Best way to convert an MKV file to Blu-ray?

[hbenthow]

I am trying to convert a 25.6 GB MKV file into Blu-ray format. It will have to be uncropped for Blu-ray compatibility, as its aspect ratio is 1920 x 804. It will also have to be shrunk some, as it must fit on a single-layer BD-R. I don't want to add a menu.

I tried converting it into a Blu-ray (one small enough to fit on a BD-25) using MultiAVCHD and this guide:

http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/create_avchd_and_blu-ray_discs_with_multiavchd.cfm

But after two days of constant encoding, taking up nearly all of my computer's resources, it was still only about 1/3 of the way done. As it had only been a test run, and I wasn't entirely sure that I had used all the right settings, I canceled it.

Is using MultiAVCHD for this the right way to go? Or should I use it only to create the Blu-ray folders, then use BD-Rebuilder for the shrinking? Would that cause more quality loss? Is there anything I overlooked?

Here are the specs of my MKV file:

Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 25.6 GiB
Duration : 3h 48mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 16.1 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2014-04-18 15:36:10
Writing application : mkvmerge v4.9.1 ('Ich will') built on Jul 11 2011 23:53:15
Writing library : libebml v1.2.1 + libmatroska v1.1.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Muxing mode : Header stripping
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 3h 48mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 14.2 Mbps
Nominal bit rate : 16.3 Mbps
Maximum bit rate : 22.0 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 804 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.385
Stream size : 22.7 GiB (89%)
Writing library : x264 core 112
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-4 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=1 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=16300 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=5 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=22000 / vbv_bufsize=21987 / nal_hrd=vbr / frame-packing=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : ES
Mode : 16
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Muxing mode : Header stripping
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 3h 48mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 7 channels / 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, Back: C, LFE / Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 50ms
Stream size : 2.41 GiB (9%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Text #1
ID : 3
Format : UTF-8
Codec ID : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Text #2
ID : 4
Format : UTF-8
Codec ID : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text
Language : Spanish
Default : No
Forced : No

EDIT: I just thought of something: would it perhaps be better to convert the file to AVCHD than to Blu-ray? Would it be easier or require less encoding? Would it be as compatible with Blu-ray players?

[Baldrick]

I would try bdrebuilder. It can do mkv to blu-ray. Or try bdtoavchd or avchdcoder.

Multiavchd hasn't been updated for a long time now and may have problems with some mkvs.

But your video must be reconverted to be blu-ray compliant(1920x804 is not a blu-ray standard) so it may take a while to reconvert.

[hbenthow]

I would try bdrebuilder. It can do mkv to blu-ray. Or try bdtoavchd or avchdcoder.

Do you know of any good written or video guides for using any of those programs for converting MKV to Blu-ray?

[Baldrick]

Nope. But BDtoAVCHD is probably easiest. Load the mkv and convert to an iso that you can burn with imgburn.

[hbenthow]

Nope. But BDtoAVCHD is probably easiest. Load the mkv and convert to an iso that you can burn with imgburn.

Thank you for the advice. I'll try and see what I can accomplish with BDtoAVCHD.

[hbenthow]

I'm still experimenting, but all the programs I've tried so far take enormous amounts of time, using huge amounts of my system resources. That may wind up being a necessary evil.

I have a quick question: does AVCHD have the same aspect ratio compatibility requirements as Blu-ray? In other words, must 1080p video be 1920x1080 for an AVCHD disc, or can it be 1920x804 or something of that nature?

[johns0]

It's gotta be 1920x1080 for an avchd,try uncropmkv to encode it.

[hbenthow]

It's gotta be 1920x1080 for an avchd,try uncropmkv to encode it.

I've tried uncropmkv, but the program wouldn't even start up. It gave some sort of error.

[tarzan54]

I use tsMuxeR to convert movie files to bluray which takes about 15 minutes then shrink with BDRebuilder which takes about another 70-90 minutes, Now I'm not sure about the aspect ratio with tsMuxeR as I always keep the ratio the same as the movies when ripping movies to my hard drive, I have no problems with this method, I'm using a 6 core AMD processor with 8GB memory.

