Cayars - Setup walk through and some tips and tricks

General Discussions
921

Hi Cayars,

I don’t know where to begin with praise for your heroic work – and even more heroic documentation. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I read your post on page 4 of this thread about your general video settings. I understood most of it, but have some questions about some issues I’ve encountered and general settings:

I’ve just ripped my first DVD (a commercial DVD of the Columbo TV series) with Handbrake and have uploaded it to Plex. I watched it on my Apple TV and it looks great _except _there is noticeable moire on some characters’ pinstripe suits. From reading various posts it seems that the best way to address this would be to play with the deinterlacing settings in Handbrake. More specifically, it’s been suggested that turning deinterlacing off entirely could help with the moire issue. If this is true, then:

-Is there ever a time where using deinterlacing would be a good idea? I’ll be working with DVDs, Blu-Rays, VCDs, and VHS transferred to DVD-R.
-If so, what are some basic suggestions for deinterlacing settings for these media in Handbrake?

You stated that “If the file already contains an h.264 video then the file is remuxed but if the video is not already h.264 then the file is transcoded using Handbrake with a HIGH PROFILE and web optimize.”

Why would remuxing be needed if the source file already contains h.264 video? From my reading, I’m assuming that only my Blu-Rays may have h.264 as a native format, so why would I need to remux? Is that because h.264 is lossy? And if the file isn’t natively h.264 (like DVDs, I believe), then do you transcode to h.264? If so, what is the advantage of transcoding DVD files to h.264?

Finally: I’m planning on using the “HQ480p30Surround” preset for my DVDs with all the presets untouched (except, possibly, for the deinterlacing presets). Does this sound like an appropriate setting for DVDs? Should I set the framerate to “same as source” to accommodate my PAL DVDs?

922

I didn’t go back to see what’s on page 4. But in a nutshell if the video is x.264 and meets our criteria but sound doesn’t then you would only remux (copy) the video while processing the audio.

Yes, you should de-interlace the DVD material since it will be interlaced. I no longer ever use handbrake anymore but instead would use XMedia Recode for for one offs like this.

In the case of a simple DVD rip like your doing using MakeMKV followed by Recode would be the way to go in my book.

Carlo

923

Carlo,

I’ve been slowly making my way toward a “finished” media server setup with Plex.

I’ve got multiple systems involved in ripping and storing content, and one of the “steps” in the process that I want to employ is to run ripped content through Handbrake or similar to reduce file size. What’s your current recommendation if I’m ripping the content using MakeMKV (specifically, makemkvcon on a Linux host)? One of the things that I need to be sure to be able to do is properly ID forced subs.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Do you have current processing scripts that would give me a starting point?

924

I’d recommend using the scripts I provide here in this thread of course!

Check out page 43.

925

@cayars

I noticed that your scripts are set to convert everything to MP4. Almost everything I have currently is MKV. What sort of change in filesize might I expect for DVD rips? For BluRay rips? Will I lose any sort of features or anything by converting to MP4?

I have some movies currently ripped that are not properly set for Forced Subtitles. Any chance your scripts would have an option to somehow fix that?

I haven’t dug into the details of your scripts yet because there’s a lot to them… Are there defaults in place that should keep my resolution quality “good enough” to not notice any degradation on a 75" 4K display?

926

My main TV is a 75" Samsung as well so I can vouch for the quality.

Some files will be smaller and some could be a tad bigger. Typically if MPEG2 DVD then your file will end up smaller because the h.264 is much better/efficient than the mpeg2 encoding on the disc. In the case of converting a BR based file or something that has already been ran through a program such as Handbrake the final file will typically/maybe a tad bigger. If the video is already a suitable format then the scripts will just remux the video. It will then “toss” any language or subtitles not in a language you don’t want to keep (ini settings). Then if there is not a 2 channel audio AAC channel one will be created. Lastly the MP4 file will have a MOOV atom.

So in the cases where you end up slightly bigger it’s because the source only contained one audio channel but now has two (ie 2 channel AAC + native track such as DTS) plus the move atom. Overall your average file size will be smaller.

Before I answer the subtitle question, I’d like you to clarify exactly what you are asking.

