I’ve always used MakeMKV to get raw MKV files from my DVDs/BluRays and then used VidCoder to transcode them into a smaller file, but I see a lot of posts on this forum with people just putting the raw MKV files in their Plex Media Server, does that actually work well? I figured it would be too much for Plex to handle, especially with some single episodes on Blu Ray reaching the 5-10GB mark. Also, what do you guys recommend for ripping the raw files from your discs? As I said, I’ve just been using MakeMKV.
Provided your player (TV), network, and computer/server can shovel the data fast enough, PMS doesn’t care how high the resolution is or how big the file is.
I do raw rips. I keep every ‘bit’ in the video. I only remove those streams (foreign language) I don’t need/want.
MakeMKV, ripping raw to MKV followed by mkvmerge to strip the unwanted tracks is the end of video processing. A quick pass through FileBot to do the renaming / placement in the library and it’s done.
To give you an actual case, here’s a sample I did playing 4K UHD @ 58 Mbps DTS 7.1 over WiFi using a little Atom D2700 CPU.
Although local storage has become pretty cheap much (most) of my library was created well before the latest price drop and I limited everything to reasonable size based on that.
My Movies run, mostly form 1.0 to 2.0 gb in size and my shows run about half that.
My old eyes cannot detect any problems with that size any I have tuned mt Handbrake and Freemake settings accordingly. I do not use MakeMKV as I use a tool to remove the DRM and produce ts files and then use either Handbrake or Freemake for the final product.
My recommendation to everyone, even taking into account current storage prices, is find tools and processes that you are comfortable with and find out what settings produce files that look and sound good to you, or at least that you like to watch. Then stick with those.
You may need to have different settings for different file types. Old Honeymooners or Andy Griffith episodes do not need near the resolution as modern science fiction like Avatar and so the need quite different settings in whatever program(s) you use.
What I use or what any other user here or elsewhere uses is only good for a starting place. Each user must decide for themselves what is “good enough” for them and where the compromise between quality and size needs to be set. But, at the current prices for storage, I think that any error in the compromise process should be on the side of quality and, if I were starting over, I do not think I would try so hard to keep sizes down.
@ChuckPa said:
Provided your player (TV), network, and computer/server can shovel the data fast enough, PMS doesn’t care how high the resolution is or how big the file is.I do raw rips. I keep every ‘bit’ in the video. I only remove those streams (foreign language) I don’t need/want.
MakeMKV, ripping raw to MKV followed by mkvmerge to strip the unwanted tracks is the end of video processing. A quick pass through FileBot to do the renaming / placement in the library and it’s done.
To give you an actual case, here’s a sample I did playing 4K UHD @ 58 Mbps DTS 7.1 over WiFi using a little Atom D2700 CPU.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B57qR6p2QjXpSG9MdXpxbjJ0UG8
Quick question for you, do you have to rename every video before putting it into FileBot? Since MakeMKV outputs them with the name “title{x}” I need to rename each one with the proper episode number.
As long as the MakeMKV output is close enough for FileBot to figure it out, I don’t bother. The end goal is for {n} ({y}) ( Name (year) ) naming and in a directory for me to drop all the extras in
e.g.
Movie (year)/
Movie (year).mkv
Gag Reel-behindthescenes.mkv
Deleted Scenes-deleted.mkv
Obviously the extras need hand naming and placement but everything else is automatic.
@ChuckPa said:
I do raw rips. I keep every ‘bit’ in the video. I only remove those streams (foreign language) I don’t need/want.MakeMKV, ripping raw to MKV followed by mkvmerge to strip the unwanted tracks is the end of video processing. A quick pass through FileBot to do the renaming / placement in the library and it’s done.
if MakeMKV preferences are set right, you can avoid the mkvmerge part… use this line, and it will only select English, audio and subtitles.
-sel:all,+sel:(favlang|nolang),-sel:mvcvideo,=100:all,-10:favlang
Like this…
I have personally taken to converting the RAW output of MakeMKV with FFMPEG h.265, it gives me a file about 1/3 the size with the same visual quality. or near enough that I can not tell… and I am picky…
it requires less transfer bandwidth and physical space, but any device that does not support h.265 would require transcoding…
If I left them raw, I’d need 15-20TB of storage, which I can’t afford.