[hbenthow]

I use tsMuxeR to convert movie files to bluray which takes about 15 minutes then shrink with BDRebuilder which takes about another 70-90 minutes, Now I'm not sure about the aspect ratio with tsMuxeR as I always keep the ratio the same as the movies when ripping movies to my hard drive, I have no problems with this method, I'm using a 6 core AMD processor with 8GB memory.

My CPU is only dual-core, so I don't have nearly as much processing power as you do. It takes nearly all of my system resources for several days straight to convert an HD MKV file to Blu-ray while converting it to the proper aspect ratio (a necessary step for Blu-ray compatibility).

[wulf109]

Try BDRB in Highspeed BD25 mode. Even on dual-core it should only take 3-4 hours. Uncropmkv can add the black bars to make it BD compliant in around an hour or two.

[johns0]

It's gotta be 1920x1080 for an avchd,try uncropmkv to encode it.

I've tried uncropmkv, but the program wouldn't even start up. It gave some sort of error.

What was the error message?

[hbenthow]

Try BDRB in Highspeed BD25 mode. Even on dual-core it should only take 3-4 hours.

But won't high-speed mode cause a lot of quality loss?

[wulf109]

No,your putting it on BD25 and HSBD25 mode works well. With the resulting high bitrate the first pass is not needed.

[hbenthow]

It's gotta be 1920x1080 for an avchd,try uncropmkv to encode it.

I've tried uncropmkv, but the program wouldn't even start up. It gave some sort of error.

What was the error message?

I don't remember. I had uninstalled it.

After I got your message, I reinstalled it, and now it seems to work correctly. It's currently giving me an ETA of about two hours for a 15.4 GB video (which is quite a good speed).

[wulf109]

After Uncropmkv finishes you should be able to load the mkv in TSmuxer and create a BD file structure you can burn with Imgburn.

[hbenthow]

After Uncropmkv finishes you should be able to load the mkv in TSmuxer and create a BD file structure you can burn with Imgburn.

That sounds like it will work for the 15.4 GB file in question. But the 25.6 GB file I mentioned originally will probably require shrinking. Should I use tsMuxeR to create the Blu-ray structure, then shrink it with BD-Rebuilder (in high-speed mode as you suggested).

[johns0]

You can shrink it with uncropmkv as well since it works fast on your system unless bd-rebuilder will re-encode it as fast.

[hbenthow]

You can shrink it with uncropmkv as well since it works fast on your system unless bd-rebuilder will re-encode it as fast.

I wasn't aware that uncropmkv could shrink files as well. I can't find any settings enabling it do so.

I just discovered that the reason that uncropmkv is currently working so fast is that it's set by default to 1-pass turbo. Do you think that this is likely to cause serious quality loss?

[johns0]

Best way to tell is to see the finished encode,i did a lot of encodes using that setting and didn't notice any serious loss as long as you use a high enough bitrate setting which you can input into uncropmkv to shrink it to a manageable size.

To set the bitrate in uncropmkv you just put the number value in the bitrate window.

[wulf109]

I would stick with BDRB HSBD25 mode to shrink the file and it will be in proper format to burn with Imgburn.

[hbenthow]

Best way to tell is to see the finished encode,i did a lot of encodes using that setting and didn't notice any serious loss as long as you use a high enough bitrate setting which you can input into uncropmkv to shrink it to a manageable size.

To set the bitrate in uncropmkv you just put the number value in the bitrate window.

In general, how much difference in quality is there between the slowest and fastest settings when the result is going to be BD-25 sized?

[hbenthow]

I would stick with BDRB HSBD25 mode to shrink the file and it will be in proper format to burn with Imgburn.

I think that would probably be wise.

Regarding BD-Rebuilder, how much difference in quality is there usually between the slowest and fastest settings when the result is going to be BD-25 sized?

[fritzi93]

I would stick with BDRB HSBD25 mode to shrink the file and it will be in proper format to burn with Imgburn.

I think that would probably be wise.

