New Directions for Building HandBrake SVN

Update (5/15/09): I have working binaries available in my PPA repository. Directions for adding it to your package manager are available here.

A couple of months ago, the HandBrake devs implemented some major changes to the build procedure for HandBrake from the project's SVN repository. I'm not really sure why they did this, but it seems to have cut a couple of dependencies, which is nice*. Here's the new method that worked for me on Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex and 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope (adapted from their build instructions in the readme).

Step 1: download the dependencies
In a terminal, type:

sudo aptitude install subversion build-essential m4 wget autotools-dev yasm autoconf intltool libtool libbz2-dev zlib1g-dev libglib2.0-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev libgtk2.0-dev libhal-dev libhal-storage-dev libgstreamer0.10-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev automake1.9 libnotify-dev libwebkit-dev

Update (6/18/09): as of svn 2550, libgtkhtml-3.14-dev was replaced by libwebkit-dev.
Users of OpenSuSE may need to download the additional dependencies zypper and in to build the CLI, as well as gtkhml2 and gtkhtml2-devel to build the GUI. Users of Red Hat/Fedora or derivatives may need to install the package groups "Development Tools," "Development Libraries," "X Software Development," and "GNOME Software Development," as well as zlib-devel, bzip2-devel, dbus-glib-devel, hal-devel, gtkhtml3-devel, gstreamer-devel, and gstreamer-plugins-base-devel.

Step 2: download the source from HandBrake's SVN repository
in a terminal, type:

svn checkout svn://svn.handbrake.fr/HandBrake/trunk hb-trunk

This will download a bunch of stuff and finish by telling you which revision you have checked out.

Step 3: switch to your newly created directory
in a terminal, type:

cd hb-trunk

Step 4: prepare the source for building
in a terminal, type:

./configure --launch

This command should take care of most of the remaining steps, i.e. making a scratch directory and compiling the source for both the CLI and GUI interfaces.

Step 5: install the GTK GUI
in a terminal, type:

cd build/gtk ; sudo make install

In you experienced any errors during Steps 4 or 5, you can attempt to run through the build functions manually:
In a terminal, type:

rm -rf build ; mkdir build ; cd build

then:

../configure ; make

and finally:

cd gtk ; make ; sudo make install

*Interestingly, the build process no longer invokes/requires jam, which had always been a vestigial requirement left over from HandBrake's roots in the venerable BeOS.

Read More

HandBrake with Live Video Previews

The HandBrake team has released version 0.9.3, which includes official, sanctioned builds of the GTK GUI in both 32- and 64-bit formats. This new version also brings a number of improvements that have been enjoyed by those of us using the SVN builds for some time to the rest of the HB users. However, new features are constantly being added, and the codec pool is always being updated, so I will continue to post the latest bleeding-edge builds here on my site, starting with svn1952, which includes live video previews (!), as well as a more recent version of the x264 and ffmpeg codecs.

Update (5/15/09): I have working binaries of the latest code available in my PPA repository. Directions for adding it to your package manager are available here.

Here's how the live preview looks. You can really get in there and see the direct impact of your changes. This leads to better cropping and a better sense for your end product. (this is my Mac x-forwarding GHB from my Ubuntu box. As you can see, the live previews even work through that):

For those of you who wish to compile on your own hardware (recommended for those with newer Core 2 Duo CPUs), the process is exactly the same as my previous SVN instructions, except for the addition of 2 new dependencies: libgstreamer0.10-dev and libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev. I've updated the instructions there to reflect the change.

Read More

How to Compile HandBrake GTK GUI from SVN

UPDATE (3/4/09): These directions no longer work on code checked out from the SVN. I've left them here for future reference (and for folks attempting to build the stable 0.9.3 code), but updated build instructions are available here.

Update (5/15/09): I have working binaries available in my PPA repository. Directions for adding it to your package manager are available here.

