Transcode UHD mkv to JUST < 50GB to fit on 50GB BD-R DL: Best settings to shrink mkv to just under 50GB? DV and HDR?

[njweb]

Goal:
I want to burn backups of some of my original UHD Blu Ray movies on 50GB BD-R DL discs so I have a backup and play that in my Blu Ray player since many of my discs are limited editions / collectibles, out of print etc. and cannot be bought easily, if at all anymore.

Since I am burning to 50GB BD-R DL discs, I am not worried about maximum size reduction:
I just need the transcoded mkv to be BDMV/CERTIFICATE compliant so it plays in my Blu Ray player and fits on a 50GB disc, while maximizing quality, retaining Dolby Vision and HDR if possible and minimum transcoding time. It also needs to be compliant with the spec so that my Blu Ray player can play the disc.
(I tried makemkv full disc backup with one of my 1080P original disc and burned it to BD-R DL with ImgBurn and my Blu Ray player does play the discs, so I know it reads spec compliant BD-R's fine).
It seems most are backing up to HDD and want maximum file compression (while retaining quality), so I did not find any posts about my scenario where I just want to get the final mkv down to just under 50GB (e.g. 45 GB) to reduce transcoding time.

I am new to Handbrake. I tried transcoding one of my UHD Atmos movies which was originally 54.9GB (not a long movie) with Handbrake to reduce the mkv to under 50GB.
Video - I selected H264 (since it is faster than H265 and size is not a concern for me as noted above).
Audio - I selected TrueHD pass through (hope this is correct for Atmos).
Dimensions - It defaulted to 3840 X 1632.
The output of Handbrake transcoding came to 12.7 GB (only 1/4 of the capacity that my blanks can accommodate) and took ~5 hours.

So my questions are:
1. What are the highest quality / best transcode settings in Handbrake to reduce the original mkv file size just enough so the mkv fits on 50GB BD-R DL disc. This should reduce transcoding time significantly (due to less compression / less processing).

2. I read a post that Handbrake may not support Dolby Vision and HDR, so he uses TWO other tools instead of Handbrake (which adds another step and more time) to retain Dolby Vision and HDR.
Does Handbrake not support DV and HDR?

Any tips on the best settings to meet my objective of getting the UHD mkv to just under 50GB so it fits on a BD-R DL without taking so long to transcode would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
It needs to be compliant with the BD spec so it can play on my Blu Ray player.

[Deleted User 13735]

Handbrake is not designed to encode compliant files for BluRay authoring.

[rollin_eng]

Try ripbot264.

[njweb]

Handbrake is not designed to encode compliant files for BluRay authoring.

Thanks; appreciate your saving me a lot of time! Let me explore alternatives then.

[njweb]

Try ripbot264.

Great, thanks a lot. Will check it out!
And the files created by Ripbot264 are compliant with the BD spec (i.e. can be converted into BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders by tsMuxerR)?

[rollin_eng]

It’s been a long time since I’ve used it so you will have to look at the documentation for it.

[mduell]

Why not just buy a Roku or something that can play files off a network share?

No transcoding, UDH BR authoring, disks to mess with, etc.

[njweb]

Why not just buy a Roku or something that can play files off a network share?

No transcoding, UDH BR authoring, disks to mess with, etc.

I know.
I am old fashioned and prefer having the discs as backups and playing off those. However, I may still change my mind if it proves to be too complex; I have an nVidia Shield with Plex Server so I could do that for all my originals (I have backed up some of my original to mkv only and play those that way, but those are movies I can still buy if something happen to the original - not out of print / limited edition Steelbooks etc. - and rely on the HDD copy and a backup HDD). Then again DVDFab does it all as well, so I may bite the bullet and get that since something about playing the disc and having the titles and extras appeals to me. Plus I guess I enjoy the challenge and satisfaction to some extent too, which might explain my taking this route...

[njweb]

It’s been a long time since I’ve used it so you will have to look at the documentation for it.

Understood, thanks.
Someone suggested a way to make it work in Handbrake by performing only the video processing.
Will share the outcome here, along with steps / settings taken.

[rollin_eng]

People have reported various degrees of success in making blu ray compliant files. As HDR support is only available in the nightly build you will need to start there.

In your example you are trying to compress a 55 gig file down to 50 gig...is it really worth it? As others have said, just get some hard drive space and save yourself the hassle and probably some money to.

[njweb]

Thanks!

Update - Good news and bad news:
Good news: I was able to successfully create a compliant video using makemkv, Handbrake and TsMuxeR that plays on my BD player by changing some Handbrake settings per some helpful suggestions on reddit (and I also used the original audio track from original mkv, not that this part matters).

