Regular user, but not a power user...

[Frankie-G]

Hi all, I've been using a registered and frequently updated copy of MKV for a few years. One of those never looks under the bonnet and happy to use as is.
My process is usually MKV to RIP (DVD/BR) then pass the output through Handbrake for file compression.
(Unpaid full time carer, I absolutely don't have the cash to splash out on new storage, so working with what I have).
Recently I have noticed frequent audio loss, sometimes huge. As such, I started breaking down my process to determine if I could pin point where the loss starts. Last night whilst running Black Adam BR through MKV I noted a distinct loss in quality, between playing the BR directly via VLC and playing the resultant MP4 from the previous RIP.
Any advice on what I could do to improve resultant file output audio quality?

[Woodstock]

MakeMKV is going to do a verification of the content when ripping to MKV files. Playing a disk, though, it just passes what it reads through.

Are you playing the MKV that's written (which has be verified as complete), or using MakeMKV as a driver to VLC?

[dcoke22]

I agree with Woodstock; MakeMKV does a great job of making an exact copy of what's on a plastic disc. You would have to deliberately go out of your way to get MakeMKV to mess with the audio in some way. It seems more likely to me that the trouble is in the Handbrake stage.

I think by default Handbrake will turn multi-channel audio into 160kbps stereo AAC audio, which isn't great. That's lower quality than what you'd get when you buy a track from the iTunes store.

Do you know what your audio settings are in Handbrake?

Additionally, the program MediaInfo can tell you lots of details about your audio files. It should be able to tell you what the audio situation is in the files that come out of Handbrake.

As a side note, depending on your playback setup, you might consider keeping your transcoded files in the .mkv container (keep the output of Handbrake as a .mkv file). MKVs are more flexible than MP4s in some ways.

[oddeyeball]

From what i can interpret, it sounds like you're missing audio that should be there. Are you trying to playback a 5.1 or higher track on a Stereo system? It's possible this might not be Makemkv related. Try the following:

Sometimes when I do a windows update or update my audio drivers, it resets my audio settings to 5.1 when I have a stereo setup and when I play a video with 5.1 surround sound, it sounds like stuff is missing or loss.

If you have audio software installed, check to see what setup it's using. If not and you're on Windows 11 (this may work with previous versions of Windows), look at the bottom right icons and right-click the speaker, select sound settings, scroll to the bottom and then select More Sound Settings. On that window that shows up, in the playback tab, look for your speaker output you're using, select it and click on configure. If it's on 5.1 and not stereo, this is why you're missing audio from the playback. Select Stereo and click ok.

Alternatively, you can make VLC play in stereo mode so it'll downmix in realtime, but everything else will still think you have 5.1 and will still try to use it.

[Frankie-G]

From what i can interpret, it sounds like you're missing audio that should be there. Are you trying to playback a 5.1 or higher track on a Stereo system? It's possible this might not be Makemkv related. Try the following:

Sometimes when I do a windows update or update my audio drivers, it resets my audio settings to 5.1 when I have a stereo setup and when I play a video with 5.1 surround sound, it sounds like stuff is missing or loss.

If you have audio software installed, check to see what setup it's using. If not and you're on Windows 11 (this may work with previous versions of Windows), look at the bottom right icons and right-click the speaker, select sound settings, scroll to the bottom and then select More Sound Settings. On that window that shows up, in the playback tab, look for your speaker output you're using, select it and click on configure. If it's on 5.1 and not stereo, this is why you're missing audio from the playback. Select Stereo and click ok.

Alternatively, you can make VLC play in stereo mode so it'll downmix in realtime, but everything else will still think you have 5.1 and will still try to use it.

That's an interesting point - re driver updates. I will bear that in mind.

MakeMKV is going to do a verification of the content when ripping to MKV files. Playing a disk, though, it just passes what it reads through.

Are you playing the MKV that's written (which has be verified as complete), or using MakeMKV as a driver to VLC?

Both - in the last test! Ripped the BR to MKV and compared the audio from the output file playback to playing the BR disk directly through VLC.

I agree with Woodstock; MakeMKV does a great job of making an exact copy of what's on a plastic disc. You would have to deliberately go out of your way to get MakeMKV to mess with the audio in some way. It seems more likely to me that the trouble is in the Handbrake stage.

I think by default Handbrake will turn multi-channel audio into 160kbps stereo AAC audio, which isn't great. That's lower quality than what you'd get when you buy a track from the iTunes store.

Do you know what your audio settings are in Handbrake?

Additionally, the program MediaInfo can tell you lots of details about your audio files. It should be able to tell you what the audio situation is in the files that come out of Handbrake.

As a side note, depending on your playback setup, you might consider keeping your transcoded files in the .mkv container (keep the output of Handbrake as a .mkv file). MKVs are more flexible than MP4s in some ways.

Ooh thank you for the 'Mediainfo' tip - I will investigate


Hello, oddeyeball, Woodstock and dcoke22!
Thank you all for the replies,
Sorry for my delayed response - we've had a very recent bereavement here, and it's all hands on deck at the mo...


I was a bit vague in my description of what audio is apparently lost. (sorry about that!)
What I should have written was the was a loss in audio volume during playback of the output file.


It doesn't always happen but it seems to be getting more frequent.
The result is any file output with this issue, played back from my Plex server - is so quiet I have to seriously boost the volume, while every other output file plays back just fine.

Some interesting suggestions were made here, which are very much appreciated!
I will take those on board and continue to investigate. I did not know I could maintain the MKV format with Handbrake . Testing that as I type .

I shall report back with findings, should you be interested further.

It would appear I need some education , MP4 v MVK, AAC v AC3 for starters...
Thanks again chaps,
live everyday like it's your last!!

[jinx100]

Handbrake has a setting to boost the audio level - click expand when looking at the audio settings. On my version it's a two step process to retain this boost in a profile. First save the audio settings then update (or save) the profile.

[Frankie-G]

Handbrake has a setting to boost the audio level - click expand when looking at the audio settings. On my version it's a two step process to retain this boost in a profile. First save the audio settings then update (or save) the profile.

Cheers Jinx100,
I will take look next time i'm in