What is the correct play list [insert title here]?

[Woodstock]

If you are wondering what the correct play list is for ANY Lionsgate Bluray disk that has "hundreds of play lists", start here.

First - MakeMKV has had a feature for some time now to try to guess the correct play list. It is discussed in this topic: http://makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14330

It involves having the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for your operating system installed. You can get that by going to java.com, the official website for Java. Personal recommendation: Do NOT install "web integration" or "browser support". It is not needed for the JRE to work with MakeMKV, and it is one less potential security hole when surfing Internet.

If the JRE is set up properly, AND you insert a Blu-Ray disk with "fake playlist protection" (i.e., something sold by Lionsgate), the log window will show a message similar to:

Using Java runtime from C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.8.0_121\bin\java.exe

(this will not appear for non-BD disks or BDs that do not have "fake playlist" detected)

If MakeMKV can sniff out the main feature, it will move its play list to the top, with a comment of "(FPL_MainFeature)" next to it in the selection window (left part of screen).

Hint: To unselect the titles you do not want, put your mouse over the selection area, and bring up the "Context menu". The context menu has 3 options, "Toggle item", "Select All", and "Unselect All". Chose appropriately. Windows users can use the RIGHT click button on their mouse, or use the "context menu key" on their keyboard. This also (usually) works for Linux, and with multibutton mice on Macs, but single-button mice usually require you to use the Ctrl (or Control) key when you click.

If MakeMKV made an incorrect choice (it can happen), let Mike know about it - information on how to do that is found in the first link in this message.

Failing the above (especially if you have a DVD), do a search for the title of your disk first. There are over a hundred different movies being discussed at various times on this forum, some of them having 5 or 6 different topics. And these disks have different play lists that are "correct", depending on when and where you bought them.

Titles with short words are hard to search for, because the forum software doesn't index words shorter than 4 character. Google can be your friend here, and you can search for things like "MY MOVIE TITLE MAKEMKV" and you'll probably find the topic on this forum that is discussing the various working playlists.

[ember1205]

What versions of what builds does this work with? Does it work with the CLI version? Linux? Mac? Windows? Where are the install and configuration instructions?

I've seen this discussed, but have seen almost nothing in terms of what the end user needs to do to get it to work.

[Woodstock]

Initial support for this was in version 1.10.0, starting in July of 2016 (detailed version history is on the download page, https://makemkv.com/download/ ). It's been improving since then.

The CLI is where it is actually implemented (GUI calls the CLI to scan the disk), but I have seen no documentation yet on how the information is exchanged between them.

For most people, all that is required is to install the JRE for their operating system from java.com. On Linux systems, that can be complicated by the distribution, as not all use the java.com implementation, and some funky interactions occur.

If MakeMKV can find it, AND you insert a Bluray with fake playlists on it, it should kick in automagically.

[ember1205]

While the CLI may be where it actually gets implemented, that doesn't necessarily mean that using the CLI version "manually" (I use MakeMKV on a headless machine with automated tools to rip - there is no GUI at all, and the CLI version of MakeMKV runs from a control script) will leverage it without specific parameters.

I'd really like to see some documentation around this including:

- Explicit requirements for what java pieces need to be present (if any particular Linux distros could be cited with package names and versions, that would go a LONG way)
- How to use it
- How to "tune" it
- How to report issues with incorrect matches

[rjreiffer]

Hello,

I found a neat way to figure out what title is real and which are fake.

I simply bring up VLC Media Player and load the disc in DISC mode. When the menu comes up I select the movie (or episode for TV series) and start them playing. I then pause the movie and go to the top menu of VLC Media player and select PLAYBACK and the TITLE. VLC will put a DOT by the title it is currently playing. Make note of the title # and the title length. Title length is on the main playback screen in the lower right corner.

You then should be able to rip the correct title. If you are doing episodes make sure to note which title goes with which episode as they the title number has nothing to do with the actual episode number.

I hope this save someone a ton of grief.

RJR

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Hello,

I found a neat way to figure out what title is real and which are fake.

I simply bring up VLC Media Player and load the disc in DISC mode. When the menu comes up I select the movie (or episode for TV series) and start them playing. I then pause the movie and go to the top menu of VLC Media player and select PLAYBACK and the TITLE. VLC will put a DOT by the title it is currently playing. Make note of the title # and the title length. Title length is on the main playback screen in the lower right corner.

