Simple Handbrake Encoding Guide

Table of Contents:

1. Preparations
1.1. Tools
1.2. Finding a source to encode

2. The Encoding-process
2.1. Configuring Handbrake
2.2. Previews

3. Finalize
3.1. Filenaming
3.2. Subtitles
3.3. Muxing

4. FAQ/Troubleshoot




1. Preparations
1.1. Toolsa
You'll definitely need :
Handbrake : http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
Mediainfo : http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en/Download

You might need :
Ripit4me ( Rip DVD's to PC ) : http://www.videohelp.com/download/RipIt4Me.zip
DVDDecrypter ( Rip DVD's to PC ) : http://www.videohelp.com/download/SetupDVDDecrypter_3.5.4.0.exe
MacTheRipper ( Rip DVD's to Mac ) : (not freeware)
MKVMerge ( Mux audio, subtitles, chapters in & out ) : http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MKVtoolnix
Subrip ( Subtitle tool,Convert .sub to .srt ) : http://www.videohelp.com/tools/Subrip
Subtitle Edit : ( Subtitle tool, Convert .sub to .srt, much more ) : http://code.google.com/p/subtitleedit/downloads/list

Installing most of the above software is fairly simple and self-explanatory.


1.2. Finding a source to encode
There's basically two possibilities to get yourself a source. Download a DVD or Rip one yourself.
Try to find the best source, a BDRip will look better than a DVDRip.
you can use http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ to compare different DVD/Bluray releases

1.2.1. Download a DVD
You can download a DVD5 or DVD9 from any site.
Public Trackers & Other private trackers might have DVD-R's you can use.
Be sure to check for untouched Video & Audio.

1.2.2. Rip a DVD
1. Install & Set up Ripit4me & DVDDecrypter
2. Open RipIt4Me and click Logs/Settings --> Preferences.
3. Your settings should look like this, with the exception that your install location for DVD Decrypter (that you'll have to point RipIt4Me to) may not be the same



- Next, open DVD Decrypter. Go to Tools --> Settings. They should look like this



- Insert your DVD in your DVD Drive
- Open RipIt4Me, click "1-Click Mode", then click "Next"



- Once you've clicked "Next", wait a few seconds for RipIt4Me to open DVD Decrypter. Don't touch ANYTHING on your computer until you see this window and the progress bar indicating that the rip has started:



- After DVD Decrypter is done, RipIt4Me will take a few minutes to clean the files you've ripped. When that is done (you'll know because the DVD will be ejected from your drive), you should have a folder on the root of your hard drive with the same name as the DVD, and a VIDEO_TS folder.




2. The Encoding-process

2.1. Configuring Handbrake
First open Handbrake and load your source.
You can drag&drop or use the "source" button on the top left.

2.1.1. General
- Be sure Handbrake picked the title you wanted to encode
- Check the destination directory and the filename
- select MKV as container



2.1.2. Picture Tab
Allows you to change cropping and the size. The standard requires that all x264 encodes from SD sources are not to be resized.

To meet these standards, your settings should look like this:
-Anamorphic: Strict
-Keep Aspect Ratio: Checked
-Cropping: Automatic (We may have to change this later after test encodes)



2.1.3. Video Filters Tab
Generally you want to have Detelecine and Decomb set to default and let Handbrake determine what to do to the video. These filters (or lack thereof) are often the culprits of dropped frames (sometimes leading to stuttered playback), or poor picture quality if improperly used. They usually do the right thing. Usually.

If your movie is in Black&White, be sure to check grayscale Encoding.



2.1.4. Video Tab
Video Codec: should be set to H.264 (x264)
Framerate: Select "Same as Source" and "Constant Framerate"
Constant Quality: Should be selected. 19 is a good value to start out with here. This is something you’ll need to adjust for each specific source.



2.1.5. Audio Tab
Main audio: Select the main movie audio and press "Add track", usually it will be the AC3 (5.1) track.
So pick "AC3 Passthru" for Audio codec

For music documentaries, where audio is of utmost importance, you should use the highest possible audio quality. If DTS is the best, you should use the DTS. If there is LPCM audio track, then you should FLAC that audio track (prefering it over DTS)
When re-encoding the audio, be sure to set the mixdown correct in the Audio Tab, 6channel discrete for 5.1 audio, stereo for 2channel audio, etc...



2.1.6. Subtitles Tab
Since this is your first encode, we’ll keep things as simple as possible and pass through any subtitles on the DVD/Blu-ray. This is done completely in Handbrake and does not require any additional preparation.
If you wish to convert the DVD/Blu-ray subtitles (VobSub and PGS respectively) to SRT subtitles, take a look at this guide’s advanced section. Converting the subtitles on the source to SRT is not required and it’s perfectly acceptable to include the VobSubs in your final encode. Be sure to add all of them.

