BD-Rebuilder guide

Kerry56

Basic BD-Rebuilder guide

Introduction: Backing up Blu ray disks using BD-Rebuilder. Current version 0.34.02 Beta

BD-Rebuilder is a program designed to back up Blu ray video to smaller sized disks. Output can be made to fit 25gb BD-R/BD-RE disks, or you can compress to fit single or double layer DVDs. There are two points that should be made clear from the outset. BD-Rebuilder does not decrypt commercially made Blu ray movies, and it does not convert Blu ray to dvd-video. The output from the program will still be in Blu ray video format* and will require either a stand alone Blu ray player, or appropriate software on a computer.

[Edit: The author has added some extra capabilities to BD Rebuilder since this guide was written, including output as dvd-video, so this program continues to evolve. Output as mp4 or mkv files is also possible, but these options are outside the scope of this basic guide.]

The author of the program is jdobbs, a moderator at the doom9.org forums. He is also the author of DVDRebuilder, a similar program that works with dvd video.

1. You should download BD-Rebuilder at this site: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143716 The first post in that thread is updated periodically as new versions are released. The program is still in beta and improved versions appear quite often. In order to help development of the program, jdobbs has chosen to limit the amount of time each version can be used. This greatly reduces bug reports from problems that have already been fixed. If your version of the program ever fails to start and tells you that it has expired, just go to this download page and get the newest version.

2. BD-Rebuilder relies on several other free programs which must be installed as well. They are FFDSHOW, Matroska Splitter and AviSynth. You should always install the versions of these programs that are available through the links at the BD-Rebuilder site. After installing FFDSHOW, run the Video Decoder Configuration for FFDSHOW from the START/Programs menu, click on Codecs, and make sure MPEG2 decoding is enabled and uses libmpeg2. Look at the setting for H264/AVC also while you are there and make sure Libavcodec is selected as the decoder.

3. If you are using Windows XP, you should download and install WMV11, which is included in Windows Media Player 11 for XP. The media player download is here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...1/default.aspx Once you have that installed, go into the FFDSHOW Video Decoder Configuration again, and set VC1 decoding in FFDSHOW to disabled, thus enabling the WMV11 codec.

If you are using Vista or Win7, FFDSHOW Video Decoder Configuration should be set to WMV9 for VC1 decoding.


Once you've downloaded BD-Rebuilder and installed the auxiliary programs, you need to unzip the download. The program does not install into your Programs list, it simply works in whichever folder you place it. Open the containing folder and you will see several files, including the BD-Rebuilder executable file and another one called Inspect.exe. Double click on Inspect.exe and hit the button that says Inspect. This will look for any problems in your installation of the helper programs.

At this point, you should be ready to start using the program.

Additional notes:

If you are working with commercial blu ray movies, I suggest either AnyDVD HD or DVDFAb to decrypt them.

BD-Rebuilder can make use of a burning program called ImgBurn. It is highly recommended for burning both dvds and Blu ray media. It is free to use and can be downloaded here: www.imgburn.com

When working with Blu ray video, you should always rip the movie from the disk to the hard drive before trying to compress it with BD-Rebuilder. It will save time and reduce wear on your blu ray drive. You should, if possible, use two separate physical hard drives (not just partitions on one drive). Use one hard drive as your source, the second as your target. Compressing high definition video is one of the most demanding chores you can do with a home computer. The speed of your cpu and the number of cores available in the cpu will drastically affect the time it takes for this process. The X264 video encoder used in BD-Rebuilder can make use of multiple cores, but even with a modern system, you should expect many hours of encoding time.

Kerry56

Part 1: Setting up the Program

Start the program and click on Settings-->Setup.

Settings to Setup.jpg


This window will come up:
Setup .PNG

Setup has six sections of importance.

Audio Languages to Keep.
Most Blu ray videos will have several different language tracks. To save room and improve the quality of the compressed video, it is usually best to remove the audio tracks that you do not anticipate using. In this section of Setup you can put a check mark next to the languages you wish to keep and you can limit the number of audio tracks to one. If there is an individual movie that has more than one track you want, you can always add it in the main window of BD-Rebuilder and not have to come back into Setup to do that.
----------------------------------------------------------------


Subtitle Languages to Keep
This control is similar to the audio language selection, and largely self explanatory in how it functions.
----------------------------------------------------------------


Video Encoding Options
The first option here is to resize the video from 1080p to 720p. You can use this option to produce a high quality output for a small target size, for example when converting to fit a single layer dvd.

