Vector 22: How to rip and transcode video for the best quality possible

Don Melton, former Engineering Director of Internet Technologies at Apple, talks about his non-browser-based passions - Blu-Ray, transcoding, H.264, and managing massive amounts of media. Warning: Contains extreme nerdery.

Show notes

transcode-video.sh: Don Melton's shell script for OS X to transcode a video file (works best with Blu-ray or DVD rip) into MP4 (or optionally Matroska) format, with configuration and at bitrate similar to popluar online downloads. Requires HandBrakeCLI and mediainfo executables.
detect-crop.sh: Don Melton's shell script for OS X to detect crop values for a video file to use with mplayer and transcode-video.sh. Requires mplayer and mediainfo executables.
convert-mp4-to-mkv.sh: Don Melton's shell script for OS X to convert an MP4 video file into Matroska format with a single audio track. Requires mkvmerge executable.
HandBrake and HandBrakeCLI: Convert video from nearly any format.
HandBrake and HandBrakeCLI: nightly builds.
MediaInfo: Display technical and tag data for video and audio files.
MKVToolNix: Tools for Matroska, including mkvmerge.
MPlayer: Media utilities and player.
Homebrew: Package manager for OS X to install MPlayer, MediaInfo and MKVToolNix.
MakeMKV: Convert/rip video that you own into the portable and open Matroska format.
Plex
XBMC
OpenELEC (Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center)
X264 Settings
Scene Rules: warez)

Guests

Don Melton of donmelton.com

Hosts

Rene Ritchie of iMore.com

Feedback

Yell at us via the Twitter accounts above (or the same names on ADN). Loudly.

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.