HandBrake

Description of problem or question: First time user. Trying to rip a family video DVD of about 2 hours filming to my iMac to have a backup.
I found the source, picked the output format etc Fast 1080p30, MP4 file.
Ran a 15 second preview which worked great
Picked my destination folder and file name.
Then pressed start. It finished after under an hour. But what it has produced is a textedit.app document (641 MB).
So not a video !
Really grateful to know what I have done wrong and how to get it right. Many thanks.

Steps to reproduce the problem (If Applicable):




HandBrake version (e.g., 1.0.0):
1.2.0


Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Windows 10 Creators Update):
Mac OS Sierra 10.12.6



HandBrake Activity Log ***required*** (see How-to get an activity log)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cxs9ju3tjrdlw ... 0.pdf?dl=0

You need to add .mp4 at the end of the file name. You probably edited the name in HandBrake and removed the file extension.

That seems very likely to be it. Am trying now to re-encode with .mp4 at the end of the file name. Will let you know. And many thanks !

You don't need to reencode, you can add the .mp4 text in Finder by renaming the file (if you haven't deleted it yet )

Thank you. That works too (and I changed the name slightly too).
But with both that original attempt and my re-encode, the recording is only 37 minutes whreas the DVD footage was about 2 hours.
What else have I done wrong please ?
Many thanks !

Try ripping with makemkv first.

Grateful for advice on
"the recording is only 37 minutes whreas the DVD footage was about 2 hours."
Many thanks

Thanks. I did not realise that was an answer to the "short video" question, sorry.
But I have read the Makemkv website and I am bewildered by it. I don't know what it will do to my DVDs.
They are not encrypted in any way, just family footage shot originally on a camcorder then edited by me amateurishly to keep the best bits and burned onto DVD using what was a DVD recorder, which has since passed to the recycling centre.

MakeMKV is better at ripping poorly authored/scratched/etc DVDs.