MakeMKV (Notices of New Versions)

[lhb1142]

Sorry for the delay ... the binary is yet untested but it build OK with no apparent errors. Dowload MakeMKV version 1.7.9.

Dear Archie,

It works. Thanks again, very much.

I do not know how many PCLOS users are using this MakeMKV program but do you think it would be possible to at least consider putting into the repository, even the Special section? This would save you the trouble of making this .RPM on special order by me and would allow anyone who wanted the program to be able to easily obtain it (if it were in the repository it would be much more accessible to PCLOS users than wading through this thread).

I would still be happy to let you know of new versions (they seem to be introduced every month or month-and-a-half).

I hope that you and other administrators will consider this request.

Lawrence

[lhb1142]

Dear Archie,

The latest version of MakeMKV 1.7.10 for Linux is available here < http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224 >.

For you and anyone else interested, the current free beta "key" is here < http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053 >.

I hope you will be able to make a new downloadable program. Thank you.

Lawrence

[malc]

Just to add my sixpenneth with some additional video compression discoveries (sorry if it reads a bit note like but these are my notes!).

I use makeMKV but installed under windows7 as a virtual(box) machine. 
I have a folder in home called XPShare which is setup from the windows virtual machine as a shared drive (its called XPShare because its the same folder I used when I had an XP virtual machine)
Two methods:
1 no subtitles
a use MakeMKV to rip the blu-ray to the shared folder
b Use Handbrake in PClos world to compress the movie, a little adjusting of quality, sizes and trimming of end titles to get it less than 4Gb.

2. Subtitles
(NB Handbrake does not correctly recognise the subtitles of the ripped blu-ray  )
a Use MkV to rip the blu-ray but this time select one of the english subtitle tracks. Sometimes it can be really painful to get the right one although it typically tends to be the first forced version NB ONLY the forced track....unless it is a foreign language film.
b Play the ripped blu-ray using VLC under PCLOS to check the correct subtitle track has been selected.
c Use MKV Files Creator (in the repos) to create a brand new MKV track which will be the same huge size! However you make sure that the subtitle "forced" option is ticked. Reason : sometimes this forcing seems to get lost, no idea why. This step only takes about 5 minutes...honest.
d. Use the following command line to compress the movie to an AVI file (universally playable.....so far) :

mencoder -oac faac -faacopts object=2:tns:br=384 -sws 2 [-vf scale=<x>:<y>] [-endpos hh:mm:ss] -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=<rate>:vhq:vpass=1  "<MKV file>" -o "<avi conversion>"

where:
[-vf scale=<x>:<y>] - include if the movie needs to be scaled to bring the size down
        <x>,<y> Try to use : 1792:1008 , 1536:864 or 1280:720
[-endpos hh:mm:ss] - include if you wish to trim off the ending titles, use VLC to determine the time
<rate> - the bitrate a value somewhere between 3000 and 5000. The higher the value the better the quality but the larger the file. To be honest 3500 is about the limit if the movie has lots of night scenes since these tend to show the compression artifacts.
<MKV file> -  the full filename for the MKV ripped movie
<avi conversion> - the full filename for the converted avi file.

I have a rough calculator for <rate> :

<krate> = 1200 / xsize_in_k_pixels /y_size_in_k_pixels / duration_minutes

for example a 1920 x 1080 movie of 90 minutes :

rate = 1200 / 1.92 / 1.08 / 90
     = 6.43 ie 6430, however higher than 5000 is not necessary

Please note this is very much a work in progress but this is the best I have found so far. FYI I have tried all of the following to solve the subtitle problem :

Handbrake - will not overlay subtitles
Avidemux - freezes when loading files
AcidRip - only reads dvd vobs
DivXConverter - Limited compression
DVD95 - only reads DVD's
OGMRip - only reads DVD's
Gmencoder - wont analyze subtitles
VLC - plays the damn subtitles but wont embed them during conversion!!
damnvid - freezes at 0%

Or maybe its just me 

[lhb1142]

Dear Malc,

Most of what you write is correct but I much prefer to use MakeMKV within PCLOS proper. (I do not use Windows at all.)

