Ripping 4k Ultra HD...
Discussion
Thanks guys...
Probably ignorable after a bit more reading...it sounds like I need to get with the times where owning physical media is concerned
Key thing I really want to do is to keep all my media accessible through a single app for simplicity. And at present my app of choice is Kodi (not used for hooky stuff).
May need a slight rethink on how to purchase 4k media.
Probably ignorable after a bit more reading...it sounds like I need to get with the times where owning physical media is concerned
Key thing I really want to do is to keep all my media accessible through a single app for simplicity. And at present my app of choice is Kodi (not used for hooky stuff
).May need a slight rethink on how to purchase 4k media.
Murph7355 said:
Thanks guys...
Probably ignorable after a bit more reading...it sounds like I need to get with the times where owning physical media is concerned
Key thing I really want to do is to keep all my media accessible through a single app for simplicity. And at present my app of choice is Kodi (not used for hooky stuff).
May need a slight rethink on how to purchase 4k media.
IMO Plex is a much better solution for this matter - we have over 600 movies and 200 box sets in our Plex library and it works seamlessly across all the platforms needed of it.Probably ignorable after a bit more reading...it sounds like I need to get with the times where owning physical media is concerned
Key thing I really want to do is to keep all my media accessible through a single app for simplicity. And at present my app of choice is Kodi (not used for hooky stuff
).May need a slight rethink on how to purchase 4k media.
alorotom said:
IMO Plex is a much better solution for this matter - we have over 600 movies and 200 box sets in our Plex library and it works seamlessly across all the platforms needed of it.
I tried switching from Kodi to Plex recently and didn't like it. I had to change the way I'd ripped some files because Plex doesn't recognise the type of file I was using (Kodi does) - I've forgotten which format that was.But the main issue was it just failed to find several films, and a search suggested that isn't a rare problem. No amount of renaming solved this and I gave up.
davek_964 said:
alorotom said:
IMO Plex is a much better solution for this matter - we have over 600 movies and 200 box sets in our Plex library and it works seamlessly across all the platforms needed of it.
I tried switching from Kodi to Plex recently and didn't like it. I had to change the way I'd ripped some files because Plex doesn't recognise the type of file I was using (Kodi does) - I've forgotten which format that was.But the main issue was it just failed to find several films, and a search suggested that isn't a rare problem. No amount of renaming solved this and I gave up.
I agree that Plex cannot support all formats - the key one for me are video_ts rips (in essence disk images of a DVD - all of which I own
). When I first started ripping DVDs I used this format as I considered it the best way to have the full DVD "experience" (menus, extras, all surround tracks etc) but all at the touch of a button. This was around 2006, so Plex didn't really exist too.As things progressed, the way DVDs can be ripped has evolved (and/or I've learnt how to better convert them without loss - including surround sound tracks). But I can't really be bothered re-converting the best part of 1,000 movies (I have MP4 versions of them all, but most just have stereo sound and the video conversion isn't always ideal).
Another big plus of Kodi is that the rest of the family are very familiar with the interface.
Plex is significantly better for managing content as you simply drop it on a central server and every device connected to it gets served that content (though when running the server on a NAS it's not so great at handling multiple file locations).
It also works (a little clunkily) with Alexa...my eldest (7) was bought an Echo Dot by his grandparents recently. I don't subscribe to stuff like Amazon Prime, and tbh don't want him having a free reign on the internet just yet. So Plex integration allows me to restrict his music playing to our own content.
I don't like the Plex interface anywhere near as much, and re-skinning isn't as straightforward.
Both have their pros and cons, and managing both is no major hardship (though my OH would struggle!).
What I don't want is to add to this mix with Google Play/iTunes/Amazon Prime sources too. My new TV has apps for all of these, but from a usability point of view it wouldn't be ideal for the rest of the family. Hence the original question.
For 4k UHD content, it doesn't look like there's a simple answer for anything in Google Play, but iTunes might present some alternatives if I purchase content through there (which I find ironic as iTunes used to be a pretty royal PITA
). It just took a mindset adjustment to search for the right things in Google, which the chaps above provided. I'm realising that I have become a bit archaic in my desire for owning physical media etc...still not sure that's a bad thing (means I have de facto backups of rips for a start). But progress is progress 
Murph7355 said:
...
