Large BRD file sizes

[jadsemail]

Hello. I am a long-time MakeMKV user with a long-time problem that I still haven't resolved -- large file sizes. I have tried to use Handbrake, which runs fine without errors but produces files with no chapters, so in the resulting file I can't even hit "pause", only "stop", which puts the movie back to the beginning.

Config: any MakeMKV version running on either Windows 7 Pro or Windows 10; Handbrake SVN6905 (nightly 64-bit build)

[Woodstock]

Support for handbrake is over on forum.handbrake.fr, but "no chapters" sounds like a container issue. And that comes down to the player... Especially when you mention you can't "pause" playback.

If you're putting the chapters in with handbrake (there's a tab for controlling that), you'll find that a lot of devices do NOT support chapters in MP4 files, because chapters are not part of the MP4 specification. There are two competing ways to graft them into the file, and neither is universally supported. The nightly build versions of handbrake use BOTH, in an effort to increase compatibility, but there are still devices that ignore the markers.

I have a "compatibility" profile I use for handbrake that creates chapter markers in an MP4 file, but I don't use it unless there are "compatible, switchable" subtitle tracks, because one of the methods is a special subtitle track. If there are no subtitles in the source (or they're BD-style PGS subtitles that must be burned in on MP4), I have no chapters, since I don't want to see a "Chapter XX" subtitle at each chapter boundary.

MKV containers CAN retain the chapters quite well. But, again, the device is free to ignore them. They work on my current media players, but NOT the Samsung smart TV or Chromecast.

[jadsemail]

Thank you for the quick response. I'm using the current VLC player and Windows 7/10. I usually leave in English subtitles (not sure what PGS refers to).
If I de-select all the subtitles, do you think that might solve the problem?

[Woodstock]

VLC should see the handbrake-supplied chapter marks in either MP4 or MKV files. The release version of handbrake (0.10.2 currently) only outputs them in one format, I believe... You have to use one of the nightly builds to get both chapter formats in the MP4 file.

"PGS" is the subtitle format used on Bluray disks. DVDs use "VOBSUB". Both are graphics, rather than text. MP4 officially only supports "switchable" subtitles in TEXT format, but there is a popular extension to the standard that allows VOBSUB subtitle tracks. PGS subtitles always have to be burned into the video on MP4 files, so handbrake just does it when dealing with BD files. Lots more information on that available in a "sticky" message on their support forum for subtitles.

Are you outputting MKV or MP4 from handbrake?

[jadsemail]

I'm using MKV, although I tried MP4 to see if the chapters were present there, but no dice. And yes, I have chapters selected in the Handbrake presets.

[Woodstock]

If VLC doesn't see the chapters in an MKV file, something is definitely wrong.

I'd suggest grabbing the activity logs from the encode and posting in the support section over on forum.handbrake.fr. If you're not using version 0.10.2 or a nightly build, update first... they don't support earlier versions. They have a pink/red box on each page to tell you where to find the logs, if you haven't already located them.

[Ant93]

What about .m4v files, do they have chapters as part of their specification?

[Woodstock]

m4v is essentially Apple's designation for MP4 Video files. There are some extensions to the basic MP4 format that Apple devices will ONLY look for it the file has an m4v extension, but that's it. One of them IS the chapter extension, that is, a file with an mpg or mp4 extension that has chapters in it will not have usable chapters on an iPhone or iPad unless you change the extension to m4v.

Apple isn't alone in making unwarranted choices based solely on the file extension. I have a TV that will only play MKV files across the network if I change the file extension to AVI... then they play just fine. But that also might be a problem with the server that was feeding them... it would only make files visible if their had extensions like "mpg" and "avi". I changed out the server so that mkv and m4v were visible across the network, and the TV.... Well, it still would only play the MKV files if they had AVI as their file extension.

[gizmogeek]

I, too, have had issues with chapter markers. I rip the disc with MakeMKV. I open the mkv file in Handbrake. At the top of the main page, Handbrake lists the only title, the Angle as 1, Chapters 1 through 1. There are no chapters for Handbrake to use.

If I take the same MKV file and open it in mkvmerge, I can see the chapters in the Tracks, chapters, tags and attachments box. I remuxed the file without changing or doing anything special to the default settings.

When I open the remuxed file in Handbrake, it now lists Chapters 1 through XX (where XX is the correct amount of chapters for the video).

Software versions:
MakeMKV - v 1.9.9 [win(x64-release)]
Handbrake - 0.10.5.0 - 64bit Version
MKVToolNix - v8.8.0
OS - Windows 10 64bit

These are the latest combinations that I have used to try to solve the chapter marker problem.

The 2 drives used for processing:
ASUS DRW-24B1ST
HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH16NS40 (LG)

It doesn't matter if the video is a DVD or a Blu Ray. The same issue occurs.
For DVD's it doesn't matter as I don't shrink them, but the Blu Rays are problematic due to their size. Everything else works as expected: video, audio, subtitles.

Does anyone have suggestions to solve the chapter marker problem without jumping through the extra hoops?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: The nice thing about mass processing files is that something always gets out of sync, and one must go back to a previous step to correct the misstep. In doing so, I realized that I left out one step in my tagging process. After ripping with MakeMkv and before trying to shrink in Handbrake, I was tagging the files with MetaX. MetaX is the program that is corrupting the chapter tables so they don't read properly in Handbrake. I hope this discovery helps others track down their own issues with the chapters missing problem.