Handbrake...errrr?

kilohawk

kilohawk

kilohawk

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little help please :D

I ripped a few DVDs a few months ago, and used Handbrake to encode them, but the quality is awful!

My main objective is to make space (move DVDs to the loft), and to enable me to stream the movies from my NAS to the PS3 and (soon) Apple TV (or other similar devices) as well as iPad viewing.

Quality is my main aim, i'd like the video to be as good (is up-scaling and option? ) as DVD. I'm not bothered about subtitles, but would prefer to keep the multi-channel audio at 320 kbps or higher.

Please can you suggest some settings for it?

Thanks!
 
What are your settings?

If you go to the Advanced tab and Click 'Reset All' and then on the Video tab I have mine on Constant Quality RF:17

I don't notice any drop in PQ. You can probably even get away with RF:18/19/20 depending on how big you want each file.

With the more recent versions I'm not sure if you can passthrough audio, but in previous versions they didn't allow for it, so with the file from Handbrake, I mux it with the original audio file using MKVMerge.
 
There are so many settings, arrgghh! As far as i'm aware, they're all default.

So I don't need to worry about anything else but the RF setting? :s

For the audio settings, it's set for AAC Dolby ProLogic II @160 That's the surround audio isn't it?
 
I do all of mine using the following:

Preset --> High Profile

All filters --> Off

Web optimised

Constant Quality --> 20 (Which is what the HB team suggest for DVD's)

2 audio tracks (as default on High Profile, so one 2 channel aac, one 5.1 ac3)
 
challengedavid said:
interested in this also, what about subtitles?
Click to expand...

Looking at the Handbrake wiki, you can only hard-code them or output them as a separate file. If you leave it out when using Handbrake, you can remux the original subtitle files with the re-encoded file using mkvmerge (if you're using the mkv container).
 
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Subtitles for DVD's are usually fine just using the "foreign audio search" setting. I personally don't need full English subs (just the foreign forced subs) so makes it nice and simple.
 
I found RF: 19 to be the sweet spot. 17 is quite high - the files will be pretty big. 20 is recommended for DVDs, but I found that I could see the degradation.
 
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Indeed, op should be using the high profile pre-set; which, for the record (and aside from making a far better encode than the normal profile), retains the original surround (AC3 pass-through) and also creates a stereo aac 160kbps track for things that can't pass-through the digital surround - not really needed for what you're doing but the space is delegable and an i7 will chew through a dvd in no time. Plus there's still stuff that needs it.
 
Size is largely irrelevant. Old, single layer disks are about that size, while most modern disks are 7.1-7.7GB. In theory larger size = more detail = longer time, but some are still just bad transfers. For example, I have an old Pulp Fiction dvd here, main movie is 7.19GB, but encoded on high isn't even 700MB. On the other hand, Hot Fuzz is 7.62GB, but 1.5Gb on high because it was a good transfer to begin with. Also happens to be the longest dvd transcode I've come across.

Run it again on high but leave the defaults i.e. RF20, then compare the two in encode time, file size and image quality. On a pc with the gpu decoding you probably won't see any difference at all, however tv chips from a few years ago were significantly less powerful than todays. Odds are the differences are so small you won't notice them and if you do, the size/time difference is so small you can just go with it.

Audio is the only thing you really need to fiddle with - I missed the OPs requirement.
This is subjective, but the two default audio tracks under the high profile are outlined here with the third paragraph being the profile default. Whether you actually need the aac track is up to you (doesn't take up much space) but you'd probably want to set the lossy AC3 track to default i.e. move it to the top of the list in the audio tab. That will preserve the surround from the dvd completely and should be fine in any media server - unless apples involved :p

It's worth playing around and getting it right. Once you've nailed it you just add jobs to the queue and encode disks overnight/while at work.


So to reiterate. Options > reset built-in pre-sets > encode and try both audio streams. The op will be stuck with both, but ill have to decide which would be the better default. I'm guessing AC3, but I don't know how the new apple tv handles things.

Edit: It's probably best to do a bit of reading on the benefits of Dolby Pro Logic II vs. Dolby Digital (aka AC3). There's plenty info about, but the PLII is the best compromise is most cases - hence default. Most dvds carry a DPLII surround track.

Dolby said:
Starting with a 5.1 Mix
The Dolby Pro Logic II encoding process was developed to allow consumers to enjoy a 5.1-
channel experience on delivery systems that have a two-channel limitation. Because of this, it was
optimized for taking a 5.1 mix created for Dolby Digital delivery, and simply running that mix
through the encoder to create the Lt/Rt stereo downmix. In most cases, the decoded
Dolby Pro Logic II mix will sound very close to the original.
Click to expand...

but basically it's a down-mixed stereo track that can upmix to 5 channel surround (no .1, although receivers should send the lowest frequencies to the sub). Dolby Digital aka AC3 will have vastly superior channel separation and bass though.
 
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Azuse05 said:
Size is largely irrelevant. Old, single layer disks are about that size, while most modern disks are 7.1-7.7GB. In theory larger size = more detail = longer time, but some are still just bad transfers. For example, I have an old Pulp Fiction dvd here, main movie is 7.19GB, but encoded on high isn't even 700MB. On the other hand, Hot Fuzz is 7.62GB, but 1.5Gb on high because it was a good transfer to begin with. Also happens to be the longest dvd transcode I've come across.

Run it again on high but leave the defaults i.e. RF20, then compare the two in encode time, file size and image quality. On a pc with the gpu decoding you probably won't see any difference at all, however tv chips from a few years ago were significantly less powerful than todays. Odds are the differences are so small you won't notice them and if you do, the size/time difference is so small you can just go with it.

Audio is the only thing you really need to fiddle with - I missed the OPs requirement.
This is subjective, but the two default audio tracks under the high profile are outlined here with the third paragraph being the profile default. Whether you actually need the aac track is up to you (doesn't take up much space) but you'd probably want to set the lossy AC3 track to default i.e. move it to the top of the list in the audio tab. That will preserve the surround from the dvd completely and should be fine in any media server - unless apples involved :p

It's worth playing around and getting it right. Once you've nailed it you just add jobs to the queue and encode disks overnight/while at work.


So to reiterate. Options > reset built-in pre-sets > encode and try both audio streams. The op will be stuck with both, but ill have to decide which would be the better default. I'm guessing AC3, but I don't know how the new apple tv handles things.

Edit: It's probably best to do a bit of reading on the benefits of Dolby Pro Logic II vs. Dolby Digital (aka AC3). There's plenty info about, but the PLII is the best compromise is most cases - hence default. Most dvds carry a DPLII surround track.



but basically it's a down-mixed stereo track that can upmix to 5 channel surround (no .1, although receivers should send the lowest frequencies to the sub). Dolby Digital aka AC3 will have vastly superior channel separation and bass though.
Click to expand...

Right I did all that and the same 4.5gb DVD completed in 17min with a resulting 1.5gb file with no noticeable degradation.

Thanks for that info.
 
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