How to properly convert video snaps for emulationstation?

jell

@akafox Yeah, that happened to me at first too. By size, do you mean dimensions or file size? The X parameter will limit the width of the output file. The -q 20 parameter will decrease the file size at the cost of video quality.

akafox

Ok this is what I used:

HandBrakeCLI -e x264 -B 64 -r 29.97 -w 320 -l 240 -q 20 -i path/"file.mp4" -o path/"file.mp4"

I took the gain out...I'll run them ALL back through and lower them.

I changed the framerate to (NTSC) that's what I have here

The quotes are needed because of spaces in the video snap names
I made a batch file using a spreadsheet program and was able to let it run all night. Yes I was talking about file size not picture size.

The reason I was being picky is because this is what the scraper uses when downloading the videos and then converting them for the pi. Just trying to keep "everything the same"

Thanks for the help..made it SOOO much easier!

jell

@akafox So glad you got it working! I was surprised how much the video snaps added to the experience. It's fun browsing through and easier to pick games you've never played before. Happy tinkering!

akafox

Yeah it does. And it helps a lot when choosing a game..it really surprising.

I am wondering if we can do wheel art in the future. I mean I don't want it to look like Attract Mode or Hyperspin..but I do like the "pop" that wheel art gives the games list.

But the point of ES is that it is supposed to be "lean" so adding that might bog ES down. Even Herb has said that.

jell

@akafox I've heard about the wheel art, but haven't looked too much into it. Actually, the pi was my gateway into emulation, dabbled before, but now am enjoying it very much!

I meant to tell you about your HandBrakeCLI settings. I did the -w and -l settings the first time too, but the issue I ran into was that for my arcade games, it would stretch the vertical videos to 320x240, whereas the -X would make the video 320 at the widest, but if it were a vertical video, it would be less than 320 and maintain the aspect ratio.

To process a folder from the command line I made a "converted" subfolder in the main folder then used the following:

for f in *.mp4;do HandBrakeCLI -e x264 -B 64 -r 25 --gain -20.0 -X 320 -q 20 -i "$f" -o "./converted/$f";done

Enjoy!

HurricaneFan

@akafox Wheelart is available today in ES. It's called Marquee in the gamelist.xml.

Example xml entry:
<marquee>./marquees/gamename.png</marquee>

akafox

@jell Yeah I used the -X switch however it made everything come out 320x288 not 320x240 like the other scraped videos. These videos are not arcade (doing those last because I want to "clean them"). I just find it strange that the scraper will covert down and "without loss" and it uses the HandbrakeCLI just like I am. I looked at a video that the scraper converted and the original (scraped but not converted) compared the picture size frame rate and file size. Standard is one size converted for the pi is one size..using the gui is the same size (mb) but using the cli myself I get either a LARGER or even smaller than what the scrapper spits out. Just strange. Converting picture size and frame rate will of course make it smaller. (I get that and it's good for the tiny sd card on the pi.) But why the even smaller size when I do it.

I'm being picky I'm sure..but it just frustrates me to know it can be done..but not be able to so it myself. I can give you numbers if you want. I also know that the scraper will scrape my local videos which makes building my list MUCH easier!
The ones I am missing (i.e. don't exist) I make myself.

@hurricanefan I saw a video on youtube that demonstrated how his list was wheel art and not just text but I can't seem to find it now. It would depend on the theme I am sure. (and yes I know I can use Attract Mode..that's next..) Do you know what themes support this feature in ES?

HurricaneFan

@akafox There is a version of Comic Book theme that has wheel art/marquees and I believe the Old Room theme uses it too. Not sure what other ones take advantage of that feature.

akafox

@hurricanefan Yeah I noticed that..and I do like the comic book theme. I found some others as well. Really all I need now is to just be able to hide the "RetroPie" selection easily (i know how but it's not "easy"). Just wanted to see if I could do that with the game list somehow and try it out while I had time. These "tweaks" I am doing..just learning..I am going to erase my image and make an updated one with all the tweaks already set up...just in case...

That was the last one i wanted to look into.

HurricaneFan

@akafox You could comment out the retropie section in es_systems.cfg.

I'd suggest making a copy of the file and put it in /home/pi/.emulationstation/ so that upgrades don't affect your change.

This page has the commands you need to make a copy.
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Add-a-New-System-in-EmulationStation/

To comment out anything in that file you just use:

<!--
<system>....</system>
 -->

akafox

@hurricanefan Yeah I knew how to do that. It's just "scary" because then I have to get in the "hard way" if something goes awry. Right now though that is the only option we have I guess. Just hate to be "stuck without a keyboard" if I take it anywhere...

dunky

Thanks Jell for the loop command

In my case, sound was bad, some kind of underwater sound, i had to add sound options to not convert it "-E copy:aac"

Here was the full command:
for f in *.mp4;do sudo HandBrakeCLI -E copy:aac -e x264 -B 64 -r 25 --gain -20.0 -X 320 -q 20 -i "$f" -o "./converted/$f";done

All videos/sounds are now clean when scraped from ArcadeItalia

Ranma

@jell
...And even in 2021 this script still does the trick! Many thanks for this. I tailored it a little sound-wise to suit my own setup but this has proved perfect for my MAME/FBNeo collection and its various shapes. Much easier than firing up the (awesome) Handbrake GUI and doing it that way.

Massive thumbs up!

Clyde

@dunky said in How to properly convert video snaps for emulationstation?:

Here was the full command:
for f in *.mp4;do sudo HandBrakeCLI -E copy:aac -e x264 -B 64 -r 25 --gain -20.0 -X 320 -q 20 -i "$f" -o "./converted/$f";done

Just two cents for optimisation: sudo shouldn't be necessary. It runs Handbrake with administrator privileges, which isn't required for converting videos. Running programs with admin powers may pose a security risk and thus, should only be used when necessary.

Retro80s

@batman

I had this problem so I feel your pain. Unfortunately, the scrape sources for games on the RetroPie can pull down videos that aren't encoded in a way that EmulationStation can run properly.

To get by this I use Skyscraper to download everything and build the Gameslist.xml file.

Then I go to: https://emumovies.com and get them from there. They are encoded perfectly and work great. They are a good resource for everything really.

I would recommend creating an account, then you can use their FTP server to download everything easily. - https://emumovies.com/ftpdetails/

Once you do that copy and replace your already downloaded videos with these. I literally just did all of this during this week for my MAME collection so I know it works and it will help you out.

It would be cool if the RetroPie could use them as a Scrape source.