This information has been gleaned from my and others' posts on the ubuntu forums. I have reproduced it here for ease of access and to avoid having to read all 14+ (at the time of this writing) pages of that thread. This process requires at least a standard Intrepid Ibex (8.10) Ubuntu installation, but it can certainly be adapted for other distros (users of OpenSuSE will need to download the additional dependencies zypper and in to build the CLI, as well as gtkhml2 and gtkhtml2-devel to build the GUI). If you just want precompiled binaries, see my post here.

Update (11/9/08): there's a new dependency added as of the last couple of days: libgtkhtml3.14-dev. I added it to the list, but be sure you install it if you've suddenly run into problems. Update (11/24/08): 2 more dependencies--libgstreamer0.10-dev and libgstreamerplugins-base0.10-dev. Update (2/2/09): another dependency--libdbus-glib-1-dev

Step 1: download the dependencies (in a terminal, type):

sudo aptitude install libgtk2.0-dev libglib2.0-dev libhal-storage1 libhal-storage-dev libhal-dev automake build-essential jam libtool subversion zlib1g-dev libbz2-dev lib64bz2-1.0 libbz2-1.0 xmlto texinfo subversion gfortran doxygen libsdl1.2-dev gfortran-multilib gcc-multilib g++-multilib libesd0-dev libgtk1.2-dev libfftw3-dev electric-fence linux-kernel-devel libgtkhtml3.14-dev libgstreamer0.10-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev yasm intltool libdbus-glib-1-dev

Step 2: install libdvdcss2 from the medibuntu repository (all on one line):

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

then type (again, all on one line):

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update

and finally:

sudo aptitude install libdvdcss2

Step 3: check out the latest HandBrake code from the project's SVN repository:

svn co svn://svn.handbrake.fr/HandBrake/trunk HandBrake

Step 4: navigate to the newly created HandBrake directory:

cd HandBrake

Step 5: compile the HandBrakeCLI binary:

make

Step 6: navigate to the gtk directory:

cd gtk

Step 7: prepare the source to compile the GUI against the newly built CLI binary:

./autogen.sh

Step 8: compile and install the GUI:

make && sudo make install

This should add all the relevant menu shortcuts and so forth on a standard Ubuntu install. Leave me a comment if you have any questions/problems and I'll try to help.

Read More

32-bit HandBrake GTK GUI and Yasm deb Binary for Ubuntu

Update (5/15/09): I have working binaries of the latest code available in my PPA repository. Directions for adding it to your package manager are available here.

Download HandBrake GTK GUI (GHB) 32-bit deb
Download HandBrake GTK GUI (GHB) 64-bit deb
Download Yasm 0.7.1 32-bit deb
(they're compressed into a tarball, but the debs are inside)

Update: These binaries include a new version of the x264 codec that no longer requires as many options to do the same thing. From Dark Shikari (a main x264 developer):

x264 is removing b-rdo and bime options this week. GUI makers, take note, and prepare patches. bime will be enabled at subme >=5 automatically. New subme options will be organized as follows:

subme6: RD on I/P frames

subme7: RD on all frames

subme8: RD refinement on I/P frames

subme9: RD refinement on all frames

new subme 6 = old subme 6

new subme 7 = old subme 6 + b-rdo

new subme 8 = old subme 7 + b-rdo

new subme 9 = didn't exist, RD refinement in B-frames is completely new.

RD refinement in B-frames consists of qpel-RD as in P-frames, and also RD-bime for bidir blocks. Overall the speed cost for this option should be less than old subme6->7 (new subme7->8).

This is a first step on the road to decreasing the number of unnecessary options in x264.

I finally got my 32-bit Hardy Heron build environment set up, so first thing I did was crank out a couple of debs for the yasm assembler and HandBrake's official GTK GUI (known as GHB) from SVN.

Yasm is version 0.7.1 and GHB is version svn 1911.

Leave me a comment if these do/don't work.

