www.makemkv.com

I just downloaded MakeMKV for OSX today and tried ripping Red (Bruce Willis, Helen Mirrin, etc), DVD. The video is fine, but the sound is only stereo, not multi-channel. I did a quick search of the forums and found a similar question. The answer was to adjust Settings, but I have limited settings available in my beta version.

Any ideas about what I can do? I have some old TV and movies in mono and stereo I can rip, but I'd like to also rip my more modern movies and preserve the multi-channed.

It is likely you have more than one audio track ripped, but you're not able to see them. You can see what tracks are going to be ripped by clicking on the little triangle next to the title in the left-hand menu, which will show you all the tracks available to rip, and let you select/deselect them.

All of the settings are available in the "beta" version - you just have to turn them on. Go to Preferences->General, and check the box next to "Expert mode". Many new options will appear.

Thanks, Woodstock, I'll look into your suggestions. Since I posted, I also ripped a CD of MASH episodes, which now play back in "stereo" (through the FL and FR speakers) instead of in mono (through the center channel). I'll see if I can fix that, too.

Once the files are ripped, how can I see what audio tracks are available? Of course I'll look for myself, but in case I don't find out on my own, I'll post here, too.

OK, found the various files available to rip, just like you said, thanks.

I still have some questions about Red. There was only one audio track available, English 5.1, but it still plays as stereo when playing through JRiver. Do you know how to make JRiver play 5.1? I couldn't find anything by searching through the Library Tools or Tools.

Also, JRiver says that Red ripped as 720x480, shouldn't that be 1080x___? There was only one video file available on the disc... I played the file and motion is pretty rough. Would like to get back to 1080 resolution.

I have no experience with JRiver, so I can't answer those questions. Programs like VLC (see videolan.org) can display different track types during playback, although VLC has its own idiosyncrasies (most noticeable on subtitles).

But yes, a Bluray rip should show 1920x1080 resolution, and a DVD will be 720x480.

Thank you for your help. DVDs will always rip at 720x480?

The raw frame size of a DVD is 720x480. If you get a DVD with "wide screen format", it will be 720x480 with letterbox bars added.

OK, it took forever, but I finally have the answer. My Mac Mini didn't recognize my pre-pro as a multi-channel device until I got a new HDMI input board from the manufacturer. Now I have multi-channel.

Woodstock wrote:The raw frame size of a DVD is 720x480. If you get a DVD with "wide screen format", it will be 720x480 with letterbox bars added.

Not necessarily true. With older DVDs, they indeed added letterbox bars. But, for DVDs that are enhanced for widescreen TVs, the 720x480 video is anamorphic. It is stretched to fill the screen horizontally.