HandBrake

I recently started converting my DVD library to .m4v files through Handbreak. All my 480 and 720p DVDs are complete and I'm starting on Blu Ray, just got an external Blu Ray drive in the mail so I can start.

Btw I am converting the disc in MakeMKV then encoding in Handbreak.

My concern in Handbreak is that regular DVDs were taking about 35 mins to encode whereas Blu Ray seems to take around 4 hours for one disc set at the High Profile setting. I'm concerned my MacBook is going to fry its CPU trying to do 1 movie alone! Idk if this is what to expect or if I'm doing something wrong. I'll list my information below:

Step 1.) Queue up the Blu Ray disc in MakeMKV
Step 2.) Queue up MKV in Handbreak.
Step 3.) Select High Profile
Step 4.) Start Queue and wait 4 hours for one movie!

My MacBook is an early 2011 2.2 ghz quad core intel processor. 8Gb of ram. So I guess I have two questions.

1.) Will encoding for 4 hours destroy my CPU?
2.) Am I doing something wrong? Or should 4 hours to encode be right?

Please help! All replies are appreciated.

Blu-ray has 6 times as many pixels as DVD, so it's going to take about 6 times as long to encode (more if it's very grainy: high bitrates mean longer encodes).

I regularly let my MBP encode overnight and it still appears to be working fine. Still, you may want to get AppleCare just in case.

The High Profile presets enables both detelecine & decomb - they are not required for 99% of Blu-ray discs and disabling them should give you a small speed boost.

Thanks for the reply Rodeo. That absolutely makes sense and was something I didn't give enough credit to when I was writing the post. I installed Temperature Monitor for the Mac and will post my results below while encoding a Blu Ray movie. I'm not too knowledgeable about CPU temps so let me know if you all see anything too concerning.

Battery Position 2: 26C
Battery Position 3: 25C
CPU A Proximity: 67C
CPU A Temperature Diode: 87C
Graphics Processor Chip 1: 59C
Graphics Processor Temperature Diode: 70C
Left Palm Rest: 24C
Main Heatsink 2: 53C
Main Heatsink 3: 48C
Main Logic Board: 39C
Platform Controller Hub: 51C


1.) Are any temps above concerning?
2.) Does Hanbrake or any other Mac program allow CPU throttling? Can I make Handbrake only use 70% of the CPU versus the current 95%?

Intel specifies a maximum operating temperature of 100°C for most of their mobile processors. Yours seems to be running at 87°C under load, which is still within specs, but definitely on the high side. Have you considered investing in an active cooling stand?

Thanks Flo. I have actually. I just purchased a Cooler Master cooling pad. It has two fans and seems to work pretty well. I'm afraid to do a comparison without and with it though cause its running that hot with the cooling pad lol. The MBP enclosure just doesn't ventilate well.

I really wish I could just throttle my Mac. I'd rather it take 1/3 longer to encode at say 70C versus 88C while running at max.

Can handbrake throttle? Anyone know of a 3rd party app that can for Mac?

There is no need to throttle. Intel CPUs will throttle themselves if they get too hot.

Thanks s55. This morning I did look up and Intel does throttle when the CPU gets to 90C. My concern is that high temperatures hurt the lifespan of the processor. If I could throttle around 80% is rather it just take longer to rip than hurt my processor.

You could also check out a third party fan controller that will let the fans run faster than the Apple RPM limit. That helped out quite a bit when I was still transcoding on my mini.

SC

I have been encoding on my 2010 MBP 2.66GHz i7 regularly (with heavier settings than you), my longest stint was an approximately day long encode of a grainy documentary from a blu-ray. No adverse side effects (bar battery health from being on high drain and charge for 24 hrs, remember to follow the Apple instructions for battery health after this), but I did make sure the air vents were completely clear, and that there was an air-gap under the case by resting it on some books.

mac_man_ad wrote:I have been encoding on my 2010 MBP 2.66GHz i7 regularly (with heavier settings than you), my longest stint was an approximately day long encode of a grainy documentary from a blu-ray. No adverse side effects (bar battery health from being on high drain and charge for 24 hrs, remember to follow the Apple instructions for battery health after this), but I did make sure the air vents were completely clear, and that there was an air-gap under the case by resting it on some books.

Any idea what temperatures you run at while encoding?

80-90 for the whole thing. Hottest part is usually the corner where the magsafe plugs in. The foot in this corner has in fact brittled and broken.

90°C is a normal temperature for newer CPU's under high load. Nothing to be worried about.

Modern CPUs do a good job of regulating themselves and throttle back when the sustained temperature gets above nominal thresholds.
Keep the fins clean, and trust the process.