MakeMKV vs Handbrake for DVD

[loninappleton]

Recently Handbrake has been issuing errors of the no source found sort om a DVD rip.

Yet when I installed the newest MakeMkv, the usual CSS protections are shown found on the Disc.

I got MakeMkv working with their special monthly code and all. I d/led the program from MajorGeeks since the website did not seem to offer a clear download or the 'green' page hung up.

Ok for that. I did install the most recent Handbrake but I wonder if I should go back to an older version
since I have LibDVD CSS 1.43 in the handbrake folder which should take care of CSS.

So am I missing anything? Is there a different newer LibDVDCSS ? What should cause the failure to read in Handbrake and will MakeMKV make MKV's since it shows output going to an .iso?

It's all pretty confusing.

[Alwyn]

will MakeMKV make MKV's since it shows output going to an .iso?

In MakeMKV, use File>Open Disk mode to extract only the main movie and create an MKV. An ISO will only be created if you use Backup mode.

[loninappleton]

Thanks for answering. This was definitely confusing me. I'll have to look at the layout of that small
screen again. In the past I noticed MakeMkv would start the work but sent my CPU temp through the
roof. I've avoided it for that reason plus the unique registering every month routine on it.

After all that, Handbrake seemed to take and finish a job after the disk was run through its paces on MakeMkv. It can hardly be a coincidence. I need the features of Handbrake for subtitles and such that a ripper like MakeMkv doesn't have.

I'll come back if needed for more on this, for now, solved.

[loninappleton]

One more important thing on this query.
I noted that after the Handbrake failed to load discs in this series, the error messages say the failure to load can be from several things and one of them is a file size to small to read. They then suggest to look at the Activity Log. I did that and sure enough down at the bottom of the report was a small file size one mb below the threshhold of 12. Why they have this I have no idea. Or why the disc has one tiny file down at the end. Does this need a bug report?

[cholla]

Handbrake does have a setting that should allow a very small file size.
Tools/Options/Advanced/Minimum length of title to scan (seconds):
Set to 0(zero)

[loninappleton]

I'll certainly give it a try !

[jagabo]

DVD encryption (CSS) was completely cracked long ago. What's left are structural protections. The DVD spec is not open. You need a license ($$$) to view it. If you have a license you are legally bound not to disclose the contents. Every thing that is known about DVD navigation and structure has been reverse engineered. The studios spend a lot of time looking for structural tricks that work with DVD players (because they are designed with access to the full DVD spec) but confuse ripping software (and unlicensed software players). That is why ripping software have to updated continuously. And that is what you have.

If MakeMKV is working for your disc just rip it to an MKV file with that, then recompress/convert with some other software if you want a smaller file.

[loninappleton]

Yes also good advice. I think MakeMkv made a TS files series output in onw of my attempts I and dragged that Handbrake ( I was doing all this too late at night...).
But I'll also do that adjustment suggested above.

[loninappleton]

Continuing on the Handbrake settings in Advanced,

I'm not seeing any change in the error message. Please post a screen shot of some sample settings in the right
locations in Handbrake Advanced. I may have read it incorrectly, but here's my changes in my screen shot...

There might be multiple issues and the problem is elsewhere but, like Jagabo said, there's been no change in DVDs in years.

I'll give MakeMkv another spin...

[cholla]

My OS is Windows 7 32-bit & AFAIK i'm using the last working version of Handbrake for this OS.
So it is possible the settings have changed.
The setting in the red square is the one I suggested trying.
If it is in your Handbrake settings.

[Attachment 87864 - Click to enlarge]

[loninappleton]

Thanks for answering. I have some older Win7 backups on HD rather than these new SSDs with Win10. It's worth testing out to see what happens.
Otherwise MakeMkv is a good solution and runs quickly. I'd need to adapt to a two step process to use the Handbrake settings. More to do on it yet.

[loninappleton]

Ha!

I loaded a disc from the same group (a tv series) of DVDs in Win7 and it loaded fine. The DVDs are the factory ones.

The screen shot shows my settings (untouched ever) from that HD.

