Table of contents
Video Processing with FFmpeg
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users.
Last updated: 19 May 2023
FFmpeg is an efficient and cost-effective way to process video. It is done by using a command line interface (CLI), but once the workflow is set up, it is relatively simple.
Installation options
1. Installation links fo Mac:
Because this can be a tricky process to install, here are some helpful sites:
To test if you have installed FFmpeg correctly, just type ffmpeg in Terminal and hit Return. Information about the version of FFmpeg as well as enabled libraries should appear in your terminal window as seen in the image below.
As suggested in that final line in the above image, to view the FFmpeg manual in the terminal window, type in:
man ffmpeg
+ Video Processing with FFmpeg | PARADISEC Workflows Skip to main content Table of contents
Video Processing with FFmpeg
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users.
Last updated: 9 February 2024
FFmpeg is an efficient and cost-effective way to process video. It is done by using a command line interface (CLI), but once the workflow is set up, it is relatively simple.
Installation options
1. Installation links fo Mac:
Because this can be a tricky process to install, here are some helpful sites:
To test if you have installed FFmpeg correctly, just type ffmpeg in Terminal and hit Return. Information about the version of FFmpeg as well as enabled libraries should appear in your terminal window as seen in the image below.
As suggested in that final line in the above image, to view the FFmpeg manual in the terminal window, type in:
man ffmpeg
2. Installation on Windows
- Download executable file: FFmpeg
Helpful sites for installation on Windows:
Some helpful ‘recipes’ for using FFmpeg on a Mac
To transcode .MOV to .MP4 (H.246)
If you have multiple .MOV files you want to transcode:
Place all .MOV files in one folder and navigate to that folder in Terminal. Then type (or copy) this code into the Terminal:
for i in *.MOV; do ffmpeg -i “$i” -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -preset veryslow -crf 18 -c:a aac “$(basename “$i” .MOV)”.mp4 ; done
If you have a single file:
ffmpeg -i FileName.MOV; -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -preset veryslow -crf 18 -c:a aac FileName.MP4
To transcode problematic .MOV to .MP4 (H.264)
SCENARIO: Sometimes we receive older, problematic video formats. In this case we had multiple .MOV videos that would not play in QuickTime and could not be opened by Adobe Media Encoder. After a first-pass it was found that some files had audio in only one channel, sometimes left, sometimes right. Also, these were interlaced video and the target was to be progressive.
If audio in LEFT Channel only
-af “pan=stereo|FL=FL|FR=FL”
for i in *.mov; do ffmpeg -i "$i" -af "pan=stereo|FL=FL|FR=FL" -c:v libx264 -b:v 50M -vf "yadif,format=yuv420p" "$(basename "$i" .mov)".mp4 ; done
diff --git a/_site/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html b/_site/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html
index 478960a..c280c2a 100644
--- a/_site/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html
+++ b/_site/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
- Video Processing with HandBrake | PARADISEC Workflows Skip to main content Table of contents
Video Processing with HandBrake
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users.
Last updated: 08 June 2023
HandBrake is a free, open source video transcoder that you can use on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems.
Installation options
Instructions for downloading and installing HandBrake can be found here.
Metadata you should collect prior to transcoding:
Before you proceed, collect the important structural metadata about your video files; this will inform your workflow and whether or not you can do batch processing. This Metadata query can be done using MediaInfo on individual files, or via a batch export outlined here: MediaInfo metadata export.
- Size/dimension - (height and width measurements, aspect ratio)
- Framerate (fps)
- Encoding format profile - (ex: High@L4.0)
- BitRate - If doing batch processes with a target constant Bitrate, you will need to group your videos by Bitrate value
- Video scan type - Progressive or interlaced
The HandBrake workspace
When you open HandBrake, you are prompted to navigate to your video file. If HandBrake is already open, just drag and drop a video into the program window. You can only select or drag and drop one video at a time (jump to batch processing to read about how to transcode more than one video at a time). You will then see a workspace similar to this one (HandBrake version 1.6.1 for Mac):
Below are brief descriptions about each of the tabs found in the HandBrake workspace and how to refine the transcoding settings to create your target format.
Summary tab
The Summary tab is the default active tab when you open a video in HandBrake. It provides an overview of selected default settings, specifically the target format (MP4, H.264), the FPS (30), audio codec (AAC), filters that are currently selected (comb detect, decomb), and the aspect ratio.
If you are happy with the default setting and the location where the file is to be written, you can just hit the Start button at the top of the window.
If you want a different format to MP4, such as MKV or WebM, you can use the dropdown menu. As for the default settings for the tick boxes, my suggestion is to leave them as they are. The same goes for the settings located right above the tabs. If you decide to create a preset to transcode a set of videos with similar encoding features, you would select it from the preset dropdown menu.
If you have specific changes to the default encoding settings, then step through the remaining tabs and make your changes.
Dimensions tab
In the Dimensions tab you can make changes to the aspect ratio, including adding letterbox or pillarbox. You can also crop, rotate or flip your video.
