jah711 - I have been playing around with converting Blu Ray to MKV as well. I am by no means an expert as I have been making my way through the forums like yourself. Two items to mention, there is a program called Xvid4PSP (www.winnydows.com - the name is misleading, it does a lot7 more then just PSP...) that I have used with success in converting files. There is an option to convert to MKV (it accepts Blu Ray files), that seems to be working for me. This takes all the additional steps out of play, as this software should basically be a one stop shop to create the file after you are ripped to DVD to your HDD. YOu need you play around with the setting a bit. Here is a link to one site (http://forum.videohelp.com/topic352183.html) As for MKVMerge, try looking up MKVToolnix, this is the program you need. Instead of using MeGUI, I used Ripbot. Still testing, but since it seems you are in the same boat as me thought I would pass along where I am at
Thanks dbone..I have been using Xvid4PSP for 3 days now. Someone from the link you mention told me to use that program instead. But again...I have no idea of what I am doing. I want to get an MKV file from a Blu-ray to just play on the computer...not the PS3. I want the MKV file down to 8GB at 720i. But I don't know the steps to take in Xvid4PSP to do so. I got as far as getting the video in to play in the view box but it has no sound. Can you assist me in the steps to process this? Thnx
As I mentioned, I am not a pro compared to some other people who write on this site. here is what I have been doing for Xvid4PSP: 1)Open -> locate mt2s you want to use on your HDD (don't use DVD option for Blu Rays, only for standard dvds) 2)Format -> MKV 3)Denoise/Sharpen -> not much knowledge on this, so I keep at Disabled 4) Brightness/Contrast -> not much knowledge on this, so I keep at MPEG2Fix 5) Video Encoding -> this is the guts here. There are a whole bunch of options here. If you are trying to restrict the file size choose the x264 4450MB 2P or x264 8150MB 2P option. If you select an option that isn't 2P (2 pass) then you cannot control the file size. You can go to http://forum.winnydows.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=70 for some details on what Turbo, Extreme, etc.. means 6) Audio Encoding -> ACC-LC ABR 128k (you can adjust the bitrate as desired, I think the link I included in my last post had 400 or so as the bitrate) Also, if you go to Audio-> Editing Settings, you can adjust the volume. I have the volume set to 98% Amplifying and 100% Accurate. If you go to Video -> Resolution/Aspect, you can change the size ( I assume since Blu Ray you want to keep at 1080p) After this, hit Encode. Depending on the original file size, this can take a long time, probably a good twelve hours, probably best if you have a trailer in the Blu Ray to try that first since it should be a much smaller file size. Like I said, i am still messing around, but these options seem to be outputting good results. Anyone else on the forums using Xvid4PSP, please feel free to contribute what you are doing.
Thanks again for your help....you're becoming a life saver even though you are new at this too. At least you're giving me steps to take. I didn't have it that far before you. The link you provided in your last post does not work. But I will still take on your steps and let you know how it worked out. I think I may have to change the size down to 720i...I believe that is the highest for my monitor. Not sure if it will play movies in 1080. I have to recheck that. I could be wrong. I will keep you informed on how it worked and if I get more info on this.
Odd, the link works when I click on it. Just go to www.winnydows.com. CLick on FOrum -> HOWTO -> MANUAL for XVID4PSP Good luck, definitely share if you come across any settings that work best for you
Well dbone..... 22hrs 29min 3sec later...it worked. Video perfect, audio perfect, quality perfect and size perfect. I do think I can get better quality on the video if I make the size a little larger though. I am starting to see how this program works. I got it now. The great thing about this is I am glad I have to PC's. So this doesn't interfere with me using the main one. But I owe all thanks to you and your assistance. How did you work out with yours? Now off to video two. All you need is this program to get the job done.
Glad to hear you had success. Funny, i was using Xvid4PSP, encoding had run for about 12 hours, had one hour left until it was done, and my PC crashed!!!! So instead, I just tried Ripbot264, took about 12 hours, and got an excellent quality MKV around 8GB. I am going to try again on Xvid4PSP and compare the results. Depending on how much HDD space you have on you PC, the sky is the limit for how big you can make the file. If you want to keep the Blu-Ray exactly in tact, you can strip out the video and audio from the main movie only using the MKVtool, and then merge the file using MKVMerge. In my case this turned a 36GB file into a 24GB mkv file. I am working on backing up my HD-DVDs now, hopefully this process works for those as well!
12hrs!? I am doing two more and one is taken 2days and the other is at 17hrs so far. How did you get 12hrs? Or was it a small file. Mines are at least 21 to 35GB before encoding in Xvid4PSP. How did you get a 12hr encode process. I could use that. Plus yes I have over 3 Terebytes of HDD space. But I just prefer them to be at 4-8GB in size. Less space usage that way. Also my PC's didn't crash at all. Keep me informed....thnx.
Generally my PC takes about 2 hours on the 1st pass and about 10 hours on the 2nd pass. NOt sure off the top of my head the specs of my PC, but it is brand new, so possibly it just has a little more horsepower under the hood then your pc. Encoding video files is very processor intensive. Trying another video tonight, hopefully my pc doesn't crash when I get up in the morning!!!
My specs: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.67ghz E6750 2GB ram 5 500GB SATA HDD and 5 in the other Win XP Pro SP3 Intel DP35P Motherboard Now I too tried Ripbot264 and found a manual/guide for it and started a movie. So far 2hrs for the first pass......same movie Xvid4PSP was taken 2 days with for the first pass. I will do a comparison as well when this is done with the first movie I completed. If I like Ripbot, I will stick with it instead. Thanks again dbone
My specs are: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40ghz 3GB ram 2 500GB SATA HDD Win Vista Intel DP35P Motherboard I have been happy with ripbot, odd, I just converted an HD-DVD t o MKV, and specified file size 0f 7950GB, when RipBot was done it came out to 11GB. I will take one more crack at Xvid4PSP for mkvs to see if it will work without crashing. I really like Xvid4PSP due to the ease, but Ripbot has been kickin butt!!! One thing I am not sure, if you can take a standard dvd rip, and convert into an HD MKV file, or can you only convert HD sources into HD MKVs???
Ok....you got me beat on the system but yours crashes mines....doesn't. Anyway Ripbot did a movie sized 31GB for me in 12 hrs. At the specified size of 4.7GB. Just right. As far as the quality and sound....perfect. As far as the comparison to Xvid's encode. Exactly the same. Plus I like the feature that it turns off the PC when it's done. So while I am at work I don't have to worry about my PC running all day and overheating. Xvid is good but Ripbot is easier and seems to do the same job I want faster. Funny thing is that Ripbot does not work on my second PC...I get this message when I open it: Unable to get data for 'revision' Have no idea what that means. You? And yes Ripbot does work with with DVD's as well. See your private message for more info. Good luck to you pal. And thanks again.
