This guide covers the complete setup for ripping DVD and Blu-ray discs using the LG BP60NB60 external drive on Windows 11. The workflow uses a two-stage process: MakeMKV for lossless extraction and HandBrake for x265 compression, producing universally compatible MKV files with English subtitles saved as external .srt files. Your drive is already passed through and recognized by Windows — pick up from software installation.
Software Installation
Three tools are required. Install all three before proceeding.
Download the Windows installer from makemkv.com. During install, accept defaults. MakeMKV is technically in "beta" but has been continuously maintained for years — a free registration key is posted monthly on the MakeMKV forum. Bookmark the forum thread for key renewal.
Download the Windows 64-bit installer from handbrake.fr. Run the installer with defaults. No license key required — HandBrake is fully open source.
Download from GitHub (github.com/amtoph/BDSup2Sub). This converts Blu-ray PGS image-based subtitles into text-based .srt files. Extract the .jar to a permanent folder (e.g. C:\Tools\BDSup2Sub). Requires Java — install Adoptium Temurin JRE 21 from adoptium.net if Java is not already present.
MakeMKV Configuration
MakeMKV handles disc decryption and lossless extraction. Configure it once and it applies to all future rips.
Register Your Key
Open MakeMKV → Help → Register. Paste the current beta key from the MakeMKV forum (forum.makemkv.com, pinned post). Keys expire monthly — bookmark the thread. Without a valid key, MakeMKV works for 30 days then requires renewal.
Output Settings
Go to File → Preferences → General. Set Default output folder to a staging location with ample space — e.g. D:\Rips\Staging. Blu-ray rips average 20–40 GB each before encoding.
Go to File → Preferences → Advanced. Set the following to control which tracks are automatically selected during rip:
| Setting | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Default selection rule | +sel:all,+sel:lang(eng),-sel:lang(und) | Selects all English tracks, deselects undetermined languages |
| Expert mode | Enabled | Reveals additional track detail and options |
| Create chapter file | Enabled | Preserves chapter markers in output MKV |
Track Selection During Rip
When you open a disc, MakeMKV shows all available tracks. For each rip, verify the following are checked before clicking Make MKV:
| Track Type | Keep | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Main video | ✓ Yes | The primary 1080p or 480p video stream |
| TrueHD / DTS-HD MA audio (ENG) | ✓ Yes | Lossless audio — preserved for HandBrake to process |
| AC-3 / DTS core (ENG) | ✓ Yes | Lossy surround fallback — useful to keep |
| PGS subtitles (ENG) | ✓ Yes | Required for SRT conversion step |
| Commentary audio tracks | Optional | Skip unless you want them — saves space |
| Non-English audio / subtitles | ✗ No | Skip unless needed |
HandBrake — Creating a Custom Preset
Rather than configuring settings per-rip, create two saved presets — one for Blu-ray (1080p) and one for DVD (480p). HandBrake will then detect and apply the correct settings automatically based on the source.
Create the Blu-ray Preset First
Drag your lossless MakeMKV output into HandBrake or use File → Open Source. HandBrake needs an active source to save a preset — load any MKV. Select the main title (longest duration) from the title dropdown.
Set Format to MKV File. Ensure Web Optimized is unchecked. Leave Align A/V Start checked.
Set Cropping to Automatic. Set Resolution Limit to None for Blu-ray. Anamorphic: Automatic.
For Blu-ray: set Deinterlace to Off — Blu-ray content is progressive. Leave all other filters off.
Apply the settings from the table below. These are the most critical quality settings.
| Setting | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Video Codec | H.265 (x265) | Software encode — best quality/size ratio |
| Framerate | Same as source | Do not force a framerate |
| Framerate mode | Constant Framerate (CFR) | Better compatibility than VFR |
| Quality mode | Constant Quality (RF) | RF = Rate Factor; lower = better quality |
| RF Value | 22 | Excellent quality; try 20 for archival |
| Encoder Preset | Medium | Slower = smaller file; Medium is the sweet spot |
| Encoder Tune | None | Leave default |
| Encoder Profile | Main 10 | Required for HDR if ever needed; fine for SDR |
| Level | Auto |
| Track | Codec | Mixdown | Bitrate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track 1 | AAC (FDK) | Stereo | 192 kbps | Universal compatibility |
| Track 2 | AC3 Passthru | — | — | 5.1 surround passthrough |
AC3 (encode, not passthru) at 640 kbps, mixdown 5.1 Channels.| Setting | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitle track | None / leave empty | Subtitles handled externally via BDSup2Sub — do not burn in |
| Burn In | Off | External .srt is toggleable at playback |
| Filter | Value |
|---|---|
| Detelecine | Off |
| Interlace Detection | Off |
| Deinterlace | Off |
| Denoise | Off |
| Setting | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Video Codec | H.265 (x265) | x265 is very efficient at 480p |
| Framerate | Same as source | NTSC = 29.97; PAL = 25 |
| Framerate mode | Constant Framerate (CFR) | |
| Quality mode | Constant Quality (RF) | |
| RF Value | 18–20 | Lower RF needed — DVD source has less detail |
| Encoder Preset | Medium | |
| Resolution Limit | None — keep native 480p | Do not upscale |
| Track | Codec | Mixdown | Bitrate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track 1 | AAC (FDK) | Stereo | 160 kbps | Universal compatibility |
| Track 2 | AC3 Passthru | — | — | DVDs use native AC3 — perfect passthrough |
| Filter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Detelecine | Default | Corrects 3:2 pulldown on film-sourced DVDs |
| Interlace Detection | Default | Automatically detects interlaced content |
| Deinterlace | Decomb — Default | Removes combing artifacts — essential for DVD |
| Denoise | Off | Optional: NLMeans Light can help grainy DVDs |
Save Presets
After configuring all tabs for Blu-ray: Presets → Save New Preset. Name it Wastelander-BD-x265. Set Category to Custom. Click Add.
