[SometimeTVwatcher]

OK, so I know the answer is "convert to MKV" and that is what I will probably do.  But I will first post my question, and then ask questions about MKV tools.

As per my username, I am not a heavy video watcher.  I mainly set up Kodi to act as a front end to a MythTV backend.  I mainly use that to record music shows like Austin City Limits.

However, since I was setting up Kodi, part of a whole living room AV re-do, I figured I would get rid of the DVD player and rip the DVDs to a spare hard drive.  Space isn't an issue (probably won't be downloading anything or ripping any other DVDs) so I just copied the isos (using dd or ddrescue in Linux).  For single disc movies, I have no problem.  I just follow the instructions at https://kodi.wiki/view/Naming_video_files/Movies with a folder for each iso like this (viewed mounted on a windows machine, 192.168.0.7 is Kodi, and "shows" is the external drive which is mounted at /var/media/shows, and my Kodi Sources are four separate folders there, one each for Movies, TV Shows, Music Videos and Music):

\\192.168.0.7\shows\Movies\Batman Begins (2005)\Batman Begins (2005).iso 

this movie shows up in Kodi perfectly and selecting it causes it to work just like a DVD (as expected).

However, there are plenty of multi-disc movies.  For example, each Lord of the Rings movie has four discs: two for the movie and two for the extras.  This would be a perfect use for the split video files (and indeed LOTR movies are actually an example in https://kodi.wiki/view/Naming_video_files/Movies !) but it specifically indicates that isos are not supported with this approach.

I have tried this approach for a two-disc movie:

• \\192.168.0.7\shows\Movies\Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) dvd1\Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) dvd1.iso
  
• \\192.168.0.7\shows\Movies\Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) dvd2\Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) dvd2.iso
  

But I get an error (log here: https://paste.kodi.tv/yemosiridu.kodi)

I got this Harry Potter movie to play if I put both isos in the same folder, but I think it only will play the first one.

So, I suppose this means for all multi-disc movies, I need to convert to MKVs, unless someone can provide a better explanation.  

I have reviewed this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=377185  I will probably follow Karellen's advise in Post #2 there.  But that leads to follow-on questions:

Karellen links to this other post from him/her: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid3162808  My question is recommendation for what software to use.  I have used Handbrake in the past, but it seems like MakeMKV or MKVToolNix is more recommended here.  I suppose I would like to keep as much of the info from the DVDs as I can, but I suppose I don't need the FBI warnings and the other-movie previews.  Menus are nice but I suppose not needed.  Nor am I looking for compression.  Since I already copied the files from the disks into isos, what tool is recommended for converting these isos to MKVs.

Handbrake seems to provide an overwhelming number of conversion options so it is confusing when I just want to convert each movie to a MKV file.

Note, I actually prefer to have the videos letterboxed rather than cropped, if this makes a difference.

So suggestions on which program to use and what settings are good are welcome.  My new AV set up has a 4K TV and a 5.1 AV amplifier, connected to the TV through ARC (Kodi plugged into the amplifier).

Thanks.

[Karellen]

but it specifically indicates that isos are not supported with this approach.

Yes, stacking is currently broken for iso's, bluray and dvd folders.
A fix is being worked on here... https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/25487
It will probably make it into v22, but that is of no help to your now.

So, I suppose this means for all multi-disc movies, I need to convert to MKVs, unless someone can provide a better explanation.  

Yes, that is the current solution, until the above stacking fix is finalised.

I will probably follow Karellen's advise in Post #2 there.

Great. Tagging is important for a stress free playback experience. It is the tagging that allows the player to pick the correct audio and subtitle streams to match the settings you nominated in Kodi. It is the tagging that is read when the file is first added into the library so it can list what language the audio and subtitle tracks are available in.
No point setting say, German audio and subtitle track in the Kodi settings, but the video files have no language tags embedded, so the correct tracks cannot be selected.

him/her

Him

My question is recommendation for what software to use

Are you ripping DVD's or Bluray's? or both?
For DVD's I use MakeMKV... https://www.makemkv.com/
For Blurays I use DVDFab which is a paid product. But you can also use MakeMKV as long as you load the key file for blurays.
Handbrake is the wrong tool for what you want. Handbrake is about transcoding video files into different sizes. Instead you simply want to re-encode the video files into a different format, maintaining the original quality.

I then use MKVToolNix to add the tagging and deselect any tracks I don't need.
I would also use MKVToolNix to stitch the two parts of the film into one file. eg... LOTR movies that are spread onto two disks, stitch the two mkv files into one file.

[SometimeTVwatcher]

Thanks for the quick reply.  Sounds like I need to use Make MKV to convert the isos to MKVs, and then MKVtoolNix to tag them.  I'll give that a try.  Only have DVDs, no blurays.   Interesting that MKVtoolNix can stitch together two-disc movies.  That would be useful.  

I will also look into https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:Extras for handling the supplemental discs I have for LOTR.

[Karellen]

I will also look into https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:Extras for handling the supplemental discs I have for LOTR.

Probably check this one out instead... https://kodi.wiki/view/Video_extras
And... https://kodi.wiki/view/Video_versions