Any changes you make to these settings can be previewed in the Summary tab prior to transcoding.
Filters tab
The Filters tab has the default settings as seen above. It is a good idea to determine if that setting is needed. If you have a progressive video, you should turn off the filters, rather than retaining the default.
If you have an interlaced video and you wish to make it progressive you should apply the Bwdif filter as seen below.
If you do not apply a filter when you transcode an interlaced video to progressive, you will create a video with combing artifacts, essentially horizontal lines that appear with rapid motion.
To read more about deinterlacing and detelecine, visit this site https://www.dr-lex.be/info-stuff/videotips.html#deinter.
Video tab
The Video tab offers a number of parameters you can adjust.
Video Encoding
You can select different encoders from the dropdown menu as seen below:
It is also with this menu you can adjust your transcoding to accommodate a 10-bit source video.
Frames per Second (fps)
Here you can adjust the fps if HandBrake does not correctly capture your source frame rate.
Video Quality
Video quality can be changed by adjusting one of two settings:
- Constant Quality: setting the slider to acheive a constant rate factor (CRF):
- Average BitRate: setting the average BitRate to match the overall BitRate of your source videos. You should select to run a 2-pass encoding here to ensure a better match to the target BitRate.
Video Encoding Profile
For more information on video encoding profiles, visit this site: https://streaminglearningcenter.com/codecs/beginners-guide-to-encoding-h264.html#h-264-profiles.
Audio tab
Subtitles tab
Chapters tab
Transcoding tasks
Below are possible scenarios and workflows for using HandBrake for transcoding your digital videos. You can transcode from the following formats: .MOV .AVI .MTS .M4V .MKV .WEBM .FLV .MPG .MPEG .MXF, etc
To transcode multiple videos in a batch
To transcode multiple videos at one time, you need to add each file one at a time to the queue. Once you have opened a video file in HandBrake (and created an appropriate preset) click on the Add to Queue button in the upper left of the workspace.
As you add files one at a time, it is a good idea to open up your queue by clicking on Queue in the upper right of the workspace and make sure you have added all the files you intend to transcode:
Once all your files are added to the queue, simply press Start.
Transcoding workflow designed for creating .MP4 (H.264) access videos for PARADISEC
- Collect the necessary metadata for videos. Group files that have similar BitRate, fps, Aspect Ratio, Scan type, Encoding Profile, allowing you to batch encode
- Drag one file into HandBrake
- Create a preset for the set of videos that match this first file (or open a saved preset that matches the file’s features)
- Click on “Add To Queue” button and repeat the process of adding to the queue for each file in the set
Creating a preset for PARADISEC .mp4 (H.264) access videos
The following instructions are geared toward creating presets to transcode access videos for PARADISEC; however, this workflow will hopefully empower general users to create their own transcoded videos.
If your source file is Interlaced, you need to apply a filter to create a Progressive version. Use the Bwdif filter as mentioned above.
Below is a MediaInfo metadtata comparison of the source .MOV file on the left (with red highlights) and the transcoded .MP4 on the right (with green highlights). The highlighted items are the key specifications to aim for in order to retain quality in the transcoded file.
Things to watch out for
NOTE: There may be a mismatch in a file’s storage size and its display size as seen in the summary tab of an older .AVI video below. The file’s aspect ratio shown in the top image is correctly represented by the display size (640x480) and NOT the storage size (720x480). To check if the storage aspect is indeed incorrect, I altered the video dimensions to represent the storage size. That distortion can be seen in the bottom image. I then transcoded the file using the display size.
Additional resources
Ozer, Jan. (2021, August 1). Beginner’s Guide to Encoding H.264. streaminglearningcenter.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://streaminglearningcenter.com/codecs/beginners-guide-to-encoding-h264.html.
Sepos, Bradley (2023). HandBrake Documentation. handbrake.fr. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://handbrake.fr/docs/.
Thomas, Alexander (2023, April). Video Encoding Tips. dr-lex.be. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://www.dr-lex.be/info-stuff/videotips.html.
⬆️ Back to top
This work was created by Julia Colleen Miller and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
+ Video Processing with HandBrake | PARADISEC Workflows Skip to main content Table of contents
Video Processing with HandBrake
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users.
Last updated: 01 March 2024
HandBrake is a free, open source video transcoder that you can use on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems.
Installation options
Instructions for downloading and installing HandBrake can be found here.
Metadata you should collect prior to transcoding:
Before you proceed, collect the important structural metadata about your video files; this will inform your workflow and whether or not you can do batch processing. This Metadata query can be done using MediaInfo on individual files, or via a batch export outlined here: MediaInfo metadata export.
