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My Massive DVD Conversion Project

CubusX said:
It's Handbrake.

It's asking to scan and I need VLC files.

Thank you.
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im sorry but you need to be more specific. VLC files? what format are they? what is their extension? .m4v? .mp4? .avi?

are they DVD rips?

generally, you scan a movie file that you wish to convert - it shouldnt hvae any problems :)
 
Install VLC

I think Handbrake needs VLC installed to rip DVDs, since the encryption stuff isn't included in HB anymore. Try installing VLC, then it should work.
 
No prob, I'm pretty sure I read it in this very forum.

Personally I've ripped all my DVDs to VIDEO_TS folders, preserving all the uncompressed goodness...Drobo is good for this. :)
 
Earlier someone made mention of encoding using the high profile settings, well does that setting allow it to be potted over to why of the apple devices?
(Ivebeen using apple universal settings and the video quality is perfect, just the audio on some films sounds lighter...even on ATV setting.)
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
you might consider grouping them by putting the same tag in a "show" field. For example, if you have the 6 Star Wars movies, if you'll put "Star Wars" in the "show" field, you'll create a "Star Wars" folder as a single line in your :apple:TV movie list, with the 6 movies inside of it.
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Well you learn something new every day. Are you sating to set the "Show" tag for Movies ?
Rather than the "Genre" tag, that I've been using so far - and AppleTV has a sort by genre option.
 
I just converted about 250+ DVD's to mp4. I'm pretty happy with the results, I've got them all tagged in MetaX properly with info, retained all the audio commentaries, 5.1 AC3 surround, etc. Quality to file size ratio is excellent with Handbrake. I use the Universal setting, I find the Apple TV setting to be overkill. For my Blu-Ray converts, I use the universal setting as well, movies look flawless on my HDTV considering I don't have to change discs and the file size is low.

I didn't build a fancy PC or anything, just ripped the discs to my drive whenever I had a chance and queued them all up in Handbrake to convert when I was asleep, at work, etc.

I also converted several music videos and TV Seasons from DVD as well. TV shows are the most laborious to make sure you have date, episode descriptions, etc. correct. I use MetaX along with Wikipedia and TV.com for that.

I still have some non-standard DVD's that I haven't converted yet. Things like sports discs with bonus material where I would need an iTunes-extras like setup to include the extra features in. I don't want to pull all these boxes off the shelf, convert the main feature and then pull them all off again when a new feature is added that lets me add these bonuses without cluttering my library. For movie features, I'm not too bothered, I don't think I've ever watched any bonus features for non-documentary films.
 
How long does it usually take to convert a DVD in Handbrake? I'm using a homemade dvd, 4.3gb, and using the h.264 codec, creating a MKV at constant quality 60% RF 20, it says it will take 2 and half hours to finish. I have the latest MBP 17" i5.
 
mikeheenan said:
How long does it usually take to convert a DVD in Handbrake? I'm using a homemade dvd, 4.3gb, and using the h.264 codec, creating a MKV at constant quality 60% RF 20, it says it will take 2 and half hours to finish. I have the latest MBP 17" i5.
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why are you creating a mkv? that sounds about right though. what sort of FPS are you getting?
 
My response to all media storage related questions is to invest in an UnRaid server. You can build a very inexpensive PC for ~400 and then the only thing you need to add is hard drives as you start to run out of space. Currently I am running a 10TB UnRaid server with a random assortment of 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB drives holding thousands of DVDs and a few hundred BRs. I would seriously recommend spending some time at all of the following forums before you try to undertake this project. Good Luck!

Lime Tech - Creators of UnRaid
http://www.lime-technology.com/

AVS Forum - Great forum in general, but their HTPC sub-forum has lots of useful info regarding apps to playback all your newly ripped content.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26

Slysoft and Elaborate Bytes Forum - Creators of AnyDVD, AnyDVD HD, Clone DVD and Virtual Clone Drive. My programs of choice for removing security, ripping, encoding and burning on my PCs.
http://forum.slysoft.com/
 
DoFoT9 said:
why are you creating a mkv? that sounds about right though. what sort of FPS are you getting?
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I thought that would be the best format to convert to, but then I decided to convert to m4v instead. Now the files are a bit smaller. I'm getting about 20fps on the encoding (high profile, h264, constant quality at rf 20). I don't mind how long it takes since I can just queue them all up, but are there any settings I can change to save sometime but not at the expense of quality? I know it's garbage in, garbage out, but I don't want the quality to get much worse.
 
super_kev said:
If you have access to a Mac, use Handbrake (I think they also have a Windows GUI) with the "High Profile" preset at RF=18, and two audio tracks - the default High Profile audio (stereo mixdown) and then an additional AC3 Passthrough (for 5.1/etc.) on the second track. The mixdown to stereo allows for audio in the iPad. Or, just rip all your DVDs in RF=18 and AC3 passthrough, and then re-rip the saved file and downmix the audio with Handbrake for when you want to transfer it to the iPad, which is how I do it since I don't need a stereo track for each ripped movie. The iPod/iPhone will require a separate rip at a reduced resolution, so you can convert that from a saved rip only when you want to view/transfer the file to the iPod/iPhone.

My recommendation (and what I do), which is mainly HT setup:
-Get a Mac Mini, low end is fine. HDMI and Toslink cables from Monoprice. Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

-Use Handbrake with High Profile and RF=18 with AC3 passthrough: it will give you 1.4-2GB movie sizes that look amazing, as well as surround audio. If you keep the default stereo downmix (to be compatible on the iPad), add another 200-300MB.

-Get a OWC FW400/FW800 SATA dual SATA drive enclosure from Other World Computing and two 1.5TB Samsung F2 HD154UI drives from NewEgg. You'll have a dedicated 1.5TB for media, and one drive for backup.

-Download Plex (plexapp.com) for a HT software. Setup the movie/TV scrape server options to download data.

-Launch Plex from the keyboard while on your couch. I also use OneKey, $5 shareware to assign a unused F-key to Plex (I use F5).

-Enjoy your movies.

Questions? Ask away. :)
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That sounds like a bloody good idea!!
 
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