How to Rip and Compress Bluray to H.264 with Subtitle On and Off on PC and Mac

I want to rip a Bluray and want to turn subtitle on or off whenever I need toI want to rip and compress Bluray to H.264 and I’d prefer using M4V or MP4 instead of MKVThe reason is that my mom is hearing impaired.  While she’s not totally deaf, the dialogue is often difficult for her to hear so when she watches a Bluray or DVD she usually also sets it up so she can view the subtitles while she watches it. That way she won’t miss any dialogue that she cannot hear or understand.  I and the children, however, prefer not to be distracted by subtitles when viewing the movie & my mom is not present. 

So I am wondering what is the simplest process to rip any Bluray and create a digital copy in H264 so that when later viewing the digital copy I have the option of viewing it with or without English subtitles? Do I have to compress Bluray to MP4 H264 twice and make 2 digital copies (one with & one without subtitles)? 

MakeMKV+Handbrake

I was thinking about ripping a digital copy without subtitles and also ripping a separate track or title that has subtitles but no video which I have the option to select to add during viewing if I so choose. But it seems unlikely. I happen to know MakeMKV and Handbrake on Reddit and found them to be the perfect combination to rip and compress Bluray discs to MP4/M4V H.264 with subtitles that I can turn them on or off.

MakeMKV is really powerful in Bluray decrypting and keeps upgrading itself so as to support the latest Bluray protections including AACS, MKB as well as BD+.  MakeMKV supports almost all PCs and Macs from Windows XP to Windows 10 and Mac OS X 10.6.8 to macOS 10.13 High Sierra. The only limitation is that as the name suggests, MakeMKV only makes MKV from Bluray, DVD, or HD DVD discs. The good news is the ripping process is quite fast as MKV is supposed to contain anything, so it just remux instead of converting or ripping. When it comes to Bluray ripping, MakeMKV costs $50, and we can download and support it here:

Handbrake does not support Blu-ray, but it always comes with MakeMKV for Bluray ripping on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It does not support protected Blu-rays but works perfectly to compress MKV to H.264 as well as H.265. It has the info available to be about how to do various things with the MakeMKV with subtitles that can be turned off and on as requested. And it is always free to use:

How to Compress Bluray to H.264 with Subtitle On/Off

Are you still confused about the best process to use if you want to copy a commercially purchased Bluray spoken in English but also have English subtitles available to you periodically? Here is exactly how to rip Bluray and compress to H264 with subtitles on and off.

We need to follow the above links to download the two programs, working together as Bluray H264 Compressor, install and launch them.  Put the Bluray disc into the Bluray drive. 

Rip Bluray to MKV

MakeMKV offers full version trial for 30 days so you can fully confirm if it is your right one ripping Bluray discs right to MKV with all or selected subtitles that can be turned on and off, even forced subtitles.

Ripping Bluray discs to MKV is extremely easy within two or three clicks:

Step 1. Open Bluray Disc

MakeMKV automatically reads and loads the Bluray disc that has been inserted into the Bluray drive. Click Open Blu-ray disc:

open bluray

And, MakeMKV will start analyzing the Bluray and it only takes seconds:

analyzing bluray

Step 2. Select Audio and Subtitle Tracks[Optional]

After a Bluray is loaded, you will be presented the below window and here you can select audio and subtitle tracks you need. Or you can simply select all of them as audios and subtitles don’t take much space. 

select audio subtitle bluray

Step 3. Rip Bluray to MKV

Click the below button “Save selected titles” to rip Bluray to MKV.

save selected title bluray

You are free to set a output folder or a popup will come asking your confirmation to create a new folder, click Yes to confirm. 

MakeMKV will do the rest for you! You are able to play the MKV file with subtitles that can be turned on and off as well but if you need to compress it to H264 to save space and more compatible format MP4, please follow the below guide.

Compress Bluray MKV to H.264

MKV and MP4 are both containers, but for some reason, MKV is not widely accepted by devices mostly like iPhone/iPad/Apple TV, as well as smart TVs. ON the contrast, MP4 seem more and more a universal format and H.264 is the top coding that can be used for Bluray compression whilst keeping the best quality possible. Also, as we can see the output MKV is huge, mostly around 30GB for a 50GB Bluray disc, compressing a Bluray MKV file to MP4 H264 seems a must for the majority of us. And Handbrake is the very tool to do so, for FREE.

Step 1. Add MKV

When you start Handbrake, it will ask you what videos/folders/discs to convert. Click the File option, locate the MKV file we just rip.

add mkv

Step 2. Specify Profile

The MKV is in 1080P and I want to keep the resolution, so I’d prefer to go for HD 1080P 30 Sounded. Choose the one you like.

compress bluray to h264 1080p profile

Step 3. Set Video Codec

To compress Bluray MKV to MP4 H264, make sure you go Video tab and choose H264(x264) as the Video Codec. H265(x265) is actually more recommended as it is believed to save up to 50% space with the same video bitrate or improves 30-40% video quality if the same size. 265 has a bright further, however, H264 is still the most compatible and can be universal for almost all media players and devices like iPhone/iPad, Plex etc.

compress bluray to h264 codec option

Step 4. Set Subtitle

Go Subtitle tab and add subtitle tracks as you need and uncheck Burn In option so as to be able to turn it on or off. 

Step 5. Set Output

Click Browse to set the file name and output folder.

compress bluray to h264 output option

But it is recommended to go Tools-Preference and set a default output folder so you don’t have to set it every time you compress a Bluray. 

Step 6. Start Compressing

Click the top Start Encode button to begin to compress MKV to MP4 H264.

start compress bluray to h264
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mactoolspro
mactoolspro
6 years ago

Awesome Stuff man! Today, I have learned about Handbrake and how can you compress your video size.

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