Technology | Steven Engelhardt

Using Handbrake to Encode Blu-Rays for the Roku

Published: 2014-04-27

This post is a sibling of my earlier post Using Handbrake to Encode DVDs for the Roku and contains the settings I use for Blu-Ray movies. The instructions apply to Handbrake 0.9.9.

Once again, start with the High Profile preset and then make the following changes:

In Output Settings:
- Set Container = Mp4
- Ensure Large File Size is checked
- Ensure Web Optimized is checked
- Ensure iPod 5G Support is unchecked
In Picture:
- Set Anamorphic = Strict (all Blu-Rays I’ve seen are 1920x1080)
- Set Cropping = Automatic.
In Filters:
- Set Detelecine = Off
- Set Decomb = Fast
- Set Deinterlace = Off
- Set Denoise = Off
- Set Deblock = Off
- Ensure Grayscale is unchecked
In Video:
- Set Video Codec = H.264 (x264)
- Set Framerate (FPS) = Same as source
- Set Constant Framerate
- Set Quality = Constant Quality of RF:20
- Set Optimise Video = Use Advanced Tab instead
In Audio:
- Create two audio tracks. The first audio track will have:
  - Source = AC3 5.1 (which is what you should have ripped from your DVD)
  - Codec = AAC (faac)
  - Bitrate = 160
  - Samplerate = Auto
  - Mixdown = Stereo
  - DRC = 1.5
  - Gain = 0
- The second audio track will have:
  - Source = AC3 5.1
  - Codec = AC3 Passthru
In Subtitles, keep everything empty. I do not handle subtitles.
In Chapters:
- Ensure Create chapter markers is checked
In Advanced:
- In Encoding:
  - Set Reference Frames = 3 (Default)
  - Set Maximum B-Frames = 3 (Default)
  - Ensure CABAC is checked
  - Ensure 8×8 Transform is checked
  - Ensure Weighted P-Frames is checked
  - Set Pyramidal B-Frames = Normal (Default)
- In Analysis:
  - Set Adaptive B-Frames = Optimal
  - Set Adaptive Direct Mode = Automatic
  - Set Motion Est Method = Hexagon (Default)
  - Set Subpixel Motion Est = 7: RD in all frames
  - Set Motion Est Range to 16
  - Set Partition Type = Most (Default)
  - Set Trellis = Encode Only (Default)
- In Psychovisual:
  - Set Adaptive Quant Strength = Middle
  - Set Rate Distortion = Middle
  - Set Psychovisual Trellis = Leftmost Setting
  - Ensure No DCT-Decimate is unchecked
  - Set Deblocking = 0 (Default), 0 (Default)
- In x264 Encoder Options, set it to b-adapt=2:rc-lookahead=50:direct=auto

Using Handbrake to Encode DVDs for the Roku

Technology dvd handbrake mp4 roku

Published: 2013-12-02

Update 2014-04-27 10:00 PM: See also Using Handbrake to Encode Blu-Rays for the Roku

In a previous post, I noted that I use ffmpeg to convert DVDs to MP4s which will play on my Roku. I recently encountered two problems with this approach. First, the resulting MP4s only include a stereo audio track, so are highly sub-optimal for surround sound systems. Second, for a yet-undetermined reason, Plex (my current preferred media client) will transcode the videos rather than play them directly.