Handbrake is a freeware video transcoder that until recently was best known and used among Mac users. The later Windows versions however are much improved, improving the GUI and fixing most nasty bugs. In this article we will guide you through the steps of creating an mkv or mp4 file using H264 codec. Handbrake now accepts most video files as input but in our example we will use a DVD disc as a source.

Step 1

As Handbrake does not support decrypting a DVD you should either use AnyDVD or rip the DVD to your hard disk first. I really suggest the later, as it will make the whole process faster and you will avoid unnecessarily stressing your DVD drive for all the hours the encoding needs to finish. To rip a DVD to your hard disk using DVDFab HD Decrypter read this guide.

Step 2

After you have ripped the DVD click on Source (1) and select DVD/VIDEO_TS folder. From the presets select Normal (2), unless you want your file to be playable in one of the special devices listed like a PS3 or an Xbox360.

Step 3

After you've loaded the video click Browse and select the output file (1). You can choose between mkv, mp4, ogm and avi in the output settings (2), then click the Video tab (3) and move to the next step.

Step 4

Here make sure H.264 is selected as the Video codec (1) and that 2-Pass encoding with a turbo first pass is enabled (2). Finally set the target size (3) to what better suits your storing needs, for example 700MB. Keep in mind that if you want to create big high quality files (over 2GB) it would be better to just select the Constant Quality Rate profile and set the Constant Quality to something like 65%. Move to the Audio & Subtitles tab and to the next step to continue.

Step 5

Select the audio source and codec (1). If you want to have stereo audio use the AAC codec and Dolby Pro Logic II for mixdown, otherwise to keep the original 5.1 audio of the DVD select the AC3 codec. Here you can also select if you want to include Subtitles (2) in your video. Finally click Start (3) to start the transcoding process.

Step 6

The console window that opens after you click start allows you to see the progress of the encoding process. Depending on the speed of your CPU in a few hours your video will be ready. For any extra info you may need or any problems you may come across just visit our forums and ask.

Comments (6)

Confusion about encoding/transcoding
written by GaryM, April 22, 2009

All the descriptions about Handbrake say it's a transcoder. The few transcoders I have worked with never had many options to choose from, but Handbrake seems to have additional h.264 options. It also has a 2 pass option. This seems more like an encoder. Even step 6 shows Encoding. So I was wondering if it had x264 under the covers and was really encoding? I compared a clip I did with Handbrake and one with badaboomit (which had very little settings) and Handbrake was far better at the same bit rate and resolution. This is another reason I was wondering about the transcoderencoder thing.

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good recommendation
written by iapp, June 29, 2009

I think this is a great article to tell us the process to use handbrake, however, as a mac user, i own my favorite dvd ripper to do the same job, it's an easy one to achieve the goal with only few clicks, this mac dvd ripper maybe our best choice.

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I don't like HandBrake
written by Aden, August 07, 2009

Good article!
I can find out HandBrake in many websites, but I consider it is difficult to use, little output formats and weak Stability.
iFunia is better than it, I am using it.

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written by KGB, October 20, 2009

Both encoding and transcoding are pretty much interchangeable.
A program that encodes can be used to do both and to make things confusing, is actually doing both :-)

Encoding is the act of compressing/converting something from one type of format to another. And so is transcoding.

The slight differences are in word implementation. Encoding is a more general term and refers to compressing an original video/audio. Transcoding is essentially RE-compressing that previously compressed source into another format.

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written by PixelLTU, October 30, 2009

Finally, I can convert my very large .mpg files with almost no quality loss But process takes a long time - Encoding takes 2 tasks - one lasts about 30 minutes, and another about 100 minutes, that is annoying... But this is very good guide for newbies like me ;]

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written by Goldberg Fan, January 10, 2010

only thing i dnt like about this program is that you cant crop your videos properly, how you meant to crop what you cant see?
Auto Crop dont always crop everything nice and neat.
the program needs a proper crop feature like most video editing programs have.

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