Switch to the DVD settings (change RF to 18–20, enable Detelecine + Decomb). Save as Wastelander-DVD-x265. Both presets will appear in the Presets panel on every future launch.
Subtitle Extraction — PGS to SRT
Blu-ray subtitles are stored as PGS (Presentation Graphic Streams) — image-based graphics, not text. They must be OCR'd into text .srt format using BDSup2Sub++. DVD subtitles (VOB format) go through the same process.
Install MKVToolNix
Download the Windows installer from mkvtoolnix.download. Install with defaults. Provides both MKVToolNix GUI and the command-line mkvextract tool.
Extract the Subtitle Track
Open MKVToolNix GUI. Drag your lossless MakeMKV MKV onto the window. In the Tracks list, find the subtitle track labeled subtitles with language eng and codec S_HDMV/PGS. Note its track number (e.g. Track 3).
Open Command Prompt and run:
mkvextract tracks "C:\Path\To\Movie.mkv" 3:subtitle.sup
Replace 3 with your subtitle track number. This produces a subtitle.sup file — the raw PGS stream.
Convert PGS to SRT with BDSup2Sub++
Launch BDSup2Sub++ (double-click the .jar). Open your subtitle.sup file via File → Load.
Set Output format to SRT (SubRip). Set OCR mode to Automatic OCR. Click OK, then File → Save/Export. Name the output Movie.Title.Year.en.srt.
Scan in a text editor for OCR errors — common issues are l vs 1, O vs 0, and punctuation. Use Subtitle Edit (subtitleedit.org) for automated OCR error highlighting.
After HandBrake encoding, place the .en.srt in the same folder as the final .mkv. Jellyfin, Plex, Kodi, and VLC all auto-detect matching .en.srt files.
Movie.Title.Year.mkv and Movie.Title.Year.en.srt. Jellyfin and Plex use this pattern for automatic matching. For forced subtitles, also extract as .en.forced.srt.Complete Ripping Workflow
With software installed and presets saved, every future rip follows this sequence.
Insert the disc into the LG BP60NB60. Open MakeMKV. Click the disc icon to read the disc. Wait for the title list to populate (15–60 seconds).
The main feature is almost always the longest title. Verify: main video ✓, English audio ✓, English PGS subtitles ✓. Deselect extras, trailers, and non-English tracks.
Click Make MKV. Blu-ray rips take 20–60 minutes. DVD rips take 10–20 minutes. Output is a lossless MKV — typically 20–40 GB for Blu-ray, 4–8 GB for DVD.
Using mkvextract, pull the English PGS subtitle track as subtitle.sup. Convert to .en.srt with BDSup2Sub++ as described in Section 04.
Load the lossless MKV. Select:
→ Wastelander-BD-x265 for Blu-ray
→ Wastelander-DVD-x265 for DVD
Set output path to your media library (e.g. \\NAS\Media\Movies\Movie Title (Year)\Movie.Title.Year.mkv).
Click Add to Queue then Start Queue. Blu-ray x265 encodes take 1–4 hours. DVD encodes run 20–60 minutes.
Move the .en.srt alongside the finished .mkv. Verify in VLC or your media server: video clean, surround audio present, subtitles in track menu. Delete staging MKV once satisfied.
Quick Reference
| Parameter | Blu-ray | DVD |
|---|---|---|
| Container | MKV | MKV |
| Video Codec | H.265 x265 | H.265 x265 |
| Resolution | Native 1080p | Native 480p |
| RF Quality | 22 | 18–20 |
| Encoder Preset | Medium | Medium |
| Audio Track 1 | AAC Stereo 192k | AAC Stereo 160k |
| Audio Track 2 | AC3 5.1 Passthru | AC3 5.1 Passthru |
| Deinterlace | Off | Decomb Default |
| Detelecine | Off | Default |
| Subtitles | External .en.srt | External .en.srt |
| Subtitle Source | PGS → BDSup2Sub++ | VOB → BDSup2Sub++ |
| Tool | Purpose | Source |
|---|---|---|
| MakeMKV | Disc decryption + lossless extraction | makemkv.com |
| HandBrake | x265 compression | handbrake.fr |
| MKVToolNix | Subtitle track extraction | mkvtoolnix.download |
| BDSup2Sub++ | PGS/VOB → SRT conversion | github.com/mjuhasz/BDSup2Sub |
| Subtitle Edit | SRT review + OCR correction (optional) | subtitleedit.org |
| Adoptium JRE 21 | Required for BDSup2Sub++ (.jar) | adoptium.net |