The second option is a 10% color boost. This is needed only infrequently and slows encoding.

Convert SD to HD.
This option will reencode extras that are shot in standard definition and produce a high definition resolution for those sections. This takes extra room and provides little benefit in return in my opinion.

Use Decomb filter on interlaced sources.
Another option that most will not use, but handy if you know for certain that your blu ray source is interlaced.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Audio Encoding Options
Do Not Convert DTS to AC3 (Blu-Ray Only)
When backing up to 25 gb disks, you have the option here to keep the DTS sound track intact. Unless this box is checked, DTS audio will be converted to AC3 at a lower bitrate. DTS sound usually takes too much room to include on single or double layer dvds.

Do Not Reencode AC3 (Blu-Ray Only)
This will retain the original bitrate of any AC3 tracks in your backup.

Use 448kbs for AC3 encoding.

Use 192kbs 2 channel for AC3 encoding.

Keep HD audio for BD25 encoding.
--------------------------------------------------------------------


General Encoding Options
Strict AVCHD for BD5/9 Movie Only
Blu ray players are not required to recognize and playback blu ray video from dvds. To insure better compatibility with a wide range of players, this setting should be used when making backups to single or double layer dvds. AVCHD compliance will require that the audio be in either AC3 format at a bitrate of 640kbps or less, or the audio can be uncompressed LPCM format. When this option is selected, all other types of audio will be automatically converted to comply with the AVCHD requirements.

Remove Workfiles after Encode.
The working files used by BD-Rebuilder take quite a lot of room, as much as the finished product in most cases. You can remove them automatically here, but these files can be useful in tracking down errors. Your choice.


Remove Output Folder after Burn.
BD-Rebuilder can be set to burn the output automatically to a disk using ImgBurn. Checking this option will remove the files after a successful burn. I do not recommend this option, as there are too many uncertainties involved in burning, and you may waste many hours of encoding.

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The last option is Custom Target Size. This can be helpful if you need specific sized files.



Once you are done with the Setup, hit Save Changes and return to the main window of BD-Rebuilder.

Kerry56

Full Backup

We are now ready to start a backup. This first example will be a Full Backup to a 25gb disk. Start BD-Rebuilder and click on Mode, then select Full Backup.

Full Backup.jpg

Since we are making a complete backup with menus and extras included, you can also select "Quicker Encode for Extras" here. This will set the X264 encoder to use the fastest encoding for extras, but it will reduce the quality of those extras in order to have more room set aside for the main movie.

Next step is to click on Settings.

The encoder should be set to X264 by default, so no need to change this.

Output Options adjust the target size, which can be made to fit a single layer dvd (BD5), a double layer dvd (BD9), a 25gb BD disk, or a custom size. The custom size is adjusted in Setup as previously mentioned.

If you wish to burn the reencoded movie automatically, put a check mark next to Auto-burn to Disc (Imgburn). You can also make an ISO file of the video automatically using ImgBurn by selecting Write to ISO file (with ImgBurn).

In this example we are making a 25gb full backup, but not using the automatic settings with ImgBurn.

target size.jpg

Encoder Settings

BD-Rebuilder can be set to run in either Idle Priority or Normal Priority. HD encoding can run your cpu at maximum capacity for hours at a time, so if you plan on using the computer while encoding, it would be best to leave the program in Idle Priority, as this will give other programs a higher priority on cpu use. If you do not intend to use the computer for other tasks, Normal Priority is fine.

Quality settings for the Encoder.
jdobbs has added an Automatic Quality setting for the program. It examines the original input, and the amount of compression necessary to fit your target, and will set the encoding parameters for you. When going to a 25gb disk, it often chooses a fast encode profile and single pass ABR encoding. If you want the program to make this decision for you, just put a check mark next to this Automatic Quality Settings. To access the other options, remove the check mark.
Automatic quality.jpg

Kerry56

Other Encoder Settings


This picture shows how the program set the encoder by putting a check mark next to Automatic Setting. Removing the check mark lets us see the other encoder settings: Good, Better, High Quality, Highest and High Speed Option (BD-25). The faster settings will save a great deal of time, but sacrifice some picture quality.

