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  1. Hi. I am new to the forum and I wasn't sure where to post this, so please move it accordingly.

    I am trying to rip my DVDs and BluRays to my hard drive so I can play them on my PC, TV and portable devices with the best quality and minimal file size as possible. However, when I create a MKV or Mp4 file from a DVD, the resulting file does not play smoothly on my PC (video only, audio is fine). Stutter, judder, choppy - I've seen it described many different ways, but simply put, it is not as smooth as when playing the DVD directly from the optical drive on my PC, or from a direct rip made to the HDD with AnyDVD. The more compression I use, the worse the judder (this is the term I decided to use ). For instance, the quality is better when using MakeMKV than it is when using Handbrake (Normal or High Profile with a CQ set to 20). Of course the file size is much larger (over 6x) with the MakeMKV. The judder is much less noticeable streaming the video through Plex Media Server to my iPad or TV.

    More info:
    - Win7 64bit, Intel i7, Nvidia GT 635, 16GB Ram
    - It does not matter which player I use (PowerDVD 13, VLC or Windows Media Player) the quality is about the same.
    - MKV and Mp4 files created from BluRay discs play much smoother than ones created from regular DVDs (unfortunately I have a lot of DVDs).
    - The judder, of course, is much more noticeable during action/panning scenes.

    Is there better method/settings, either using the software I have or another sw package, that will create a file from a DVD that will play smoothly on my PC and will also minimize the file size? Or is it simply impractical to expect to convert a DVD to a compressed file and achieve the same smoothness as the original when playing on the PC?? I can live with the quality of the MakeMKV file, although I will need to add storage space (or I can pop in the DVD I want to watch into the optical drive - not my first choice but an option). I just want to make sure that there is not a better solution.

    Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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  2. Member
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    MakeMKV does not compress anything, which is why you are getting the same quality as seen in the original Blu-ray or DVD movies. You are simply changing container formats.

    I think your problem has more to do with playback software if you are using Handbrake, High Profile and CRF 20. One thing to change in the default settings within Handbrake is the VFR (variable frame rate). Switch this to Constant Frame Rate. And just as an experiment, try turning off hardware acceleration in PowerDVD 13. Your i7 cpu is plenty fast enough to do this in software.
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  3. Member
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    In Handbrake:

    Make sure the DETELECINE filter is set to <Default>
    Set the Frame Rate to <Constant> & <Same as Source>

    Should smooth things right out for you.

    Most DVDs are media that was shot at 23.97fps but to meet NTSC standards, extra frames have been inserted to make the framerate 29.97. Setting Detelecine to <Default> tells Handbrake to remove these extra frames when they are detected. It does this very well and what you are left with is a media file that is restored to its proper 23.97fps.

    You can leave it at <Default> all of the time, since it won't remove the extra frames if it doesn't detect them.
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  4. Thank you for the replies. I have tried turning off hw acceleration in PowerDVD, but that did not help. I will try the handbrake settings. Thx!
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  5. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    I use VidCoder as a front end for Handbrake. Much easier to set up for multiple encodes. I encode to MKV directly from the DVD disc drives. Takes about 15 minutes per DVD conversion.
    I use Detelecine and Decomb at default. Constant framerate. Constant quality at 19.3 (The MKVs end up at about 1 GB to 2 GB.) Audio is set to AC3 passthrough.
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  6. Thank you! Much better!! These settings in Handbrake did the trick. The overall smoothness is vastly improved and the file it created is only 1.3GB. I thought I had tried these settings before based on info I read on various websites, but I’m not sure if I ever tried them together. I’ve noticed that the sequence used in Handbrake matters as well and I may have changed the video settings, and then selected the source which may have reset the settings back to default for the conversion. In any case I created a new custom preset with the changes and set it as the default, so I should be good going forward.

    Just a follow up question:
    Would you recommend these 2 Handbrake settings changes for Blu Rays as well as DVDs?

    Thanks again!

    redwudz - thanks for the tips. I'll do some experimenting with this as well. I did have a question re: Handbrake CQ but I'll post it in a new thread.
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    Would you recommend these 2 Handbrake settings changes for Blu Rays as well as DVDs?
    Yes. I'm not sure why Handbrake went to VFR as default in the first place, as the benefits do not outweigh the problems it causes in a lot of equipment. The Detelecine setting won't matter on Blu-ray sources, as the vast majority of commercial Blu-ray are already 23.976 or 24fps. I've never moved that setting off default, so didn't think of it. I also use Vidcoder, instead of Handbrake, but its just a slightly different gui, with a few different controls.
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  8. Member
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    Originally Posted by MikeC58 View Post
    Thank you! Much better!! These settings in Handbrake did the trick. The overall smoothness is vastly improved and the file it created is only 1.3GB. I thought I had tried these settings before based on info I read on various websites, but I’m not sure if I ever tried them together. I’ve noticed that the sequence used in Handbrake matters as well and I may have changed the video settings, and then selected the source which may have reset the settings back to default for the conversion. In any case I created a new custom preset with the changes and set it as the default, so I should be good going forward.

    Just a follow up question:
    Would you recommend these 2 Handbrake settings changes for Blu Rays as well as DVDs?

    Thanks again!

    redwudz - thanks for the tips. I'll do some experimenting with this as well. I did have a question re: Handbrake CQ but I'll post it in a new thread.
    I leave those settings on for BR conversions as well. When the filters are set to <Default> they kick in when necessary and don't do anything when they're unnecessary. I like that all of my rips come out at a nice, even 23.97fps regardless of format when I use Constant Frame Rate & Same as Source. I know it will playback smoothly on all of my devices.
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