If the movie is non-english, be sure to set the English subtitles to default.



2.1.7. Chapters Tab
Check "Create Chapter Markers"
Handbrake cannot determine the names of chapters included on the DVD, only the numbers.


2.1.8. Advanced Tab
You can copy/paste any of these parameter-codes into the Handbrake Advanced Tab.

Code for Minimum profile wrote:

ref=9:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=8:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=9:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=32:deblock=-2,-2:rc-lookahead=50:aq-strength=0.8:b-pyramid=2

Code for Standard Profile wrote:

ref=11:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=12:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=11:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=32:deblock=-3,-3:rc-lookahead=60:aq-strength=0.8:b-pyramid=2

Code for Super Profile wrote:

ref=16:mixed-refs=1:b-adapt=2:bframes=16:weightb=1:direct=auto:me=umh:subq=11:analyse=all:8x8dct=1:trellis=2:no-fast-pskip=1:psy-rd=1,0:merange=64:deblock=-3,-3:rc-lookahead=250:aq-strength=0.8:b-pyramid=2

Depending on your encoding speed and personal preferences you can pick one of these basic parameters to start out with.


2.1.9. Save Presets
Once you have configured these base settings, hit add to save it as a preset so you don’t have to go through them all again. Make sure save filter settings is checked to ensure that all the settings are saved.




2.2. Previews
This just might be the most important step of the entire process.
If you've setup the entire configuration for your encode, click the "Preview" button in the top of handbrake.
Pick a chapter to start the preview in ( don't pick chapter 1 )
Use at least a 30second preview ( the longer your preview, the more accurate the info we'll be getting )
The more previews you do the more accurate you'll be able to determine the bitrate.
A minimum of 3 different previews is recommended.



2.2.1. Mediainfo
In the directory where your final encode will be, you'll now see a sample file
Run mediainfo on the sample.
The things you need to look for are

Videobitrate : it needs to be somewhere between 1500 kbps and 2500 kbps. if it's not, change the CRF setting in the Video tab. a higher CRF level, will give a lower bitrate and vice versa. Usually there will be no need to go higher than 21 or lower than 17.
This is highly dependant on source, so there is no real way to pinpoint an average.

Framerate : For some NTSC source you need to change the framerate to "23.976" FPS with "Constant". To determine if you need to manually change it to 23.976, you simply need to make a preview. Once the preview is done, Check with mediainfo that the framerate is 23.976 and not 29.970. If it is the former it’s OK, the latter needs some more testing.

Go through the preview frame by frame ( arrowkey in MPC ). If in every 5 frames there is a double frame, change the framerate manually to 23.976 and use constant framerate. If there’s no double frames, leave it at 29.970 fps.

2.2.2. Screenshot & Cropping
Take some screenshots of your sample, preferably in a bright part. Check if the cropping is correct.
If you see black bars on the sides or bottom or top, go to the handbrake "Picture Tab" and change automatic cropping to manual cropping. Now change the cropping settings and do another preview, till you get it correct.

If everything is ok... Press that START button, sit back, watch a documentary and wait till the encode is done.



3. Finalize
3.1. Filenaming
Series.name - (SXXEXX).Episode.title - Year.Resolution.AudioCodec.Format
OR
Wild.China - (S01E01).Heart.of.the.Dragon - 2008.1024x576.AC3.mkv



4. FAQ / Troubleshoot

- I have an encode but mediainfo won't show me the videobitrate, what do i do ?
You probably used the AAC or FLAC encoder for one of your audio files.
Use mkvmerge to demux the videostream and you can get the videobitrate from that.

- How long should it take to make an encode?
This is impossible to answer as there are to many factors involved.
It all depends on your computer, the source you use and the encoding settings you use.

- I screwed up the audio, do I have to re-encode ?
No, you don’t have to re-encode. You can Demux the audio stream with DVD Decrypter in IFO mode ( for .ISO files ) or Demux it with MKVMerge ( for VOB IFO )
If the audio needed re-encoding you can mux it together with a sample file you have laying around.
Drag that new file in handbrake and pick the correct options In the audio tab.
You can also use eac3to to re-encode your audio.

- Handbrake encoded till 100%, but now it seems part of is it missing
First check if you’ve selected the right title/chapters in handbrake.
If that’s not the problem, try demuxing the video stream from the DVD before encoding.