- Size/dimension - (height and width measurements, aspect ratio)
- Framerate (fps)
- Encoding format profile - (ex: High@L4.0)
- BitRate - If doing batch processes with a target constant Bitrate, you will need to group your videos by Bitrate value
- Video scan type - Progressive or interlaced
The HandBrake workspace
When you open HandBrake, you are prompted to navigate to your video file. If HandBrake is already open, just drag and drop a video into the program window. You can only select or drag and drop one video at a time (jump to batch processing to read about how to transcode more than one video at a time). You will then see a workspace similar to this one (HandBrake version 1.6.1 for Mac):
Below are brief descriptions about each of the tabs found in the HandBrake workspace and how to refine the transcoding settings to create your target format.
Summary tab
The Summary tab is the default active tab when you open a video in HandBrake. It provides an overview of selected default settings, specifically the target format (MP4, H.264), the FPS (30), audio codec (AAC), filters that are currently selected (comb detect, decomb), and the aspect ratio.
If you are happy with the default setting and the location where the file is to be written, you can just hit the Start button at the top of the window.
If you want a different format to MP4, such as MKV or WebM, you can use the dropdown menu. As for the default settings for the tick boxes, my suggestion is to leave them as they are. The same goes for the settings located right above the tabs. If you decide to create a preset to transcode a set of videos with similar encoding features, you would select it from the preset dropdown menu.
If you have specific changes to the default encoding settings, then step through the remaining tabs and make your changes.
Dimensions tab
In the Dimensions tab you can make changes to the aspect ratio, including adding letterbox or pillarbox. You can also crop, rotate or flip your video.
Any changes you make to these settings can be previewed in the Summary tab prior to transcoding.
Filters tab
The Filters tab has the default settings as seen above. It is a good idea to determine if that setting is needed. If you have a progressive video, you should turn off the filters, rather than retaining the default.
If you have an interlaced video and you wish to make it progressive you should apply the Bwdif filter as seen below.
If you do not apply a filter when you transcode an interlaced video to progressive, you will create a video with combing artifacts, essentially horizontal lines that appear with rapid motion.
To read more about deinterlacing and detelecine, visit this site https://www.dr-lex.be/info-stuff/videotips.html#deinter.
Video tab
The Video tab offers a number of parameters you can adjust.
Video Encoding
You can select different encoders from the dropdown menu as seen below:
It is also with this menu you can adjust your transcoding to accommodate a 10-bit source video.
Frames per Second (fps)
Here you can adjust the fps if HandBrake does not correctly capture your source frame rate.
Video Quality
Video quality can be changed by adjusting one of two settings:
- Constant Quality: setting the slider to acheive a constant rate factor (CRF):
- Average BitRate: setting the average BitRate to match the overall BitRate of your source videos. You should select to run a 2-pass encoding here to ensure a better match to the target BitRate.
Video Encoding Profile
For more information on video encoding profiles, visit this site: https://streaminglearningcenter.com/codecs/beginners-guide-to-encoding-h264.html#h-264-profiles.
Audio tab
Subtitles tab
Chapters tab
Transcoding tasks
Below are possible scenarios and workflows for using HandBrake for transcoding your digital videos. You can transcode from the following formats: .MOV .AVI .MTS .M4V .MKV .WEBM .FLV .MPG .MPEG .MXF, etc
To transcode multiple videos in a batch
To transcode multiple videos at one time, you need to add each file one at a time to the queue. Once you have opened a video file in HandBrake (and created an appropriate preset) click on the Add to Queue button in the upper left of the workspace.
As you add files one at a time, it is a good idea to open up your queue by clicking on Queue in the upper right of the workspace and make sure you have added all the files you intend to transcode:
Once all your files are added to the queue, simply press Start.
Transcoding workflow designed for creating .MP4 (H.264) access videos for PARADISEC
- Collect the necessary metadata for videos. Group files that have similar BitRate, fps, Aspect Ratio, Scan type, Encoding Profile, allowing you to batch encode
- Drag one file into HandBrake
- Create a preset for the set of videos that match this first file (or open a saved preset that matches the file’s features)
- Click on “Add To Queue” button and repeat the process of adding to the queue for each file in the set
Creating a preset for PARADISEC .mp4 (H.264) access videos
The following instructions are geared toward creating presets to transcode access videos for PARADISEC; however, this workflow will hopefully empower general users to create their own transcoded videos.
If your source file is Interlaced, you need to apply a filter to create a Progressive version. Use the Bwdif filter as mentioned above.
Below is a MediaInfo metadtata comparison of the source .MOV file on the left (with red highlights) and the transcoded .MP4 on the right (with green highlights). The highlighted items are the key specifications to aim for in order to retain quality in the transcoded file.
Things to watch out for
NOTE: There may be a mismatch in a file’s storage size and its display size as seen in the summary tab of an older .AVI video below. The file’s aspect ratio shown in the top image is correctly represented by the display size (640x480) and NOT the storage size (720x480). To check if the storage aspect is indeed incorrect, I altered the video dimensions to represent the storage size. That distortion can be seen in the bottom image. I then transcoded the file using the display size.