Regarding BD-Rebuilder, how much difference in quality is there usually between the slowest and fastest settings when the result is going to be BD-25 sized?

Darn near indistinguishable, and whatever speed preset used will have a slight generational quality loss. BD25 target size means a high bitrate for an average-length movie. That's why the high-speed option is suitable for your dual-core.

As an aside, the Blu-Ray spec was written with MPEG2 included, which is far less efficient than H.264, the codec used for most Blu-Ray commercial movies these days. Often times (an H.264) main movie will fit on BD25 with no re-encode, especially if the audio is re-encoded and extraneous audio/sub tracks are excluded.

So again, the necessity to uncrop/re-encode means a quality hit, but BD25 is ample size.

[hbenthow]

I would stick with BDRB HSBD25 mode to shrink the file and it will be in proper format to burn with Imgburn.

I think that would probably be wise.

Regarding BD-Rebuilder, how much difference in quality is there usually between the slowest and fastest settings when the result is going to be BD-25 sized?

Darn near indistinguishable, and whatever speed preset used will have a slight generational quality loss. BD25 target size means a high bitrate for an average-length movie. That's why the high-speed option is suitable for your dual-core.

As an aside, the Blu-Ray spec was written with MPEG2 included, which is far less efficient than H.264, the codec used for most Blu-Ray commercial movies these days. Often times (an H.264) main movie will fit on BD25 with no re-encode, especially if the audio is re-encoded and extraneous audio/sub tracks are excluded.

So again, the necessity to uncrop/re-encode means a quality hit, but BD25 is ample size.

That might make things considerably easier. I've always been going for the highest quality. Going for the fastest speed (or maybe a compromise halfway in-between) might be a better solution.

[tarzan54]

My old computer was a dual core and it would take anywhere from 2-1/2 hours to 3-1/2 hours so that isn't a problem, I always use the fastest setting with BDRebuilder as I notice no video lost between the slowest and fastest setting so the choice is yours, I don't think your going to find it any easier to do then with the mention suggestions.

[The-One]

I realize this an old topic so I'm not posting a reply for the original OP as much as for those who happen to find this topic using a search as I did.

I was also looking for a better simple fast alternative to convert an MKV container into a BluRay structure. My favorite tool for converting TO MKV is MKVToolNix, but for some reason they haven't include the reverse conversion option. This is really too bad as MKVToolNix has really good options for streams.

Currently I use mainly TSMuxerGUI but it has issues many times not recognizing tracks. When TSMuxerGUI fails to load tracks I use BD-Rebuilder using the IMPORT option. When you import and MKV into BDRB, it first converts the MKV into BDMV format. Once the import is finished, you will find the converted BDMV folder in the BDRB working folder. You don't actually need to process the movie with BDRB.

I was looking for an all-in-one solution like MKVToolNix but with the option for 2-way conversion.

[Ennio]

This being an old thread indeed, the title & topic are still quite actual.

Currently I use mainly TSMuxerGUI but it has issues many times not recognizing tracks.

I don't think they are "issues" rather than missing requirements. Importing media into tsMuxer for (UHD)BD authoring calls for the elementary streams to be (UHD)BD-compliant. tsMuxer simply isn't a re-encoder or converter of those streams to certain specs. It justs accepts them or not based on compliancy.

Eventhough most (UHD)BD playlists can directly be imported into MKVToolnix to remux m2ts into mkv, not every mkv is (UHD)BD compatible. Mkv can contain a lot of different types of audio, video and subtitles compared to (UHD)BD. And just like tsMuxer, it does not re-encode.

[Ennio]

I realise this being a quite dated thread, but

Recently a certain testfork of tsMuxer became available for folks with a github account. It can mux TrueHD only - so, without an embedded AC-3 track - into BD folder structure. A few quick-and-dirty tests show proper playback on my mediaplayers. I did not burn & test on my BD player.
Of course a lot of BD players expect BD compliant sources. Nevertheless, maybe some BD players will accept the 'TrueHD only' audiotrack.
For those who are interested, and for the thread itself I felt mentioning this fork. Read from here:

https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1961685#post1961685