macmilln
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After building my new computer, complete with a UHD optical drive, I was stoked to start editing in 4K! I had previously relied on iTunes for my 4K sourcing, which I used for certain moments that needed to be cropped/zoomed in. This worked fine, but I figured with this new desktop I'd spend the extra few Canadian rupees to make use of all the 4K discs I'd required.
The process, however, proved to be more difficult than I thought. Ripping standard Blu-Rays worked fine, but in multiple softwares, every 4K disc would error out in one way or another. And all the "solutions" seemed too complicated, or too expensive...*cries in DVDFab*
I know 4K fan-editing hasn't become all that mainstream yet. But, eventually it will be (I hope). And I figured it'd be good to hop on that bandwagon early, and show y'all how it's done...
What You'll Need:
No, not that kind.
Most of you (should) probably already know how to do this, but I'll go through it anyways.
So... that's it! Pat yourself on the back, I hope this somewhat long, tedious process proves to work out.
If you have any issues or questions, reply to this thread and I'll try helping you out to the best of my abilities.
This guide probably isn't the best way, but it's the way I've been doing it and I'd say it's worked out thus far. So, if you're more adept with this stuff than I, and you see ways this process could be streamlined or corrected in any way, please let me know! (hopefully I didn't make you cringe too much...)
The process, however, proved to be more difficult than I thought. Ripping standard Blu-Rays worked fine, but in multiple softwares, every 4K disc would error out in one way or another. And all the "solutions" seemed too complicated, or too expensive...*cries in DVDFab*
I know 4K fan-editing hasn't become all that mainstream yet. But, eventually it will be (I hope). And I figured it'd be good to hop on that bandwagon early, and show y'all how it's done...
What You'll Need:
- A UHD-capable ODD
- In my research, the LG WH16NS60 seemed to be the best option (based on price, performance, and reliability), and is what this tutorial will be based off. No guarantees, but I assume this process is applicable for all drives.
- FlashIt flashing utility
- Created by a MakeMKV user who reverse engineered and modified LG's official flasher, for an unrelated drive, making it possible to flash various others.
- Downloaded from the MakeMKV forums, but re-uploaded to GDrive for transparency + longevity.
- Patched "LibreDrive" firmware
- Again: downloaded from the MakeMKV forums, but re-uploaded to GDrive for transparency + longevity.
- The latest version of MakeMKV
The latest version of RipBot264Only necessary if you want to convert the footage from HDR to SDR, so for a full-4K edit, you may not need feel the need for it. However, if you're planning on integrating the 4K footage into a 1080p edit... to my understanding, converting to SDR is essential.
- MakeMKV
- This is a pretty simple download. Go to the MakeMKV website, download the latest version for Windows, and run the setup file.
- This is a pretty simple download. Go to the MakeMKV website, download the latest version for Windows, and run the setup file.
- FlashIt
- Download from Google Drive.
- It's just a ZIP, so there's nothing that needs to be "installed", I just extracted it and ran everything from my Downloads folder.
- The only file important here is BH14NS40_N1.00-A4_patched.exe, but the other ones are helpful in case you (or I) f*ck up later.
- Patched LibreDrive firmware
- Download from Google Drive
- Again, just a ZIP folder; extract it and keep it handy.
- RipBot264
Again, this is only necessary if you want to convert the footage from HDR to SDR, so for a full-4K edit, you may not need feel the need for it. However, if you're planning on integrating the 4K footage into a 1080p edit... to my understanding, converting to SDR is essential.- Download from VideoHelp
- Assuming everyone knows how .7z files work (extract them with 7-Zip)
- This is a "roaming" file. So the app will run from wherever you extract/move the folder to. But, it isn't a "one-n-done" program like all the others are. You're going to use it EVERY TIME you rip a UHD disc, so keeping it in Downloads probably isn't the best.
- I put it in my Program Files folder (C:\Program Files).
- Wherever yours ends up, it's helpful to create a shortcut to RipBot264.exe, and place it in your Start Menu folder (C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu)
- Download from VideoHelp
No, not that kind.
- Open FlashIt (BH14NS40_N1.00-A4_patched.exe)
- If a Windows "User Account Control" warning shows up, click "Yes".
- Make sure the proper ODD is selected (should be the only option unless you have multiple ODDs...)
- Click the "Browse" button, navigate to the Patched Firmware folder, and find the appropriate BIN file for your ODD.
- If you have the ODD mentioned above (LG WH16NS60), this'll be found in \mk-firmware-pack-20191013\MK\HL-DT-ST\WH16NS60\. If not, just follow the folder path and find whichever BIN file suits your ODD.
- If you have the ODD mentioned above (LG WH16NS60), this'll be found in \mk-firmware-pack-20191013\MK\HL-DT-ST\WH16NS60\. If not, just follow the folder path and find whichever BIN file suits your ODD.
- Flash!
Click the Play button. A loading bar should pop up, wait for that to complete. Close the app, and reboot your computer.
- Use MakeMKV to verify your drive works. In the Info tab (on the right-hand side), under "LibreDrive Information", it should say "Status: Enabled". If it says that, you're all set!
https://i.imgur.com/iEPusjI.png- If not, don't worry. Repeat steps 3 and 4, but flash using the BIN files found in the FlashIt folder. (in the case of 'our' ODD, this'll be DE_flash_HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_WH16NS40_1.02_NS50.bin).
- If that doesn't work... uhh... reply and we'll figure it out, I guess.
- If not, don't worry. Repeat steps 3 and 4, but flash using the BIN files found in the FlashIt folder. (in the case of 'our' ODD, this'll be DE_flash_HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_WH16NS40_1.02_NS50.bin).