I think this is worth reporting as a bug to Handbrake.

[cholla]

Did you try setting "Minimum DVD and Blu-ray title duration in seconds. Shorter titles will be skipped:" to 0 (zero) ?
Did Handbrake rip the DVD with the setting change?

I use other software when working with DVDs.
Most of it payware.
I have used both Handbrake & Make MKV to see if they would work.
I have never had the "small file size" error so I can't test it myself.

You posted about the LibDVD CSS 1.43.
My version of Handbrake does not have this.
It uses libdvdcss-2.dll but I checked Properties/Details & it does not list the version.

For a bug report to Handbrake. I have never needed to submit one so I can't say how they respond.
But why not make a bug report ?

[loninappleton]

Bug report is another headache for the github login. I write down passwords and they still fial.
Like the screen shot shows in the first panel, I set minimum to 1 just avoid zero errors which failed.

I included the screen shot from the old Win7 showing that the defaults (since I never touched them not knowing what they were for) did not need changing for Win7 with the old Handbrake 1.33 and it just ran as usual.

[cholla]

What are the small files on your DVD?.
I have a DVD that I will test Handbrake with the smallest file on it is 18kb in the VIDEO-TS folder with two 8kb in the Jacket_P folder.
An AUTORUN.inf 1kb if the movie title folder.
I will post if it errors or doesn't.
My version of Handbrake is HandBrake 0.10.2.7286 - 32bit Version

[davexnet]

What are the small files on your DVD?.
I have a DVD that I will test Handbrake with the smallest file on it is 18kb in the VIDEO-TS folder with two 8kb in the Jacket_P folder.
An AUTORUN.inf 1kb if the movie title folder.
I will post if it errors or doesn't.
My version of Handbrake is HandBrake 0.10.2.7286 - 32bit Version

Probably these are the structural issues/obfuscation jagabo mentioned above.
It makes it look as if the file layout is bogus to fool the ripping software.

[cholla]

What are the small files on your DVD?.
I have a DVD that I will test Handbrake with the smallest file on it is 18kb in the VIDEO-TS folder with two 8kb in the Jacket_P folder.
An AUTORUN.inf 1kb if the movie title folder.
I will post if it errors or doesn't.
My version of Handbrake is HandBrake 0.10.2.7286 - 32bit Version

Probably these are the structural issues/obfuscation jagabo mentioned above.
It makes it look as if the file layout is bogus to fool the ripping software.

@davexnet,

This commercial DVD has just one standard vobset in the VIDEO_TS folder.
Then the other normal files like previews & warnings.
These are the extra files outside the VIDEO_TS folder:
The AUTORUN.INF just opens the dvd-rom.exe.
It has some images & a link to Sony web site.
I couldn't get the go.exe to do anything.

[Attachment 87877 - Click to enlarge]
The Jacket_P folder has .mp2 files that say audio but are just images.

[Attachment 87878 - Click to enlarge]

I do not believe they are the type files jagabo posted about.
I chose this DVD at first because it had the additional small files.
I got no errors from Handbrake.

@ loninappleton,
I saw you were working on a "series".
I believe this is probably a TV series.
Now I have Handbrake working on a TV series commercial DVD I have.
I will see if it shows errers.

[davexnet]

@Cholla those files you mentioned have nothing to do with the DVD, the Video_TS folder,
they're just extras that were added for some value-added nonsense.
Probably something to do with the exe file(s) they're not hidden and not encrypted - I wouldn't run them,
although they're probably innocent enough - they're not required to either play or rip the disk

[loninappleton]

We are good on this... no need for testing. The older Handbrake 1.33 running on Win7 (that's the last issued for Win7) works fine.
What errors out is newer Handbrake versions on Win10 and that's regardless of which of my two setups I've tried, one MSI BIOS and the other ASUS BIOS.

I would like to contact Handbrake directly but error reports go to Github. Github is giving the ol' password not found error so I'm dealing with that.
However if someone else can report the error, I would be grateful not to have to go through Github shenanigans.

[cholla]

The older Handbrake 1.33 running on Win7 (that's the last issued for Win7) works fine.

