Output Specifications

Instead of specifying literally one thousand different settings for each new process Multimedia Xpert lets you define your intended output file once and add it to a list. The most used formats are predefined and you have the freedom to modify or delete them. Here are the current available options for video files (will grow in future versions of the app):

You have full control over the output file (Audio Codec, Video Codec, Subtitle stream, container format aso.).

These are the settings for audio files:

And this for Subtitle files:

Multimedia Xpert isn't limited to preprogrammed combinations, instead it allows you to combine any codecs with any container format. No need for configuring each process manually repeatedly from the start, just reuse one of these specifications the next time.

As a general rule you can leave most boxes empty. In this case an automatic choice will be made by the converter which can either be using a constant or calculating a value based on the input and on the extension of the output pathname you specify. For example you can leave Output Video Codec empty in which case the video stream will be copied 1:1 into the output file (if possible). See more about this here.

Name: If you are looking for the format that is compatible with most video players in the world our recommendation is Video H.264 Audio AC3 with Pixel Format set to yuv420p. The resolution should be limited to 1080p (or even more compatible 720p) and the pixel format to 8 bits. It is somewhat older and has some limits but it is truly widespread. Also, AAC and MP3 as audio codecs are widespread. Sadly it doesn't support the most common subtitle format SubRip. If you are looking for a more modern one (not so widespread but SubRip is supported) we can recommend Video Matroska. The blue links in the top right corner show comparisons of all the formats.

Output Path Pattern: You can specify a pattern to let Multimedia Xpert automatically build a suitable output path and name for the output file. That will save you the time to select or enter a new one each time a file is produced. There is a useful feature that you can embed placeholders and replacers. You can also use the functions in the right click menu of the dropdown arrow to insert an explicit folder path or pathname at the cursor position (hold [Shift] to insert without quotes). Right of the blue arrow is displayed how the filename would look like for the input file you clicked last in the previous tab where you came from.

Video Bitrate: If you see only an inferior, pixelated image after a conversion, it is usually because nothing was specified here. In this case, each codec selects its own bitrate. Unfortunately, in a few cases this value is much too low. This problem can be solved by entering something between 2000 and 3000 here.

Pixel Format: This controls the color depth of each pixel of each frame. More infos about the conversion of the color depth see here. Not every output file format allows any format. Please use the link Comparison of Formats on the right top if you need to find more details.

Input Options: Here you can add specific options that will be passed to ffmpeg directly in front of the input filename. In Version 1.0 the Color Depth must be specified here as 8, 10 oder 12 bit:

• For 8 bit: -pix_fmt yuv420p
• For 10 bit: -pix_fmt yuv420p10le
• For 12 bit: -pix_fmt yuv420p12le

Output Options: Here you can add specific output options that will be passed to ffmpeg directly left of the output filename.

Duplicating specifications

You can make a duplicate of an existing specification as a basis for a new one by first selecting the most similar one, entering a new name at the top and pressing . The plus button duplicates the last selected specification.

Specification for the same format as an existing input file

To produce the same output format as your input file has, and you did't find it already in the list, you need to create a new specification. First select the existing specification which is most similar and duplicate it, as explained in the above chapter.

In the following process there are two possibilities which will have to be tried out which one works:

The easy one is to clear the fields Output Video Codec and Output Audio Codec. In this case the converter will try to analyze the input file as well as the output file's extension and choose the corresponding decoders and encoders. Depending on all those conditions the conversion can succeed or not.

If not, the second thing you can try is to enter both, a video and audio codec. To do that you can switch to the Convert tab and press the button on the right of the input file, the one without green background. A yellow window will appear with the description of the format. You can read there which codecs the file is using. With this info you can go back to the Output Specifications tab and configure the specification choosing the same codecs. Since Multimedia Xpert supports hundreds of codecs you will surely find the necessary codecs there.

Additional stuff

If you are a user of ffmpeg in DOS commandlines you can now store your commandlines directly in this tab. Use the fields 'Input Options' and 'Output Options' for special commands. As an advantage to the command line, you can distribute the commands over several lines, which greatly increases clarity.

To change a specification while processing media files: An Output Specification is incorporated into a processing as it is at the start of the processing. So you can make changes to a specification while processing is already in progress and add another processing to the queue without disturbing the previous processing. The button also uses the former settings, not the current ones.

Navigation: To jump back to the previously active tab you can click on .