Noob .mkv format on AppleTV/MacOS

[oharag]

Hello I'm a noob at ripping DVDs. I have a couple of questions I hope you guys can answer. First, Mac OSX & AppleTV 4K (1st gen) user.

- Can AppleTV play native .mkv files? I understand that you use VLC Player on Mac to play these files - but what about playing the files on AppleTV?
- Is there any benefit to using Handbrake to convert .mkv to AppleTV 4K format (2160P60 HEVC Surround) if the original DVD was 1080P old format (I have DVD's from 5-10 years ago I want to rip). I understand that I won't get better video miraculously - but is it dumb to do this maybe due to increased file sizes? Should I just output at 1080P to save file size?
- I'm confused about Copy Protection. I know in the past (10 or more years ago) I had to use special SW to decode the movie (AnyDVD)- and then use another piece of SW to burn this file onto a DVD. So when looking into how to rip DVDs/BluRays on Mac obviously I chose MakeMKV and Handbrake. I stumbled upon the websites discussing installing the file "libdvdcss" to my Mac. It seemed daunting. Is there any need for installing libdvdcss if using MakeMKV?

Thanks

[Woodstock]

Libdvdcss is a third-party library used by many open source DVD players. It is NOT needed for MakeMKV, which uses more advanced copy protection removal that isn't limited to DVDs.

Also, it has NOT been recommended or supported for handbrake for over a dozen years. If you ask about installing libdvdcss over on the handbrake forum, they'll tell you to use MakeMKV or AnyDVD instead.

I cannot say whether Apple has gotten over their dislike for MKV format - some of the Mac users can answer that.

But, you can convert MKV files generated by MakeMKV into MP4 files with handbrake if you need to. There are even AppleTV-specific presets for handbrake in their release distribution.

[dcoke22]

- Can AppleTV play native .mkv files? I understand that you use VLC Player on Mac to play these files - but what about playing the files on AppleTV?

Which app are you intending to use on the AppleTV? If you intend to use the built-in orange 'Computer' app to play files via Home Sharing, then, no, you can't use the .mkv container. iTunes (now the Mac-based Apple TV app) doesn't understand the .mkv format so can't share it to the Apple TV. Using Handbrake or ffmpeg or similar to convert to .mp4 or .m4v files will work just fine.

Lots of folks like Infuse. It costs a little money but works well. It understands .mkv files. You can put all your movies in a folder, share the folder, point Infuse at the folder and watch things that way.

Lots of folks also like Plex. You run the Plex server somewhere (on your Mac or on a (old) computer in a closet), put your movies on it (it understands .mkv files), and then use a client, like the Plex client, on the Apple TV (and on your phone, tablet, laptop, and whatever). Infuse can also be pointed at your Plex server.

There are other servers like Plex (Emby, Jellyfin, etc) that can also work. Pretty much all of them understand .mkv files.

[dcoke22]

- Is there any benefit to using Handbrake to convert .mkv to AppleTV 4K format (2160P60 HEVC Surround) if the original DVD was 1080P old format (I have DVD's from 5-10 years ago I want to rip). I understand that I won't get better video miraculously - but is it dumb to do this maybe due to increased file sizes? Should I just output at 1080P to save file size?

It wouldn't make any sense to use Handbrake to convert a 1080p blu-ray rip into a 2160p file. Most people use Handbrake to compress a rip into something smaller (at the same resolution) to save space. As a rule of thumb, a 2 hour movie from a 1080p blu-ray will be around 30GB. So, 100 movies will take about 3TB of space. Also as a rule of thumb, that 30GB movie rip could be converted via Handbrake to a 1080p file that's about 5 - 10GB with minimal loss of quality. The same 100 movie example now takes up less than 1TB of disc space.

Disc space is cheap, but if the size of your movie collection is large, the space saved by the extra compression is often a good tradeoff to make. Also, compressing movies to save space also makes it easier to load up a phone, tablet or laptop with a bunch of things to watch while traveling.

[oharag]

- Can AppleTV play native .mkv files? I understand that you use VLC Player on Mac to play these files - but what about playing the files on AppleTV?

Which app are you intending to use on the AppleTV? If you intend to use the built-in orange 'Computer' app to play files via Home Sharing, then, no, you can't use the .mkv container. iTunes (now the Mac-based Apple TV app) doesn't understand the .mkv format so can't share it to the Apple TV. Using Handbrake or ffmpeg or similar to convert to .mp4 or .m4v files will work just fine.

Lots of folks like Infuse. It costs a little money but works well. It understands .mkv files. You can put all your movies in a folder, share the folder, point Infuse at the folder and watch things that way.

Lots of folks also like Plex. You run the Plex server somewhere (on your Mac or on a (old) computer in a closet), put your movies on it (it understands .mkv files), and then use a client, like the Plex client, on the Apple TV (and on your phone, tablet, laptop, and whatever). Infuse can also be pointed at your Plex server.

There are other servers like Plex (Emby, Jellyfin, etc) that can also work. Pretty much all of them understand .mkv files.

To answer some questions above:
Yes I'm using Plex Player on AppleTV. ATM I have used Handbrake to convert mkv to MP4 since I use the Apple ecosystem for all of my devices (iPad/iPhone/Mac). So I assume that Plex on AppleTV can play native mkv.

I just ripped Chappelle The Complete Series - S1 - E1. The mkv file was 1.04 GB and the resulting MP4 file was 181.2 MB. A significant storage savings. I played the MP4 on my Mac and it didn't look like quality was any different from mkv. Also, both audio channels were in the MP4 file (c1 - original show audio C2 - audio commentary). So I see no reason not to use HB to convert mkv to MP4. I have yet to try this on Plex/AppleTV.

So to dcoke22 comment: so yes I saved a significant amount of disk space using HB. Again I didn't notice much video degradation between both files. Though this is 1080P TV file. I saved the file for AppleTV 4K format.

Thanks for the input/help everyone. Again just a nob here.