Regarding subtitles from Blu-rays: I have found that it there are two or more English subtitle tracks (both of which also contain Forced Subtitles) and you encode both (or all) of them via MakeMKV, only then will HandBrake not recognize them. You must determine which one of the English subtitle tracks you actually want and then "uncheck" the others before encoding with MakeMKV. Then HandBrake will indeed recognize your desired English subtitle track. (Generally there is only one subtitle track for any of the foreign languages but there are often more than one English subtitle track.)

Alternatively, you can decide to not encode any subtitle track from within the Blu-ray/DVD but then do a search online for an SRT track for the movie. You will surely find one. You then download that track and, using the Import SRT option, place it into HandBrake.

It will be necessary to determine the timings of the position of the subtitles by actually watching the film in VLC and noting the time of the first appearance of a title (you need do this only once); you must then check the SRT track to see if the timings match; if they do not, you can adjust the offset within HandBrake (I have done this a couple of times) so that the subtitles appear at the appropriate places in the movie. The offset will hold throughout the entire film. Note that, using this method, you cannot "force" the subtitles (embed them) into the picture; you must turn them on (though, if you use VLC Media Player, it displays the subtitles by default).

What's nice about this latter method is that, if there are misspellings in the subtitle track, you can correct them. Also you can change the font style if you wish. However, I generally use the original embedded subtitle track from within the Blu-ray or DVD itself (when necessary). Obviously I only use subtitles for foreign-language films.

Here are sceenshots of my own particular HandBrake settings which begin with High Profile and then are modified:


1. HandBrake Video Parameters


2. HandBrake Audio Parameters


(Please note that the first (FLAC) audio track is for Dolby or DTS Lossless; while VLC does not currently decode this properly [it will not play the surround tracks], other players do play it properly.)


3. HandBrake Subtitle Parameters


(Please note that if the film is in English I remove the subtitle track.)


4. HandBrake Advanced Parameters


In conjunction with MakeMKV, these HandBrake settings work very well indeed. The only disadvantage is that the time spent encoding is long. While MakeMKV can "break" a Blu-ray in one hour or less, the final encoding with HandBrake, using my settings, takes many hours. Generally the rate for a Blu-ray is about 10 or 11 fps (which translates to about 5½ hours for a 150 minute movie).

I often just let my computer (i7-3720QM processor, 16 GB RAM) run overnight and, believe me, when it's finished, the resultant MKV file is much smaller than the original (for example, a recent encoding went from 21.1 GB to 2.4 GB) with absolutely no loss in quality that I (or anyone else) can see on a 108" screen.

But it all starts with MakeMKV. That's why I would like to see it incorporated into PCLOS. (It works equally well with DVDs; the encoding time for DVDs is much less than that for Blu-rays.)

We have HandBrake; now we need MakeMKV. Thanks to Archie, we do but I'd really like to see it as an "official" PCLOS program.

Lawrence

[AussieBear]

Archie,

Would it be acceptable to request a 64-bit build of Makemkv?  Possibly even the
1.8.0 version?  I am dabbling with 64-bit PCLinuxOS, however, the one REALLY useful
program not available is Makemkv.

Whilst trying to install your build I get errors reporting dependencies with
libmatroska2, libQtCore.so4, libQtDBus.so.4 and libQtGui.so.4 not found.

Interestingly, all of the libQt* libraries are in /usr/lib64, but are not seen.
libmatroska2 has a 64-bit version, but I am loath to hack a soft link to it.

I guess worst case is to run up a 32-bit PCLinuxOS mini-me Virtualbox image and install
it there.

Kindest Regards,

Aussiebear.

[AussieBear]

Well, I managed to build my own 64-bit version of MakeMKV!

A little Googling, installing g++, qt4 devel, and a little touching up
of the makefile. Not too painful!

And its the latest version.

Aussiebear.