Additional resources
Ozer, Jan. (2021, August 1). Beginner’s Guide to Encoding H.264. streaminglearningcenter.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://streaminglearningcenter.com/codecs/beginners-guide-to-encoding-h264.html.
Sepos, Bradley (2023). HandBrake Documentation. handbrake.fr. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://handbrake.fr/docs/.
Thomas, Alexander (2023, April). Video Encoding Tips. dr-lex.be. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://www.dr-lex.be/info-stuff/videotips.html.
⬆️ Back to top
This work was created by Julia Colleen Miller and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
diff --git a/_site/10_quality_control.html b/_site/10_quality_control.html
index f5ce800..34e96ac 100644
--- a/_site/10_quality_control.html
+++ b/_site/10_quality_control.html
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
- Quality control of audio and video files | PARADISEC Workflows Skip to main content Table of contents
Quality control: checking the quality of audio and video files
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
Last updated: 02 October 2022
MediaArea tools for QC (quality checking/quality control)
Open source tools available from MediaArea
MediaInfo
MediaInfo is a tool which allows you to look at a summary of the structural metadata of media files. Below is a comparison of how MediaInfo presents the metadata information on a PC and on a Mac, both using Tree view.
You can look at multiple files at one time using the app, but be warned- if you highlight and then select open with MediaInfo on a PC, each metadata report will open a new window. On a Mac, you get one open window, but you can select which file to view from a dropdown menu in the address bar. The next section explains another option to view multiple file reports without having to look at one report at a time.
Bulk output MediaInfo reoprts: Windows
This section outlines a means to extract metadata from multiple files at one time, outputting targeted metadata highlights to a csv, using a PC.
Using MediaInfo GUI v21.09, open the program, then add media to explore. To do this press icon Select a folder to examine, located on left pannel of window, or go to the MediaInfo menu and select File>Open>Folder…. It is best if you have only the media you want to examine in that folder and avoid adding nested folders. The image below shows all of the videos I have added. To get this view, go to the menu and select View, then select sheet.
To select what specifications you want to export to a csv, go to Options>Preferences, or just click on the wrench icon to the left. The preference window will open. Under Customize select Sheet and then New….
You will then be able to make your choices for the attributes you wish to export. You may need to experiment with this. I have selected the following 29 attributes to include in my report. You’ll notice the three categories of metadata: General, Video, Audio. These correlate to the sections of metadata found in the MediaInfo reports as seen in the comparison image above.
Once you have edited your target specifications to be output in your report, a new .csv is created with this information and is saved here: C:\Users\“YourUserName”\AppData\Roaming\MediaInfo\Plugin\Sheet. If you want to share this customisation with your team, you need only send them the .csv and have them place it in the correct folder, so that they do not have to recreate the process. This is what the content of that .csv plugin looks like:
When you have saved your Custom Sheet choices, you are ready to export. First, go to Preferences again to select your custom sheet from the dropdown menu:
The icon to the left with the arrow and the “i” is the export function. Alternatively, you can go to File>Export in the menu. This window will open, directing you to choose your export format.
Click on the Sheet tab, select the comma from the dropdown menu for the columns separator, then name your output file and select the location where you want to save it.
Bulk output MediaInfo reports: Mac
This section outlines a means to extract metadata from multiple files at one time, outputting targeted metadata highlights to a csv, using a Mac.
I have downloaded and installed the app from the Mac App Store, as suggested on the MediaInfo webpage. The Mac MediaInfo app differs from the Windows version in that you cannot view sheets, or export bulk reports using the GUI.
You first need to create a .txt file that lists the specifications you want to export, and name this file “Options.txt”. Again, as with the Windows specifications, you will need to experiment with how they are named. Here is some suggested content for Options.txt for video reporting:
General;%FileName%,%Format%,%Format_Profile%,%CodecID%,%FileSize%,%Duration%,%OverallBitRate%,%FileExtension%,
-Video;%Format%,%CodecID%,%Width%,%Height%,%DisplayAspectRatio%,%FrameRate%,%ColorSpace%,%ChromaSubsampling%,%BitDepth%,%ScanType%,%Compression_Mode%,
-Audio;%Channel(s)%,%ChannelLayout%,%SamplingRate%,
-File_End;\r\n
+ Quality control of audio and video files | PARADISEC Workflows Skip to main content Table of contents
Quality control: checking the quality of audio and video files
🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧
Last updated: 01 March 2024
MediaArea tools for QC (quality checking/quality control)
Open source tools available from MediaArea
MediaInfo
MediaInfo is one of MediaArea’s free tools, which allows you to look at a report of the structural metadata of media files. To see a list of all metadata fields and their descriptions, click here. Below is a comparison of how MediaInfo presents the metadata information on a PC and on a Mac, both using Tree view.
You can open multiple files at one time using the app, but be warned- if you are using MediaInfo on a PC, each metadata report will open in a separate window unless you first open the app, and use the import folder option, or simply drag a selection of files the app after you have switched to Sheet view (see next).
