BD Ripper (3D Plus) Why does dvdfab always use level 5.1 when encoding HD mkv's

[dented]

I was about to buy dvdfab so that I can rip my bluray library to 1080p MKV's so I can play them on my WD live box but after reading around I hear that the WD live boxes and others do not play HD formats with a level profile above 4.1.

I am not a complete codec pro but I know a fair bit and I notice that dvdfab seems to encode HD mkv's with 2 reference frames (I think the WD live boxes won't play files with more than 4 ref-frames??) and has many other characteristics true to a 4.0 or 4.1 level encode. Does this mean devices like the WD live box will ignore the level 5.1 tag and notice the 2 reference frame setup and other characteristics and just play the file?

I know I can use software like the h264 level editor to set the level to 4.1 (http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/h264leveleditor ) but I don't wanna go through all that hassle.

So really I thought I would check with the guys on this forum who have probably been through similar or even better, is there a way to set the profile level to 4.1 and if not then why?

I also hear that even 720p mkv's are set to a level of 5.1 which is really high! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Levels

[dented]

Anyone got any info on this? I have searched the forum and it seems you cannot change the level being anything other than 5.1 which is a shame. I don't want to use handbrake as it takes ssoooo long to encode compared to dvdfab!

[57chev]

Playing MKV files in media player(s)

Hi Dented,

I am new to the forum, but have had DVDFab products for nearly 2 years. I have been backing up my collection of BR movies as m2ts files and playing them through my media player. I have a Viewsonic model VPM70. It is an older unit, but I have had no problem at all playing MKV files as of recently I have converted to this file format for a variety of reasons. High quality, less disk space and they play super. I am really glad I have went to this format. IF I want to burn to a BR disk it is easy to convert the file using some 3rd party software.

My brother, who turned me on to media players to store and play my movies has a WD media player with an ethernet plug-in (newer model) and he also has the same success as I have. So I don't know what to tell you my friend. But personally, I would want the quality setting as high as it will go. But a quality setting would be great just like being able to import a file (m2ts, mkv etc) would be nice without having to import BDMV folder. I cannot mention competiors in this forum, but I have software to burn disks that will allow me to import a single file and then turn it into a BDMV folder. But your issue here is MKV settings of course. So, I don't know what to say. Did you write the tech department to see what they have to say??