I would like to start encoding MY movies into a format and naming convention that is as compatible with as many front/back ends as possible, obviously XBMC on the front, have not decided on the back as it will need to support TV shows too. Since I will be starting w/ SD movies, I was thinking x264 w/ either DD or DTS, whatever is the best audio on the disc since even my current receiver supports those and my current video collection is at that state - no DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD.
Figured 1.5GB should be g2g for SD, ~2hr movies.
I have used FairUse in the past - is this a viable option or what software would be recommended?
Been out of encoding for some time, so don't be afraid to suggest something I should know.
Thanks in advance,
bob4432
If you have to encode, H.264 - some might say H.265, but you can look elsewhere for that debate. Or leave the source untouched and just rip it if you want best possible quality.
A Handbrake x264 RF20-encoded DVD would indeed be around 1.5GB-2GB. HD audio will significantly increase file size. I think you're already on the right lines - you can reduce the RF if you want to bump up quality a touch at the expense of file size, but I certainly wouldn't be able to spot the difference.
I'm not sure what you mean by "back end compatibility" - if you store your files on a central server/drive of some kind them XBMC will simply read them from there as an NFS or SMB share. Any back end for live TV/PVR is independent of that.
Naming... it depends on your scraper, but themoviedb.com is a good place to start.
Another possible option is to just rip the movies as ISO's? This would keep the quality and all the audio tracks should you decide to play them on a system that doesnt support Dolby (ie stereo, if it has a stereo track) and keeps a good full backup of your disk.
Downside maybe that not all media players play ISOs, but you have the same problem with any format you may choose.
In regards to " back end compatibility " I have read that some back ends need certain info in the name to get the movie info offline, like movie name, year, etc, but was not sure if you need commas, hyphens or ? in certain places in the name for searching later from just actors, genres, etc? I just want to start but not start the wrong way and figured encoding SD material would be the starting place, along with 3-500cds too, but that is another story.
My reason for choosing 1.5GB per movie was kind of what I have done in the past and the looked good to me on a 720p display - need to check on my 1080p monitor, may need to move it up a bit.
Also is FairUse even on par with some of the open source options? Setup hassle is not an issue as I would rather use the best possible for quality vs something easy and lose quality.
(2014-04-08, 23:19)bob4432 Wrote: [ -> ]In regards to " back end compatibility " I have read that some back ends need certain info in the name to get the movie info offline, like movie name, year, etc, but was not sure if you need commas, hyphens or ? in certain places in the name for searching later from just actors, genres, etc? I just want to start but not start the wrong way and figured encoding SD material would be the starting place, along with 3-500cds too, but that is another story.
Any scrapping system would require the filename to have critical information for it to match up in a database of movies or tv shows. Usually names would be something such as:
casino.royale.2006.[filetype] This then tells whatever system to search for, if there are multiple matches by name, it can then narrow it down by year. You can find more information about that
here. Its not likely to work perfectly for every movie/tv show/song, but its a great place to start, and most systems will give you an option to select the relevant title and scrape additional info if there are multiple matches.
(2014-04-08, 23:17)WoSaK Wrote: [ -> ]Another possible option is to just rip the movies as ISO's? This would keep the quality and all the audio tracks should you decide to play them on a system that doesnt support Dolby (ie stereo, if it has a stereo track) and keeps a good full backup of your disk.
Downside maybe that not all media players play ISOs, but you have the same problem with any format you may choose.
Thanks for the suggestion but at the size of a SD movie, I feel the very small difference in quality between an encoding @ ~30-50% of the original size is a reasonable trade off ( this is before I have watched it on my 1920x1200 ( windowed to ~approx 1080p ) monitor, that may change my mind ).
FWIW storage will probably start out using FlexRaid at about 3-6TBs.
