Blu-ray Discs were developed to hold high-definition video and store large data. They can easily bring you a fantastic video and audio playback experience in your home theater. However, there are times when large amounts of Blu-ray Discs could be a pain in the ass, such as inconvenient searching, taking up too much shelf space, and being unable to view them without an optical Blu-ray drive, you may also need to worry about physical wear and tear overtime, etc.
The MKV (Matroska) format is a versatile container. It supports various video and audio codecs and can store Blu-ray disks efficiently. Therefore, converting Blu-ray to MKV video is one of the most effective ways to preserve your collection.
I will provide step-by-step guides for both beginners and advanced users and give enough information to help you get the best software for ripping Blu-ray to MKV. You will get the optimal settings for a balance between video quality and file size here.
The Reason We Choose MKV for Blu-ray Ripping?
Advantages of MKV Format
MKV is a popular format for converting Blu-ray movies because:
- It can hold lossless video and audio.
- It can preserve multiple audio tracks, and subtitle streams, and pass through metainformation.
- It supports multiple video codecs like H.264, and H.265 (HEVC).
- It has wide compatibility with media players like VLC, Plex, and Kodi.
MKV vs MP4 vs AVI — Which Format is Best?
- MKV: Best for lossless backups with multiple audio/subtitles.
- MP4: Good for streaming and compatibility but lacks advanced features compared with MKV.
- AVI: Outdated and inefficient for modern high-quality videos.
For ripping Blu-rays, MKV is the best option if you want high-quality video with flexibility.
Best Software for Ripping Blu-ray to MKV
Choosing the right software is crucial to ensure the best output quality. Here is a comparison of the top Blu-ray ripping tools.
| Software | Free/Paid | Decryption Support | Key Features | Best For |
| MakeMKV | Free (during Beta) | Yes | One-click lossless rip, fast speed | Beginners, general users |
| HandBrake | Free | NO (requires external tool) | Highly customizable, HEVC support | Advanced users |
| DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper | Paid | Yes | Presets for various devices, GPU acceleration | Professional users |
| Leawo Blu-ray Ripper | Paid | Yes | Converts to multiple formats like MP4, MKV | Users needing flexibility |
MakeMKV is the easiest to use of these tool options, while HandBrake provides better compression to save storage space.
Best Settings for Converting Blu-ray to MKV in High-Quality
You need to carefully configure your encoding settings to get the best balance between quality and file size for MKV.
| Best Video Settings | Best Audio Settings | ||
| Setting | Recommendation | Setting | Recommendation |
| Codec | H.264 (for compatibility) / H.265 (for better compression) |
Audio Codec | Keep DTS-HD/Dolby TrueHD for lossless, AAC for compatibility |
| Bitrate | CRF 18-22 for near-lossless quality | Channels | 5.1 or 7.1 (preserve surround sound if possible) |
| Resolution | Match original Blu-ray (1080p or 4K) | Bitrate | At least 320kbps for high-quality AAC |
Step-by-Step Guide to Rip Blu-ray to MKV [Lossless & HD Quality]
How to Compress Blu-ray to MKV without Losing Quality Using HandBrake
HandBrake, multi-platform (Windows, macOS, and Linux) supported, is another free tool that can rip Blu-ray. This tool will reencode the videos to save disk space while at the same time, keeping the MKV video in high quality. Besides MKV, you can also use HandBrake to convert Blu-ray to MP4 and WEBM formats.
Step 1: Open HandBrake, select the Blu-ray source, or drop a Blu-ray ISO file or Blu-ray folder into HandBrake.
Step 2: Select the title and adjust the chapter range if you want to get just a clip of the title.
Step 3: Select a 1080p preset and choose from Fast, HQ, or Super HQ. The better quality will produce a larger file with less compression.
Step 4: Select MKV under the Summary tab. Then adjust the codecs of the video and audio, and select or add more subtitles if needed. H.265 compresses better than H.264 without major quality loss, you may change the video codec to H.265 if necessary.
Step 5: In the “Save A”s field, you can change the place for saving the output MKV file.
Step 6: Start the encoding process using the Start Encode button.
How to Rip Blu-ray to MKV Lossless Using MakeMKV
MakeMKV, a lossless Blu-ray to MKV converter, can produce large file size MKV files from Blu-ray sources and retain the full audio and video quality of the Blu-ray. MakeMKV can run on Windows PC, macOS, and Linux systems. Its user interface is very simple and you can perform the ripping process effortlessly.
Step 1: Download and install MakeMKV from its official site.
Step 2: Load a Blu-ray disc to your drive and open MakeMKV. Select the source from the drive.
Step 3: Click “Open Blu-ray disc”, and wait for MakeMKV to scan for available titles.
Step 4: On the left window, you will see all the available titles. When you click to unfold the title, you can find the available audio tracks and subtitles of that title, and unselect those you do not need. If all you need is the main movie, then just keep the title of the largest file size.
Step 5: Choose the output folder to save the created MKV file.
Step 6: In the last step, simply click the “Make MKV” button to begin the ripping process.
