docker-handbrake

This is a container for running handbrake-cli on non-Ubuntu systems, in order to slim down BluRay and DVD rips for iOS devices or convert MPEG transport streams to HEVC (H.265) or plain "old" H.264.

Usage

docker run -it \
  -e PUID=1001 \
  -e PGID=1001 \
  -e EXTENSION=ts \
  -e AUDIO_CODEC=AC3 \
  -v "$PWD:/data" \
  --cpuset-cpus 8-15 \
  ghcr.io/rcarmo/docker-handbrake

This will go over all *.ts files in the current working directory and transcode them to an .mp4 envelope with 5.1 audio, preserving subtitles (where applicable) and using only the specified CPU cores. It will skip any file that has a companion with a .lock extension, (optionally) copy the original file to a scratch folder for working in, and clean up the original files and .log files after it's done.

The default source EXTENSION is now mkv by popular demand, and it also tries to encode HDR files with a 10-bit encoder when using H.265.

See transcode.sh for details.

crontab and batch setup

When doing multiple DVD encodings, it can be useful to have your DVD ripper set to pack the original streams into .mkv format for easier handling and the container invoked via this script in crontab, which relies on atq/batch and CPU pinning to make sure your server doesn't get overwhelmed:

#!/bin/bash

# This file schedules an automated transcoding task using atq, which only executes when loadaverage is low

cd /mnt/incoming

# batch uses (and restores) $PWD, so all we need to do is echo this into it

echo "docker run -i -e PUID=1001 -e PGID=1001 --device /dev/dri --cpuset-cpus 8-15 -e AUDIO_CODEC=EAC3 -v "$PWD:/data" ghcr.io/rcarmo/docker-handbrake" | batch

# The container will then be run asyncrhonously and transcode every single *.mkv file in that folder into HEVC MP4

flocking

Another alternative if you don't want to rely on atq correctly estimating system load average is to use flock in cron like so:

0 1 * * * /usr/bin/flock -n /tmp/lockfile <your command>

This implicitly creates a queue, in that flock does not timeout or release the lock by default (check man flock for ways to soft fail)