On a Mac, only one window opens, but you can select which file to view from a dropdown menu in the file address bar at the top. The next section explains another option to view multiple file reports without having to look at one report at a time.
Bulk output MediaInfo reoprts: Windows
Using the MediaInfo GUI (examples are from v21.09), open the program, then add media to explore. To do this press icon Select a folder to examine, located on left pannel of window, or go to the MediaInfo menu and select File>Open>Folder…. It is best if you have only the media you want to examine in that folder and avoid adding nested folders. The image below shows all selected media files. To get this view, go to the menu and select View, then select Sheet.
To select what metadata fields you want to export to a csv, go to Options>Preferences, or just click on the wrench icon to the left. The preference window will open. Under Customize select Sheet and then New….
Make your choices for the attributes you wish to export. You may need to experiment with this. I have selected the following 29 attributes to include in my export. You’ll notice the three categories of metadata: General, Video, Audio. These correlate to the sections of metadata found in the MediaInfo reports (see comparison image above).
Your selections are saved as a .csv here: C:\Users\“YourUserName”\AppData\Roaming\MediaInfo\Plugin\Sheet. If you want to share this customisation with someone, or use it on a different PC, just copy the .csv and place it in the correct directory on the other computer, thus avoiding having to repeat the process. Below is a snapshot of the .csv content:
When you are ready to export your batched metadata reports, go to Preferences to select your custom sheet from the dropdown menu:
Then press the icon on the left with the arrow and the “i”. This is the export function. Alternatively, you can go to File>Export in the menu. This window will open, directing you to choose your export format.
Click on the Sheet tab, select the comma from the dropdown menu for the columns separator, then name your output file and select the location where you want to save it.
Bulk output MediaInfo reports: Mac
You can dowload the MediaInfo app from the Mac App Store, or from the MediaArea website https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download/Mac_OS. The Mac MediaInfo app differs from the Windows version in that you cannot view sheets, or export bulk reports using the GUI.
In order to do a bulk export you need to do the following:
- Create a .txt file that lists the specifications you want to export, and name this file “Options.txt”. Again, as with the Windows specifications, you will need to experiment with how they are named. Here is some suggested content for Options.txt for video reporting:
General;%FileName%,%Format%,%Format_Profile%,%CodecID%,%FileSize%,%Duration%,%OverallBitRate%,%FileExtension%,
+ Video;%Format%,%CodecID%,%Width%,%Height%,%DisplayAspectRatio%,%FrameRate%,%ColorSpace%,%ChromaSubsampling%,%BitDepth%,%ScanType%,%Compression_Mode%,
+ Audio;%Channel(s)%,%ChannelLayout%,%SamplingRate%,
+ File_End;\r\n
-
Place the Options.txt in the same folder as the videos you wish to examine.
Open Terminal and navigate to the directory where your videos and the Options.txt is located.
Then type the following into the terminal:
MediaInfo --Output=file://options.txt /Volumes/"YourDirectory" \*.\* > output.csv
-
Unfortunately, this will output a .csv without headers for the columns. My fix for this: I have a separate .csv saved with just the headers to paste in each newly exported report.
If you are not able to install MediaInfo onto your computer, there is a web version of MediaInfo where you can create and download reports of your video files via the web browser. Your media stays safe, as nothing is actually uploaded to their servers. MediaInfoOnline
Media Conch
Media Conch is a tool which enables you to view batch MediaInfo reports. You can create policies that checks your media against certain parameters, determining if the metadata fits your specific needs. Below public policy that checks if an .mp4 video has H.264 encoding or not. You can find this public policy on the Public Policy tab within the app.
This is the description of the checks this policy is performing:
Here is a policy I created for PARADISEC, to determine if the MXF has conformed to all of our target parameters. This checks if the MXF is lossless and has the expected colour space and chroma subsampling of YUV 4:2:2, and has a bit depth of 8, etc. Policy checking can be done across multiple files at once.
Here are the results from the MXF policy check.
Media Conch also allows you to view MediaInfo reports within the program as well as the more technical Media Trace reports, which present the binary architecture of the files as defined by MediaInfo.
QC Tools
QC Tools offers tools that allow users to investigate the quality of digitised videos using filters and analytical tools. You can select various filters in the graph mode as seen in the image below.
as well as in the player mode
Visit this QCTools page for descriptions of their playback filters.
BWF MetaEdit
BWF MetaEdit - allows up to view and edit BEXT chunks in BWF audio files
Using Switch player for visual QC
Other tools
Additional resources
⬆️ Back to top
This work was created by Julia Colleen Miller and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
+
-
Place the file Options.txt in the same folder as the files you wish to examine.
-
Open Terminal and navigate to the directory where your videos and the Options.txt is located.
-
Then type the following into the terminal:
MediaInfo --Output=file://options.txt /Volumes/"YourDirectory" \*.\* > output.csv
+
Unfortunately, this will output a .csv without headers for the columns. You can keep a separate .csv saved with just the headers to paste in each newly exported report.
