,hvec - A QSV HEVC Transcoder

A simple yet powerful command-line wrapper for FFmpeg to simplify transcoding video files to the modern HEVC (H.265) codec, using Intel's Quick Sync Video (QSV) for fast, hardware-accelerated performance. And yes, the name of the script (,hvec) is from a typo of HVEC (and the comma is intentional, as I use it for all of my scripts)

This script is designed for media library management, allowing for easy, high-quality conversions to save space while maintaining visual fidelity.

Features

• Hardware Acceleration: Leverages Intel QSV for both decoding and encoding.
• Automatic Filename Cleaning: Removes parentheses and replaces spaces with periods for cleaner, command-line friendly output names.
• Batch Processing: Transcode entire directories of video files with a single command, automatically adding a .CONV suffix to new files.
• Recursive Mode: Can scan and process video files in subdirectories.
• Smart Transcoding: Intelligently skips files that are already in the target HEVC format.
• Destructive Mode: Optional flag (--delete) to automatically delete the source file upon a successful conversion.
• Quality & Speed Control: Flags to adjust video quality (--quality) and encoding speed/compression (--preset).
• Advanced Audio Control: Copy audio streams losslessly (default) or re-encode them.
• Subtitle Embedding: Embed external SRT subtitle files during transcoding or remuxing.
• Dry Run Mode: Preview the ffmpeg command that will be executed without running it.
• Remuxing: A lossless mode to quickly copy streams into a new MKV container without re-encoding.
• HEVC Override: A flag (--hvec) to force an HEVC transcode, even when other modes like --remux are specified.

Requirements

• Python 3
• FFmpeg: Must be installed and available in your system's PATH. A version compiled with QSV support is required.
• Intel CPU with Quick Sync Video (QSV): The host machine must have compatible hardware.

Installation

1. Clone the repository or download the script.
2. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x ,hvec

3. (Optional but Recommended) Place the script in your PATH for easy access from any directory, for example:

   # This path may vary depending on your system
   sudo ln -s /path/to/your/script/,hvec /usr/local/bin/,hvec

Usage

usage: blah [-h] -i INPUT [-o OUTPUT] [-D] [--out-dir OUT_DIR] [-R] [-s SUBS] [-H] [-Q QUALITY] [-p {veryfast,faster,fast,medium,slow,slower,veryslow}] [--acodec ACODEC] [--abitrate ABITRATE] [--skip-hevc] [--dry-run] [-r] [-q] [--less-noise] [-v]

A tool to transcode or remux video files using Intel QSV.

options: -h, --help show this help message and exit -i, --input INPUT Input video file or directory. -o, --output OUTPUT Output MKV file. If specified, name sanitization is skipped. -D, --delete Delete the original input file after a successful transcode. --out-dir OUT_DIR Output directory for batch processing. Preserves source folder structure. -R, --recursive Process files in subdirectories when -i is a directory. -s, --subs SUBS (Optional) External subtitle file to embed (single file mode only). -H, --hvec Force output to be HEVC/H.265. Overrides --remux. -Q, --quality QUALITY Set QSV quality for video (1-51, lower is better). Default: 24. -p, --preset {veryfast,faster,fast,medium,slow,slower,veryslow} Set QSV encoding preset. Slower presets offer better compression. Default: medium. --acodec ACODEC Re-encode audio to a specific codec (e.g., aac, ac3). Default: copy. --abitrate ABITRATE Set audio bitrate when re-encoding (e.g., 192k, 384k). --skip-hevc In batch mode, skip transcoding files that are already H.265/HEVC. --dry-run Print the FFmpeg commands without executing them. -r, --remux Perform a lossless remux instead of transcoding. -q, --quiet Suppress most FFmpeg output. Overrides --less-noise. --less-noise Show progress updates only every 30 seconds. -v, --version Show the version history and exit.

Examples

# Transcode a single file with default settings and auto-name-cleaning
```bash
# "My Movie (2025).mp4" -> "My.Movie.2025.mkv"
  ,hvec -i "My Movie (2025).mp4"

```bash
# Transcode a file and delete the original upon success
  ,hvec -i "My Movie.mp4" -D

# Transcode all videos in a folder and delete the originals
  ,hvec -i /path/to/videos/ -D