(2014-04-08, 23:25)WoSaK Wrote: [ -> ] (2014-04-08, 23:19)bob4432 Wrote: [ -> ]In regards to " back end compatibility " I have read that some back ends need certain info in the name to get the movie info offline, like movie name, year, etc, but was not sure if you need commas, hyphens or ? in certain places in the name for searching later from just actors, genres, etc? I just want to start but not start the wrong way and figured encoding SD material would be the starting place, along with 3-500cds too, but that is another story.
Any scrapping system would require the filename to have critical information for it to match up in a database of movies or tv shows. Usually names would be something such as:
casino.royale.2006.[filetype] This then tells whatever system to search for, if there are multiple matches by name, it can then narrow it down by year. You can find more information about that here. Its not likely to work perfectly for every movie/tv show/song, but its a great place to start, and most systems will give you an option to select the relevant title and scrape additional info if there are multiple matches.
Thanks
To suplement the most common naming formats, take a look at any torrent site.
Suggest using periods - not commas or spaces. This plays safer with various filesystems and transfer protocols. Consitency is the most important bit, don't mix.
TV shows: Title.of.show.S00E00.recordingsource.encoding(.filextension)
Season (S00) - double digits. 01, 02, 03 ... 99. Same for episode (E00) - no space/period between S## and E##. Recording source: DVD, HDTV, WebTV, Webrip etc. Encoding: DivX, Xvid, x264, H264 etc.
Example: This.Is.My.Show.S01E02.HDTV.x264 (.mkv) or This.Is.My.Show.S01E02.Name.Of.Episode.HDTV.720p.AC3.x264
Movies: This.Is.My.Movie.Yearofrelease.Resolution.Source.Audio-format.Encoding (.filexstenstion)
Resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080p etc. Source: WebRip, HDTVRip,DVDR, BluRay etc. Audio-format: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, AAC, DTS-HD, DTS-MA, TrueHD etc. Encoding: DivX, Xvid, x264, H.264 etc.
Example: This.Is.My.Movie.2014.1080p.BluRay.DTS-HD.x264 (.mkv)
There are several optional and special tags - for instance:
The.Fellowship.Of.The.Ring.Goes.To.Bahamas.2012.BluRay.1080p.BluRay.3D.DTS-HD.MA7.1 .(mkv)
These are the most outspread and overall used naming/branding formats, These 2 follow "scene release" rules, thus this format is what you're most likely to find "out on the interwebs". Conforming to a well established format, should secure good tag recognition in XBMC, and good scraper matches.
(2014-04-09, 00:25)pr0xZen Wrote: [ -> ]To suplement the most common naming formats, take a look at any torrent site.
Suggest using periods - not commas or spaces. This plays safer with various filesystems and transfer protocols. Consitency is the most important bit, don't mix.
TV shows: Title.of.show.S00E00.recordingsource.encoding(.filextension)
Season (S00) - double digits. 01, 02, 03 ... 99. Same for episode (E00) - no space/period between S## and E##. Recording source: DVD, HDTV, WebTV, Webrip etc. Encoding: DivX, Xvid, x264, H264 etc.
Example: This.Is.My.Show.S01E02.HDTV.x264 (.mkv) or This.Is.My.Show.S01E02.Name.Of.Episode.HDTV.720p.AC3.x264
Movies: This.Is.My.Movie.Yearofrelease.Resolution.Source.Audio-format.Encoding (.filexstenstion)
Resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080p etc. Source: WebRip, HDTVRip,DVDR, BluRay etc. Audio-format: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, AAC, DTS-HD, DTS-MA, TrueHD etc. Encoding: DivX, Xvid, x264, H.264 etc.
Example: This.Is.My.Movie.2014.1080p.BluRay.DTS-HD.x264 (.mkv)
There are several optional and special tags - for instance:
The.Fellowship.Of.The.Ring.Goes.To.Bahamas.2012.BluRay.1080p.BluRay.3D.DTS-HD.MA7.1 .(mkv)
These are the most outspread and overall used naming/branding formats, These 2 follow "scene release" rules, thus this format is what you're most likely to find "out on the interwebs". Conforming to a well established format, should secure good tag recognition in XBMC, and good scraper matches.
Thanks