Read More

How to Compile QT4 GUI For HandBrake

This is a guide for compiling the QT4 GUI for HandBrake that was updated by gonza from the HandBrake forums. I posted this guide on the Ubuntu forums, but I wanted to post it here as well so it could be updated as needed.

Update (5/15/09): I have working binaries of the latest code available in my PPA repository. Directions for adding it to your package manager are available here.

install git if you don't already have it (sudo aptitude install git-core), along with the dependencies for HandBrakeCLI, then type

git clone git://repo.or.cz/HandBrake.git

navigate to the newly created HandBrake directory:

cd HandBrake

and add the bonne/qhandbrake branch (all on one line):

git checkout --track -b bonne/qhandbrake origin/bonne/qhandbrake

You might need to type git pull just to make sure you're up to date. Then, compile HandBrakeCLI as normal:

make

navigate to the qt4 directory:

cd qt4

and then compile the GUI (dependencies include qt4-core and qt4-dev-tools, I think):

qmake && make

You should be left with a binary named qtHB. This GUI is feature-complete (as far as I can tell), including video previews, a working queue, advanced x264 options, presets, and so on. You can run it by typing ./qtHB into a terminal, or you can copy it into your /usr/bin directory like any other program.

Unfortunately, qtHB *refuses* to bundle into a proper deb binary, but I believe you can download and run my precompiled binaries as long as you have the proper qt4 dependencies installed.
Download 64-bit qtHB
Download 32-bit qtHB

Read More

HandBrake GUI Roundup

I previously posted all of this information in a thread at the Ubuntu forums, but I wanted to post it here, too, so I could update it as new versions/information arise. This is a list of all of the GUIs/frontends (that I know of) for HandBrake, along with information regarding features/limitations and development progress for each.

1. GHB is the official GTK GUI that is included with the HandBrake source code (currently just available in the SVN repository). It was written by a swell guy known as JohnAStebbins from the HandBrake forums and it's nearly on par with the OS X GUI in features. However, some people have trouble getting it to compile. On Ubuntu, it requires at least Hardy. (you can download 32-bit and 64-bit deb binaries from here or you can compile from source using HandBrake's official SVN repository [directions here]).

2. qtHB (aka qHandBrake) is an early, yet promising GUI based on the official QT4 HandBrake code that languished in SVN until a HandBrake forums user known as gonza updated it recently. It is still in early development and not yet included in the official SVN code, but it is nearly as complete as GHB and significantly easier to compile (fewer dependencies). (You can read about it here or download and compile it using my instructions here).

3. HandBrakeGTK (aka RippedWire) is a port of a Windows CLI wrapper that requires mono-devel to run. It has a bug that causes it to not pass advanced x264 options to the CLI, which is a total deal-breaker for me. However, its queue feature works well, so it can be useful for batch rips if you don't mind using baseline AVC. It also works well with other codecs, such as xvid, that don't suffer from the adv. x264 opts bug. Another advantage is that you can easily update the HandBrakeCLI backend without affecting the graphical frontend. RippedWire does not appear to be in active development. (read about its history here or download it here. 64-bit users can try this one, which I built from the author's mono project files on my 64-bit system [just install mono-devel, move the executable into the same directory as your HandBrakeCLI binary and type mono HandBrakeGTK.exe]).

4. gHandBrake is a GTK CLI wrapper written from scratch by a guy that goes by Derrik81787. I later added x264 options to it, but I'm a terrible programmer and it ended up really unstable. Derrik seems to have dropped the project because his site for it is gone (Update: he's too busy with classes to work on it now but plans to revisit development in the future), but I would love to see someone tweak the code for better stability (the big issue appears to be with malloc, which I know nothing about; leave a comment if you'd like to pitch in). The major advantage to this frontend is that it is really easy to compile and it has very simple dependencies, unlike the official GTK GUI. (read about it here or download it here).

If you have anything to add, or if you have any corrections, please leave me a comment.

Read More