What does HackerNews think of video_transcoding?
Tools to transcode, inspect and convert videos.
It uses HandBrake, FFmpeg, MKVToolNix, and MP4v2 with some custom tuned settings and has really good results from my experience.
Plex has definitely started to try and commercialize itself more and offer other stuff, when all I want is access to my own media. So I may look into Jellyfin more soon.
As for batch transcode jobs, I had a system that I was able to set up as essentially a black box. Drop a rip into a folder and out the other side comes a smaller one at a reasonable quality. With forced subs burned right into the actual video. Mostly based on https://github.com/donmelton/video_transcoding
When I cut the cord I started down the path of figuring out how to do all the optimizations myself, but quickly realized just how deep and technical that was. I stumbled upon Don Melton's library and have used it as a key piece of my batch processing pipeline ever since.
Definitely check it out if you are looking to convert arbitrary video files to be played back later on arbitrary devices:
For something in the middle - offering both convenience and scriptability - I recommend video_transcoding[1] (uses handbrake-cli and ffmpeg under the covers). It's a really handy set of command-line tools that eliminate a lot of the guesswork and frustration.
A great example for me is Don Melton, formerly of Safari and WebKit, who tweets routinely about his work on video transcoding [1]. I follow him on Twitter (@donmelton) and he gives me hope for any future retirement I might be lucky enough to have.