How to Convert Blu-ray to MKV HEVC/H.265 Using DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper
DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper provides a free trial with full functionality (1,000+ output options), and an embedded free version that offers two conversion formats: MP4 and MKV. It runs on Windows and macOS and comes with a long list of built-in output profiles and flexible options that allow you to convert Blu-ray to MKV format with customizable video and audio quality, and you can choose from different codecs, video codecs including H.264, H.265, AV1, etc. and audio codecs including AAC, DTS, EAC3, TRUEHD, etc.
H.265 encoding can help you maintain high quality while reducing file size. I’ll show you how to use the H.265 codec for better compression when ripping Blu-rays with DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper.
Step 1: Run DVDFab and switch to the Ripper module. Add the Blu-ray source, you can insert a Blu-ray into the drive and wait for DVDFab to detect and load the disc automatically, or drag or drop the Blu-ray ISO file or Folder directly or just use the “+Add Source” button to browse for Blu-ray.
Step 2: By default, you will see the main movie title shown as selected on the main window, adjust the chapter range, and choose the desired audio track and subtitles. And if you want to batch convert more titles, open the Other Titles panel to select the needed one.
Step 3: Change the profile in the Profile panel. Under the Video tab, tick H265 as Filter, and then select MKV.H265.
Step 3: Open the Advanced Settings window, and select CRF to encode it. The smaller the value, the better the quality and the lower the compression rate.
This software can take advantage of the GPU hardware to increase the conversion speed. If you want a faster process, then use 1-pass as the encoding method to quicken the process. Meanwhile, you can change the video quality to “High Quality”, you can also manually change the bit rate or drag the Bits/Pixel slider to the right to increase the file size. Adjust the Audio, keep it the same as the source to preserve TrueHD/DTS-HD for the best sound experience, or change it to AAC if needed.
In the same window, scroll down it a bit, you can also choose the subtitle mode, render one subtitle stream into the video, or remix one or more subtitles so that you can turn on or off the subtitles for playback. While choosing “Remux”, some players may have trouble with PGS subtitles, so it’s suggested to convert subtitles to SRT if needed.
Step 4: Trim or crop the video using the Video Edit feature.
Step 5: Open the folder path in the main window of DVDFab to choose a directory to save the MKV H.265 output.
Step 6: Now, simply hit Start to rip the Blu-ray to MKV and wait for the process to complete.
How to Convert Blu-ray to MKV Using Leawo Blu-ray Ripper
Leawo Blu-ray Ripper allows users to convert Blu-ray to MKV, MP4, AVI, and over 180 other formats on Windows and macOS platforms. Like DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper, it can deal with both encrypted Blu-ray discs and those free of copy protection, including Blu-ray Folder and ISO files. Users who want flexibility in format conversion beyond MKV will find this tool helpful.
While downloading Leawo Blu-ray Ripper, you will get a file named Leawo Prof. Media. Install it.
Step 1: Double-click on the Leawo Prof. Media icon to run it, and then switch to Blu-ray Ripper Under the Convert tab.
Step 2: Drag a Blu-ray source to the main window or use the “Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD” button to load the Blu-ray.
Step 3: Select the Output Profile > Change option. Under Format, switch to the HD Video tab, and you will find a wide range of profiles, including profiles for MP4, MOV, MPEG-2, and of course, the MKV option; Select HD H.265 MKV or HD MKV Video (H.264) 1280×720.
Step 4: Select the subtitle stream and the preferred audio track that you want to keep in the output MKV. If you select None for subtitles, you will not get any subtitles in the output file.
Notice: while using the free/trial version, you will get a red notice telling you only a 5-minute conversion is allowed.
Step 5: Choose the output path and then click the Convert button to start the process.
FAQ about Blu-ray to MKV
What should you choose for subtitle control when converting Blu-ray to MKV?
- Embed subtitles into the MKV – this can make the subtitles compatible with all players.
- Use external files (SRT, PGS) – if you want toggleable subtitles, choose this type of subtitles.
What would you suggest for high-quality but smaller file size ripping from Blu-ray to MKV?
I recommend using H.265 as the encoder. Any video will encounter a video loss more or less as long as compressing is involved. H.265 (HEVC) provides a more efficient compression solution at the same video quality level. If you want to get better video quality with a smaller file size, try H.265 rather than H.264 (AVC). HandBrake, Leawo Blu-ray Ripper, and DVDFab Blu-ray Ripper, all allow for H.265 encoding. Just a side note, some old players may be incompatible with H.265 codec.
How to choose a storage method for the ripped MKV?
Once ripped a Blu-ray to MKV, you can store your videos on:
- External hard drives – these are a safe way for file backups, and I use them often. They do require some space for the drive itself (if you have many of them), but are more secure than regular discs;
- A Network Attached Storage (NAS) device – you can choose to build a NAS to save the MKV files which is a better way for large file storage. Map the NAS shared folders as drives for easy access.
- A cloud drive – You can also save smaller files to a cloud drive for remote access, larger Blu-ray sources are not suitable as buffering issues may be encountered.
Conclusion
Converting Blu-ray to MKV is always a great way to safeguard our Blu-ray movie collection and one of the best solutions for maintaining HQ video and audio. Whether we have huge space available for saving lossless Blu-ray ripping or want a flexible compressed MKV output, with the right settings and tools, we can ensure the balance of file size and video quality, enjoy an effortless Blu-ray ripping experience as well as the visual and audio effects.