I use Handbrake, which leaves them as MKVs, to compress them by about 75%. I honestly can’t tell the difference between them and the raw file.
raw extract all the way ,
Right now I’ve been using straight RAW rips from MakeMKV. It was the most “idiot proof” thing I could do. I do plan to give Handbrake a try to at least compress down the Blu-Ray. The DVD rips I might leave alone.
What exactly do we mean by RAW video files???
The exact file/files as encoded on the DVD or Blu-Ray??
Good luck getting those files to play under Plex…
@jjrjr1 said:
What exactly do we mean by RAW video files???
I guess take the video and audio and subtitle streams ‘as they are’.
Which is exactly what makemkv is doing. It just puts them into a different ‘container’, but the data streams (and most important their ‘quality’) remain unchanged.
OIC
What container is on a Blu-Ray or DVD??
Can you do that and put into a mp4 container??
So we should me encoding to mpeg-2 (The RAW codec used on Blu-Ray DVDs in a m2ts container)???
@jjrjr1 said:
What container is on a Blu-Ray or DVD??
MPEG2 Transport Streams (sometimes called mpeg-ts, m2ts, etc)
Can you do that and put into a mp4 container??
The MP4 container has restrictions on the types of codecs allowed within. In particular, BDs typically have DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD and neither of those are allowed in the MP4 container. In fact, the only audio format typically found on a BD that is allowed in MP4 is AC3 (Dolby Digital) and it isn’t one of the “HD audio” sources.
On the other hand, MKV does allow all of these codecs, which is why it is commonly used for these raw files.
So we should me encoding to mpeg-2 (The RAW codec used on Blu-Ray DVDs in a m2ts container)???
Not sure entirely what to make of this statement. I think there is some confusion between codec and container here. Keep in mind that MPEG2 refers to a system which includes codecs (both video and audio) as well as containers. The container on BDs is MPEG2ts, but the codec for the video is H.264 (MPEG 4 part 10). The container on DVDs is the same, but the video codec there is MPEG2 video. Hopefully that helps to answer your question.
Yup
Thanks so much…
So h264/ac3 in an mp4 container would be considered RAW??
Raw, is the date pulled right off the Bluray Disk, which can be h.264 or VC-1 or several other… the “RAW” part, is no compression After using MakeMKV to take it off the bluray. Of course, that’s just the video, the audio would be RAW as well.
this would be a RAW rip of Gods of Egypt (with a resulting file of 33.8GB), which by the way, will play fine on Plex.
By definition is not h.264 compressed??
This is where my confusion lies…
Like the CD days.
CDs digitally represented audio in WAV file (Non-Compressed)
Usually when ripped, became mp3. (Compressed. Sometimes with Lossless Compression i.e. FLAC)
Isn’t that why there is h.264 and now h.265 (HEVC)… to compress the video to fit on current media formats??
So, the actual RAW video files that a Director shots in, it WAY WAY WAY too big for a bluray (think TB’s). So, yes, generally if it’s on a bluray disk, it’s already compressed to what the Studio thinks is ideal.
and Yes, h.264 is a compression format, as is h.265…
RAW for our purposes is “That which we pull right off the disk”, no compression beyond what the studio did to put it on the disk.
Of course, it can be compressed further, for both h.264 and h.265 depending on the parameters you pass FFMPEG or Handbrake (or whatever you want to use.)
Thanks
That what I thought…
The I guess I rip in RAW format. h.264/h.265 right off the disk. AC3 audio. I only change the container to mp4…
Quick question…
Using MakeMKV or Handbrake requires something like ANYdvd to rip protected discs??
MakeMKV does not require AnyDVD, it does it all by itself.
Personally, I find MKV much more flexible than MP4
Mkv files are generally smaller than MP4 files. They also have distinct, editable, property tags which do not require the file to be completely reprocessed.
(Am currently mobile but can provide examples of how to do this later if desired)
