By Dan Moren
December 27, 2016 7:01 AM PT
HandBrake finally hits 1.0 after 13 years
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
I’ve been using HandBrake as long as I can remember to convert videos between various formats, and to make legit digital copies of physical movies I own for my own personal use. In all that time, despite being an incredibly solid and reliable piece of software, HandBrake has technically been in beta. But now, 13 years after its initial debut, the app has officially reached 1.0.1
The 1.0 release includes a number of improvements, including brand new overhauls of all the presets, new documentation, and a ton of improvements to its core functionality. Best of all, HandBrake is still totally free.
If you’re a longtime user, as I am, you can download the 1.0 release from HandBrake’s website; if you’ve yet to give it a try–perhaps the beta label scared you off?–then check out Jason’s piece on ripping DVDs and Blu-rays.
- Funny enough, the VLC media player, which released version 1.0 in 2009, was also in beta for 13 years. Maybe that’s just the going rate for video apps these days. ↩
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His latest novel, the supernatural detective story All Souls Lost, is out now.]
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