vdr-convert

1. Fixed support for mono podcasts using HE-AAC
2. Support latest ffmpeg with more relevant/shorter service name+provider metadata
3. AAC streams: Silently use Fraunhofer (libfdk) if available in ffmpeg build unless specifically set with -a
4. Improved error reporting tolerance x264/5
5. Improved error reporting tolerance (subtitle stream) with foreign language (hard-subtitled) programmes

Added --podcast option: podcasts stored in subdirectories, by Title
Podcast audio codec config: Can use (HE)AAC, MP3 or Opus
Extensive embedding of metadata in output files (mainly for podcasts)
Added -g option for genre files to define mapping of VDR's G tag to text
See https://projects.vdr-developer.org/projects/vdr-convert/wiki/Podcast-mode

Significant H265 setting updates to reflect recent improvements
Slight H264 compression increase to reflect recent improvements
More extensive checking of ffmpeg build options (codec library checks)
Detect short initial recording files & delete (VPS aborted start)
Various other fixes and improvements, incl. for FTP/redo modes
Fixes for recent ffmpeg versions (3.3+)

There are several significant new features:

• Option to convert to H265/HEVC via new -v switch, with potential for file size 1/2 of H264, 1/4 of MPEG2

• Multiple format options in single-use/batch modes via -f flag: avi, mkv, mp4, mov, m2ts, ts, aac, m4a and mp3

• A new debug function facilitated testing and the creation of an extensive player/format/stream compatibility matrix at:
  https://projects.vdr-developer.org/projects/vdr-convert/wiki/Wiki#Compatibility
  "In summary, some players are good for almost all formats, and if you don't need subtitles or automatic aspect ratio switching, most players will play most formats"

• Added support for Fraunhofer AAC codec and libmp3lame codec for mp3 via new -a switch

• Added automatic conversion of AC3/DTS streams in VDR1.x recordings

• Added automatic conversion of editing marks to .edl files for Kodi, mplayer in single-use mode

• Info, warn and error criticality for different types of problems + optional email at criticality "error"

• Conversion runtime + realtime/runtime ratio logged

• Wiki extensively updated with new options at https://projects.vdr-developer.org/projects/vdr-convert/wiki

+Various other fixes and improvements; todo's cleared

A shell script with associated tools to transcode the content of VDR1.x and VDR2.x recordings as accurately as possible, including all streams, audio, AD, subtitles, and metadata into more compressed format, while maintaining perceived quality. H264 and AAC are the chosen codecs for the main streams. SD recordings are reduced to anywhere from 35% - 90% of original size depending on content and compression settings. On average, you can expect to save 1/3 of the disk space used for SD recordings.

This tool is possibly the only tool capable of converting old VDR1.x recordings into VDR2 compatible .ts files with dvb subtitles playable on VDR2 and 3rd party players such as Kodi, MPC-HC and VLC.

See comprehensive wiki and files in Git repository