Question:
I would like to make my own custom profile for the Video Converter in My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011, how can I do that?
Answer:
The Video Converter uses HandBrake (http://handbrake.fr/) for the video conversion, and the profiles used in the Video Converter consists of a series of command line parameters for HandBrake (see parameter options here), depending on user settings. Because the user can choose between different options for audio tracks, subtitles and subtitle embed method, there are different command lines for different configurations in the profile.
On the Windows Home Server, profiles can be added to the following directory:
"C:\Program Files\Binnerup Consult\My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011\Transcoder Profiles"
You can use existing profiles for reference, but we stronly recommend not to edit existing profiles, but instead create a new file with your custom profile - otherwise, your profile will be overwritten on updates of the My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 package.
The profiles are stored in an XML document, which can be edited in notepad or similar editor.
Below is an example of a profile (the iPhone 4 profile):
---------------------------------------------------
<root>
<profileName>MP4 - iPhone 4</profileName>
<profiles>
<profile type="MainFeature">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a 1 -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m</profile>
<profile type="MainFeatureAudioSpecific">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a {0} -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m</profile>
<profile type="MainFeatureAudioSpecificWithSubtitles">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a {0} -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m -s {1}</profile>
<profile type="MainFeatureWithSubtitles">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a 1 -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m -s {0}</profile>
<profile type="MainFeatureAudioSpecificWithSubtitlesBurn">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a {0} -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m -s {1} --subtitle-burn</profile>
<profile type="MainFeatureWithSubtitlesBurn">--main-feature -e x264 -q 20.0 -r 29.97 --pfr -a 1 -E faac -B 160 -6 dpl2 -R Auto -D 0.0 -f mp4 -4 -X 960 --loose-anamorphic -m -s {0} --subtitle-burn</profile>
</profiles>
<filename>{0} - iPhone4.mp4</filename><filenameSingleProfile>{0}.mp4</filenameSingleProfile>
<descriptions>
<locale1033>This profile is optimized for iPhone 4, and down-scales Blu-ray content to a width of 960 pixels while DVD content is stored in their existing 720 pixel width. Audio is stored in a 2 channel AAC/MP4 encoded Dolby Pro Logic version.</locale1033>
</descriptions>
</root>
---------------------------------------------------
The template contains the following:
<root>
<profileName></profileName>
This is the name of the profile as you see it in the settings console.<profiles>
The profiles section contains a number of different profiles for different settings.<profile type="MainFeature"></profile>
The profile contains the handbrake parameters specific for the profile type. See below for type options.</profiles>
<filename>{0} - iPhone4.mp4</filename>
The filename sets the name of the file stored when this profile is used. The filename must include {0}, to be replaced with the name of the converted movie. Notice that if the converted files from different profiles are outputted in the same folder, they will overwrite each other if the filename tags for the profiles are the same. <filenameSingleProfile>{0}.mp4</filenameSingleProfile> This filename is used if only one target video profile is selected in the converter settings, or if the profiles uses different store locations. The idea is that the profile name in the filenaming can be avoided. If this tag is omitted, the value in the <filename> tag will be used.
<descriptions> The descriptions are currently unused, but will be used to give a detailed information about the profile in the settings console.
<locale1033></locale1033> The description is placed in this "locale" node, with a prefix of the language code, such as "locale1033" for English, "locale1036" for French and similar. The "locale1033" is default and must be available, however it can be left empty. If only "locale1033" exists, other languages will default to this description.
</descriptions>
</root>
The profile types that is required to be in the document are:
MainFeature - Default for when no specifics for audio and subtitles have been set by the user.
MainFeatureAudioSpecific - Used when the user have selected audio preferences and the video converter based on that have selected a specific audio track. This profile must contain the "-a {0}" string for the audio parameter, where {0} will be replaced with the audio track selected by the video converter based on the user preferences.
MainFeatureAudioSpecificWithSubtitles - Used when both audio and subtitle preferences have been set. This profile must specify both the "-a {0}" and the "-s {1}" strings for audio and subtitle parameters, where {0} will be replaced with the audio track selected by the video converter, and {1} will be replaced with the subtitle track selected by the video converter based on the user preferences.
MainFeatureWithSubtitles - Used when only subtitle preferences have been set. This profile must contain the "-s {0}" string for the subtitle parameter, where {0} will be replaced with the subtitle track selected by the video converter based on the user preferences.
MainFeatureAudioSpecificWithSubtitlesBurn - Used when both audio and subtitle preferences have been set, and the user have requested for subtitles to be burned into the picture. This profile must specify both the "-a {0}" and the "-s {1}" strings for audio and subtitle parameters, and the string "--subtitle-burn" to set subtitle burn in, where {0} will be replaced with the audio track selected by the video converter, and {1} will be replaced with the subtitle track selected by the video converter based on the user preferences.
MainFeatureWithSubtitlesBurn - Used when only subtitle preferences have been set, and the user have requested for subtitles to be burned into the picture. This profile must contain the "-s {0}" string for the subtitle parameter, and the string "--subtitle-burn" to set subtitle burn in, where {0} will be replaced with the subtitle track selected by the video converter based on the user preferences.
Notice that all profile types are named "MainFeature", and have the "--main-feature" set as the first parameter. This is required, and must be present in all custom profiles as well - the "--main-feature" setting will be replaced by a specific episode title when converting TV Series DVD's.
You are much welcomed to post your custom profiles for others to use on our forums. Please however only post custom profiles where you have set and configured all profile types as they should be, even if you do not yourself use options such as subtitles or burn in options - otherwise these profiles will leave the configuration in My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 invalid.