You then should be able to rip the correct title. If you are doing episodes make sure to note which title goes with which episode as they the title number has nothing to do with the actual episode number.

I hope this save someone a ton of grief.

RJR

Hi, thanks for the suggestion! I just tried it out on my Mac, and surprisingly, this did indeed work for one of my discs (Macbeth), where both title number and playtime was correct, so this is great, as I haven't been able to get the Java solution to work!

But I also tried it with another, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and there it didn't work properly. A file with the corresponding play time was not present on the disc, but the title chosen by VLC corresponded to a shorter file which was only present once on the disc, and two more short files right after that, so I assume MakeMKV is either having trouble processing it correctly, or there's something more weird going on.

[Krawk]

Hello,

I found a neat way to figure out what title is real and which are fake.

I simply bring up VLC Media Player and load the disc in DISC mode. When the menu comes up I select the movie (or episode for TV series) and start them playing. I then pause the movie and go to the top menu of VLC Media player and select PLAYBACK and the TITLE. VLC will put a DOT by the title it is currently playing. Make note of the title # and the title length. Title length is on the main playback screen in the lower right corner.

You then should be able to rip the correct title. If you are doing episodes make sure to note which title goes with which episode as they the title number has nothing to do with the actual episode number.

I hope this save someone a ton of grief.

RJR

VLC is an unreliable method. VLC "guesses" the correct title and is not always right. Also, it has been my experience that even when right, the title number is off by 1.

[jonghotti]

The correct method is to use MediaInfo?

RJR[/quote]

VLC is an unreliable method. VLC "guesses" the correct title and is not always right. Also, it has been my experience that even when right, the title number is off by 1.[/quote]

[Film-fan]

Hello,

I found a neat way to figure out what title is real and which are fake.

I simply bring up VLC Media Player and load the disc in DISC mode. When the menu comes up I select the movie (or episode for TV series) and start them playing. I then pause the movie and go to the top menu of VLC Media player and select PLAYBACK and the TITLE. VLC will put a DOT by the title it is currently playing. Make note of the title # and the title length. Title length is on the main playback screen in the lower right corner.

You then should be able to rip the correct title. If you are doing episodes make sure to note which title goes with which episode as they the title number has nothing to do with the actual episode number.

I hope this save someone a ton of grief.

RJR

Hi,

This is a slick way to find the correct title, and the DVD Player app (Mac) also can show you the title. My trouble is that with DVD "RED 2", that title is not showing up in MakeMKV's title list to select for saving. The log file shows that it's a good title

Code: Select all

Title #64 was added (18 cell(s), 1:55:32)

, but I don't know how to insert it into the list. Is there a way to get the correct segments from the log, or some other way?

Thanks

[ikomrad]

If MakeMKV can sniff out the main feature, it will move its play list to the top, with a comment of "(FPL_MainFeature) next to it in the selection window (left part of screen).

This wasn't the case for me for the title "Valerian". It ( MakeMkv 1.12.3 for Mac ) put the FPL_MainFeature as the 4th title from the top.

This post has good information, but it looks like some of it is YMMV.

[Woodstock]

"To the top" isn't exact, really. "To the first screen, toward the top of the list" is more precise. It is actually sorted by the comments, as best I can uncover.

[BD-BD-BD]

Has this been confirmed as a DRM feature?

[Woodstock]

Has WHAT been confirmed as a Digital Rights Management feature?

Playlist obfuscation is not DRM - it's an attempt to confuse the issue, but the correct file has no "extra" DRM applied to it.

[yd8887]

Hello, I just started using MakeMKV to back up my bluray collection into my Plex Server. Now I usually use AnyDVD to figure around the whole bluray obfuscation. It's easy to know because there will be tons of similar sized titles and usually with the same amount of chapters.

But what about the blurays with only TWO similar titles, same size, same chapter count... is that also obfuscation if there is only 2 titles with the same size?

Or again, sometimes there is two titles with similar size, similar audio/subtitle choice, but one of them won't have a chapter count.

Thanks!

[Woodstock]

Disney titles typically have 2 or 3 nearly-identical titles. It isn't DRM, it's catering to different languages.