Blu-ray Questions....

[Avenger]

I'm looking to buy an internal blu-ray burner for my 2009 Mac Pro (2.66 quad-core cpu). I'm probably going to get the LG WH12LS39. Do the newer LG drives like this one have the sleeping problem or the clicking problem when there is no disc inserted?

I'm going to use MakeMKV to rip blu-ray discs and then follow up with Handbrake to re-encode files at 720p that can be used in both Plex and an Apple TV2. Is this the best software combo to use or is there something out there more efficient?

One last question. I never encoded HD video before (just DVD's). How long would it taken to rip and encode a blu-ray movie of 90 mins in length to 720p with decent quality (assuming my 2009 quad core Mac Pro model)? Is it on the order of 2-3 hours?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[scottsjack]

I'm looking to buy an internal blu-ray burner for my 2009 Mac Pro (2.66 quad-core cpu). I'm probably going to get the LG WH12LS39. Do the newer LG drives like this one have the sleeping problem or the clicking problem when there is no disc inserted?

I'm going to use MakeMKV to rip blu-ray discs and then follow up with Handbrake to re-encode files at 720p that can be used in both Plex and an Apple TV2. Is this the best software combo to use or is there something out there more efficient?

One last question. I never encoded HD video before (just DVD's). How long would it taken to rip and encode a blu-ray movie of 90 mins in length to 720p with decent quality (assuming my 2009 quad core Mac Pro model)? Is it on the order of 2-3 hours?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have that BR drive in a 2010 MP. It works fine. There have been no sleeping or noise issues with either SL, Lion or W7.

I also use MakeMKV.. Last weekend I ripped "Knowing". It took a couple of hours or so but I didn't pay much attention. The MKV file plays great in either Lion or W7 using VLC. I also used Handbrake to make an m4v version for my short-on-space MBP.

 

[Avenger]

I have that BR drive in a 2010 MP. It works fine. There have been no sleeping or noise issues with either SL, Lion or W7.

I also use MakeMKV.. Last weekend I ripped "Knowing". It took a couple of hours or so but I didn't pay much attention. The MKV file plays great in either Lion or W7 using VLC. I also used Handbrake to make an m4v version for my short-on-space MBP.

Thanks. I picked up a LG WH12L38 yesterday but haven't installed it yet. Will probably get to it tonight. We'll see how it goes...

 

[khollister]

I have that BR drive in a 2010 MP. It works fine. There have been no sleeping or noise issues with either SL, Lion or W7.

I also use MakeMKV.. Last weekend I ripped "Knowing". It took a couple of hours or so but I didn't pay much attention. The MKV file plays great in either Lion or W7 using VLC. I also used Handbrake to make an m4v version for my short-on-space MBP.

2 hours?! - just finished ripping the feature from "Crazy Heart" - feature is 29.1 GB, MakeMKV took 34 minutes. My drive is a LG 12LS28. No sleep issues, but I do get the "click while empty" thing once in a while unless I keep a blank disc in there.

I have a 6-core MP, but it's not like all the cores are maxed out or anything.

 

[Avenger]

2 hours?! - just finished ripping the feature from "Crazy Heart" - feature is 29.1 GB, MakeMKV took 34 minutes. My drive is a LG 12LS28. No sleep issues, but I do get the "click while empty" thing once in a while unless I keep a blank disc in there.

I have a 6-core MP, but it's not like all the cores are maxed out or anything.

I did some testing and as you stated its about 35 minutes for MakeMKV to rip a blu ray movie. But to encode it in handbrake to 720p takes me over 2 hours. It's probably faster with your 6-core cpu. I only have the standard quad on 1 2009 mac pro.

Btw, the drive does make a slight sound once in a while. This must be the click people are talking about. I wonder if I upgrade my mac pro to the 2010 EFI if it would go away.

 

[dh2005]

I did some testing and as you stated its about 35 minutes for MakeMKV to rip a blu ray movie. But to encode it in handbrake to 720p takes me over 2 hours. It's probably faster with your 6-core cpu. I only have the standard quad on 1 2009 mac pro.

I'd be interested to know how much more quickly Handbrake transcodes with a hexa-core CPU over a quad, if anyone can advise...

 

[flatfoot]

I'd be interested to know how much more quickly Handbrake transcodes with a hexa-core CPU over a quad, if anyone can advise...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1299763/

There is a Handbrake benchmark in the list. The W3520 is a 2.67GHz quad-core, the W3680 is a 3.33GHz hexa-core.

 

[Hey Jude]

I'd be interested to know how much more quickly Handbrake transcodes with a hexa-core CPU over a quad, if anyone can advise...

Here is a current encode for reference from a MakeMKV BD rip:

 

[khollister]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1299763/

There is a Handbrake benchmark in the list. The W3520 is a 2.67GHz quad-core, the W3680 is a 3.33GHz hexa-core.

58% faster - given the 50% increase in cores and the larger cache, about what I would expect. Handbrake is very scalable.

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I did some testing and as you stated its about 35 minutes for MakeMKV to rip a blu ray movie. But to encode it in handbrake to 720p takes me over 2 hours. It's probably faster with your 6-core cpu. I only have the standard quad on 1 2009 mac pro.

Btw, the drive does make a slight sound once in a while. This must be the click people are talking about. I wonder if I upgrade my mac pro to the 2010 EFI if it would go away.

Since my 6 core is a 2010, the firmware update isn't going to make any difference it appears.

Didn't realize you were talking about the transcoding taking 2+ hours - makes perfect sense

 

[Avenger]

58% faster - given the 50% increase in cores and the larger cache, about what I would expect. Handbrake is very scalable.

Does it really come out that much faster in practice? For example, I have a 1080p mkv movie than I'm encoding in Handbrake to 720p on my 2.66 quad-core cpu and its taking 2 hrs to encode. Will then encode time go down to less than an hour with the hex-core?

 

[khollister]

Does it really come out that much faster in practice? For example, I have a 1080p mkv movie than I'm encoding in Handbrake to 720p on my 2.66 quad-core cpu and its taking 2 hrs to encode. Will then encode time go down to less than an hour with the hex-core?

Handbrake is one of those apps that scales incredibly well across cores (as do many of the video rendering/encoding apps). But your math is off - it will go down to a little under an hour and 20 minutes or so. You would need an 8 core 3.2 to get to an hour or less.