Using the AVF Batch Exporter.
The AVF Batch Exporter
The AVF Batch Exporter is a simple, free / open source transcoding tool for macOS that can be used to convert multiple files to the specified output codec settings in a single export session.
Downloading AVF Batch Exporter
AVF Batch Exporter releases page
This app can also be found on the VDMX installer dmg in the Extras folder.
Basic workflow
The interface for the AVF Batch Exporter is arranged into three settings panels:
- Files To Convert: Drag movie files to this area from the Finder or click the Import button to select media to be transcoded.
- Output Format: Click the ‘Settings’ button to open the panel for adjusting the audio and video codec setting options. For audio and video you can specify whether the media should be transcoded or left unchanged.
- File Renaming and Destination Folder: Optional settings for removing, appending or prefixing characters to the file name string and adjusting the output folder.
The final fourth column shows a preview of the file names and the current status of each new movie file in the output directory.
Supported formats
Video codecs
The AVF Batch Exporter can read and write to and from the following video formats:
| Codec | Notes |
|---|---|
| h.264 | End encoding to h.264 is supported and hardware accelerated when possible. |
| ProRes | Encoding to ProRes 422 (no alpha) and 4444 (alpha). Requires additional install of Apple Pro Video Formats. |
| HAP | All variations of the HAP codecs are supported for playback and encoding. |
| PhotoJPEG | A commonly used legacy codec still supported. |
- When using the HAP codecs the following sub options may appear depending on the format.
- Quality: When available adjusts the overall tradeoff between image quality and encoding speed.
- Chunked Encoding/Decoding: For the HAP codecs a chunking size can be set as an optimization for specific hardware. The default is 1 and should never exceed the number of CPU cores in the playback system.
- When using the h.264 codec the following sub-options are available:
- Profile: Sets the h.264 profile used during the encoding process.
- Key Frames: The frequency at which key-frames are stored in the video file.
- Data Rate: Automatic, or limit to a fixed amount in kbps.
- Multi-Pass Encoding: Enable multi-pass encoding.
- When using the PhotoJPEG codec the following sub option is available:
- Quality: When available adjusts the overall tradeoff between image quality and encoding speed.
Audio codecs
The AVF Batch Exporter can read and write to and from the following video formats:
| Codec | Notes |
|---|---|
| Linear PCM | Standard uncompressed audio format. |
| AAC | Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is a proprietary audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at the same bit rate. |
| Apple Lossless | Apple Lossless, also known as Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) is an audio coding format, and its reference audio codec implementation, developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. |
- When using the Linear PCM codec the following sub options are available:
- Sample Size (bits): Set the sample size to 8 / 16/ 24 or 32 bits.
- Little Endian: Use little endian format.
- Floating point: When the sample size is 32-bit the audio can be stored as floating point instead of integer values.
- When using the AAC codec the following sub options are available:
- Bitrate Strategy: Choose between Constant / Long-term Average / Variable Constrained and Variable Bitrate modes.
- Target Bitrate: Set the target bitrate ranging from 16 to 320 kbps
- When using the Apple Lossless codec the following sub options are available:
- Bit depth hint: Choose between 16 / 20 / 24 or 32 bits.