Video Converter 'Handbrake 1.0' Released for Mac After 13 Years in Beta

Tuesday December 27, 2016 4:30 AM PST by Tim Hardwick
Cross-platform video transcoder Handbrake reached a milestone over the holiday break with the release of version 1.0.0 of the app after over 13 years in beta.

Despite the lengthy beta-test format and the demise of the built-in DVD drive in Apple's Mac line-up, the free open source transcoder has remained the go-to application for converting video files for playback on iOS devices and Apple TVs.

handbrake
The program has stood the test of time thanks to its ease of use, vast array of options for more advanced users, and extensive video format support.

Version 1 brings a raft of new tools to the Mac version of the app, with updated presets for the latest devices and a number of interface improvements and added settings to keep the app relevant and broaden its appeal. The new features include:

- Updated all tooltips
- Added undo/redo support to the graphical interface
- Improved drag and drop support
- Added Open Recent to the File menu
- Added Add Titles to Queue... to the File menu (batch queueing)
- Preview prompts to open in an external application when the internal player does not support the format
- Preview now displays volume and audio/subtitles language selection during playback
- Picture and Filters settings are now part of the main window
- Settings are preserved when selecting a new title (instead of reloading the last selected preset)
- Improved support for importing/exporting comma-separated (.csv) chapter markers
- Queue is now automatically paused when available disk space is low
- When Done action can now be changed directly from the Queue window
- When Done notification is now interactive (reveals the encoded file in Finder)
- Activity Log window is now searchable (press "?"+"f" to activate)
- XQuartz is no longer required for subtitle burn-in
- Updated Sparkle software update library
  - Enabled DSA signature checking for improved security
- Usability improvements
- Miscellaneous bug fixes

Handbrake is a free download available directly from the Handbrake website.

Tag: Handbrake
103 comments


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DanTheAppleMan
25 months ago

Still that terrible icon huh?


It's iconic.
Rating: 47 Votes
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maflynn
25 months ago
Wow, I didn't even realize it was a beta product. 13 years, that must be some sort of record.
Rating: 12 Votes
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69Mustang
25 months ago

Wow, I didn't even realize it was a beta product. 13 years, that must be some sort of record.

13 years in beta. Dayum. Handbrake... the cicada ('https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=cicada%20life%20cycle') of video converters. :p:D
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
squirrelist
25 months ago

I used the Beta all the time until it stopped working on Mac because it wasn't compatible with Sierra (or maybe it was El Capitan when the compatibility issues began.) I ripped my entire DVD library with it so I have them all in my iTunes now and I can play them on my Apple TV.
[doublepost=1482844838][/doublepost]

The way this worked in Beta pre-El Capitan was so long as you had a libdvdcss.dll file on your Mac it would decode the copy protection (which is what is needed to playback DVDs on any platform) and allow Handbrake to rip it.


The old location for libdvdcss got protected by SIP in 10.11. There is a different folder that is sanctioned that it can be manually moved to that works just fine. Search Google for specifics.
Rating: 10 Votes
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ignatius345
25 months ago

It's iconic.

"Put down that cocktail."
Rating: 7 Votes
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budselectjr
25 months ago

Wow, I didn't even realize it was a beta product. 13 years, that must be some sort of record.


Siri will break that.
Rating: 7 Votes
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MacBH928
25 months ago
So what did they finally do that made them comfortable that this is no longer a beta app?
Rating: 5 Votes
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mateytate
25 months ago

My issue is I could never figure out how to rip movies with subtitles...not always on subtitles, but movies like Avatar. I used MakeMKV to rip it, then handbrake to convert it. I end up with an amazing quality rip, but I can't understand portions of the movie because there are no subtitles for when the na'vi are speaking. I've reached out to people online, but no one seems to be able to help


There's a setting within handbrake for subtitles that only appear during certain foreign language parts i.e. Avatar, and they are called "Forced Subtitles" i.e. where they will appear even if you have subtitles turned off. There is actually an option to burn in Forced Subtitles, and Handbrake will automatically identify them and encode them into the output video.
Rating: 4 Votes
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rjtyork
25 months ago
I wonder if I can use this to rip dvds again? I got some good ones over Christmas and want to have them on my hard drive. (No, seriously. I'm telling the truth. I'm on the internet.)
Rating: 3 Votes
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sr55
25 months ago
0.9.9, 0.10.0 etc were not beta's. They are final public releases. Beta releases were tagged as such when we released them.

We've simply switched to a more natural version number scheme now.

Seems everyone has taken the comment completely out of context. :(

The project has merly been around for over a decade now.

To be clear, it's not been 13 years since 0.9.9. There have been many major releases over this time. Atleast one every year.

Starting with the latest release, going back in time, So read from the bottom up.

1.0.0 Dec 24, 2016
-- Switch to a mostly SemVer approach. Major, Minor, Path
0.10.5 Feb 11, 2016
0.10.3 Jan 22, 2016
0.10.2 June 9, 2015
0.10.1 Mar 8, 2015
0.10.1 Beta 2 Feb 22, 2015
0.10.1 Beta 1 Feb 08, 2015
0.10.0 Nov 22, 2014
0.10.0 RC2 Nov 9, 2014
0.10.0 RC1 Sep 25, 2014
0.10.0 Beta 4 Sep 13, 2014
0.10.0 Beta 3 Sep 5, 2014
0.10.0 Beta 2 Aug 25, 2014
0.10.0 Beta 1 Aug 18, 2014
-- From this point forward, following a more SemVer style approach. x.y.z where z becomes minor bug fix releases. y is major.
-- Change in project version to add patch releases during the year. 0.10 was a major release with 5 patch releases. No Minor feature updates.
0.9.9 May 18, 2013
0.9.9 RC2 May 13, 2013
0.9.9 Beta May 6, 2013
0.9.8 July 18 2012
0.9.7 Skipped Release
0.9.6 Feb 28, 2012
0.9.5 Jan 3, 2011
0.9.4 Nov 23, 2009
0.9.3 Nov 23, 2008
0.9.2 Feb 19, 2008
0.9.1 Oct 8, 2007
0.9.0 Aug 19, 2007
- x.y.z where z is a major release. The project did not do "patch" Releases at this point.
Rating: 3 Votes
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