Most of you (should) probably already know how to do this, but I'll go through it anyways.
- Insert your UHD disc into the ODD.
- Open MakeMKV, the disc in the animated clip-art should be spinning, and the "Source" information should be loading.
https://i.imgur.com/dLZ2Hul.png
- Eventually, the clip-art should become static, and the "Source" information fields will be populated with... information about the source!
https://i.imgur.com/YEPT4Un.png
- Backup the disc. Click the second icon (yellow folder + green arrow), and a pop-up should show up.
In there, browse to wherever you'd like to save the disc to. Make sure the Decrypt video files box is checked.
- If you get the MakeMKV BETA popup, don't worry. Just click the "Yes" button.
If you couldn't tell, MakeMKV can also... make MKVs of the main film on the disc. You can do that instead of backing up if you'd like, nobody's stopping ya.
- If you get the MakeMKV BETA popup, don't worry. Just click the "Yes" button.
- MakeMKV will start doing it's thing. Green progress bars, moving/flashing text that you don't understand. Don't worry, it's just the matrix, best not to think about it...
https://i.imgur.com/K9Td4Iv.png
This'll take some time (especially if you're exporting to an HDD, like me!), so go have a snack; enjoy the "life" we all pretend to have... - Eventually, MakeMKV will finish doing it's bidding. Close it, and move on, you were too good for them anyways.
If you plan on editing/exporting entirely in 4K HDR, you're done! Prepare your files for editing the same way you would any other Blu-Ray. However, if you're like me, and plan on only using the 4K footage to crop/zoom/etc., while still primarily editing/exporting in 1080p, (to my understanding) you'll need to convert the 4K footage to SDR.
There's lots of ways to convert HDR footage to SDR. ffmpeg is a utility I've seen used for this often (possibly more efficient, for computer-y reasons). But, despite being an (albeit amateur) programmer, I prefer a GUI to work with for this sort of thing...
Which is why we need RipBot264!
There's lots of ways to convert HDR footage to SDR. ffmpeg is a utility I've seen used for this often (possibly more efficient, for computer-y reasons). But, despite being an (albeit amateur) programmer, I prefer a GUI to work with for this sort of thing...
Which is why we need RipBot264!
- Open RipBot264(it'll be in your Start Menu if you followed the installation guide above!)
- If a Windows "User Account Control" warning shows up, click "Yes".
- Click "Add" in the lower right hand corner of the program.
- A file explorer window should show up. Navigateto wherever you 'backed up' the disc to. Go through the (chaotic) disc folders, and find the full film file.
- For most releases, this'll be found in \BDMV\STREAM. Then, sort all of these .m2ts files by size (or runtime!) - the largest file, in my experience, will always be the film. Select that one.
- If you're ripping TV shows, idk how to help you... I'm sorry.
- For most releases, this'll be found in \BDMV\STREAM. Then, sort all of these .m2ts files by size (or runtime!) - the largest file, in my experience, will always be the film. Select that one.
- A Blu-Ray structure window should then pop-up. Verify all the A/V and Subtitle info is to your liking, and click "Ok".
- Most of the time, the Playlist will just be one file. But in the case of some films (including what I'm demonstrating with, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) the playlist may be multiple files, stitched together. You may want to verify which of these 'streams' is correct, just by analyzing the relevant files in VLC.
- You can change the Audio/Subtitle streams as you see fit. I edit in 5.1, so make sure that box is checked if you plan to do the same.
- Most of the time, the Playlist will just be one file. But in the case of some films (including what I'm demonstrating with, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) the playlist may be multiple files, stitched together. You may want to verify which of these 'streams' is correct, just by analyzing the relevant files in VLC.
- That window will close, and you'll be left with the New Job window. At the bottom, it should say "Please Wait... Demuxing..." (or maybe "Analyzing"), just let this load all the way through (it may take a while...)
- It may also go through this process twice. I haven't bothered figuring out why, but I assume it's once for both the audio and video.
- Once that's finished, click the "AviSynth" button.
- A new page will open in the window; make sure the Tonemap is set to "BT.2020 -> BT.709" (this is what converts the footage to SDR). Then, click "Ok".
- Then, it's up to you to prepare this file however else you see fit. A/V quality, bitrate, language, etc. And Output it to whatever destination folder you desire.
- If you plan on editing straight from this file, make sure you select ".MP4" at the bottom of the page, as most NLEs do not support MKV.
- If you plan on editing straight from this file, make sure you select ".MP4" at the bottom of the page, as most NLEs do not support MKV.
- Click "Done". This window will close. Make sure the job is listed, and checked off in the RipBot264 window. Then, click "Start".
- Note: Depending on your hardware, you may want to right click on the job and select "Use hardware video decoder". This'll use your GPU to accelerate the process, however, in rare cases, if your GPU is much older or lower-performance than your CPU, this could cause bottle-necking and slow the decode down.
- Note: Depending on your hardware, you may want to right click on the job and select "Use hardware video decoder". This'll use your GPU to accelerate the process, however, in rare cases, if your GPU is much older or lower-performance than your CPU, this could cause bottle-necking and slow the decode down.
- Fin! Once this incredibly long and power-intensive process is complete, you'll be left with your 4K SDR video file, all ready to edit! Congratulations, looking forward to checking it out!
If you have any issues or questions, reply to this thread and I'll try helping you out to the best of my abilities.
This guide probably isn't the best way, but it's the way I've been doing it and I'd say it's worked out thus far. So, if you're more adept with this stuff than I, and you see ways this process could be streamlined or corrected in any way, please let me know! (hopefully I didn't make you cringe too much...)
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