I will give you a point of view from my experience dealing with MKVs for the past couple of years and what I have evolved to...


MakeMKV is the easiest program to use that supports what you are looking for EXCEPT for the alternate version of files (I believe as I have never attempted this). Other then that you will need a tool chest to get what you want - eac3to, Tsmuxer, MKVMerge, Haali, BDSup2Sub v4.00, Arcsoft TMT 3 demo (for proper DTS-MA), AnyDVD HD (Needed no matter what you do)


Though I LOVE MKV format, you will quickly find that you need to be pretty savvy when dealing with all open source software - which is the only way you will get all the features you expect when dealing with a MKV. In other words dont count on commercial players to give you want you want in a MKV format. You will need to rely on open source and all of the frustrations that come along with it - (frustrations if you are not tech savvy). There are trade offs between MKVs and lets say slimline native formats such as BRD and DVD ISOs/folder structures. I have recently went from a full library of MKVs to ISOs (both for DVD and Bluray).


Your decision will depend on what you want. If you want

Subtitles, Multiple Audio and Video tracks, Bit Streaming, Menus (or not), Extras (or not), quickest rip and full support of commercial players then slimline native ISO is your best bet


If you want subtitles, Multiple Audio and Video tracks, Bit Streaming, smallest footprint, dont mind the re-encoding of audio (FLAC is the way to go with MKV), NOT using Commercial players AND you can withstand the setup and quirks of open source (different quirks than commercial) then you go MKV.


I now prefer ISO - the commercial software is relatively stable, all the features are available and I enjoy some of the little benefits bit streaming provides (no re-encoding audio=faster rips, channels mapped properly ALL THE TIME, less software installed on my machine to perform the rips, etc.) I use clown_bd to make the ISO rips - 2 click movie creation (does not support DVDs - just use ANYDVD create ISO as DVDs are small anyway)


Sooo... either way you will get excellent quality but must realize the trade offs - your decision should also depend on your hardware and cant stress enough tech savvyness..


GL...

mike

 

Thanks a bunch for all the info. I'm not into the ISO rips because I don't need/want anything but the films (no extras, menus, etc). But regarding the movies, I want everything I can possibly cram in: sub, audio tracks and yes, if possible, alternate versions. Hence my decision to go with my mkvs.


So Makemkv can remux an already existing mkv when I want to later on modify the audio or subtitles? Or do I need another software for that?

 

Just a thought. For those few movies that have alternate versions, could you not just rip a second mkv file? That way you would have movienamev1 and maovienamev2. Not elegant but easy (I think) with makemkv.


BB

 

Actually the way I make my rips I also do not include any menus, extras, etc. - I also do not embedd any subtiltes (unless forced), etc. etc. It seems you missed my point and should re-exam why you want to use MKV. Everything plus more can be done in the native format (bluray or DVD)... MKV's features are just derivatives of the commercial formats... In either case you wont go wrong with MKVs as long as you understand the pros and cons between the formats.


No MakeMKV is soley made for taking a native format bluray or DVD and converting it into a MKV with a single program and a few clicks. I have only tried it out but did not see a need as the open source tools give me all I need at this point. MakeMKV is in beta and while in beta is free so its only a matter of time before you will need to pay. Have you tried to use any of the opensource tools? Do you have AnyDVD HD which is a necessary tool that you will need - and its far from free?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tdx /forum/post/18414049


Thanks a bunch for all the info. I'm not into the ISO rips because I don't need/want anything but the films (no extras, menus, etc). But regarding the movies, I want everything I can possibly cram in: sub, audio tracks and yes, if possible, alternate versions. Hence my decision to go with my mkvs.


So Makemkv can remux an already existing mkv when I want to later on modify the audio or subtitles? Or do I need another software for that?

 

Understood and thanks for the clarifications. I do have AnyDVD HD so I'm covered on that level.


And the main reason I want to use MKVs is minimize the size of the video by recompressing. I know, it's simpler and faster to keep the original as an ISO, but Blu-Rays take up too much space to do that.


Anyway, I will give MakeMKV a try and at the same time keep looking for software that allows me to easily remux them and software that allows to include multiple versions of a film in a single file.

 

As far as remuxing mkv's most people use mkvmerge. Its included in mkvtoolnix


And just to clarify, makemkv is not going to re-compress anything as you said you wanted. All it does is take the video and audio files you choose and put them in an mkv container. The final product will still be around 20-35 gigs.


If you are looking to make some 10-20gb 1080p mkv like you may find online you have to completely re-encode the video which is a whole other process then what make mkv does.

