====== Audio ======

===== flac to mp3 =====

Conversion of **flac** files to **mp3** files in linux can be done with this shell script I found here online:  [[http://lglinux.blogspot.com/2007/09/convert-flac-to-mp3.html]]

Example Usage:
<code>
cd /to/where/you/have/flac/files
nice -n 19 flac2mp3.sh /tmp/mp3 standard
</code>

**Requires:**  lame, flac, id3v2

<code bash>
flac2mp3.sh:

#!/bin/bash

DESTDIR=$1
PRESET=$2

if test "x$PRESET" = "x"; then
PRESET=standard
fi

if test "x$DESTDIR" = "x"; then
DESTDIR=.
else
mkdir -p "$DESTDIR"
fi

echo
echo "Preset=$PRESET Destination=$DESTDIR Source=`pwd`"
echo

for a in *.flac
do
OUTF=`echo "$a" | sed s/\.flac/.mp3/g`

echo
echo "Source=`pwd`/$a Destination=$DESTDIR/$OUTF"
echo

ARTIST=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=ARTIST | sed s/.*=//g`
TITLE=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=TITLE | sed s/.*=//g`
ALBUM=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=ALBUM | sed s/.*=//g`
GENRE=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=GENRE | sed s/.*=//g`
TRACKNUMBER=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=TRACKNUMBER | sed s/.*=//g`
YEAR=`metaflac "$a" --show-tag=DATE | sed s/.*=//g | cut -b -4`

echo
echo "Launching: flac -c -d $a | lame --preset $PRESET - $DESTDIR/$OUTF"
echo

flac -c -d "$a" | lame --preset $PRESET - "$DESTDIR/$OUTF"

echo
echo "Setting id3 ($TITLE, $TRACKNUMBER, $ARTIST, $ALBUM, $GENRE, $YEAR)"
echo

if test "x$TITLE" != "x"; then
id3v2 -t "$TITLE" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF" > /dev/null
fi

if test "x$TRACKNUMBER" != "x"; then
id3v2 -T "$TRACKNUMBER" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF" > /dev/null
fi

if test "x$ARTIST" != "x"; then
id3v2 -a "$ARTIST" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF" > /dev/null
fi

if test "x$ALBUM" != "x"; then
id3v2 -A "$ALBUM" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF" > /dev/null
fi

if test "x$GENRE" != "x"; then
id3v2 -g "$GENRE" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF"
fi

if test "x$YEAR" != "x"; then
id3v2 -y "$YEAR" "$DESTDIR/$OUTF"
fi
done
</code>


====== Video ======

===== h264 =====

h264 seems to be the new kid on the block.  Here is a GUI for a command line encoder you're probably going to end up using (-8

[[http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MeGUI]]

Guide to pull your DVD to mkv/h264 file:

[[http://kitty.110mb.com/dvd2avc/dvd2avc.html]]

Popcorn Hour, they recommend a bunch of software.  Here is the forum link, and the one at the bottom will do DVD->mkv directly:

  * [[http://www.networkedmediatank.com/viewtopic.php?t=3178]]
  
AutoMKV - Recommended for BluRay/HD-DVD/DVD -> MKV conversions

  * [[http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134478|(.95c - Stable)]]
  * [[http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=136007| (.96 BETA - has 'PCH' profile)]]
 
===== Mythtv to AVI =====

Well, I've not had too much success with Mythtv's built in transcoding, probably due to a bad setup on my part.  I have found that if I use the "Super" encoder on the raw .MPG file recordings, it does a very nice job of crunching down (especially cartoons for the kids) the files from their original HD size to something manageable for archive.

  - First thing to do is make symbolic links to the recordings so I can copy them all properly named in human readable format.  I am using these two things for that:
    - [[http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Mythname.pl|Mythname.pl]] (which I put in **~/bin/mythname.pl**) to give us a command line program that can interogate the data base to find the name of the recording.
    - This little bash script that will make symbolic links right where you are <code bash>
#!/bin/bash
for filename in /var/lib/mythtv/recordings/*.mpg
do
  # windows did not like the colons in the name, so changing to underscores and periods
  fname=`mythname.pl --rep=. --subtitle $filename | tr : _ | tr ';.' .`.mpg
  echo "Linking $filename to $fname"
  ln -s $filename $fname
done
exit 0
</code>
  - Download everything to your PC with "Super" on it
  - Use this ({{:computers:media:encoding:super_transcodearthursettings.png?64|}}) configuration for transcoding 
  - Dump all the files into SUPER and wait a very long time!

===== Mythtv to DVD =====

Looks like [[http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/|avidemux2]] might be the program you want to try.

===== nsv =====

Russ emailed me a set of instructions on how to encode video for the mst3k stream, so I posted it:  [[computers:media:encoding:nsv:mst3k128kstream:|MST3k encoding for 128k stream]]