Other encoding settings.jpg

BD-Rebuilder will use a two-pass VBR (variable bitrate) encode if you do not select one of the one pass options. The VBR two-pass will give an excellent blend of quality and precision in output size.

There are also two one-pass methods that can be used.

CRF, (Constant Rate Factor), can produce very high quality and reduce the time of encoding, but the output size is a bit unpredictable. This can be a real problem if the output is larger than your target disk.

ABR one pass encoding is similar in function to VBR, but it lacks a preliminary analysis pass, which is detrimental to the quality of the encode. Output size is not a problem when using this option. I personally use this option on 25gb target encodes that require only a small amount of compression. From posts at doom9, the author uses this setting for most of his 25gb encoding jobs.

For our Full Backup example, we will be using two-pass, VBR encoding: Final encode setting.jpg

Kerry56

Importing your original blu ray video

Now that the settings are done, we import the video. In the main window, click on Browse next to the Source Path, navigate to the video and bring it into BD-Rebuilder. The next line down is the Working Path. Set this to your target hard drive, and be certain to have enough room there. The Working Path will contain both your final output and all the files necessary for compressing and rebuilding the video.

In this picture I have imported a video, and it shows all the various streams contained within the movie. The foreign language audio streams have been crossed out, but if you wish to include them, you can change that in this window. Subtitles can also be removed or added here if your basic settings don't match what you want for this particular movie.

pirate1.jpg

Once you are satisfied with the configuration, hit Backup. Then go do something else for a while. It is difficult to predict the exact amount of time, since individual computers vary so much in capabilities, but overnight is not uncommon.

Kerry56

Main Movie Only Backup

Making backups of the main movie only is probably the most preferred method, since it retains maximum quality of the movie itself. I recommend this mode for any backups to single or double layer dvds, and use it exclusively on my 25gb disks as well. If I want to watch the extras, I'll dig out the original.

The next picture shows the same movie imported into BD-Rebuilder in Movie-Only Backup mode. Many movies will have multiple video streams, so it is best to preview the one that has been selected. You do this by right clicking the video in this window, then clicking Preview this item. That will start Media Player Classic, which is included in the BD-Rebuilder package.

movie only w preview.jpg

Assuming everything is good, all you have to do is hit Backup and wait for the program to finish.

Burning BD Video
As previously mentioned, you can set ImgBurn to automatically burn the output, but many prefer to do this manually. ImgBurn will detect problems if you set the wrong file system and ask to correct this for you, but it is easy enough to set it to UDF 2.5 manually when burning blank BD media.

I recommend Verbatim brand media, for both BD-R and DL dvds. Use the inorganic Verbatim BD-R unless you are certain your equipment is compatible with their LTH disks.

There is quite a lot left to discuss about BD-Rebuilder, including hidden options, changing the configuration files, making .mkv or .mp4 files using the Other Movie-Only Output, but those are outside the scope of this basic guide.

I hope you enjoy the guide and are not utterly confused at this point. If you like the program, I recommend sending a donation to jdobbs through the link at the bottom of the first post in his thread at doom9: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143716

Kerry56

Addendum

It is possible, when using Win7, for FFDSHOW to be set up slightly off, despite setting things manually as described. When you run the Inspect program the following three lines show up:
- WIN7 preferred AVC CODEC: Not Set correctly
- WIN7 preferred VC-1 CODEC: Not Set correctly
- WIN7 preferred MPEG2 CODEC: Not Set correctly

To solve this, right click on the BD Rebuilder executable file and run as Administrator. You will get a message saying that FFDSHOW is not set up properly, and do you want to fix this? Click yes.

You will then see the following if you run Inspect again:
-WIN7 preferred AVC CODEC: Ok
- WIN7 preferred VC-1 CODEC: Ok
- WIN7 preferred MPEG2 CODEC: Ok

__________________
Basic Guide for BD Rebuilder

BD Rebuilder Guide for MP4 or MKV conversion

AVStoDVD Guide

Dartman

Thanks for this I have used it a few times and once I got everything the way I and it wanted it works nicely and using Image Burn afterwords is pretty much automatic so everything works together and you don't have to worry about extra settings usually.

