Video preview?

[s3000]

Hi

I was wondering if it might be possible to add some kind of small, playable video preview feature, like ImToo has?

It would make it a lot easier to find a particular track in, say a concert, without having to refer to the case.

Secondly, this feature simplifies widescreen/cropping settings for hand-held devices.

Anyway, just an idea and keep up the great work! It's great to see Handbrake is back in development.

S

[OSMacintosh]

OMG I love this idea... can anyone actually do that??? It might be a lot of work but it would be nice I know MPEG Streamclip has this option!!

[jbrjake]

This request would effectively turn HB into a video player instead of a video encoder; I doubt that this would ever happen. As it is, HB only dumps decoded frames; building a video preview system would require a lot of work especially because you seem to want audio playback as well (can't see how it'd be useful for concerts without it).

[dhjdhj]

I just downloaded Handbrake and after playing with it for a few minutes, it became clear to me that the program, great as it is, really needs a mechanism to help the person understand WHICH movie or episode is being selected. When there are multiple versions of a movie (wide screen, standard screen, directors cut, etc), it's hit and miss as to whether one has picked the right "movie" to encode.

[realityking]

Did you use the 10 preview pictures in the picture settings dialog? They always did the job for me. Another option would be to use VLC and write down the title and chapter(s) you want.

[dhjdhj]

Preview pictures doesn't really help - you still can't really tell from a few stills whether you're looking at the the movie itself, or a director's version, etc.

I did use VLC --- but I shouldn't have to do that.

Did you use the 10 preview pictures in the picture settings dialog? They always did the job for me. Another option would be to use VLC and write down the title and chapter(s) you want.

[mistrrhappy]

In the past, I have used a piece of Windows-only software from Xilisoft called iPod Video Converter. In addition to a queue, it had a small (150x100ish) preview window (without audio) which made locating specific chapters a total breeze. This is very handy if your source is a compilation such as a tv series, (Justice League, Aeon Flux) or 'ahem' - adult content , with dozens of chapters. Handbrake is absolutely fantastic, and I really won't go back to Windows for this one thing- but it sure would be a nice feature to have, wouldn't it?

[Mucx]

It would indeed

(VLC is OpenSource, cross platform so why not utilize that? Plus there will soon be a proper framework when this years Google Summer of Code is completed that you can utilize: http://wiki.videolan.org/SoC_2007_Proje ... _Framework )

[mistrrhappy]

It would indeed

(VLC is OpenSource, cross platform so why not utilize that? Plus there will soon be a proper framework when this years Google Summer of Code is completed that you can utilize: http://wiki.videolan.org/SoC_2007_Proje ... _Framework )

I will use VLC- I just like the Handbrake experience a great deal, and I know if the dev team were to implement preview- it would be in a very useable and innovative fashion. They seem to "get" their target users, and design the interfaces accordingly. It's refreshing...

[Mucx]

It would indeed

(VLC is OpenSource, cross platform so why not utilize that? Plus there will soon be a proper framework when this years Google Summer of Code is completed that you can utilize: http://wiki.videolan.org/SoC_2007_Proje ... _Framework )

I will use VLC- I just like the Handbrake experience a great deal, and I know if the dev team were to implement preview- it would be in a very useable and innovative fashion. They seem to "get" their target users, and design the interfaces accordingly. It's refreshing...

Don't think you understood what I am saying. I'm not saying lookup your video in VLC and tehn come back to HandBrake. I am saying that VLC is OpeSource so the developers here could utilize the playback code already in place....essentially making it part of HandBrake and providing the 'Preview' playback. The Google summer of code project linked above is aiming to aid applications like HandBrake to do exactly that.

[cvk_b]

Preview pictures doesn't really help - you still can't really tell from a few stills whether you're looking at the the movie itself, or a director's version, etc.

I did use VLC --- but I shouldn't have to do that.

What? You shouldn't have to be familiar with the material you are encoding? That's absurd.

Before ANYBODY encodes a movie they should have:

1. Already watched the whole thing (any/all versions)*
2. Opened up all the menus and explored the chapter count.
3. Determined the audio and subtitle tracks they are interested in archiving.
4. Done their best to determine if the material is interlaced.
5. Done their best to determine the framerate.
6. Determined the proper aspect ratios.
* Why? So you can see the amount of motion/grain etc., in the film. Maybe there are a few scenes in a foreign language.

Anybody who sticks a dvd in their computer as soon as they acquire it and expects HB to magically 'make everything perfect' is an idiot.

Rant not specifically toward you dhjdhj.

[Mucx]

While agree in essence with what you are saying 'cvk_b' I do have to point out that knowing how to navigate and watch the content from the DVD menu is one thing BUT, in HandBrake how do you identify properly which one is which as it lists all these as different Titles? For example...

I have watched all the stuff and 'making of' for Star Wars but I'll be buggered if I know which title is which!...and that includes looking at the small preview pictures under the Picture Settings section. This is because a lot of the titles are similar, with various people talking on all the titles and sitting in front of the same background...hard to differentiate between them.

Or lets say a DVD with lots of different audio commentaries. (Lord Of The Rings has a lot). Sure I can listen to Peter Jackson talking about it, or switch to the production crew talking about it with ease via the DVD but again...it is a bit of work to narrow down what I want.

I know VLC can give you the answer(s), I know I could rip a quick 20 second rip and test it, but let's not forget that HandBrake is a tool to 'aid' you in backing up or compressing your DVD's. We aren't looking for magic, just something to help us along in our choices to ultimately save us time.

[cvk_b]

While agree in essence with what you are saying 'cvk_b' I do have to point out that knowing how to navigate and watch the content from the DVD menu is one thing BUT, in HandBrake how do you identify properly which one is which as it lists all these as different Titles? For example...

I have watched all the stuff and 'making of' for Star Wars but I'll be buggered if I know which title is which!...and that includes looking at the small preview pictures under the Picture Settings section. This is because a lot of the titles are similar, with various people talking on all the titles and sitting in front of the same background...hard to differentiate between them.

Or lets say a DVD with lots of different audio commentaries. (Lord Of The Rings has a lot). Sure I can listen to Peter Jackson talking about it, or switch to the production crew talking about it with ease via the DVD but again...it is a bit of work to narrow down what I want.

I know VLC can give you the answer(s), I know I could rip a quick 20 second rip and test it, but let's not forget that HandBrake is a tool to 'aid' you in backing up or compressing your DVD's. We aren't looking for magic, just something to help us along in our choices to ultimately save us time.

I use apple-dvd-player/window/navigator to monitor the titles and the subtitle button (expanded from the controller) to find the languages. I am sure there are similar options for xp/vista.