In my previous article, I discussed how I rip content from DVDs and Blu-ray for my home media server. I use MakeMKV for that and the output is a rather large .mkv file. In this article, I will cover how to convert this into a .mp4 file and add it to Plex.
Why convert mkv to mp4?
There are two main reasons to convert the files, size and compatibility.
The size benefit is fairly simple. If you rip a Blu-ray, you will get a .mkv file that is around 40GB in size. With files that large, you will quickly run out of space. After converting to .mp4, even with a high-quality level, you will get a file of around 10-15GB. That’s still big, but it’s better than before.
If disk space is a problem for you then you can reduce the quality during the conversion process.
The other reason to convert is compatibility. Plex will often transcode a .mkv file while playing it. Technically Plex does support mkv but it’s complicated. Some mkv files will need transcoding, and some will not. To keep things, simple lets assume your mkv file will need transcoding.
Plex has the option of live-transcoding. This is when the file is transcoded while it’s playing but that has problems. The main one is that transcoding is a complex process. When you transcode a large file like a Blu-ray movie, you will need either a powerful computer or a lot of time. If you server is not very powerful or you are using a NAS, it might not be possible to transcode. The best thing to do is to transcode in advance.
Transcoding on a server
I use HandBrake to transcode movies. HandBrake is a free tool to transcode media files. Most of the documentation will discuss using its Windows or Mac applications as desktop tools. That side is all fairly simple, but I needed to use it on a server with a command line.
Using the HandBrake CLI it is possible to transcode files in a headless way and even write a script to process several of them at once.
Installing HandBrake CLI
I am using Ubuntu so installing it was fairly easy.
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$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install handbrake-cli
This installed the command HandBrakeCLI. Be careful with the case of this command. Some of the documentation has it all in lowercase.
Converting a film with HandBrake CLI
First, you need to select a preset to use. If you know what you are doing, there are a lot of options, but I suggest starting with preset. This will list the current presets.
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$ HandBrakeCLI --preset-list
There are a lot of presets, but the General list should contain something suitable. I use ` Super HQ 1080p30 Surround` and have found it to be good.
Once your preset is selected you can convert a film. There are a lot of CLI options, but this is what I use:
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HandBrakeCLI --preset 'Super HQ 1080p30 Surround' --format av_mp4 --align-av --markers -i "${directory}/${source}" -o "${directory}/${outputFileName}"
You can add your own source name and output name. Remember the output name should end in .mp4.
This command will take some time. For my server, a Blu-ray will take 6-8 hours, my server is old, and I want to use a high-quality preset. I normally put a few of these commands in a bash script and leave it to run.
Adding to Plex
Once the movie has been transcoded, it can be added to Plex. The Plex directory structure is fairly simple.
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Plex root/
Movies/
Movie Name (Year) {imdb}
For example, I might have a film called Movies/ Rouge One (2016) {imdb-tt3748528}/rouge_one.mp4.
Plex will pick that up and add all the metadata. The imdb is optional but I like to add it so there is no confusion.
That is how I transcode movies.