Video Concatenation and Encoding Script

This script, written in PowerShell, uses FFmpeg to concatenate multiple .h264 video files within a given directory structure and optionally re-encodes the merged output to H.265 format. The script supports hardware-accelerated encoding using Intel QuickSync, AMD AMF, or CPU-only encoding if no acceleration is specified.

Requirements

1. Operating System: Windows
2. FFmpeg: The script requires FFmpeg to handle video concatenation and re-encoding. Installation instructions are included below.

Installation of FFmpeg

You can install FFmpeg using the Windows Package Manager, winget:

winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

After installation, take note of the ffmpeg.exe path (you may need to specify it when running the script).

Usage

Command Structure

.\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "<input-directory>" -outputDir "<output-directory>" -ffmpegPath "<path-to-ffmpeg>" -reencode <true|false> -hardwareAccel <intel|amd|none>

Parameters

• inputBaseDir: (Required) The base directory containing .h264 video files organized in subdirectories.
• outputDir: (Required) The directory where output videos will be saved after processing.
• ffmpegPath: (Optional) Path to ffmpeg.exe. If not provided, it defaults to "ffmpeg.exe".
• reencode: (Optional) Boolean value (true or false) to specify whether to re-encode the concatenated video.
  • If false, the output will not be re-encoded but will still be viewable.
  • If true, the video will be re-encoded in H.265 format.
• hardwareAccel: (Optional) Specifies the type of hardware acceleration to use. Accepts "intel", "amd", or "none".
  • intel: Uses Intel QuickSync if available.
  • amd: Uses AMD AMF if available.
  • none: Disables hardware acceleration and encodes using the CPU only.

Example Commands

Intel QuickSync Acceleration:

.\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "D:\Videos\Project" -outputDir "E:\ProcessedVideos" -ffmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -reencode $true -hardwareAccel "intel"

AMD AMF Acceleration:

.\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "D:\Videos\Project" -outputDir "E:\ProcessedVideos" -ffmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -reencode $true -hardwareAccel "amd"

No Hardware Acceleration:

.\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "D:\Videos\Project" -outputDir "E:\ProcessedVideos" -ffmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -reencode $true -hardwareAccel "none"

No Hardware Acceleration (more simply):

.\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "D:\Videos\Project" -outputDir "E:\ProcessedVideos" -ffmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe"

Concatenation without Re-encoding:

    .\script.ps1 -inputBaseDir "D:\Videos\Project" -outputDir "E:\ProcessedVideos" -ffmpegPath "C:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -reencode $false

Mind that you can omit -ffmpegPath parameter if you have ffmpeg.exe mapped in you Path variable.

Hardware Acceleration and Encoding

Hardware Acceleration Options

The script supports hardware acceleration if compatible hardware and drivers are available:

• Intel QuickSync: Ideal for Intel CPUs with integrated graphics supporting QuickSync. Provides efficient H.265 encoding.
• AMD AMF: Suitable for systems with AMD graphics cards, offering accelerated H.265 encoding.
• None: Disables hardware acceleration. Encoding is done via CPU, which may result in slower encoding times but is universally compatible.

When to Use Hardware Acceleration

Using hardware acceleration (Intel QuickSync or AMD AMF) can speed up the encoding process significantly. However, some trade-offs include:

• Hardware-specific Requirements: QuickSync is available only on certain Intel CPUs, while AMF requires an AMD GPU.
• Potential Quality and Compatibility Differences: Some hardware-accelerated encoders may differ in quality or compatibility compared to software encoding.

Concatenation Only

The concatenated files produced by the script are viewable even without re-encoding. Re-encoding is optional and is typically done to achieve H.265 compression, which reduces file size while maintaining quality.