Carlo

927

Almost everything I have is a straight rip by makemkvcon to a MKV container. Nothing has passed through Handbrake or anything else.

For the subtitles, I want to understand the best way to handle “forced” subtitles. These are the ones that show up even when you are NOT using subtitles because the characters on screen are speaking a different language. For example, there’s a scene in The Martian where two people are speaking Mandarin regarding a missile project they are working on. The subtitles come on automatically so you know what they’re talking about.

Apparently, mkvtoolnix can help with this very thing, but I have yet to try it out.

928

Hey guys, I’m thinking of dismantling this thread somewhat (maybe closing it) and creating some tips and tricks specific posts (with other Ninjas) where the focus would be topic centric. This would make it far easier to get the info without going through 50 odd pages. Maybe use the other posts for the main info but use this thread for support to keep the other posts clean and to the point.

So with that intention, I’d like to ask you guys what you think some of the best tips have been? Conversion scripts are a given so don’t worry about those. What would you guys suggest I work on first? What has helped you guys? Any additional topics you would like to see covered by me or other Ninjas? It can be anything from the way I’ve got my system setup. The tools used, my philosophy, etc. I’m looking for feedback on what has been helpful and what additional info could be helpful in the future.

As always thanks,
Carlo

929

Carlo,

For me, here are some areas where I could see having separate threads and being very helpful:

  • Basic system design: Things like planning your drive space, how to decide how much CPU or RAM to plan for, and different systems and devices that can inter-operate with Plex. Maybe get into some of the settings that are available on both the server and app sides.
  • Advanced system design: Things like using NAS devices, GPU’s, HDMI video cards to output directly to the TV, multi-server setup, and planning your CPU and RAM needs for supporting lots of transcoding clients and optimizing content files.
  • Transcoding: Enough said.
  • Content importing: How to rip content from CD’s and DVD’s that you own, how naming works, planning for growth, etc. Optimal settings at time of rip versus when performing transcoding, etc.
  • Linux: There are a lot of flavors out there, and there are a lot of things that can be done when you use Linux that are very powerful compared to other OS’es. But, you have to be much more aware of ownerships, permissions, mount points, automated jobs, scripting, etc.
  • Discussions around optimizing file naming and renaming would be great. Filebot is a great tool, but it and Plex both go brain dead sometimes. Manipulating the errors to get them corrected quickly isn’t always simple, but I’ve learned a couple of tricks.

I know that some of this stuff might already be out there, but a “Master Thread” that links to other threads and such would be pretty helpful in its own right - especially if the very first post is maintained as a de facto reference point. I have spent the last three months creating my own scripts to auto-rip media, copy it across the network, rename things, correct renaming errors, and finally import the content into the library. It’s been a lot of trial and error because I’ve had to write most of it from scratch, but I have a pretty decent system now that leverages two machines that do nothing but rip discs, then move the content across the network to a NAS, then the PMS manipulates the content to rename files, I review the renaming to ensure that it’s right, then move them into the library.

930

Very nice response. Thank you!

Carlo

931

I agree with the basic/advanced system design and content importing topics that ember1205 mentioned above. I always enjoy reading about what other Plex users are using for hardware, OSes, and supporting software in their own setups.

Maybe could also start your own “Ask Carlo” section where you could just do Q&A’s for Plex :smile:

932

@mjarends said:
I agree with the basic/advanced system design and content importing topics that ember1205 mentioned above. I always enjoy reading about what other Plex users are using for hardware, OSes, and supporting software in their own setups.

Maybe could also start your own “Ask Carlo” section where you could just do Q&A’s for Plex :smile:

I believe that already exists. It’s “forums.plex.tv”. lol

933

@cayars said:
Very nice response. Thank you!

Carlo

I’d love it if you took time to really explain your opinion of “HW transcoding can look better than software transcoding in the context of Plex” (paraphrasing), perhaps share some samples from your testings.

934

Easy, in offline mode where time does not matter software will win basically every time. The software conversion will/should look better, be smaller, have better compression then the HW transcode. BUT now use the same settings Plex is forced to use when transcoding in better than real time. Compare your software encode to the realtime software encode and there is a world of difference in almost everything. Now look at the HW transcode and compare it to the offline vs the online transcode and it will/should look much more closely to the offline transcode.

