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Update: To install a working version of Handbrake in Ubuntu 10.10 or 11.04, you’ll need to install from the PPA, and you’re probably best off doing so like this…

First, you’ll need to add the Handbrake PPA (personal package archive) to your Ubuntu system. Open up a Terminal window and use this command:
For the official builds:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases

Or for the nightly builds:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-snapshots

After the repository has been added, update your system’s listing of its repositories with this command:

sudo apt-get update

Once the repository listings have been updated, you can then install the graphical version of Handbrake with this command:

sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk

You can also install the command line version of Handbrake with this command:

sudo apt-get install handbrake-cli

Props to Jonathon Moeller for his write up on this 10.10 technique.

If You’re Still Want to Build Your Own Copy However…

The currently available pre-packaged version of Handbrake (the Video/DVD transcoder/ripper) at the time of writing is 0.9.4 (actual filename for the 64-bit version: HandBrake-0.9.4-Ubuntu_GUI_x86_64.deb) – and it’s about as much use as a chocolate teapot on Ubuntu 10.04… You simply can’t endcode/transcode with it because it’s broken, with the Add to Queue and Start buttons permanently greyed out because the functionality behind them is mashed.

So let’s build a fresh version that works!

Step 1.) Get the Necessary Libraries

A quick trip to the command line will get everything you need (where everything you already have in this list is simply ignored):

sudo apt-get install subversion yasm build-essential autoconf libtool zlib1g-dev libbz2-dev intltool libglib2.0-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev libgtk2.0-dev libgudev-1.0-dev libwebkit-dev libnotify-dev libgstreamer0.10-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev

Step 2.) Get the Source Code

Create a folder for it, move to it, then grab the latest source code via subversion like this:

mkdir handbrake
cd handbrake
svn checkout svn://svn.handbrake.fr/HandBrake/trunk hb-trunk

Step 3.) Build It!

Once we’re in the right place, this configure line with the given switch will configure and make Handbrake in one fell swoop:

cd hb-trunk
./configure --launch

Step 4.) Test It!

After a successful build, you’ll see the executable HandBrake-CLI in the build folder – but you’re probably after the GUI version, which is tucked away in build/gtk/src and called ghb – just go to the right folder, launch it and give it a try out – should be absolutely mint.

There are a stack of different options for the encoding process which can slow down the encode/transcode process and increase the quality – I went with these final settings to get high encoding quality without the encode process taking all week:

ref=2:bframes=2:subme=6:trellis=2:b-pyramid=1:b-adapt=2:direct=auto:no-fast-pskip=1

HandBrake - Now Working! Woo-Hoo!

Cheers!