Handbrake RIP by Headless Ubuntu - Script to find DVD frame rate possible?

[andynz22]

Hi All. My first post here after many years of enjoying the wealth of knowledge from all you guys on the forums so thanks for all your past help.

I have a headless media server Ubuntu 12.04 sever with Handbrake installed and script to auto run and rip when a DVD is inserted. This all works fine. However I have a problem with PAL DVD's of which my collection mostly consists.

Ripping region 1 NTSC disks produces MKV files that play fine in VLC and my WD network media players. Ripping PAL disks play fine in VLC but play fast on the hardware media players. I guess this is due to using the default in Handbrake that produces a variable frame rate flag. VLC knows what to do but the hardware players do not.

I can remux and change the flag to 25 frames but that sort of defeats the whole point of auto headless ripping your DVD collection and takes a long time.

So I have used --rate 25 on Handbrake to get over the problem for the moment but given the variety of PAL and NTSC DVD's in my collection a more elegant solution would be to run a script or application that checks the DVD, extract the frame rate and pass this as a variable to my script that runs Handbrake.

Has anyone come up with their own solution to this.

cheers
Andy

PS The heading wasn't meant to imply "RIP" rest in peace Handbrake

[manono]

All PAL DVDs are 25fps. NTSC DVDs all output 29.97fps but the base framerate is usually that or 23.976fps if from film.

[andynz22]

Yes thanks but asking if there is a process or script that could extract that info and be able to use it as a variable in the Handbrake script as vfr does not work with some media players.

[manono]

Not in HandBrake, no. It doesn't use AviSynth which is how I know of such scripts. You'd have to ask the Handbrake developers. Just don't encode anything as VFR. For the most part it's only anime that uses it sometimes anyway.

[andynz22]

So can you use synth to pass the frame rate as a variable? I understand handbrake can't do it on its own but I an looking for a application to rub first, find the frame rate and then I can use that ad part of the script to run handbrake CLI. Does that make sense?

Cheers

[manono]

So can you use synth to pass the frame rate as a variable?

There are AviSynth scripts, yes, that can (usually/often) determine what the source is like automatically, and then create an encoding script from what has been gleaned. Both AutoGK and MeGUI can run such analysis passes. However, that only works on the easy stuff. Such material as field-blended NTSC or PAL stuff, phase-shifted PAL stuff, real VFR stuff, something such as silent films or 8 or 16 mm material on DVD at unusual 'base' framerates, and other kinds of odd sources will leave them recommending something sub-optimal. Nothing beats the eyes for determining what you have and how to treat it.

If you only work with Hollywood's latest and greatest, then it's simple.

[andynz22]

Thanks for that. I think easiest option is 2 piles of DVD's, one region 2&4 Pal and set handbrake script to 25f and for the region 1 stuff just leave handbrake to decide. My media players seem to have no problem with ripped NTSC with vfr flag. ..so far!

Cheers guys

Andy

[poisondeathray]

If vfr is causing the problem , wouldn't it be simpler to force handbrake to use cfr ?
--cfr

https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/CLIGuide

[andynz22]

Well hadn't thought of that. Will give it a try with pal and NTSC and let you know.
Thanks
Andy

[poisondeathray]

Well hadn't thought of that. Will give it a try with pal and NTSC and let you know.
Thanks
Andy

manono suggested it above

Just don't encode anything as VFR.

[andynz22]

Thanks guys, cfr works fine for both PAL and NTSC disks. I had left it at default initially which is vfr rather than cfr.

Thanks for your help.

Andy