GitHub - framicheli/av1converter: A simple TUI video converter for the AV1 codec

A terminal-based interactive tool to batch convert video files to the AV1 codec using FFmpeg. It auto-detects available hardware encoders, verifies output quality with VMAF, and manages the full encoding pipeline through a TUI.

Features

• Interactive TUI — Browse files, configure tracks, and monitor encoding progress in the terminal
• Hardware acceleration — Automatically detects and uses NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QSV, or AMD AMF
• Batch processing — Convert a single file, a folder, or an entire directory tree recursively
• Smart preset selection — Automatically picks encoding parameters based on resolution and HDR type
• VMAF quality verification — Scores output quality after encoding; deletes source file if the threshold is met
• Track selection — Auto-selects audio and subtitle tracks by preferred language; Selects all tracks or first track when no match is found
• Configurable — All key settings adjustable through the built-in configuration screen or ~/.config/av1converter/config.toml

Prerequisites

• ffmpeg (with libsvtav1 and libvmaf support)
• ffprobe

Installation

git clone https://github.com/your-username/av1converter.git
cd av1converter
cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be at target/release/av1converter.

Usage

No command-line arguments are needed. All interaction happens through the TUI.

Workflow

1. Home menu — Choose to open a single file, a folder, or a folder recursively
2. File selection — Navigate with arrow keys; Space to toggle, Enter to confirm
3. Track configuration — Select audio and subtitle tracks to include
4. File review — Confirm the queue before encoding starts
5. Encoding — Monitor per-file and overall progress; Esc to cancel
6. VMAF verification — Quality score is computed after each file; source is deleted if the score meets the threshold
7. Finish — View a summary of conversions, skipped files, and space saved

Keyboard Controls

Encoding Presets

Presets are selected automatically based on resolution and HDR format:

Files already encoded in AV1 are automatically skipped.

Encoder Detection

The tool detects available encoders at startup with the following priority:

1. NVIDIA NVENC (av1_nvenc) — RTX 40/50 series and compatible Ada/L-series GPUs
2. Intel Quick Sync (av1_qsv) — Intel Arc GPUs (Linux/Windows only)
3. AMD AMF (av1_amf) — RDNA3 architecture, RX 7000 series (Linux/Windows only)
4. SVT-AV1 (libsvtav1) — Software fallback; always used on macOS

Configuration

Configuration is stored at ~/.config/av1converter/config.toml and can be edited directly or through the built-in configuration screen.

[Quality]
vmaf_threshold = 90.0          # VMAF score required to consider encoding successful (0–100)
vmaf_enabled = true            # Enable/disable VMAF verification after encoding
delete_source_on_success = false  # Delete source file when VMAF score meets threshold

[Performance]
svt_preset = 4             # SVT-AV1 preset: 0 (slowest) – 13 (fastest)
nvenc_preset = "p4"        # NVENC preset: p1 (best quality) – p7 (fastest)

[Output]
suffix = "_av1"            # Appended to output filenames
container = "mkv"          # Output container (mkv, mp4, …)
same_directory = true      # Write output next to source file
output_directory = null    # Custom output path (used when same_directory = false)

[Tracks]
preferred_audio_languages = ["eng", "ita"]
preferred_subtitle_languages = ["eng"]
select_all_fallback = true # Select all tracks if no preferred language is found

Each resolution preset also exposes per-encoder quality values (crf, nvenc_cq, qsv_quality, amf_quality) and film_grain synthesis strength.

Debugging

Set the AV1_DEBUG environment variable to enable log output:

AV1_DEBUG=1 ./av1converter

Logs are written to:

• macOS/Linux: ~/.local/share/av1converter/av1converter.log
• Windows: %APPDATA%\av1converter\av1converter.log