If you are not able to install MediaInfo onto your computer, there is a web version of MediaInfo where you can create and download reports of your video files via the web browser. Your media stays safe, as nothing is actually uploaded to their servers. MediaInfoOnline
Media Conch
Media Conch is a tool which enables you to view batch MediaInfo reports. You can create policies that checks your media against certain parameters, determining if the metadata fits your specific needs. Below public policy that checks if an .mp4 video has H.264 encoding or not. You can find this public policy on the Public Policy tab within the app.
This is the description of the checks this policy is performing:
Here is a policy I created for PARADISEC, to determine if the MXF has conformed to all of our target parameters. This checks if the MXF is lossless and has the expected colour space and chroma subsampling of YUV 4:2:2, and has a bit depth of 8, etc. Policy checking can be done across multiple files at once.
Here are the results from the MXF policy check.
Media Conch also allows you to view MediaInfo reports within the program as well as the more technical Media Trace reports, which present the binary architecture of the files as defined by MediaInfo.
QC Tools
QC Tools offers tools that allow users to investigate the quality of digitised videos using filters and analytical tools. You can select various filters in the graph mode as seen in the image below.
as well as in the player mode
Visit this QCTools page for descriptions of their playback filters.
BWF MetaEdit
BWF MetaEdit - allows up to view and edit BEXT chunks in BWF audio files
Using Switch player for visual QC
Other tools
Additional resources
⬆️ Back to top
This work was created by Julia Colleen Miller and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
diff --git a/_site/assets/js/just-the-docs.js b/_site/assets/js/just-the-docs.js
index a10bc9c..4734749 100644
--- a/_site/assets/js/just-the-docs.js
+++ b/_site/assets/js/just-the-docs.js
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ jtd.setTheme = function(theme) {
function navLink() {
var pathname = document.location.pathname;
-
+
var navLink = document.getElementById('site-nav').querySelector('a[href="' + pathname + '"]');
if (navLink) {
return navLink;
diff --git a/_site/assets/js/search-data.json b/_site/assets/js/search-data.json
index 20097d1..79b5c28 100644
--- a/_site/assets/js/search-data.json
+++ b/_site/assets/js/search-data.json
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
},"37": {
"doc": "Video Processing with FFmpeg",
"title": "Video Processing with FFmpeg",
- "content": ". 🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users. Last updated: 19 May 2023 . FFmpeg is an efficient and cost-effective way to process video. It is done by using a command line interface (CLI), but once the workflow is set up, it is relatively simple. ",
+ "content": ". 🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users. Last updated: 9 February 2024 . FFmpeg is an efficient and cost-effective way to process video. It is done by using a command line interface (CLI), but once the workflow is set up, it is relatively simple. ",
"url": "/08_video_processing_FFmpeg.html#video-processing-with-ffmpeg",
"relUrl": "/08_video_processing_FFmpeg.html#video-processing-with-ffmpeg"
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@
},"43": {
"doc": "Video Processing with HandBrake",
"title": "Video Processing with HandBrake",
- "content": ". 🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users. Last updated: 08 June 2023 . HandBrake is a free, open source video transcoder that you can use on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. ",
+ "content": ". 🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . This technical guide was created as part of the archiving workflow for PARADISEC. Some of the content may not be relevant for general users. Last updated: 01 March 2024 . HandBrake is a free, open source video transcoder that you can use on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. ",
"url": "/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html#video-processing-with-handbrake",
"relUrl": "/08a_video_processing_HandBrake.html#video-processing-with-handbrake"
@@ -393,14 +393,14 @@
},"56": {
"doc": "Quality control of audio and video files",
"title": "Quality control: checking the quality of audio and video files",
- "content": "🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . Last updated: 02 October 2022 . ",
+ "content": "🚧 This page is currently under construction 🚧 . Last updated: 01 March 2024 . ",
"url": "/10_quality_control.html#quality-control-checking-the-quality-of-audio-and-video-files",
"relUrl": "/10_quality_control.html#quality-control-checking-the-quality-of-audio-and-video-files"
},"57": {
"doc": "Quality control of audio and video files",
"title": "MediaArea tools for QC (quality checking/quality control)",
- "content": "Open source tools available from MediaArea . MediaInfo . MediaInfo is a tool which allows you to look at a summary of the structural metadata of media files. Below is a comparison of how MediaInfo presents the metadata information on a PC and on a Mac, both using Tree view. You can look at multiple files at one time using the app, but be warned- if you highlight and then select open with MediaInfo on a PC, each metadata report will open a new window. On a Mac, you get one open window, but you can select which file to view from a dropdown menu in the address bar. The next section explains another option to view multiple file reports without having to look at one report at a time. Bulk output MediaInfo reoprts: Windows . This section outlines a means to extract metadata from multiple files at one time, outputting targeted metadata highlights to a csv, using a PC. Using MediaInfo GUI v21.09, open