#!/usr/bin/env python3 """Batch-compress every video in a folder to HEVC using the "1080P HEVC NVENC" HandBrake preset (hevc_nvenc_1080p.json, must sit next to this script). Drop videos into the folder, run the script, collect the *_hevc.mp4 outputs: python compress_hevc.py # uses E:\\Media\\Compress-Temp python compress_hevc.py D:\\some\\folder # any other folder python compress_hevc.py --target-gb 3.0 # change target size (default 2.5) python compress_hevc.py --dry-run # show what would run, encode nothing For each file the script probes the duration with ffprobe and derives the average video bitrate needed to land near the target size, so a 1-hour clip and a 5-hour movie both come out roughly the same size. Files that are already at/below the target size are skipped, as are *_hevc.mp4 outputs and files whose output already exists. Encodes run sequentially (NVENC has a single hardware encoder, so parallelism buys nothing). """ import argparse import shutil import subprocess import sys from pathlib import Path SCRIPT_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent PRESET_FILE = SCRIPT_DIR / "hevc_nvenc_1080p.json" PRESET_NAME = "1080P HEVC NVENC" DEFAULT_FOLDER = r"E:\Media\Compress-Temp" VIDEO_EXTS = {".mp4", ".mkv", ".avi", ".mov", ".m4v", ".ts", ".wmv"} OUTPUT_SUFFIX = "_hevc" AUDIO_KBPS = 160 # audio bitrate set by the preset OVERSHOOT = 1.09 # NVENC delivers ~9% above the requested avg bitrate MIN_VIDEO_KBPS = 800 # below this, 1080p HEVC falls apart visibly MAX_VIDEO_KBPS = 8000 # no point going higher for re-compression def find_tool(name, fallback): path = shutil.which(name) if path: return path if Path(fallback).exists(): return fallback sys.exit(f"error: '{name}' not found on PATH or at {fallback}") def probe_duration(ffprobe, path): out = subprocess.run( [ffprobe, "-v", "error", "-show_entries", "format=duration", "-of", "default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1", str(path)], capture_output=True, text=True, ) if out.returncode != 0: raise RuntimeError(f"ffprobe failed for {path}: {out.stderr.strip()}") return float(out.stdout.strip()) def calc_video_bitrate(duration_s, target_bytes): """Requested (-b) video kbps to land near target_bytes, given NVENC overshoot.""" total_kbps = target_bytes * 8 / 1000 / duration_s video_kbps = (total_kbps - AUDIO_KBPS) / OVERSHOOT return int(round(max(MIN_VIDEO_KBPS, min(MAX_VIDEO_KBPS, video_kbps)))) def fmt_gib(nbytes): return f"{nbytes / 1024**3:.2f} GiB" def main(): parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__.splitlines()[0]) parser.add_argument("folder", nargs="?", default=DEFAULT_FOLDER, help=f"folder to scan (default: {DEFAULT_FOLDER})") parser.add_argument("--target-gb", type=float, default=2.5, help="target size per video in GiB (default: 2.5)") parser.add_argument("--dry-run", action="store_true", help="print the planned encodes without running them") args = parser.parse_args() folder = Path(args.folder) if not folder.is_dir(): sys.exit(f"error: folder does not exist: {folder}") if not PRESET_FILE.is_file(): sys.exit(f"error: preset file not found: {PRESET_FILE}") handbrake = find_tool("HandBrakeCLI", r"C:\Program Files\HandBrake\HandBrakeCLI.exe") ffprobe = find_tool("ffprobe", r"C:\Program Files\ffmpeg\bin\ffprobe.exe") target_bytes = int(args.target_gb * 1024**3) videos = sorted( p for p in folder.iterdir() if p.is_file() and p.suffix.lower() in VIDEO_EXTS and not p.stem.endswith(OUTPUT_SUFFIX) ) if not videos: print(f"no videos found in {folder}") return failures = 0 for src in videos: out = src.with_name(src.stem + OUTPUT_SUFFIX + ".mp4") if out.exists(): print(f"SKIP {src.name} (output already exists)") continue if src.stat().st_size <= target_bytes: print(f"SKIP {src.name} (already {fmt_gib(src.stat().st_size)}, at/below target)") continue try: duration = probe_duration(ffprobe, src) except RuntimeError as e: print(f"SKIP {src.name} ({e})") failures += 1 continue bitrate = calc_video_bitrate(duration, target_bytes) cmd = [ handbrake, "--preset-import-file", str(PRESET_FILE), "-Z", PRESET_NAME, "-b", str(bitrate), "-i", str(src), "-o", str(out), ] print(f"ENCODE {src.name}: {fmt_gib(src.stat().st_size)}, " f"{duration / 3600:.2f} h, -b {bitrate} -> {out.name}") if args.dry_run: print(f" {' '.join(cmd)}") continue result = subprocess.run(cmd) if result.returncode != 0 or not out.exists(): print(f"FAIL {src.name} (HandBrakeCLI exit {result.returncode})") out.unlink(missing_ok=True) failures += 1 continue print(f"DONE {out.name}: {fmt_gib(out.stat().st_size)} " f"(was {fmt_gib(src.stat().st_size)})") sys.exit(1 if failures else 0) if __name__ == "__main__": main()