HandBrake¶
HandBrake is an optional transcoder. Use it instead of ffmpeg when you want to use HandBrake's preset system or its more aggressive subtitle/chapter handling.
Enable HandBrake¶
Preset¶
Specify any preset available in your HandBrake installation:
Common presets¶
| Preset | Resolution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
H.265 MKV 1080p30 |
1080p | Default — good balance |
H.265 MKV 720p30 |
720p | Smaller files |
H.265 MKV 576p25 |
576p | PAL DVD native |
H.265 MKV 480p30 |
480p | NTSC DVD native |
Production Max |
Source | Near-lossless, large files |
List all available presets on your system:
Custom presets¶
Export a preset from HandBrake's GUI, save it to a JSON file, and reference it:
HANDBRAKE_PRESET_FILE=/home/mediauser/.config/handbrake/my-preset.json
HANDBRAKE_PRESET=My Custom Preset
Subtitle handling¶
HandBrake handles subtitle tracks more gracefully than ffmpeg for DVD sources — it can burn in forced subtitles automatically. If you have discs with forced subtitle tracks (common for foreign-language scenes), HandBrake is the better choice.
ffprobe still required
HandBrake handles encoding, but Discarr still uses ffprobe for disc metadata scanning. Keep ffmpeg/ffprobe installed even when using HandBrake as the transcoder.