 

Thanks for the info, again. I'm really new to this so I'm figuring this out step by step. So, which software in that case should I use to recompress the films? Something easy to use?


Thanks

 

This is the software I always recommend, XVID4PSP


Pay no attention to the name, its one they had when the app was very young and for whatever reason stuck with it. It uses avisynth at the back end so its really more of an easy interface for some various encoders.


It has plenty of settings, containers and codecs to choose from. I would first use makemkv to make an mkv with the video and audio stream you choose. Then use this app to re-encode.


There are plenty of methods and this is definitely not the most advanced one. But its a great place to start and I have got very nice results with this app.


And a fair warning this is not a fast process. Especially if you have a weak cpu. A quad is the best choice for re-encoding video.

 

Hands down RiBot is the best out there if you want to re-encode your movie - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127611


Your title is Remux and that is not the correct term then. Remuxing is when you are just "re-authoring" the structure but not touching the movie or audio tracks... Re-encoding is when you change the amount/type of compression - which will result in a decrease in file size but also a decrease in quality.


I also when new tried that route... Quality was pretty good on my 6 year old HDTV - but on my new LED TV no way.. I can see the artifacts. The other thing is even with my Q9550 (quad core) it still takes more then 4 - 6 hours to re-encode a movie and its audio to flac. Re-muxing into a streamlined ISO takes me no more then 35 minutes. I changed my approach from re-encoding pretty quickly as you can imagine - especially when you can get 1.5TB right now for about $85...


Try it out

Quote:
Originally Posted by tdx /forum/post/18419376


Thanks for the info, again. I'm really new to this so I'm figuring this out step by step. So, which software in that case should I use to recompress the films? Something easy to use?

Thanks

 

Also handbrake is another popular one.

 

Thanks to all the info that you guys gave me it looks like I may need to rethink my strategy... It does look like you are right, ISOs seem simpler and faster for my needs.


The only concern I have is space. Yes, you can buy big drives for relatively cheap, but without re-encoding the video on Blu-Rays, they will fill up really fast. Plus I have to think about parity/backup, so all in all it's a lot of drives.


One thing I don't get though: on the recompressed mkvs that are, ahem, available for download, I don't get the impression that the smaller size (they are often 10-14GB versus 50GB for the full Blu-Ray) has any impact whatsoever in the picture quality. And I'm watching these on a 55" LED Samsung.


Am I missing something? Is there no loss of visual quality on these rips or am I mistaken?

 

There is an impact when ever the movie is re-encoded... Seeing the change will depend on how aggressive the re-encoding is and the quality of the TV. Like I said in a previous post on my 7 year old HDTV my re-encoded movies looked real good.. on my new 55 LED TV I can see the difference... Im pretty anal about quality so I changed my approach... Most re-encoded movies that were done with space and quality in mind are re-encoded to 720p and a relatively less aggressive re-encoding.. the movie will be typically around 5 - 10 gig... 1080p same level of re-encoding probably 10 - 13 gig solid. Movies that are remuxed with no re-encoding an no extras or other "junk" are about 20 - 30 Gig (or higher) - big difference but at the cost of higher quality. As long as there is no re-encoding there is absolutely no difference between the original and the remuxed (ISO/MKV) version.


How many blurays are you talking? I just picked up a 1.5TB green drive for $90...

Quote:
Originally Posted by tdx /forum/post/18422956


Thanks to all the info that you guys gave me it looks like I may need to rethink my strategy... It does look like you are right, ISOs seem simpler and faster for my needs.


The only concern I have is space. Yes, you can buy big drives for relatively cheap, but without re-encoding the video on Blu-Rays, they will fill up really fast. Plus I have to think about parity/backup, so all in all it's a lot of drives.


One thing I don't get though: on the recompressed mkvs that are, ahem, available for download, I don't get the impression that the smaller size (they are often 10-14GB versus 50GB for the full Blu-Ray) has any impact whatsoever in the picture quality. And I'm watching these on a 55" LED Samsung.


Am I missing something? Is there no loss of visual quality on these rips or am I mistaken?

 

I think that the difference is noticeable even on older HDTVs.


To be honest, for me it's not so much a quality issue as a time/effort issue. Reencoding takes a very long time and often doesn't work reliably. For some reason certain content has trouble with certain encoding profiles and you don't find out until you've wasted seven hours unsucessfully transcoding it.


Also, if you're just keeping the main movie, it's more like 25-30 gbs. You can buy a 2tb hard drive for $130 and put 70 movies on it.


F

 

Avidemux is a good program with a lot of different formats and filters as well.