HandBrake

Everytime I run Handbrake and I try to encode a DVD video my laptop shuts down at half way through the encoding process. I noticed the laptop got very hot on the bottom. Why is Handbrake making the laptop get so hot?

I have an Intel iCore i5, 8GB DDR3 Memory, Ubuntu 11.10.

Any help on this would be appreciated.

Video encoding is one of the most CPU intensive tasks your computer will ever face, which results in heat... a LOT of heat. My Macbook Pro regularly reaches 90+ °C while encoding and if your fans and heatsinks are dirty or obscured (say by placing it on a couch or bed) then critical overheating and shutdowns are inevitable.

Try cleaning your vents and/or elevating your notebook to allow extra airflow around it during encoding, otherwise you may be unlucky enough to have a machine where the design or a manufacturing fault won't allow it to run at 100% for extended periods.

TedJ wrote:Video encoding is one of the most CPU intensive tasks your computer will ever face, which results in heat... a LOT of heat. My Macbook Pro regularly reaches 90+ °C while encoding and if your fans and heatsinks are dirty or obscured (say by placing it on a couch or bed) then critical overheating and shutdowns are inevitable.

Try cleaning your vents and/or elevating your notebook to allow extra airflow around it during encoding, otherwise you may be unlucky enough to have a machine where the design or a manufacturing fault won't allow it to run at 100% for extended periods.

Now the interesting thing. If I encode to MKV format, it does not happen!!!!!! - At all !!!!!. Seems Handbrake is using more CPU power to encode to MP4 than it is to encode in MKV. Been digging around Google. Quite a few people have been experiencing the same issue. Seems Handbrake is using the CPU extensively when encoding in MP4 format, but not as much when encoding in MKV. Seems that encoding in MP4 on Hanbrake takes a bigger toll on the CPU for some reason. A Handbrake bug maybe?

The fact that your computer shuts down is still not HandBrake's fault, however.

Rodeo wrote:The fact that your computer shuts down is still not HandBrake's fault, however.

So what do you think could be causing it since it only does it while encoding MP4 and not MKV?

scorbing wrote:

Rodeo wrote:The fact that your computer shuts down is still not HandBrake's fault, however.

So what do you think could be causing it since it only does it while encoding MP4 and not MKV?

The increased CPU usage triggers the shutdown. But a non-defective computer will reduce CPU frequency when things get too hot, slowing things down, but avoiding a shutdown.

MKV and MP4 are just containers. Assuming the same settings they should perform the same.

Get a temp monitor up and see how hot you spike. I get to about 150F when I'm running Handbrake. Also check your BIOS to see if it has a low threshold for restarting. One last point is that on some laptops the cooling goo (not sure the name) that is near the CPU burns off and then your CPU gets hotter faster

I mentioned using a laptop for Handbrake a year or two ago on these forums. Some of the folks here warned I could burn the poor thing up. So I quit using the lappy.

If you have no alternative, at least raise the laptop up on some wood blocks and stick a small fan underneath (it'll also have to be raised up some so it can pull air) blowing directly into the intake vents. I used an old desktop case fan connected to a generic 12V wall wart, and was able to bring CPU temps down a bunch.

jmadero brings up a good point. The thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink will harden and lose effectiveness over time. Abuse accelerates that degradation. It's not a big deal to open up a desktop and clean/replace the thermal paste. Cleaning/replacing the paste on a laptop? A daunting, if not impossible, task for most people.