the program, then add media to explore. To do this press icon Select a folder to examine, located on left pannel of window, or go to the MediaInfo menu and select File>Open>Folder…. It is best if you have only the media you want to examine in that folder and avoid adding nested folders. The image below shows all of the videos I have added. To get this view, go to the menu and select View, then select sheet. To select what specifications you want to export to a csv, go to Options>Preferences, or just click on the wrench icon to the left. The preference window will open. Under Customize select Sheet and then New…. You will then be able to make your choices for the attributes you wish to export. You may need to experiment with this. I have selected the following 29 attributes to include in my report. You’ll notice the three categories of metadata: General, Video, Audio. These correlate to the sections of metadata found in the MediaInfo reports as seen in the comparison image above. Once you have edited your target specifications to be output in your report, a new .csv is created with this information and is saved here: C:\\Users\\“YourUserName”\\AppData\\Roaming\\MediaInfo\\Plugin\\Sheet. If you want to share this customisation with your team, you need only send them the .csv and have them place it in the correct folder, so that they do not have to recreate the process. This is what the content of that .csv plugin looks like: . When you have saved your Custom Sheet choices, you are ready to export. First, go to Preferences again to select your custom sheet from the dropdown menu: . The icon to the left with the arrow and the “i” is the export function. Alternatively, you can go to File>Export in the menu. This window will open, directing you to choose your export format. Click on the Sheet tab, select the comma from the dropdown menu for the columns separator, then name your output file and select the location where you want to save it. Bulk output MediaInfo reports: Mac . This section outlines a means to extract metadata from multiple files at one time, outputting targeted metadata highlights to a csv, using a Mac. I have downloaded and installed the app from the Mac App Store, as suggested on the MediaInfo webpage. The Mac MediaInfo app differs from the Windows version in that you cannot view sheets, or export bulk reports using the GUI. You first need to create a .txt file that lists the specifications you want to export, and name this file “Options.txt”. Again, as with the Windows specifications, you will need to experiment with how they are named. Here is some suggested content for Options.txt for video reporting: . General;%FileName%,%Format%,%Format_Profile%,%CodecID%,%FileSize%,%Duration%,%OverallBitRate%,%FileExtension%, Video;%Format%,%CodecID%,%Width%,%Height%,%DisplayAspectRatio%,%FrameRate%,%ColorSpace%,%ChromaSubsampling%,%BitDepth%,%ScanType%,%Compression_Mode%, Audio;%Channel(s)%,%ChannelLayout%,%SamplingRate%, File_End;\\r\\n . Place the Options.txt in the same folder as the videos you wish to examine. Open Terminal and navigate to the directory where your videos and the Options.txt is located. Then type the following into the terminal: . MediaInfo --Output=file://options.txt /Volumes/\"YourDirectory\" \\*.\\* > output.csv . Unfortunately, this will output a .csv without headers for the columns. My fix for this: I have a separate .csv saved with just the headers to paste in each newly exported report. If you are not able to install MediaInfo onto your computer, there is a web version of MediaInfo where you can create and download reports of your video files via the web browser. Your media stays safe, as nothing is actually uploaded to their servers. MediaInfoOnline . Media Conch . Media Conch is a tool which enables you to view batch MediaInfo reports. You can create policies that checks your media against certain parameters, determining if the metadata fits your specific needs. Below public policy that checks if an .mp4 video has H.264 encoding or not. You can find this public policy on the Public Policy tab within the app. This is the description of the checks this policy is performing: . Here is a policy I created for PARADISEC, to determine if the MXF has conformed to all of our target parameters. This checks if the MXF is lossless and has the expected colour space and chroma subsampling of YUV 4:2:2, and has a bit depth of 8, etc. Policy checking can be done across multiple files at once. Here are the results from the MXF policy check. Media Conch also allows you to view MediaInfo reports within the program as well as the more technical Media Trace reports, which present the binary architecture of the files as defined by MediaInfo. QC Tools . QC Tools offers tools that allow users to investigate the quality of digitised videos using filters and analytical tools. You can select various filters in the graph mode as seen in the image below. as well as in the player mode . Visit this QCTools page for descriptions of their playback filters. BWF MetaEdit . BWF MetaEdit - allows up to view and edit BEXT chunks in BWF audio files . ",
