Why Handbrake?

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MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Description of problem or question:

Many movie files I have are already in the MKV format, with a variety of muxed subtitles. I usually open these MKV files in SubtitleEdit, where I can choose my own font, size and color, saving this file in an ssa format. At that point I was using Handbrake to mux the original file with the ssa sub file, and then using this file for PLEX.
It struck me that since the original file was already in MKV, I could use it directly in PLEX, using whatever sub format the MKV contained. I then discovered that PLEX allows for an external subtitle file to be uploaded, so what I do now is use the original MKV and upload my external ssa subtitle file.
This may seem obvious, but what I've saved here is time. I no longer have to use Handbrake at all, only when I deal with MP4 files, and I'm not sure about that, either.


Steps to reproduce the problem (If Applicable):
Not applicable.


HandBrake version (e.g., 1.0.0):
13.3



Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Windows 10 Creators Update):
Win 10 64 bit.



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

Not applicable.
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s55
HandBrake Team
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Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by s55 »

HandBrake is not a muxing tool and should not be used as one. Your basically throwing away quality if your already otherwise happy with the files.

In otherwords, sounds like you've been wasting your time re-encoding with HandBrake. A simple mkv muxer would have sufficed and be much much quicker than a re-encode.
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Would you suggest a simple mkv muxer?
Thanks
rollin_eng
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Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by rollin_eng »

Mkvtoolnix.
MHHMHH
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Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Thanks for the info. It seems that the program works for MKV, but wouldn't I still need Handbrake for MP4,to mux and add subtitles?
MHHMHH
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Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

By the way, MKVtoolnix has a terrible front end. Isn't there anything better?
Woodstock
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Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by Woodstock »

ffmpeg will do the remux for you, to either MP4 or MKV (and other formats as well), but if you're not linking the MKVtoolnix interface, ffmpeg is probably out, too.

The advantage, though, is that interface is consistent regardless of your target format.
rollin_eng
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Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by rollin_eng »

XMediaRecode.
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Xmediarecode looks good but all I get is (not responding). I think I'm using it properly:
1. open an mkv file
2. choose video and set to copy
3. choose audio and set to copy
4 choose subtitle, import the ssa file, highlight it and use the small arrow to move it to the right
5. Add to Queue and encode

Now all I get is not responding.

Another point: if the file you open in Handbrqake is an MKV and you select mkv format, why isn't Handbrake smart enough to realize that no file conversion is called for, only a mux of a subtitle file (ssa)?
rollin_eng
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Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by rollin_eng »

HB is a video converter, not a muxer.
MHHMHH
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Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Well, it seems to mux as well.
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s55
HandBrake Team
Posts: 10350
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by s55 »

technically yes, since we need to mux video into an output container. However, it's not designed to be a track muxing tool.

The capability to pass through video does not exist in HandBrake and is not simple to add since the processing engine is designed for transcoding, not pure muxing. This isn't something we plan to support.

Also, on MKV->MKV, there are plenty of scenarios where you may want to re-encode video. (Format shifting, File size reduction being two of the most common.)
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Again, thanks for all your input, though I would like some help as to why Xmediarecode does not respond. My PC is an i7 with 8gbs and runs just about everything. If you review the steps I've outlined above - am I doing anyhing wrong?
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Because it works for me!
brellyn
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Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:58 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by brellyn »

avidemux works great if you're just trying to change the wrapper.
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

Thanks. What I'm looking for is an easy and FAST way, given an MKV file and an SSA subtitle file, to mux the subtitles, that is, to give the viewer the choice of playback with and without the subtitles.
I'm not sure if Avidemux softcodes the subtitles.
rollin_eng
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Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by rollin_eng »

MHHMHH wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2020 4:27 pm Again, thanks for all your input, though I would like some help as to why Xmediarecode does not respond. My PC is an i7 with 8gbs and runs just about everything. If you review the steps I've outlined above - am I doing anyhing wrong?
https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/help/
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

After several hours of trying to get xmedirecode working, I gave up, and tried several other programs, which, while they worked were not very simple or fast.
I then decided to reinstall mkvtoolnix, and have found that it works perfectly, once you understand the interface.
I now can easily add my external ssa subtitle files in an instant, giving me exactly what I wanted, a pass through for the original mkv.

Thanks to all for making your suggestions.
MHHMHH
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:56 pm

Re: Why Handbrake?

Post by MHHMHH »

mkvtoolkit is even better than I thought. I have a number of mp4 with muxed subtitles - mkvtoolkit simply adds an external ssa subtitle file and outputs an MKV file with a muxed ssa subtitle. It's a simple way to get all my mp4 to mkv for plex.
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