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Narayan Silva edited this page Nov 12, 2025 · 3 revisions

Big Video Converter

bvc

A modern, powerful video conversion tool for Linux

Features • Installation • How to Use • License

Overview

Big Video Converter is a modern graphical frontend designed for seamless video conversion from MKV to MP4 format, developed by the BigLinux team. Built with Python and GTK4, this application harnesses the power of FFmpeg as its conversion engine, offering users an intuitive interface combined with professional-grade encoding capabilities.

Whether you need to convert a single video file with precise control over encoding parameters, or batch process an entire directory of videos, Big Video Converter provides the tools you need with an elegant, user-friendly design.

Features

🎨 Modern Interface

  • GTK4 & libadwaita - Beautiful, responsive interface that follows modern design principles
  • Cross-desktop compatibility - Works seamlessly on GNOME, XFCE, Cinnamon, and KDE
  • Wayland & X11 support - Compatible with both display servers

🎬 Conversion Capabilities

  • Single file conversion - Convert individual videos with extensive customization options
  • Batch conversion - Process multiple MKV files in a directory simultaneously
  • Real-time progress monitoring - Track conversion progress with accurate time remaining estimates
  • Automatic file management - Optional deletion of original MKV files after successful conversion

⚡ GPU Acceleration

Support for hardware acceleration across multiple vendors:

  • NVIDIA - NVENC encoding
  • AMD - VA-API/VAAPI acceleration
  • Intel - Quick Sync Video
  • Software encoding - Fallback option for systems without GPU acceleration

🎞️ Advanced Encoding Options

Video Codecs

  • H.264 (AVC) - Widely compatible, excellent quality-to-size ratio
  • H.265 (HEVC) - Superior compression, up to 50% smaller files than H.264
  • AV1 - Next-generation codec with best-in-class compression
  • VP9 - Open-source alternative with strong compression

Quality & Compression

  • Video quality presets - From very low to very high
  • Compression presets - ultrafast, veryfast, faster, medium, slow, veryslow
  • Custom resolution - Scale videos to specific dimensions
  • Bitrate control - Fine-tune output file size

Audio Handling

  • Audio codec options - Copy original or re-encode
  • Custom bitrate - Control audio quality and file size
  • Channel configuration - Stereo, 5.1, 7.1, and more

Subtitle Management

  • Extract to SRT - Save subtitles as separate files
  • Embed in container - Keep subtitles within the MP4 file
  • Ignore subtitles - Convert video without subtitle tracks

📊 Batch Processing Features

  • Simultaneous processing - Convert multiple files in parallel
  • Minimum file size filter - Skip files below a specified size
  • Log file generation - Detailed logs for batch operations
  • Progress tracking - Monitor all conversions in real-time

Installation

Arch Linux / BigLinux / Manjaro

Big Video Converter is available in the BigLinux repositories:

sudo pacman -S big-video-converter

From Source

  1. Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/biglinux/big-video-converter.git
cd big-video-converter
  1. Ensure dependencies are installed:
sudo pacman -S python gtk4 ffmpeg python-gobject
  1. Run the application:
python big-video-converter.py

How to Use

For detailed usage instructions, including step-by-step guides for single file and batch conversions, advanced settings, tips & best practices, and troubleshooting, please see the How to Use page.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Made with ❤️ by the BigLinux Team

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