+ "content": "Open source tools available from MediaArea . MediaInfo . MediaInfo is one of MediaArea’s free tools, which allows you to look at a report of the structural metadata of media files. To see a list of all metadata fields and their descriptions, click here. Below is a comparison of how MediaInfo presents the metadata information on a PC and on a Mac, both using Tree view. You can open multiple files at one time using the app, but be warned- if you are using MediaInfo on a PC, each metadata report will open in a separate window unless you first open the app, and use the import folder option, or simply drag a selection of files the app after you have switched to Sheet view (see next). On a Mac, only one window opens, but you can select which file to view from a dropdown menu in the file address bar at the top. The next section explains another option to view multiple file reports without having to look at one report at a time. Bulk output MediaInfo reoprts: Windows . Using the MediaInfo GUI (examples are from v21.09), open the program, then add media to explore. To do this press icon Select a folder to examine, located on left pannel of window, or go to the MediaInfo menu and select File>Open>Folder…. It is best if you have only the media you want to examine in that folder and avoid adding nested folders. The image below shows all selected media files. To get this view, go to the menu and select View, then select Sheet. To select what metadata fields you want to export to a csv, go to Options>Preferences, or just click on the wrench icon to the left. The preference window will open. Under Customize select Sheet and then New…. Make your choices for the attributes you wish to export. You may need to experiment with this. I have selected the following 29 attributes to include in my export. You’ll notice the three categories of metadata: General, Video, Audio. These correlate to the sections of metadata found in the MediaInfo reports (see comparison image above). Your selections are saved as a .csv here: C:\\Users\\“YourUserName”\\AppData\\Roaming\\MediaInfo\\Plugin\\Sheet. If you want to share this customisation with someone, or use it on a different PC, just copy the .csv and place it in the correct directory on the other computer, thus avoiding having to repeat the process. Below is a snapshot of the .csv content: . When you are ready to export your batched metadata reports, go to Preferences to select your custom sheet from the dropdown menu: . Then press the icon on the left with the arrow and the “i”. This is the export function. Alternatively, you can go to File>Export in the menu. This window will open, directing you to choose your export format. Click on the Sheet tab, select the comma from the dropdown menu for the columns separator, then name your output file and select the location where you want to save it. Bulk output MediaInfo reports: Mac . You can dowload the MediaInfo app from the Mac App Store, or from the MediaArea website https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download/Mac_OS. The Mac MediaInfo app differs from the Windows version in that you cannot view sheets, or export bulk reports using the GUI. In order to do a bulk export you need to do the following: . | Create a .txt file that lists the specifications you want to export, and name this file “Options.txt”. Again, as with the Windows specifications, you will need to experiment with how they are named. Here is some suggested content for Options.txt for video reporting: | . General;%FileName%,%Format%,%Format_Profile%,%CodecID%,%FileSize%,%Duration%,%OverallBitRate%,%FileExtension%, Video;%Format%,%CodecID%,%Width%,%Height%,%DisplayAspectRatio%,%FrameRate%,%ColorSpace%,%ChromaSubsampling%,%BitDepth%,%ScanType%,%Compression_Mode%, Audio;%Channel(s)%,%ChannelLayout%,%SamplingRate%, File_End;\\r\\n . | Place the file Options.txt in the same folder as the files you wish to examine. | Open Terminal and navigate to the directory where your videos and the Options.txt is located. | Then type the following into the terminal: . | . MediaInfo --Output=file://options.txt /Volumes/\"YourDirectory\" \\*.\\* > output.csv . Unfortunately, this will output a .csv without headers for the columns. You can keep a separate .csv saved with just the headers to paste in each newly exported report. If you are not able to install MediaInfo onto your computer, there is a web version of MediaInfo where you can create and download reports of your video files via the web browser. Your media stays safe, as nothing is actually uploaded to their servers. MediaInfoOnline . Media Conch . Media Conch is a tool which enables you to view batch MediaInfo reports. You can create policies that checks your media against certain parameters, determining if the metadata fits your specific needs. Below public policy that checks if an .mp4 video has H.264 encoding or not. You can find this public policy on the Public Policy tab within the app. This is the description of the checks this policy is performing: . Here is a policy I created for PARADISEC, to determine if the MXF has conformed to all of our target parameters. This checks if the MXF is lossless and has the expected colour space and chroma subsampling of YUV 4:2:2, and has a bit depth of 8, etc. Policy checking can be done across multiple files at once. Here are the results from the MXF policy check. Media Conch also allows you to view MediaInfo reports within the program as well as the more technical Media Trace reports, which present the binary architecture of the files as defined by MediaInfo. QC Tools . QC Tools offers tools that allow users to investigate the quality of digitised videos using filters and analytical tools. You can select various filters in the graph mode as seen in the image below. as well as in the player mode . Visit this QCTools page for descriptions of their playback filters. BWF MetaEdit . BWF MetaEdit - allows up to view and edit BEXT chunks in BWF audio files . ",
"url": "/10_quality_control.html#mediaarea-tools-for-qc-quality-checkingquality-control",
"relUrl": "/10_quality_control.html#mediaarea-tools-for-qc-quality-checkingquality-control"
diff --git a/_site/feed.xml b/_site/feed.xml
index 25aea3b..5fdf599 100644
--- a/_site/feed.xml
+++ b/_site/feed.xml
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Jekyll 2024-02-09T17:08:30+11:00 http://localhost:4000/feed.xml PARADISEC Workflows PARADISEC technical workflows and archiving guides Jekyll 2024-03-04T15:08:07+11:00 http://localhost:4000/feed.xml PARADISEC Workflows PARADISEC technical workflows and archiving guides