How to Fix Handbrake Fails to Scan Video/DVD Source Files on Mac
Handbrake scan failed? Try the following solutions to fix 'Handbrake fails to scan files on Mac' to get video/DVD conversion to work
Handbrake, as a popular open source video transcoder, benefits us a lot. But inevitably, Handbrake like other open source free programs comes with many bugs and limitations. Thus, users may encounter unexpected errors while operating on it. And in this article, we will focus on fixing 'Handbrake fails to scan files on Mac', one of the most common Handbrake not working errors.
Table of Contents
Part 1. Fix Handbrake can't Scan Video Files on Mac
"Whenever I drag a video file to Handbrake Mac version, it comes up with 'Scan failed: unrecognized file type'. I realize this is because Handbrake doesn't support certain file types. However I tried MP4, AVI, ASF which are one the most common file types."
If the input format is incompatible with Handbrake, Handbrake scan failed: unrecognized file type error happens. But this error message can also pop up due to its bugs. If you are sure that the source video file type is supported by Handbrake but can't be scanned successfully, try the solutions below to see if this issue can be fixed.
Solution 1. Close Handbrake, and then reboot it with Administrator access. After that, load the video file again to check if the error is solved.
Solution 2. Download the latest Handbrake edition on your Mac.
Solution 3. Try a Handbrake alternative. It is a good workaround to fix 'Handbrake scan failed: unrecognized file type'. When it comes to a Handbrake alternative that can scan and convert multiple video files effortlessly, WinX HD Video Converter for Mac is worth mentioning.
It allows users to import hundreds of video file types including AVI, MP4, MPEG, DivX, MOV, FLV, MKV, MOD, TOD, M2TS and more popular and obscure media formats, and then convert them to all mainstream formats and devices, like MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, MKV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Samsung, HTC, Kindle Fire, WP8, PSP, etc. Apart from scanning and converting videos in SD/720P/1080P, this Mac Handbrake alternative can also convert 4K and 8K videos hassle free. Meanwhile, it can scan videos much faster than Handbrake. And it is a widely compatible video converter that can work on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or higher, including macOS Big Sur and 10.15 Catalina.
Part 2. Fix Handbrake Fails to Scan DVD Source Files on Mac
Sometimes, we can solve 'Handbrake fails at scanning a DVD source for titles' using Title Specific Scan. Launch Handbrake -> click Source button -> move to Title Specific Scan -> click Open Folder, choose the VIDEO_TS folder you want to convert -> and then specify a title to scan from the auto pop-up dialog.
But if the DVD you are scanning with Handbrake is copy protected, this error will not disappear. This is because Handbrake isn't designed to rip copy-protected DVDs. When you load an encrypted DVD to Handbrake, you may face 'Handbrake no title found after scanning' or 'Handbrake crashing while scanning' problem. Then, the easiest way to fix this is to switch to a Handbrake alternative that can handle protected DVDs. And WinX DVD Ripper for Mac is highly recommended to solve 'Handbrake fails at scanning DVD on Mac'.
With WinX DVD Ripper for Mac, you can easily rip any DVD to MP4, MOV, MKV, M4V, WMV, AVI, FLV and more formats, as well as rip any DVD to iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android and more devices. It is able to scan DVD titles and select correct main title at a lightning speed. It fully supports for all DVDs locked by DVD CSS or region code, RCE, Sony ArccOS, UOPs, Disney X-project DRM, etc. Even though a DVD comes with 99 titles and 40GB file size, it can scan and rip the DVD with 99 titles successfully.