The bad news is audio is only 5.1 (found posts explaining this; seems to be due to makemkv:

Issue with audio being 5.1 vs. 7.1:
I just opened the mkv in makemkv and makemkv DOES see the 7.1 True HD (i.e. Atmos) track... BUT it looks like the issue is due to "lack of AC3 core":
https://github.com/justdan96/tsMuxer/issues/256
In that issue thread, someone states "tsMuxer (and mpeg-ts generally) does not accept TrueHD without AC3 core."

Also found this related post on the makemkv forum:
https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 6&start=30
QUOTE from the above thread by another member: "On a native blu-ray M2TS container the TrueHD, and AC3 Core are bundled into a single track for compatibility. If I use MakeMKV they get split up into two separate tracks, which ruins the ability to go back to a proper M2TS container if need be. It could also be a problem for any device that doesn't automatically failover to the next audio track. I'd like to see MakeMKV maintain the original track integrity to allow for backwards compatibility and future flexibility."
-----------------------------

Also the video was washed out (will try 10 bit setting as suggested on reddit). Motion has an issue on my UHD BD player (Sony UBP-X800M2); will see if 'fast encode' helps and also reduce processing speed in HB (I had set it to 'ultrafast' for the test).
By contrast, motion of the DVDFab trial encoded version of the same video was fine and it was not washed out; too bad it costs so much... $265 for lifetime license if I want the all in one, or $125 lifetime even just for 'UHD Copy' (without Cinavia software which would add another $125).
So let me experiment with the suggestions on reddit. Main thing is to get the 7.1 audio working.

[rollin_eng]

Could you please post your HB logs, instructions can be found here:

https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/hel ... y-log.html

[mduell]

Motion has an issue on my UHD BD player (Sony UBP-X800M2); will see if 'fast encode' helps and also reduce processing speed in HB (I had set it to 'ultrafast' for the test).

That doesn't do what you seem to think it does.

[Deleted User 13735]

Handbrake has always been able to produce files that you can drop on a BD disc as data files and play in many players. Absolutely no question about that.

However, the first sentence of your original post states:

I want to burn backups of some of my original UHD Blu Ray movies on 50GB BD-R DL discs

The response I posted stands on its own (emphasis added):
"Handbrake is not designed to encode compliant files for BluRay authoring."

Then you said:

I was able to successfully create a video ... that plays on my BD player

When you've decided whether you want to "burn backups of my BluRay movies", or make a "file that plays on my BD player," then tell us: Do you want a BluRay Movie with menus, titles, chapters, features, angles, and extras, or do you want a video file that will play your main title on a disc or drive? Then, with such unequivocated information, one of us may be able to help you with Handbrake, or steer you to a BluRay Movie Authoring Program, which are as different as night and day! Thanks for being specific.

[njweb]

Handbrake has always been able to produce files that you can drop on a BD disc as data files and play in many players. Absolutely no question about that.

However, the first sentence of your original post states:

I want to burn backups of some of my original UHD Blu Ray movies on 50GB BD-R DL discs

The response I posted stands on its own (emphasis added):
"Handbrake is not designed to encode compliant files for BluRay authoring."

Then you said:

I was able to successfully create a video ... that plays on my BD player

When you've decided whether you want to "burn backups of my BluRay movies", or make a "file that plays on my BD player," then tell us: Do you want a BluRay Movie with menus, titles, chapters, features, angles, and extras, or do you want a video file that will play your main title on a disc or drive? Then, with such unequivocated information, one of us may be able to help you with Handbrake, or steer you to a BluRay Movie Authoring Program, which are as different as night and day! Thanks for being specific.

Understood, thanks!
While I understand and had acknowledged that Handbrake (HB) was not designed to create Blu Ray compliant content and in fact I had accepted that as a HB limitation until someone (replying to me when I requested alternatives to HB) encouraged me to try Handbrake stating to me that a BD compliant disc could be done using Handbrake for the video encode portion and TsMuxeR to remux it back into BD spec content along with the original audio track, using his specific settings (outlined below):
His HB solution worked for my scenario (in conjunction with makemkv and TsMuxeR):
As recommended by him, in Handbrake, I selected H.264 (H.265 works as well) and most importantly adjusted the vertical value of the aspect ratio in Handbrake settings back to original horizontal value (2160), set crop values to zero and frame rate to constant. As suggested, I also removed the audio from HB processing and brought the original back in later (during TsMuxeR step) In short, I then used TsMuxeR to convert the Handbrake-encoded mkv (with settings noted above) back to BD spec (i.e. authored with BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders - m2ts files in Stream subfolder etc.).
The resulting disc (burned to BD-R DL) is BD compliant and does show up and play in my stand-alone UBP-X800M2 BD player as a standard BD disc (not as a media file).

