Format
pulldown menu, but especially if you're new to HandBrake, you might want to consult the Preset
menu just above it. You'll probably use its General
(to create MP4 videos) and Matroska
(to create MKVs) settings most often. But look through its Web
and Devices
settings, too. If you know what you want to do with the final video – say, send it to someone over Gmail or upload it to YouTube – or what specific kind of device you'd like it to play on, these videos can make configuring HandBrake a lot easier for you.General
or Matroska
sections, and find a setting that matches the resolution (most likely 480p, 720p, or 1080p) of your source video, and your desired quality. (Very Fast
probably won't yield good results, Fast
should be, eh, decent, and HQ
and Super HQ
offer the best quality, and probably the largest file sizes.Video Encoders
pulldown menu. It'll offer you the different compression algorithms we discussed above, including H.264 and H.265 (aka HEVC). Remember, even if you have the option, you won't want to use the latter on pre-2017 Macs, because H.265 will run sloooooooooooooowly.Tracks
pulldown menu and select Add All Tracks
.) You can use the pulldowns in the track listing to add, reorder, or remove those tracks.Codec
, you can either leave the existing setting alone or choose AAC (CoreAudio)
, which does a good job compressing the audio while preserving its fidelity. And if you know that the source video comes with swanky 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, use the Dolby Surround
or Dolby Pro Logic II
options under Mixdown
to ensure that your audio sounds great in plain old stereo, but will also remain compatible with multichannel audio systems.Subtitles
tab. If you're making an MP4, HandBrake will only let you pick one track, and it'll be burned into the video. For an MKV, set Track 0 to 'Foreign Audio Search,' and leave 'Forced Only' checked. If your movie has any scenes where non-English dialogue gets subtitled, this should ensure that those 'forced' subtitles show up – though for whatever reason, HandBrake's not always great at doing this. If you want to see those forced subtitles every time you watch the movie, make sure 'Burned In' is checked.Save As:
. Give the resulting file has the name you want. Even if you'll be storing your movies on an external hard drive, I recommend creating the compressed files on your local drive. HandBrake will work much faster, even when you factor in the time needed to copy them over later.Start
button at the top of the window, and watch the progress bar creep along the bottom of the window until your newly compressed file is ready. (This might take a while, depending on whether you choose software or hardware encoding, and how big the original file is. Maybe go get a snack or a sandwich or watch some TV or something.)Add to Queue
button at the top of the window. Then open another source and do it all over again. When you're all done, the Start
button will begin working through your queue in order, and won't stop until every video's finished.Queue
button in the upper right of the window.HandBrake install libdvdcss mac
to safely learn more about that whole situation and how one might hypothetically remedy it, but I'm also not saying you shouldn't. As for Blu-rays, you'll need to employ other means.