Radar check
What we found when we opened it. Every bar is one fact, with its date.
Last code pushed 30 Aug 2026, 59 days before this check.
Latest release 2025.01.28 on 28 Jan 2025.
Public since May 2015, a little over 11 years.
2,520 stars and 167 forks.
1 commits and 3 new issues in the last 90 days.
12 contributors. No pull requests merged in 90 days; changes go in directly.
No security policy file says how to report a problem. No published security advisories.
How the bars are scored
- Alive. Days since the last code push: a week or less 100, a month 90, three months 70, six months 50, a year 30, eighteen months 15, older 0.
- Releases. Age of the latest GitHub release, on a similar scale; no bar when the project publishes no releases.
- Maturity. Age of the project: eight years 100, five 90, three 70, two 55, one 40, six months 25, younger 10.
- Adoption. Stars on a log scale: 100,000 stars is 100, 10,000 is 80, 1,000 is 60, 100 is 40.
- Activity. Commits in the last 90 days: 300 or more 100, 100 85, 30 65, 10 45, any 25.
- Community. People who have contributed: 100 or more 100, 30 80, 10 60, 5 40, 2 25, one 10.
- Security. A published security policy 80, none 40; published advisories are listed, not scored.
Checked by Repo Radar on 28 Oct 2026 from the repository on GitHub.
In simple English
These command-line scripts help you shrink large video files. They take big movie rips and turn them into smaller files. You save disk space without losing much picture quality. You need to install Ruby and other helper programs first. The tools are free to use and modify.
What it is
A collection of Ruby scripts that act as intelligent wrappers around HandBrakeCLI and FFmpeg. They automate complex video encoding settings for common tasks like shrinking Blu-ray rips or detecting black borders.
What it is good for
Anyone who wants to compress a large collection of movie files for easier storage and playback without manually typing dozens of complex video encoder arguments.
Summary (Key Points)from the README
Key features
- Default output: Creates an 8-bit H.264 Matroska file with multichannel AAC audio in the current directory.
- Automatic scaling and color: Scales 4K inputs to 1080p and converts HDR to SDR.
- Two-pass constant bitrate: Uses two-pass x264 ratecontrol, which the README calls slower but higher quality.
- Video bitrates: 5000 Kbps for 1080p, 2500 Kbps for 720p and 1250 Kbps for 480p.
- Audio bitrates: 384 Kbps for surround, 128 Kbps for stereo and 80 Kbps for mono.
- Four encoder modes: `hevc` (x265_10bit), `nvenc-hevc`, `av1` (svt_av1_10bit) and `nvenc-av1` for 4K HDR content.
- Subtitle handling: Burns forced subtitles into the video or keeps them as a separate text track, depending on format.
- Pass-through options: The `--extra` (`-x`) option forwards arguments to HandBrakeCLI, which has over 100 options compared with fewer than 20 in this tool.
- Companion tools: `detect-crop.rb` prints TOP:BOTTOM:LEFT:RIGHT crop values, and `convert-video.rb` remuxes MKV to MP4 without transcoding.
Ways to install
| Platform or method | What it needs | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Git clone or GitHub download (Windows, Linux, macOS) | Git, or a browser to download the repository; Ruby; HandBrakeCLI, ffprobe and ffmpeg | Manual: scripts must be made executable on Linux and macOS and placed on the PATH |
| Windows, manual binaries | HandBrakeCLI, ffprobe and ffmpeg installed by hand | Manual setup, following the linked guide |
| Windows, Windows Subsystem for Linux | A WSL installation with the Linux steps | Follows the linked guide |
| macOS, Homebrew | Homebrew, plus `handbrake` and `ffmpeg` formulas | Optional package manager; the README says these install easily |
Important
- Old RubyGems version: Earlier releases were packaged as a gem, and the README advises uninstalling that version with `gem uninstall video_transcoding`.
- Incompatible rewrite: The early 2025 redesign changed behavior and APIs, and some old conveniences were removed.
- Required runtime and tools: Ruby, HandBrakeCLI, ffprobe and ffmpeg must all be installed separately.
- Manual updates: The scripts must be installed and updated by hand.
- HEVC speed: The `hevc` mode is described as "reeeeeally slow."
- NVENC HDR limit: The `nvenc-hevc` and `nvenc-av1` encoders produce only HDR10-compatible output.
- AV1 playback: Most devices cannot yet play AV1, and the README calls the encoder a work in progress.
- Disabling multi-pass: The README warns that skipping two-pass encoding with x264 is "living dangerously."
- Apple Silicon: A Mac encoder mode is under consideration but delayed until the author has Apple Silicon hardware.
Written by an AI model from the project’s README; not part of the review, and it can be wrong.
- Simplifies complex video encoding commands into single shortcuts.
- Supports modern formats like HEVC and AV1 alongside standard H.264.
- Allows direct passing of extra arguments to the underlying tools.
- Requires manual installation of Ruby, FFmpeg, and HandBrakeCLI.
- Command-line interface has no graphical menus for beginners.
- Advanced encoding modes like HEVC and AV1 take a very long time to process.
manual HandBrakeCLI command-line flags
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git clone https://github.com/lisamelton/video_transcoding.git cd video_transcoding chmod +x *.rb