Ripping & Editing Blu Rays

[polskaus]

Hello everyone,

First time posting so please be gentle! I'm a film student and interested in getting a setup together so I can rip blu rays/edit together scenes etc. to make videos as a hobby (for now).

I own the following:

Late 2012 13in Retina Macbook Pro (2.9Ghz i7, 8gb RAM, 1gb Intel Graphics 4000HD, 512gb SSD)
Thunderbolt Display

I will definitely need to buy:
External blu-ray drive

I am just wondering what my best option is re: hardware vs. software? For example, is getting a hardware based solution where I would essentially capture relevant scenes of films I am working on etc. using an external blu-ray capture device (Black Magic Intensity Shuttle/Hauppage etc.) and HDCP stripping device (e.g. HDFury) overkill and an inefficient way of doing things? Or would it be simpler and more efficient a solution to invest in a purely software based configuration e.g. blu-ray ripping software, and then editing software to isolate and edit scenes across different sources etc.?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Cornucopia]

If you are a film student, and plan to make videos as a hobby (or as a profession), I would strongly suggest you spend your money more wisely by buying a camcorder and shooting your own footage. That's the best way to learn (both the shooting and the editing).

Plus, you don't need HDCP strippers to do BDripping. And realtime caps from BDs is wastefully time-consuming.

Oh, yeah, and you're gonna have a much harder time finding the necessary apps on a Mac.

Scott

[Kerry56]

I don't suppose this Macbook has USB 3? Its better than USB 2 for external optical drives if you plan on burning discs. If you just want a Blu-ray drive to play and rip discs, USB 2 should be fine.

If you are going to burn discs, get the LG BE14NU40. I prefer this full sized type anyway, but if you are just going to use the drive to read Blu-ray you can probably get away with using a slim drive, like the Pioneer BDR-XD05B. The slim drives tend to be less durable.

You'll need a decryption program for Macs. MakeMKV is one of your best options, and it is free while in beta. You will need to download new beta keys each month or so to keep using the program, which you can find here: http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053

MakeMKV normally rips the main movie only, as an MKV file. But you can also rip the entire Blu-ray to the hard drive in Backup mode.

Someone else will have to advise you on editing programs for Blu-ray with a Mac. Not something in my experience.

[ndjamena]

Editing together into what exactly? Which container? Ehich codecs?

[MacDSL]

You are better off just getting a camera, In my opinion, Blu-Ray is a dead format, everything is going to files now.
It's just a matter of time before the Studios stop creating Blu-Ray and just force you to use their own streaming service.
Especially for the Mac, Drives were removed years ago.

But for editing? I think if you want to just cut up scenes and piece them together, you can just use Quicktime to copy sections and paste them into a new file.

And use Toast for burning it. Takes forever, but it works. Just remember that you are working on highly compressed files, that take forever to re-save.

[LMotlow]

In my opinion, Blu-Ray is a dead format, everything is going to files now.

Hogwash. If anything's dead, it's Mac.

[Cornucopia]

Actually, this winter, BD will be the ONLY consumer format where you will be able to easily get High Quality, High Bitrate, 4k and/or 3D with loads of extra features, all the way through the chain. Streamed 4k is severely constrained by bitrate (heck, even streamed HD is often too constrained by bitrate), and often lacks additional features (Xtra audio, subs, chaptering,...).

And physical/disc-based formats are the remaining way one can accumulate a nice collection while avoiding being beholden to "the Man" and staying away from the grid.

Nope, not going away anytime soon.

**************

But who wants to waste 2 1/2 hours transferring a 2 1/2 hour movie, when you can rip the disc in 15 min. or less.

Regardless, if are looking to learn how to edit, you start by reviewing the rules and techniques of editing (often by watching selected excerpts), and then by DOING IT YOURSELF with your own material.
A major part of editing is knowing how/when/where and WHY to pare down from larger chunks. Trying to learn that by further paring down something that has been professionally pre-pared down is not going to be as helpful.
Example: what if you were a writer and you needed to learn how to pare down writing. While it certainly is POSSIBLE to re-edit and pare down the Gettysburg Address, it is itself already a well designed piece and doesn't NEED further paring. There might be an exercise or 2 involving "jacked up remixes", but that will only get you so far, and it is at its heart DERIVATIVE - not original. And it won't help you in learning to pare down your own overdone material when you get to that stage (which, if you have any ambition, you will want to do your own stuff).
So, Start by Starting.

Scott

[smrpix]

If you're going to be editing on a mac get FCPX $. (Or Premiere Pro or Avid. $$) Anything else you're not serious.

[MacDSL]

Macs are dead.......okaaayyy, been reading that since 1986, but sure, please go on....

If you are an aspiring film student, I still think a better investment is a camera than a Blu-Ray burner.
To use a famous Hockey reference, I would suggest you look to where the puck is going, not where it currently is.
Not many people are buying Commercial Blu-Ray compared to streaming of files, I understand of course everyone reading this is the special exception, but that does not disprove the rule. I would not suggest to a new student to invest in doing anything in a Blu-Ray format with Apple equipment.

But if that's the path you chose, and there is room for everyone to chose their own path; I would highly suggest that you look into getting a PC for Blu-Ray type of work. For under $1000 you can get something useable for inputting/converting/editing/outputting in Blu-Ray format.

Apple has made a conscious choice not to officially support the blu-ray format, no burners, no Apple software, No simple conversion support. It CAN be done of course, but the system-wide support from Apple is just not there, You would be much better off using a PC for that kind of work. I believe that to Apple, all optical media is a dead format, not just Blu-Ray.