Aside from the washed out video quality of MY encode (which can be improved by reducing speed and making other settings changes etc. and the same goes for the motion issue - just need to enable 'fast encode' option to address that, as recommended), the issue (which is NOT due to Handbrake) has to do with the way makemkv treats TrueHD streams and does NOT include the AC3 core. This causes audio to be 5.1 instead of 7.1 since TsMuxeR, to output the 7.1 stream, also needs the AC3 core); this issue results in 5.1 audio being used instead of the original 7.1 audio stream.

As requested: Thanks for offering to help!
Since the video portion works, I am seeking a new / revised solution that supports 7.1 True HD (Atmos) audio streams.

To answer the question regarding my specific needs:
I need the authored disc to be BD compliant - i.e. play in a stand-alone player as a BD disc and not a media file (like the disc I created above) and ideally also contain menus and extras etc.
However, if including menus and extras reduces the # of viable solution options significantly, then I am open to any solution that only works for the movie content alone (no menu and extras) to be burned to a disc as BD compliant (BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders, with compliant m2ts stream in the Stream subfolder).

Hope that clarifies!

[njweb]

Motion has an issue on my UHD BD player (Sony UBP-X800M2); will see if 'fast encode' helps and also reduce processing speed in HB (I had set it to 'ultrafast' for the test).

That doesn't do what you seem to think it does.

Oh, thanks. I was misinformed then. The person who suggested that option has been extremely helpful, so I am not going to link to their post. I will try adjusting other settings then, including the speed slider (for my test I used 'superfast' which could have contributed to one or both issues - washed out video and motion issues - although the latter does not seem to be an issue when playing the disc on a computer, indicating, as someone suggested that the "player may not be able to keep up). Note that the DVDFab disc (using same source disc) does not have any motion issues (nor washed out video).

[Deleted User 13735]

I don't think you're ready to dive into BluRay Movie authoring and duplication just yet, but TMPGenc Authoring is widely used if you're curious.
You seem on your way to making something that will work in your disc player. Stick to formats that are as close to the original as possible, and carry on.

[njweb]

I don't think you're ready to dive into BluRay Movie authoring and duplication just yet, but TMPGenc Authoring is widely used if you're curious.
You seem on your way to making something that will work in your disc player. Stick to formats that are as close to the original as possible, and carry on.

Thanks!
Agreed, given I am not looking to author anything from scratch, but rather just looking to shrink my existing original UHD discs and retain the existing / original menus and extras in the process.
The content I created will play in any compatible BD player (that reads BD-R DL discs in the BD compliant spec). I just need to figure out how to retain 7.1 TrueHD (Atmos) audio. I recall seeing a thread on the makemkv forums about a way to do it I believe.

However, I will read up on TMPGEnc Authoring anyway.

In the meantime I am trying the CloneBD trial, as someone here or on videohelp suggested. I want to compare it to DVDFab. CloneBD is also more affordable; although its not support encrypted original discs, requiring makemkv as a prerequisite step to decrypt the video. So again there is a trade off. CloneBD has a BD50 preset (I reduced the quality slightly since it tries to squeeze every MB of data available.
So far Clone BD is only using ~50% of my CPU most of the tie so far with occasional spikes closer to 70% with several other apps running and a ton of browser windows open (DVDFab was maxing it out constantly). Too bad CloneBD does not accept encrypted content since it is very fast (estimated time is a little over an hour; after using the decrypted full disc content created by makemkv), the UI is very slick and it provides a ton of info about fps, CPU and progress etc; it even has a live video preview window. Not sure how it handles Cinavia though.

Edit, good news. It looks like TsMuxeR DOES now work with TrueHD audio (will do a trial run later after CloneBD completes). Will need to check which audio tracks to keep (need to read the thread below).
https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 06#p105809

[mduell]

Motion has an issue on my UHD BD player (Sony UBP-X800M2); will see if 'fast encode' helps and also reduce processing speed in HB (I had set it to 'ultrafast' for the test).

That doesn't do what you seem to think it does.

Oh, thanks. I was misinformed then. The person who suggested that option has been extremely helpful, so I am not going to link to their post. I will try adjusting other settings then, including the speed slider (for my test I used 'superfast' which could have contributed to one or both issues - washed out video and motion issues - although the latter does not seem to be an issue when playing the disc on a computer, indicating, as someone suggested that the "player may not be able to keep up). Note that the DVDFab disc (using same source disc) does not have any motion issues (nor washed out video).

The encoding speed preset has nothing to do with motion or washed out video and won't help with either.