For 4k UHD content, it doesn't look like there's a simple answer for anything in Google Play, but iTunes might present some alternatives if I purchase content through there (which I find ironic as iTunes used to be a pretty royal PITA). ...
In case anyone else looks into this For 4k UHD content, it doesn't look like there's a simple answer for anything in Google Play, but iTunes might present some alternatives if I purchase content through there (which I find ironic as iTunes used to be a pretty royal PITA
). ...Looks like you can only stream 4k content from iTunes, not download it. Downloads are limited to 1080p (which I think is more akin to "std" blu ray).
Even at that res a 2hr file (with all sound tracks and subtitles) is over 6Gb.
Have done one movie thus far. Looks great, but can't do a back to back comparison...I think it's better than it would have been on DVD, but Kodi does seem to do a very good job of upscaling.
At some point I'll do a movie that I already have the DVD of so I can compare. iTunes seem to have frequent offers on movies which mean it's possible to get this content for less than the price of a DVD which is handy.
iTunes only get their mits on the 4K version via the studios and the studios only allow for streaming (loads of storage would be required for download anyway), it is a copywrite issue deal that does not mean the streamed version will remain 4k, if the studios feel the need then they can pull that option.
Zirconia said:
iTunes only get their mits on the 4K version via the studios and the studios only allow for streaming (loads of storage would be required for download anyway), it is a copywrite issue deal that does not mean the streamed version will remain 4k, if the studios feel the need then they can pull that option.
Subscription/streaming services seem to be the way a lot of digital stuff is going...not a fan personally, but hey ho.The encryption in 4k UHD discs was substantially upgraded compared to blu-ray and DVD and so far I believe has not been broken, some 4k discs have been ripped as the keys have become available or the source video was leaked online.
I have ripped plenty of Blu-Ray and DVDs onto my NAS, this uses Serviio as the server, transcodes where needed and has worked very well. Doesn't require a specific renderer so I can use any player.
I have ripped plenty of Blu-Ray and DVDs onto my NAS, this uses Serviio as the server, transcodes where needed and has worked very well. Doesn't require a specific renderer so I can use any player.
Murph7355 said:
...
At some point I'll do a movie that I already have the DVD of so I can compare. ....
Did Star Trek last night.At some point I'll do a movie that I already have the DVD of so I can compare. ....
The 1080p one is better than the DVD rip. It's more noticeable in some scenes than others. Colours and contrast seem quite a bit better and there's a step up in scenes where there's lots of detail.
It's not so much better that I'd be prepared to pay the typical 50% hike in price between a physical DVD and physical Blu Ray I think...but as these downloads are about the same price as physical DVDs, that probably makes sense to do (disk space of a downloaded 1080p movies is about the same as a raw DVD, only you don't get any "extras", scene selections etc).
Will do some more poking around on the 4k front. But have a couple of samples to try inside Google Play.
Murph7355 said:
Did Star Trek last night.
The 1080p one is better than the DVD rip. It's more noticeable in some scenes than others. Colours and contrast seem quite a bit better and there's a step up in scenes where there's lots of detail.
It's not so much better that I'd be prepared to pay the typical 50% hike in price between a physical DVD and physical Blu Ray I think...but as these downloads are about the same price as physical DVDs, that probably makes sense to do (disk space of a downloaded 1080p movies is about the same as a raw DVD, only you don't get any "extras", scene selections etc).
Will do some more poking around on the 4k front. But have a couple of samples to try inside Google Play.
1080p is streets ahead of 576 and noticeable better than 1080i. That is if the source material is good and in a good format to start with.The 1080p one is better than the DVD rip. It's more noticeable in some scenes than others. Colours and contrast seem quite a bit better and there's a step up in scenes where there's lots of detail.
It's not so much better that I'd be prepared to pay the typical 50% hike in price between a physical DVD and physical Blu Ray I think...but as these downloads are about the same price as physical DVDs, that probably makes sense to do (disk space of a downloaded 1080p movies is about the same as a raw DVD, only you don't get any "extras", scene selections etc).
Will do some more poking around on the 4k front. But have a couple of samples to try inside Google Play.
4k disks rarely drop below £20. A few 2 for 15 crop up on a few web sites or HMV etc. Storage will be a lot unless you screw down the rates for compression and then using h.265.