It’s as simple as that.

935

@cayars said:
Easy, in offline mode where time does not matter software will win basically every time. The software conversion will/should look better, be smaller, have better compression then the HW transcode. BUT now use the same settings Plex is forced to use when transcoding in better than real time. Compare your software encode to the realtime software encode and there is a world of difference in almost everything. Now look at the HW transcode and compare it to the offline vs the online transcode and it will/should look much more closely to the offline transcode.

It’s as simple as that.

So for someone using your scripts to pre-transcode their files you WOULDN’T recommend using quicksync, right?

936

That would be correct. Use it if you must but you can’t do better (at present) with pure CPU in the scripts.

937

@cayars said:
My main TV is a 75" Samsung as well so I can vouch for the quality.

Some files will be smaller and some could be a tad bigger. Typically if MPEG2 DVD then your file will end up smaller because the h.264 is much better/efficient than the mpeg2 encoding on the disc. In the case of converting a BR based file or something that has already been ran through a program such as Handbrake the final file will typically/maybe a tad bigger. If the video is already a suitable format then the scripts will just remux the video. It will then “toss” any language or subtitles not in a language you don’t want to keep (ini settings). Then if there is not a 2 channel audio AAC channel one will be created. Lastly the MP4 file will have a MOOV atom.

So in the cases where you end up slightly bigger it’s because the source only contained one audio channel but now has two (ie 2 channel AAC + native track such as DTS) plus the move atom. Overall your average file size will be smaller.

Before I answer the subtitle question, I’d like you to clarify exactly what you are asking.

Carlo

Carlo,

I’ve been experimenting with Handbrake on my Mac, specifically to try and address some issues with missing Forced Subs. I’ve been able to repair the missing subs in Avatar and The Martian simply by running them through for transcoding. Using the “Super HQ 1080p30 Surround” preset with no additional adjustments, I’m seeing significant drop-off’s in file size. Avatar went from almost 30G to 15G, The Martian went from close to 30G to 6.5G. I’m currently running Passengers through and will use that as my litmus test to see if there’s any discernible drop in quality from either the previously mentioned preset or the “HQ 1080p30 Surround” preset which drops the file size even more.

My rips were all done with MakeMKV and have been kept at full-size for lossless capture. If I can’t see a difference with Passengers, then I have to believe that compressing all of my media is the smart way to go.

I’ve been looking at your scripts, and have to admit that I’m a bit lost. I’m hoping you’d be generous enough to take a few minutes and help me better understand some things.

First off, my desire is purely to run all of my media files through the scripts in the hopes of saving some space and correcting issues with subs that are present but not properly identified as “Forced” if they’re supposed to show up regardless of the user settings. Is this a reasonable set of expectations to have (that I can accomplish this)?

Second, I don’t know what the Media Managers are and whether I’ll need them.

Third, aside from writing my own “management” script to check input directories for files to be processed, is there a way for me to use your scripts in an automated fashion?

Fourth, given my primary interest in using these scripts, would I possibly be just as successful and simply using the Linux version (ALL of my servers are Linux) of Handbrake as opposed to FFMPEG? Or is there significant advantage to FFMPEG for quality reasons?

Fifth, is there any reason why I -wouldn’t- want to remove the movie from the Plex structure, convert it, and then simply move it back?

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

938

Hi,
I tried to use your script Version 2.2 to transcode most of my BD Remuxes to a lower Quality for Archiving (720p oder lower Bitrate)
I tried to just adjust the video-bitrate (8000) or video-max-width (720) in the qsv template and used it. The Resulting File was tiny with a Bitrate below 1Mbit
Any Idea what I did wrong?

939

Hello @cayars i really like a lot all your work with plex Optimization,

I’m using your script (2.2 version) but all my movies are with spanish subs,

I just need to edit autoProcess.ini with the lenguage?

My movies need to have first spanish / second english audio and subs if needed.

940

Hi @cayars, I’m using your 2.2 conversion scripts.
Is there anyway to adjust them that the original DTS audio track is not in the final .mp4 just a single AAC audio track?