Hi there, I am in need of a gut check before delving into digitizing my 600 purchased SD DVD’s. These will go into my plex server that will sometimes be utilized for remote access. I have about 2.5TB of server space for these videos, so filesize is a concern.
My initial workflow thoughts are to “rip to mkv with MakeMkv”>>“transcode to mp4 with handbrake”
The MakeMKV, rips to around a 4.2 GB 720:480 filesize. If i transcode to a mp4 via handbrake, it brings it down to 1.2 GB 720:480 filesize but it takes 20 minutes of handbrake time.
Are there any things to be thinking about when spending the additional step to transcode to mp4? I’m thinking that one benefit would be the bitrate for remote playback? I’m not noticing any meaningful quality degredation when going from the mkv to mp4 versions on the family room TV. That all said, I feel like a lot of data has to be lost if its compressing out 2 gigs of data per file.
Now the tough part. Quality vs file size. Since you stated that space is an issue for you then mp4 with a nice quality level that is acceptable to you is all you need to go on.
What to think about I can offer some things that are not file specific but overall things to think on.
Think about how quickly or how much media you will acquire in the future. If you are a collector and will be buying more movies than space and time to rip and convert get faster and easier as long as you do it a movie or two at a time. The initial rip of all your discs is the time hurt.
For me another thing to think on is will you be happy with the quality of the files in the future on a higher res TV? If you are on a 1080 tv and you go to 4k will you notice the difference and if you do will this bother you? I would think about maybe testing on a 4k tv if you can just to see. I mention this because I started ripping to mp4 when I started my server and then found myself re-ripping those same movies years later as Blu Rays in full MKV because I got a nicer TV and it was too grainy for my liking.
So if you can afford it, I recommend getting the largest hard drive you can comfortably afford and rip in full quality and then let Plex server handle the transcodes and or create optimized versions for streaming. Plex server wrangling can become time consuming and trying to rip and then handbrake is alot of time and effort as you stated.
This is always a tough decision and there are many many opinions and ways. This is a personal choice. Some swear by compression and in all honesty a good compressed file there is no noticeable difference. For others like myself having the full MKV rip works better for me. I can’t tell the difference visually I just like to have an archive of my movies.
Good thoughts. Is there really a video quality difference in SD DVD’s mp4 vs mkv? The resolution is the same no matter the container format and the main benefit of the mkv is the ability to have additional audio streams?
Still confused what that extra 2gig per file is getting me with mkv. From what I can tell, it is literally just a function of an inefficient mpeg-2 format (within the mkv container).
Note that MP4 and MKV are containers (like envelopes) that hold video, audio, and subtitle tracks.
The Handbrake settings on the filter/video/audio/subtitle tabs determine format, compression, quality, etc. Not whether the output is an MKV or MP4 file (summary tab).
Discussing whether or not to compress and appropriate compression settings is a lot like discussing religion & politics. You’ll get a lot of different opinions on the best way to proceed.
These are the formats you’ll find on most discs:
DVDs (480i/480p): MPEG2
Blu-ray discs (720p/1080p SDR): AVC/H.264
Blu-ray discs (4K HDR/Dolby Vision): HEVC/H.265
MPEG2, being the oldest, is the least efficient. HEVC being the most recent, is the most efficient (efficient = how much information can be stored in a given amount of space).
You may also run across AV1, which is used by YouTube and other streaming sites. AV1 is more efficient than HEVC, but has the least support among Plex clients (many TVs/phones/tablets/etc. introduced in the last ~2 years support AV1).
MPEG2/H264/HEVC/AV1 are all lossy compression formats. When you compress a video through Handbrake information is lost. How much and whether or not it is noticeable depends on the encode settings (and the quality of your TV and your eyes…).
Bottom line is that whether or not to compress video is up to you.
Try playing a straight DVD rip and the same video compressed with Handbrake. See if you can tell a difference and then make a decision.
FYI: On some older DVDs, especially for TV shows, the video is interlaced. When you play it in Plex, you may see a combing effect around the edges of moving objects (example). These videos you will want to run through Handbrake and enable Interlace Detection and Deinterlace options on the Filters tab.
You can examine the video with MediaInfo to determine if it is interlaced or progressive.
Yeah the container type vs video format type always confuses me and a lot of the internet. I understand now that I have to use MakeMKV in order to rip my boxed SD DVD’s due to the encryption. Since the only option for MakeMKV seems to be a straight mpeg-2 copy into a mkv container, I suppose I am resolved to transcoding to a mp4 with a H.264 video format to knock down the size.
I suppose my question should have been, why does everyone consider MPEG2 as archival vs H.264? They’re both lossy. It does not make sense to me. It is not like the FLAC vs MP3 situation.
Thank you for the heads up on interlaced signals; i’m well versed in that from VHS captures and have a good handle on deinterlacing with avisynth+.
I wouldn’t call MPEG2 archival, just the best to which you have access.
A lossy copy is never as good as the original. If you convert the MPEG2 rip to H.264/H.265/AV1, information is lost.
Ever use a fax machine? Fax a document back and forth about three times. It is dang near unreadable.
The same thing will happen if you keep transcoding video. Eventually the losses become visible.
If you want to knock down the size, consider going to HEVC. Conversion will take longer, but the output will be smaller than H.264. You have to go back several years to find a TV / phone / etc. that does not support HEVC video (ex: the iPhone 7 supports HEVC, 2014 Samsung TVs support HEVC).
I looked into HEVC but the downside seems to be that it requires significantly more out of the hardware when transcoding which may limit the number of concurrent streams to 1 or 2.
I think I’ll be happy going from a 5.0GB mpeg2 video to a 2.2GB H.264.