For my 4k fix I get them in the constant sales on iTunes, usually around a fiver. Saves faffing around. I have not even bothered with my DVD collection, that is going to the charity shop. The resolution is not good on a good 4k set, other people may be more forgiving. Streaming may not be your forte but unless you have deep pockets it will be expensive.
There are a few I will keep though.
Zirconia said:
1080p is streets ahead of 576 and noticeable better than 1080i. That is if the source material is good and in a good format to start with.
4k disks rarely drop below £20. A few 2 for 15 crop up on a few web sites or HMV etc. Storage will be a lot unless you screw down the rates for compression and then using h.265.
For my 4k fix I get them in the constant sales on iTunes, usually around a fiver. Saves faffing around. I have not even bothered with my DVD collection, that is going to the charity shop. The resolution is not good on a good 4k set, other people may be more forgiving. Streaming may not be your forte but unless you have deep pockets it will be expensive.
There are a few I will keep though.
I doubt streaming 4k's an option for me - I live rurally. 8Mb broadband only and unlikely to be significant improvement any time soon (and tbh, it suits the vast majority of my needs). 4k disks rarely drop below £20. A few 2 for 15 crop up on a few web sites or HMV etc. Storage will be a lot unless you screw down the rates for compression and then using h.265.
For my 4k fix I get them in the constant sales on iTunes, usually around a fiver. Saves faffing around. I have not even bothered with my DVD collection, that is going to the charity shop. The resolution is not good on a good 4k set, other people may be more forgiving. Streaming may not be your forte but unless you have deep pockets it will be expensive.
There are a few I will keep though.
Conversely storage isn't a major issue - I have 4x NAS units with plenty of storage on them.
One thing my testing has shown is that Kodi does a great job (to my eyes) upscaling. I sit a good 15ft from my 55" TV so whilst I can notice a difference in the 1080p content, it's by no means making me think I now need to upgrade all my old stuff. I guess I generally sit too far away to really notice.
The 4k samples I have (Spiderman Homecoming and Underworld Blood Wars - don't ask...limited choice of freebies
) look great on very cursory viewing. Will give them a better watch next week when the family are out. I think it's going to be the colours/dynamic range with things like dark scenes that I notice most rather than pure resolution.Am also happy I now have a one box solution for all immediate needs (the Sony's Android TV which works well for me).
My old Pioneer (436XDE plasma bought when first released) will see service soon in a boys' den that's being sorted over the next month or two. Still no hardship watching stuff on that either. I can see it getting a lot of use too
A quick revisit of this a while down the track...
The drive in the machine I use to backup physical media started to play up so I looked into alternatives. This thread popped up in some of the Googling
So bought a few 4k UHD disks in a Christmas sale.
Planet Earth II is stunning, both visually and the audio. Episodes of PE are around 17Gb. So a lot, but the quality of the content is incredible.
Have only bought some old films at the moment - colour reproduction is the most notably improved. Only so much you can do with old master content.
Not about to replace my current collection, but will certainly look out for 4k UHD versions of new movies as they come out.
The drive in the machine I use to backup physical media started to play up so I looked into alternatives. This thread popped up in some of the Googling
wsurfa said:
rip with makemkv, resize with handbrake if you want.
My LG bluray drive allows them to be ripped - bh16ns55 with original firmware
Went down this route. There are various options with firmware needing to be flashed etc. Bought one pre-done (cost wasn't hugely more than the raw drive).My LG bluray drive allows them to be ripped - bh16ns55 with original firmware
So bought a few 4k UHD disks in a Christmas sale.
Planet Earth II is stunning, both visually and the audio. Episodes of PE are around 17Gb. So a lot, but the quality of the content is incredible.
Have only bought some old films at the moment - colour reproduction is the most notably improved. Only so much you can do with old master content.
Not about to replace my current collection, but will certainly look out for 4k UHD versions of new movies as they come out.
As above, just research the optical drives that support (or can be flashed to) support LibreDrive when using makemkv. Works on Windows, Mac or Linux.
This defeats all the protection keys that I've come across, and I've done around 120 4k UHD Blu-ray rips (most around 60gb, some up around 80gb or 90gb). I don't bother to shrink them.
My pc is directly connected to my 4k TV and they play back perfectly well. Streaming across networks is difficult given the file size and bitrate with my internet where I am so I just use my pc as a directly connected media machine (I built it with plenty of grunt and pretty silent components).
