Backup Blu-rays with BD Rebuilder

Update: This tutorial was getting slightly out of date, so I updated it to version BD Rebuilder 0.37.05 (on 2/19/2011).

Well, I've been getting more and more into Blu-ray backup recently, so I thought I would go ahead and post this nice tutorial and screencast combo! I'll be detailing how to do it with BD Rebuilder today, and I will be adding how-to's for other programs in the future.

Step 1§

Rip your Blu-ray to a folder on your hard drive.

Step 2§

Start up BD Rebuilder and you should see a main window like the one below. Using theBrowse buttons, select your source directory. I'm using my Dark KnightBlu-ray in this example. Also, while your at it, select your Working directory. This is where your temporary files will be stored during the conversion process.

Step 3§

Now, since I want to backup my entire Blu-ray (menus, extras, etc), I want to check to make sure that I am in the correct backup mode by going to Mode->Full Backup. There is one thing to remember here. A full backup means that you are backing up everything, so you have less space for your main movie, which means a reduced quality overall when you compress everything down. The alternative is to use the Movie-Only Backup mode, which (as I'm sure you can guess) will only backup your main movie. That means no menus, special features, or anything else. This a very nice option, as it allows you to obtain the maximum amount of quality possible for your main movie.

Step 4§

Swing on over to the Settings menu, and after making sure that your Encoder is set to X264, go to your Encoder Settings. As you can see, I have select my encoding priority to be Normal Priority. The reason for this is that I want my encode to run as fast as possible. I won't be using the computer during the process, so I don't care if other applications slow down. Now, if I were going to be using the computer, I would want to set my priority to Idle.

Also take a look at myQuality settings. By default, Automatic Quality Settings is selected, which is normally what you will use/want. I have unchecked it for the sake of showing you the amount of options available if for some reason you do not want to go the automatic route. Usually I go ahead and stick with Automatic Quality Settings.

Step 5§

Next, maneuver your mouse over to the Output Optionsmenu. This is where we will be selecting our output size. As you can see, I have selected the BD-5 option. What this means is that I want to shrink down my Blu-ray until it is small enough to fit on a single layer DVD. BD-9 will fit on a dual layer DVD, and a BD-25will fit on a single layer Blu-ray disk. I personally can't afford to buy a blank Blu-ray disk and Blu-ray burner, but if you can, by all means go ahead. You also have the option of shooting for a custom size, but we don't really need it in this case.

Step 6§

Now, let's go ahead and adjust the Setup of BD Rebuilder. Click on the Setup menu and you will see a window like the one below. Pretty much the only reason we are here is that we want to delete the WORKFILES after everything is finished. This just cleans up the temporary files after we are done. If you want a detailed explanation of the other options, please refer to the screencast (note: The screencast was made with a slightly older version, so not all options will be explained). Save your changes and return to the main window.

Step 7§

One particularly nice option about BD Rebuilder is that it supports batch conversion. For example, if you have a handful of Blu-rays that you wanted to convert, you could load up each one into BD Rebuilder and adjust its individual settings. Then all you need to do is queue them up using the Add Current Project to Bach Queue option (founder under the File menu). That way, when you are ready to press the Backup option, you will actually be backing up a multitude of Blu-rays, not just one per session. I find this to be a very useful option.

Step 8§

Last but not least, hit the Backup button! This will get your conversion running into high gear. Now, in the case of a particularly large Blu-ray (like mine), you may receive the following warning. All it is telling you is that you have a large Blu-ray, and shrinking it down to a BD-5 may not give you the greatest quality. I know this, but I'm still okay with that for now. Go ahead and click okay if you are so inclined. BD Rebuilder will load up your files and start chugging long. You can sit there and watch it if you want, but will will take several hours and you probably have better things to be doing.

When it is finished, your necessary files can be found under your "Working Path" in a folder named according to your input source (ex. THE_DARK_KNIGHT). Inside that folder will be the BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders. Simply burn those two and you should be good to go!

Conclusion§

All in all, it's not a difficult process. The more you use BD Rebuilder, the more you get to appreciate its power and simplicity. If you guys have any questions, go ahead and post a comment and we'll get you fixed up right away!

Note: For those of you having issues with VC-1 Blu-rays and Windows 7, I suggest that you read this thread.

If you have never burned a disk before, or if you a frankly just unsure about what you should use to burn your new disk, I wrote up a burning tutorial here.