Good method/workflow for Video Conversion for multiple devices

[dellhop]

Hello all,

New to this forum. I tried to search for questions on this and I'm sure I missed some threads but not exactly sure how to search for this question/advice.

I've been converting video for a while, ripped DVDs, downloads, etc. so not so much a noob, but I keep getting caught up in my workflow. I have a library in itunes, which I want to main high resolution videos, but I also like to have smaller res version for phones, tablets and to stick on SD cards for my video head unit in my car.

What I'm curious about is does anyone have a good workflow process for converting and managing different version of videos. Some issues I come up against is:
-Keeping track of different version inside or outside of itunes, with out cluttering up playlists,
-having to covert videos multiple time to ensure subtitles are properly selected and encoded,
-really knowing which resolution is the best for the devices it will play on and keep track of versions
-file output locations and naming conventions
-keeping track of optimal settings and knowing which version of video conversions are not yet done (eg. created high res version and iphone version, another version was missed).

Are these stupid questions? Either way appreciate any advice available. Thanks.

[teodz1984]

Just Stick to 1 format resolution that all devices can read...
1 format MP4
use 1080 if you can or 720 if you are pressed for space.

[dellhop]

Of course that makes sense, but my car head unit does not support high then 720p on an SD card. I'lll see how 720p looks on my tv and projector. Thanks.

[hello_hello]

I pretty much gave up on the "multiple versions" idea a long time ago and just encode all video using High Profile, Level 4.1, and I no longer own any devices that won't play it.

In the real world though it mightn't be that simple (I was making standard definition Xvid/AVI copies from HD encodes for AVI capable DVD players for quite a while) but I wouldn't stress over the quality of the encodes for portable devices and just treat them as "disposable" encodes. Your car player is possibly your weakest link in respect to playback ability. I'd be surprised if you can buy a tablet that doesn't support High Profile, Level 4.1 at 1080p. The majority of Android phones would these days. Mine plays 1080p without a problem and while it wasn't a cheap phone, it's about five years old now.

I don't use iTunes as it sucks and blows simultaneously so I can't help there (I actually installed iTunes a little while back to transfer some files to my nephew's ipad and transfer some files from the ipad to the PC and I was close to suicidal in under an hour), but I'd be aiming for a high quality "keeper" encode and one for portability. File size would be more of an issue than quality for me when it comes to transferring video to a portable player or USB stick.

I have a few hard drives only for video, and they're all nicely organised in folders with episodes named correctly etc, so I've never needed a program to organise them for me. I have folders such as "Name of TV show" containing the episodes, and until I deleted them some of those folders also contained a subfolder called "Name of TV Show - AVI Copy". No need to argue with itunes or beg it's permission to do something.

I'd work out the lowest common denominator playback device you own. You should be able to find info on the H264 Profile and Level each player supports and use that for your portable copy. Handbrake or Vidcoder would probably be a fairly stress free way of converting your current video to a format for portable players and they have presets for portable devices too.

[jagabo]

For quick encodes for your car's media player use one of Handbrake's hardware encoders. Intel QS or Nvidia NVEnc. They don't deliver the best quality (per bitrate) but they're fast.

[dellhop]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the feedback and advice. I'll try to simplify my workflow and just convert those I want to use in the car/truck. Will check out each converter as well and study the threads for further encoding advice. Thanks again.

[jagabo]

I would recommend a good quality 1080p version (High Profile, Level 4.1) that most modern devices will play then use Handbrake (or some other encoder that supports GPU encoding) to quickly make a 720p version for the car. Or just get a new head unit that supports 1080p!

Just as a reference point, my 4 core i5 2500K gets around 160 fps when downscaling 1080p24 to 720p24 with the QS encoder at the "balanced" preset (it's best quality). So a 2 hour movie takes about 20 minutes. At the fastest preset it runs about 200 fps.

[dellhop]

Thanks again. I downloaded and am running through Handbrake now. First encoding is active.