This defeats all the protection keys that I've come across, and I've done around 120 4k UHD Blu-ray rips (most around 60gb, some up around 80gb or 90gb). I don't bother to shrink them.
My pc is directly connected to my 4k TV and they play back perfectly well. Streaming across networks is difficult given the file size and bitrate with my internet where I am so I just use my pc as a directly connected media machine (I built it with plenty of grunt and pretty silent components).
Murph7355 said:
Went down this route. There are various options with firmware needing to be flashed etc. Bought one pre-done (cost wasn't hugely more than the raw drive).
So bought a few 4k UHD disks in a Christmas sale.
Planet Earth II is stunning, both visually and the audio. Episodes of PE are around 17Gb. So a lot, but the quality of the content is incredible.
Have only bought some old films at the moment - colour reproduction is the most notably improved. Only so much you can do with old master content.
Not about to replace my current collection, but will certainly look out for 4k UHD versions of new movies as they come out.
Glad it's working.So bought a few 4k UHD disks in a Christmas sale.
Planet Earth II is stunning, both visually and the audio. Episodes of PE are around 17Gb. So a lot, but the quality of the content is incredible.
Have only bought some old films at the moment - colour reproduction is the most notably improved. Only so much you can do with old master content.
Not about to replace my current collection, but will certainly look out for 4k UHD versions of new movies as they come out.
I think I'm at about 20TB of movies so far, most are uncompressed direct rips of Blurays. I did have an issue with Plex built into the LG OLED as it can't cope with streams above a certain bit rate, however the NVIDIA shield I've got works perfectly
wsurfa said:
Glad it's working.
I think I'm at about 20TB of movies so far, most are uncompressed direct rips of Blurays. I did have an issue with Plex built into the LG OLED as it can't cope with streams above a certain bit rate, however the NVIDIA shield I've got works perfectly
Yup, thanks for the pointer I think I'm at about 20TB of movies so far, most are uncompressed direct rips of Blurays. I did have an issue with Plex built into the LG OLED as it can't cope with streams above a certain bit rate, however the NVIDIA shield I've got works perfectly
I have a load of DVDs ripped - they're 6Gb or so a disc. So the 4kUHD are around 10x more.
I have a Sony Android TV and Kodi will run the raw rips fine from my NAS, which I was pleased with. Had a bit of hassle with passthrough audio but eventually found the settings needed to get all tracks playing nicely.
I did find on one disc that MakeMKV kept bombing out for some reason, but DVDFab sorted it. Not looked into it any further as am not doing that many rips (just ordered a couple more but that will be it until decent new releases start to come out). But very happy to be able to rip them at all and to see what all the fuss is about on 4k - the quality of the films on disc seems better than I had streamed from Google Play/iTunes (which is understandable).
Murph7355 said:
Yup, thanks for the pointer
I have a load of DVDs ripped - they're 6Gb or so a disc. So the 4kUHD are around 10x more.
I have a Sony Android TV and Kodi will run the raw rips fine from my NAS, which I was pleased with. Had a bit of hassle with passthrough audio but eventually found the settings needed to get all tracks playing nicely.
I did find on one disc that MakeMKV kept bombing out for some reason, but DVDFab sorted it. Not looked into it any further as am not doing that many rips (just ordered a couple more but that will be it until decent new releases start to come out). But very happy to be able to rip them at all and to see what all the fuss is about on 4k - the quality of the films on disc seems better than I had streamed from Google Play/iTunes (which is understandable).
quality will look much better in a lot of cases as the constraints on streaming bit rates vs full local playback can be quite big.I have a load of DVDs ripped - they're 6Gb or so a disc. So the 4kUHD are around 10x more.
I have a Sony Android TV and Kodi will run the raw rips fine from my NAS, which I was pleased with. Had a bit of hassle with passthrough audio but eventually found the settings needed to get all tracks playing nicely.
I did find on one disc that MakeMKV kept bombing out for some reason, but DVDFab sorted it. Not looked into it any further as am not doing that many rips (just ordered a couple more but that will be it until decent new releases start to come out). But very happy to be able to rip them at all and to see what all the fuss is about on 4k - the quality of the films on disc seems better than I had streamed from Google Play/iTunes (which is understandable).
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