Sophocles

That's a through guide which should simplify things considerably for new users. Nice job!

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seven8

Thanks for this Kerry. One question,
if you choose the Only Movie operation and the file output is larger than 25gigs, is there any way of keeping the original movie without BD-Rebuilder shrinkin' it?
I mean if the original movie only is 28gigs and I wanna keep it that way, can I do it that with BD-Rebuilder or it will shrink it down anyways?

Kerry56

No, BD-Rebuilder is designed to compress the output. You might be able to set the custom size to 28gb and use that as the target, but I have never tried this.

It might be simpler to use ClownBD to select the parts you want to keep and output as Blu ray structure.

Edit: By the way, if the main movie size is already under the target size, no compression will be applied to the movie by BD Rebuilder. But that is the opposite of your situation seven8.

__________________
Basic Guide for BD Rebuilder

BD Rebuilder Guide for MP4 or MKV conversion

AVStoDVD Guide

seven8

Thank you very much Kerry. The reason I asked is that I want, if possible, to get the movie as is with all audio and specific subs so I can afterwards convert them to mkv files (uncompressed) and be able to play on my TV set from an external HD (doesn't playback m2ts files). I tried but with no luck up to now since I can't get the subtitles to be screened and sometimes the mkv is with no sound
I use tsmuxeR and mkvmerge for these jobs. I need a lot of reading and practice I guess. Take care!

Stereodude

I realize I'm 14.5 months late, but for anyone else looking to do this. If you want to strip the disc ending up only with just the movie + audio + subs and no re-compression use Clown BD.

Prz

For some strange reason a BDR exe file does not appear on the latest download. Had this working fine till a systems problem caused me to restore the operating system and reload BD Rebuilder. I get the not installed correctly message cited but as I cant see the exe file cannot run as administrator. Any suggestions?

Kerry56

I have no issues with the latest version, which is 0.40.08 beta.

If you want to try an alternative download site, look here: http://www.videohelp.com/tools/BD-Rebuilder

Click on the link that says Download from our site (direct link)

__________________
Basic Guide for BD Rebuilder

BD Rebuilder Guide for MP4 or MKV conversion

AVStoDVD Guide

Prz

Thanks Kerry, It turned out to be virus protection that came with my new operating system refresh. Turned it off and the exe files appeared. However, even though I stard BDR as an administrator and that it verifies that the windows settings have been fixed the application fails with the embedded message that the Windows 7 settins are incorrect. Any suggestions?

Kerry56

If the registry settings for BD Rebuilder are incorrect, the program will ask to correct this for you. You should say yes when it asks to do this.

If it is still failing after that, you have a big problem, one that is not normally seen. You'll probably need to speak to the author directly at the doom9 forum. They have a waiting period after joining the site which is very annoying when you want to ask a question.

Have you run the Inspect.exe tool to see if all the codec settings are correct?

__________________
Basic Guide for BD Rebuilder

BD Rebuilder Guide for MP4 or MKV conversion

AVStoDVD Guide

baitfish18

Hi Kelly,

I just download the BD rebuilder from their official site but when i try to run it, it said Component MSCOMCTL.OCX or one of its denpendencies is not registered : A FILE IS MISSING OR INVALID. Can you please help me. Thanks in advances.

sonsalsa

i need a guide for BD rebuilder thanks

Steve33

Click on the links up the page in Kerry's post.

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sonsalsa

thanks guy for the bdrebuilder guide

Arnie714

Wow thanks a lot, really apreciated !

KingMojan

thnx so much

KingMojan

is there any diference in re-build steps between 3D & 2D BD movie?

Kerry56

That's a good question KingMojan. I did a bit of poking around over at doom9, and it seems that BD Rebuilder can compress 3D blu ray to 2D, but it won't compress and retain the 3D effects.

I believe DVDFab has a 3D Blu ray "ripper", that may or may not do what you want.

__________________
Basic Guide for BD Rebuilder

BD Rebuilder Guide for MP4 or MKV conversion

AVStoDVD Guide