I have a collection of about ~110 4K Blu-Ray movies that I’ve ripped and I want to take the time to compress and store them for use on a future Jellyfin server.
I know some very basics about ffmpeg and general codec information, but I have a very specific set of goals in mind I’m hoping someone could point me in the right direction with:
- Smaller file size (obviously)
- Image quality good enough that I cannot spot the difference, even on a high-end TV or projector
- Preserved audio
- Preserved HDR metadata
In a perfect world, I would love to be able to convert the proprietary HDR into an open standard, and the Dolby Atmos audio into an open standard, but a good compromise is this.
Assuming that I have the hardware necessary to do the initial encoding, and my server will be powerful enough for transcoding in that format, any tips or pointers?
The issue is storage costs. Currently they (and some Blu-ray shows I ripped) are taking up just over 12TB. I bought all of these movies when I had money to spend on stuff like that, but money is short and times are tough. “Storage is cheap” but my wallet is cheaper right now, aha.
Look, I definitely get it, but just a note, encoding 100+ 4k HEVC movies is going to take months of time at full PC loads. It’s a subtle cost, but depending on your electricity rate, running a 200W PC 24/7 for 3 months straight may hurt your bottom line more than it helps.
If you already have the storage, the cheapest option may be just to keep it. If you’re looking to increase the size of your collection it may be about even to save 6 TB via encode and to buy an extra 6TB disc, depending on your setup
I am definitely keeping an eye on my electricity bill right now, since I have Unmanic running full speed and it’s about 3 weeks into a 4-month job that might only save 1 TB.