BD discs showing 2 large files rather than 1

[jmorrow7]

Hello,

When using MakeMKV to transcode my BD discs, ocasionally the main window with files listed will show 2 huge files rather than only 1. The files may very slightly in size, but they will always be pretty close in size. Also, these 2 files alone usually add up to more than 50GBs

Question 1. How do you know which of the 2 huge files is the correct movie file?

Question 2. What's up with that? Why are there 2 huge files showing up that equal more than the discs capacity?

Thank you

[Woodstock]

Movies can be constructed out of multiple pieces that are common between different "cuts". A theatrical and director's cut version can be 95% the same, with various scenes added or removed, via a process called "seamless branching".

"Which is right" depends upon which version you want.

In some cases (Disney animated features), there will be 2 or 3, with only the title and credit chapters changed, for English, French, and Spanish versions.

Other cases construct dozens or even hundreds of fake movies to confuse people. If it says "Lionsgate" on the packaging, expect to have over 100 fake versions on the disk.

[jmorrow7]

Wow,
That makes complete sense. I do have a number of discs that offer Director's Cuts or other alternates. Is it also possible that the 2 different versions (huge files) are both necessary to create 1 complete version of a movie? Meaning that the disc talks to the BD player and tells it which scenes to select from either of the 2 huge files, and thus thwarting me from creating a complete MKV file of a movie I own simply by selecting only one of the 2 huge files as my target to transcode?

[Woodstock]

That would be unusual... Although it can happen, the total size wouldn't exceed 50GB. Movies like "Gone with the Wind", "Ben Hur", "Doctor Zhivago", etc, were filmed as "two parts", and are typically distributed as two parts, with part 1 ending at an intermission. Some came in 3 parts!

But two really large files are probably two different cuts. If you look at the details of each (select a title on the left, look at properties on the right), you'll see the segment map, which probably is "mostly the same" between the two. With Blade Runner, I have both the original theatrical cut and the 2007 director's cut on the media server, because they are so different, and there are things to like about both of them.

[jmorrow7]

Thanks, I really appreciate the info. I have 3 different versions of Close Encounters on my PMS myself.

Jmorrow7