,0,0,0 --gain 0,0,0,0 --audio-fallback ac3 --subtitle 2,1 --subtitle-default=1 --markers="C:\Users\jeffb\AppData\Local\Temp\PatLabor New Files HD01-1-chapters.csv" --encoder-level="4.1" --encoder-profile=high --verbose=1 --disable-qsv-decoding

The "-q 20" in that command line sets the RF to 20, while all the other things define what to do with the various audio tracks, which subtitle tracks to select and where to put them, and other similar things that most people don't think about.

I recommend starting with the presets they provide, modifying them somewhat for short tests (tell it to encode short sections, preferably with complex video), and comparing the output to see if it suits your preferences. Then, save the modified preset to a new name, and load that preset as your (new) default. Going beyond that is possible if you're into that sort of thing, but most of us aren't.

[mazzo]

Thank you for the reply, but I do not understand a word of this comment.

I was asking whether any of these pre-sets in the image I've posted will do a good enough job to make the files smaller but still retain the quality of the video. That's why I posted the image, because I don't know what pre-set to pick that will keep the quality but help shrink the size of the file.

[Woodstock]

There wasn't a snapshot of the handbrake options in the original message I replied to, and my subsequent replies didn't take that snapshot into account. I only replied to what you posted as you went.

Based on what was there, your selections depend on what your source is. You can do like me, have a constructed default that would be generally based on what the "Super HQ 1080p30 Surround" format uses, but mine doesn't force the resolution to be other than the original, and I select the audio tracks to match my preferences... 2-channel English AC3 for primary, DTS variants (if available) for secondary, and Japanese AC3 (if available).

If I'm ripping a DVD source, it comes out as 640x480. Bluray, some variation on 1920x1080 (with cropping as appropriate). UHD, 3840x2160. I call it "High MKV". The command line I posted is the result that comes out.

Generally speaking, the resolutions shown in that pull-down are the LARGEST that you can do with the selection; the maximum dimension is keyed into the configuration. If you select something smaller than the source, that will limit what you get on output, including the frames per second. Also, there is variation according to the output file format; there are some subtitles, for example, that you can include as subtitles (rather than burning them in) when using MKV instead of MP4.

Back when they had a forum, you could find a lot of this stuff on handbrake.fr, but... searching has become a GOOGLE thing now, and GOOGLE sucks at details anymore.