Handling Blu-ray
This section will explain how to decrypt Blu-ray video files and get them ready to use with video editing software.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the full path of the directory that you work out of does not contain any unicode characters as it will cause errors when using AviSynth!
Need the software mentioned in this guide? Visit the Setup Guide for more information.
NOTE: It is highly recommended that you convert the source to lossless AVI files or use a production codec like ProRes to work with as it will improve the efficiency of the footage in the editing software!
Decrypting Blu-ray with MakeMKV
Insert disc and Open MakeMKV. (NOTE: Windows users should make sure to “Run as administrator” or it may not be able to access the disc drive!)
When the disc scanning is complete, click on the large disc drive icon with the Blu-ray logo.
After the disc is processed, the window will be divided into three sections. In the top-left section, right click on any Title and click on “Unselect all”.
Under the listed descriptions, find the first title that has the largest file size and click the checkbox on the left. (NOTE: Some Blu-rays of TV shows will have different files for each episode and you may need to select each episode individually.)
In the top-right section, make sure the Output folder is set to the directory you want to save the file to, then click the image of the hard drive with a green arrow pointing to it, under the text “Make MKV”.
Once the copy is complete, click OK in the popup box and close MakeMKV.
Result: You will have_t##.mkv which will need further processing.
Footage Handling
I. Recontainer to MP4
Open the AMVtool software.
In the main window click the “Add” button.
Select the “_t##.mkv” file and click Open. (NOTE: If you have more than one file to recontainer, make sure to add them all before proceeding!)
In the main window click the “Configure All” button.
In the Configure dialog box on the Video tab click the “Copy Compatible (Recontainer)” checkbox.
In the Audio tab change Use Stream to "None" then click "OK".
In the main window click the “START” button.
Once the process finishes you can exit the AMVtool application.
Result: You will have title#.mp4 which will be usable with editing software.
II. Convert to AVI or MOV
A. AMVtool (Basic)
Open the AMVtool software.
In the main window click the “Add” button.
Select the “_t##.mkv” file and click Open. (NOTE: If you have more than one file to recontainer, make sure to add them all before proceeding!)
In the main window click the “Configure All” button.
In the Configure dialog box change “Container:” to “AVI” or "MOV".
Change "Codec" drop down to either "DNxHR", "ProRes", or "UT Video".
NOTE: If the HDR tag is shown in the queue make sure to either select Convert HDR to SDR or use ProRes to keep the video HDR.Click the “Audio” tab and change “Use Stream:” to “None”.
Click the “OK” button to save the settings and return to the main window.
In the main window click the “START” button.
Once the process finishes you can exit the AMVtool application.
Result: You will have an AVI or MOV video file which will be usable with any editing software.
B. AviSynth (Advanced)(Windows Only)
1. Open AvsPmod then go to File > New tab and then go to File > Save script as…
2. Browse to the directory where the MKV file(s) are stored then save the script as Video.avs.
3. In AvsPmod use the following example:
Video.avs Example
LWLibavVideoSource("_t##.mkv")
(HELPFUL TIP: It is recommended that you visit the Using Script Filters section before proceeding to learn more about using additional plugins to clean up the video.)
4. Click the triangle in the bottom left to preview the script and generate the index file.
(NOTE: When previewing a script with “LWLibavVideoSource()” AvsPmod will appear to lock up and not respond for a short period of time. This is normal, DO NOT force close the application as the script is creating an index file for itself. This should ONLY happen the first time a particular video is previewed!)
5. After the script is finished and previewed go to File > Save script, then close AvsPmod.
6, Open the AMVtool and in the main window click the “Add” button.
7. Browse to the directory where video.avs is located and open it.
8. In the main window click the “Configure All” button.
9. In the Configure dialog box change “Container:” to “AVI” or "MOV".
10. In the Video tab change "Codec" drop down to either "DNxHR", "ProRes", or "UT Video".
11. In the Audio tab change "Use Stream" to "None" then click the OK button.
12. In the main window click the “START” button.
13. Once the process finishes you can exit the AMVtool application.
Result: You will have an AVI or MOV video file which will be usable with any editing software.
C. VapourSynth (Advanced)
1. Open VapourSynth Editor then go to File > New Script and then go to File > Save script as…
2. Browse to the directory where the MKV file(s) are stored then save the script as Video.vpy.
3. In VapourSynth Editor use the following example:
Video.vpy Example
#Import VapourSynth Core
import vapoursynth as vs
core = vs.get_core()
#Import Video
video = core.lsmas.LWLibavSource(r'_t##.mkv')
#Sets Video Output
video.set_output()
(HELPFUL TIP: It is recommended that you visit the Using Script Filters section before proceeding to learn more about using additional plugins to clean up the video.)
4. After the script is finished go to File > Save script, then close VapourSynth Editor.
5, Open the AMVtool and in the main window click the “Add” button.
6. Browse to the directory where video.vpy is located and open it.
7. In the main window click the “Configure All” button.
8. In the Configure dialog box change “Container:” to “AVI” or "MOV".
9. In the Video tab change "Codec" drop down to either "DNxHR", "ProRes", or "UT Video".
10. In the Audio tab change "Use Stream" to "None" then click the OK button.
11. In the main window click the “START” button.
12. Once the process finishes you can exit the AMVtool application.
Result: You will have an AVI or MOV video file which will be usable with any editing software.