Handbrake v 1.3.3 is only for Windows 7 64-bit .
It does not work on Windows 7 32-bit.

[loninappleton]

What are the small files on your DVD?.
I have a DVD that I will test Handbrake with the smallest file on it is 18kb in the VIDEO-TS folder with two 8kb in the Jacket_P folder.
An AUTORUN.inf 1kb if the movie title folder.
I will post if it errors or doesn't.
My version of Handbrake is HandBrake 0.10.2.7286 - 32bit Version

Probably these are the structural issues/obfuscation jagabo mentioned above.
It makes it look as if the file layout is bogus to fool the ripping software.

OP here, This was the thought I had on it after looking at the error and activity log.

[loninappleton]

Did you try setting "Minimum DVD and Blu-ray title duration in seconds. Shorter titles will be skipped:" to 0 (zero) ?
Did Handbrake rip the DVD with the setting change?

I use other software when working with DVDs.
Most of it payware.
I have used both Handbrake & Make MKV to see if they would work.
I have never had the "small file size" error so I can't test it myself.

You posted about the LibDVD CSS 1.43.
My version of Handbrake does not have this.
It uses libdvdcss-2.dll but I checked Properties/Details & it does not list the version.

For a bug report to Handbrake. I have never needed to submit one so I can't say how they respond.
But why not make a bug report ?

On the libdvd-2.dll please say where this came from. I have another question here on videohelp
thinking that libdvd-2 might be a solution. What I found in a search was libdvdcss-2 should be found at VLC. But going to VLC only shows 1.4.3 as the latest version and the only one showing.

[davexnet]

version 1.43 is the latest. It's not the CSS encryption that's the problem, it's the other issues mentioned above.
You were unlucky enough to have a DVD that obfuscated its structure enough that HB couldn't quite deal with it

[cholla]

[QUOTE=loninappleton;2778882]

On the libdvd-2.dll please say where this came from. I have another question here on videohelp
thinking that libdvd-2 might be a solution. What I found in a search was libdvdcss-2 should be found at VLC. But going to VLC only shows 1.4.3 as the latest version and the only one showing.

I posted in the other topic an explanation of the difference.

VLC:
https://download.videolan.org/libdvdcss/1.2.11/win64/

Xreveal
https://xreveal.com/libdvdcss.html

I believe you should download & install Xreveal.
Do the setup with instructions from Xreveal with the keydb.cfg.
Instructions
Be sure to download the Plugins
Run it with Handbrake.

Or download & install DVDFab Passkey & run it with Handbrake.
Passkey becomes Passkeylite after the trial period.

If is is "a DVD that obfuscated its structure enough that HB couldn't quite deal with it"
Either of those should take care of it.
On passkeylite if the DVDs you are ripping are new releases Passkeylite might not decrypt them.
There is a delay of about 60 days for new releases.
The passkey trial should not have the delay.

[loninappleton]

Hi Dave,

Ok I'll drop it. I can readily use MakeMkv these days. I had problems with it in the past-- just need to refresh that temp. password they have each month. And I see I can easily get the encode from MakeMkv into Handbrake for the special features it has.

[netmask56]

Hi Dave,

Ok I'll drop it. I can readily use MakeMkv these days. I had problems with it in the past-- just need to refresh that temp. password they have each month. And I see I can easily get the encode from MakeMkv into Handbrake for the special features it has.

Ive used MakeMKV almost since its inception, made mkv files of my entire collection now sitting on my NAS. Never had a problem with MakeMKV and I purchased a license to overcome the monthly update. Creators of useful software should be supported as much as possible. Its a one off payment so no subscriptions like many others. I keep my MKV files at original size for maximum quality.

[cholla]

I also have used MakeMKV almost from the start.
Not to the extent netmask56 has.
The MakeMKV forum was a lot of help when I flashed my WH16NS40 so it could use UHD.

[loninappleton]

OP here,

All good advice. I might have been an early user if I had not had overheating problems. Maybe something is resolved with that. My recent usage has been fine. I'm used to reaching for Hb though.