Question How To Convert MKV to Mobile (via Batch)

I have a media folder with about 500-600 movies, all in .mkv format. This is also the folder I point my Plex Server to when streaming to my smart TVs.

I need a program I can point to this folder, set a preset that will compress them down to about a 1 gig each, then let it run as a batch to convert them all.

I'd like to shrink my collection down to load them onto a mini-SD card that I can take on the road (and easily pop into a cell phone or tablet). What app can do this?

 

As a first cut, why not use something like J-ZIP, 7-ZIP, Win RAR, etc. Of course, whichever you use needs to be installed on the receiving device.

 

I've been doing something similar using Handbrake which will do batch encoding. I converted my MKV to MP4. The 8.54 GB MKV folder came in at 2.21 GB. You will have to adjust the settings but there really is only three that you need to do. Set format to MP4, then click the video tab, using the slide bar set constant quality to 32. You can choose to skip the next step if you would like, but go to audio and set the bitrate from 160 to 128.

https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php

Please note, using a zip file program won't do what you want it to do.

 

Are you saying a ZIP program won't work at all or are you saying the compression won't be enough?

 

I'm saying it's the wrong kind of compression. He's looking to reduce file size into a more portable format that will allow him to transport and play them while traveling on the road, and Mp4 is the ideal container for that purpose. Also since he's looking to store them on a microSD card I'm thinking he's referring to a cell phone as his transport device. With Handbrake he can compress a 1 hour 1.2 GB video to less than a quarter of its original size with decent quality.

 

Trouble is, he has 600 videos. To do a batch conversion of all those files is going to take an eternity unless he's got the latest and greatest GPU, CPU with lots of RAM. Even then, it's going to take a long time.

 

No one does a batch conversion across multiple series, or even across a complete series at once, but a season at a time is easily doable. I can do some entire seasons in under an hour. Also, I doubt that he's intending to put his entire collection on a single SDcard because it's impossible. Trying to zip them would be an exercise in futility. To the point, he has only a single practical option, meaning there are no others, and that's to reencode his collection. If he wants to store them all he will need multiple SD cards, or he can do what I've done, and that's to store his files on potable terabyte or larger Solid State drives.

 

It's not a big as issue as you believe.Once he starts it'll soon be over, my estimation on a dual core with 4gb ram is 1 month if pc left running 24/7. CPU will do the recoding not gpu. I think 40 mins per vid on average is what it took me to resize more than a 1000 of movies & tv shows combined from 8gb-20gb down to under 4gb. for op 6 weeks max