Handbrake VS. MakeMKV

[ROBO731]

I have been ripping dvd's lately and there are multiple episodes on the disks. At first I use handbrake and broke up the episodes by chapter. Now I'm using MakeMKV and then extracting the OGM chapter file and using the time codes to split the files. What I want to know is which program offers better quality rips or are they both the same and how can I get the highest possible quality rip (I'm not concerned about how long it will take as long as it's free).

[olyteddy]

From a DVD source? MakeMKV wins hands down. It just repackages the original, unmodified video (and audio) into an MKV container. HandBrake re-encodes the video into AVC which results in a smaller file but not the original video.

[ROBO731]

Thanks, I kind of figured that was the the difference, but I wasn't sure.

[ROBO731]

MakeMKV should be faster as well right since it's just "repackaging" the contents of the disc right?

[Hoser Rob]

MakeMKV is faster than any encoder ... handbrake is not a slow one ... because you are just changing the container of the video file(s). Like many newer users you're confusing ripping (ie. just copying and/or repackaging the dvd video and decrypting it) with encoding and encoding compressing it.

However, it's trialware, not free.

You could also try dvdfab hd decrypter, which is free. It doesn't put the video into an mkv container. it just creates a video_ts folder which you can them open with a software player. I've used it many times, and it's the best free tool I know of for keeping up with newer dvd copy protection schemes.

If you want the utmost quality and don't mind paying for all that extra storage you'll need (the obvious advantage of reencoding), just ripping is the way to go. It's way faster and, perhaps more important, way easier. Video encoding is very complex and there's no good way to simplify it.

[ROBO731]

Thanks, I think I understand the difference. It's a shame it's trialware. I'll give your suggestion a try once the trial is over.

[jagabo]

After ripping to your hard drive with DvdFab you can use VOB2MPG to remux into an MPG file. Or mmg to remux into MKV. All are free.