Blu Ray Question

[jaytrl]

Hi,

 

I have a bunch of Blu Ray's that I am planning on 'ripping' Some of them are 4K and some not. My question is: What is the best format I should rip the Blu Ray's in the smallest size possible, that'll still retain the best image quality. I have some Blu Ray's that are 4K, and I'm hoping someone can help me out here, in terms of best format to rip 4K Blu Ray's in the smallest compression size.

 

If anyone can help a brother out, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you to all who's read and/or answers back. One Love!

[Allmykidsareblack]

Title 17 of the United States Code says that it is illegal to reproduce a copyrighted work

[Guest]

A lot of files may be saved in .MKV 

idk if it’s the smallest. Your best bet would be to downscale the resolution or Bitrate. 

5 minutes ago, Allmykidsareblack said:

Title 17 of the United States Code says that it is illegal to reproduce a copyrighted work

However you’re legally allowed to make back ups of software for personal use. 

[Volbet]

Rip them using MakeMKV and then use Handbrake to lower the bitrate. There are plenty of tutorials on how to get the best results with the lowest overall filesize.

 

Although, good luck finding a 4K capable Blu-ray drive that you can use with your PC.

 

20 minutes ago, fpo said:

However you’re legally allowed to make back ups of software for personal use. 

But your aren't legally allowed to circumvent copy protection measurements, which is a feature on both DVDs and Blu-rays.

Welcome to the multilayered bullshit pile that is copyright law.

[Allmykidsareblack]

47 minutes ago, jaytrl said:

 

Holy shit. Are you about to make the first online citizens arrest?

You about to make the first 'online citizens arrest'? And I'm not redistributing them. Just digitzing them for my own collection

no i am merely coaching you to help you say lawful

[PlayStation 2]

MakeMKV is really the best way to make backups of standard Blu-rays. However, be warned that in the United States it is illegal to circumvent copy protection on any media that has such. Blame daddy MPAA for wanting to screw consumers in 93 ways.

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, jaytrl said:

Hi,

 

I have a bunch of Blu Ray's that I am planning on 'ripping' Some of them are 4K and some not. My question is: What is the best format I should rip the Blu Ray's in the smallest size possible, that'll still retain the best image quality. I have some Blu Ray's that are 4K, and I'm hoping someone can help me out here, in terms of best format to rip 4K Blu Ray's in the smallest compression size.

 

If anyone can help a brother out, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you to all who's read and/or answers back. One Love!

So there are two things you're gonna need to become at least marginally familiar with:

 

Containers (The "file format") and Codecs ("the way the file is coded").

 

For the container, it doesn't really matter. There are two mainstream options to choose from:

1. MP4 (usually has a .mp4 or .m4a extension) - these have better cross device compatibility, but that's not typically a concern with devices in 2019.

2. MKV (.mkv extension) - this has more options and better flexibility, but most people don't utilize those advanced functions. May have the odd compatibility issue with some older devices.

 

For the codec, you've got a couple of good choices:

1. h.265 - this will give you the smallest file size relative to quality. It's more efficient compared to the alternative, but takes more processing power to decode if you don't have hardware decoding built in (only newer devices will have hardware decoding)

2. h.264 - this is the industry standard for media files pretty much. It's still pretty efficient, and requires far less processing power to decode, but lacks some of the advancements of h.265.

 

I'd suggest MKV + h.265 if you want the best of the best. 4K in particular will definitely benefit from h.265.

 

Settings wise, you'll want to play with compression settings. There are three ways to change compression settings:

1. Using a constant bitrate - this is the easiest method, and the easiest to understand. Each frame takes up a specific identical amout of bits. Downside is that it's very inefficient, since not every frame will require the same number of bits to maintain the same "equivalent" quality. Example: a jungle scene vs a very dark hallway.

2. Using variable bitrate by designating a target filesize - this method allows an algorithm to intelligently determine variable bitrate based on a target file size. Benefits from multiple passes, since it can use the previous pass to prioritize and optimize the next pass.

3. Using a "Constant Quality" factor (Handbrake has this feature). This basically says "I want every frame to be of identical quality". You set the quality factor (a number from 0 (lossless: NEVER USE) to 51 (lowest quality), and the encoder will maintain the same quality throughout the entire video. Benefit: best balance between efficiency and consistency. Downside: no real way to estimate file size - a movie with more complex visuals will be larger than a movie with more simple visuals.

 

For 1080p "Blu-ray"-like quality, an RF (Constant quality) figure of around 18 to 20 is typically used. For 4K, you'd probably want to lean more towards 18 (lower is higher quality).

 

Note: These RF figures are for h.264. they should still be somewhat comparable to the same settings in h.265, but as always, do your own testing.

 

EDIT: As @fpo mentioned, use MakeMKV to rip the Blu-Ray to an uncompressed MKV file. Then use Handbrake to convert the file to the codec you want (eg: h.265) and compress it to the desired file size.

 

Further note: 1080p Blu-Ray's are easy. The problem is with 4K Blu-Ray's. There's only 1 or 2 drives out in the market that can read them. And unlocking the encryption (MakeMKV does this part typically) is hit or miss at best.

[TheRandomness]

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