FFmpeg Auto Transcoder

Automatic movie transcoding for Linux, Docker and NAS using FFmpeg and NVIDIA NVENC.

Compatible with Jellyfin, Plex, Emby and other media servers.

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Overview

FFmpeg Auto Transcoder is an automated movie transcoding service for Linux servers, Docker deployments, NAS systems and home media libraries. It integrates seamlessly with Jellyfin, Plex, Emby, and any media server that monitors local folders.

The application continuously watches an incoming directory, identifies new movies using TMDb and OMDb, transcodes them to H.265/HEVC using NVIDIA NVENC hardware acceleration, and automatically organizes the resulting files into a structured media library.

It can be installed either as a native Linux service or with Docker Compose, making it suitable for home servers, NAS devices and virtual machines. Once installed, it runs unattended, automatically processing every new movie placed in the monitored folder.

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Features

• 🎬 Automatic movie detection and processing
• 🚀 NVIDIA NVENC hardware-accelerated transcoding
• 📦 H.265 / HEVC video encoding
• 🎞️ Automatic movie identification using TMDb and OMDb
• 📁 Automatic media library organization
• 🌐 Real-time web monitor
• 🐳 Docker Compose deployment for Linux and NAS
• ⚙️ Native Linux installation with systemd integration
• 🔄 Automatic startup and service recovery
• 🛡️ Automatic recovery from stalled FFmpeg processes
• 📝 Detailed logging and processing history

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Project Structure

ffmpeg-auto-transcoder/
├── transcoder.sh
├── monitor.sh
├── monitor-web.sh
├── install.sh
├── uninstall.sh
├── lib/
├── templates/
├── deploy/
│   └── docker/
└── README.md

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View the Logs

View logs from all containers:

docker compose logs -f

View only the transcoder logs:

docker compose logs -f transcoder

View only the monitor logs:

docker compose logs -f monitor

Press Ctrl+C to stop following the logs.

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Stop the Containers

docker compose down

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Restart the Containers

docker compose restart

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Update the Application

From the repository root:

git pull

cd deploy/docker

docker compose up -d --build

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Docker Configuration

All Docker configuration is managed directly in:

deploy/docker/docker-compose.yml

No .env file is required.

Common options include:

• User ID and group ID
• Host media library path
• TMDb API key
• OMDb API key
• Time zone
• Target movie size
• Minimum movie duration
• Minimum video bitrate
• Output resolution: 4K, 1440p, 1080p or 720p

Each option is documented inside the Compose file.

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Configuration

All transcoding settings are stored in:

Native Installation

/etc/ffmpeg-auto-transcoder/config.sh

Docker Deployment

Configuration is managed directly in:

deploy/docker/docker-compose.yml

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TMDb and OMDb API Keys

Movie identification requires API keys from both services.

You can obtain free personal API keys here:

• TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org/settings/api
• OMDb: https://www.omdbapi.com/apikey.aspx

Without valid API keys the application can still transcode movies, but automatic identification and renaming will be unavailable.

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Media Library

The application automatically manages the following directory structure:

MEDIA_DIR/
├── incoming/
├── processing/
├── library/
├── completed/
├── failed/
├── logs/
└── temp/

When a new movie is copied into incoming, the application automatically:

1. Detects the new file.
2. Moves it to processing.
3. Identifies the movie using TMDb and OMDb.
4. Analyzes the media with FFprobe.
5. Transcodes it to H.265 / HEVC.
6. Saves the new file into library.
7. Moves the original movie to completed.

If transcoding fails, the original file is automatically moved to the failed directory.

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Output Resolution

The target resolution can be configured in either config.sh or docker-compose.yml.

Supported resolutions:

Resolution	Width	Height
4K UHD	3840	2160
1440p	2560	1440
Full HD	1920	1080
HD	1280	720

The transcoder always preserves the original aspect ratio, adding padding only when required.

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Web Monitor

A built-in web monitor provides a live view of the transcoding process from any browser.

During an active job it displays:

• Current movie
• Detected title
• Progress percentage
• Progress bar
• Elapsed time
• Estimated remaining time (ETA)
• Current FPS
• Encoding speed
• NVIDIA GPU utilization
• Encoder utilization
• Decoder utilization
• GPU memory usage
• GPU temperature
• GPU power consumption
• FFmpeg process ID

Native Installation

http://SERVER_IP:9001

Local access:

http://localhost:9001

Docker Deployment

http://SERVER_IP:9002

Local access:

http://localhost:9002

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Idle Mode

When no movie is being processed, the monitor automatically switches to an idle view showing:

• Service status
• GPU information
• Media library location
• Pending movie count
• Helpful management commands

The display refreshes automatically, allowing you to monitor the system in real time.

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How It Works

The application continuously watches the incoming directory for new movies.

Whenever a new file appears, the following workflow is executed automatically:

incoming
    │
    ▼
processing
    │
    ├── Movie identification (TMDb / OMDb)
    ├── Media analysis (FFprobe)
    ├── Hardware transcoding (NVENC)
    ├── Progress monitoring
    └── Error detection
    │
    ▼
library
    │
    ▼
completed

If an unrecoverable error occurs, the original movie is automatically moved to:

failed/

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Hardware Acceleration

FFmpeg Auto Transcoder uses NVIDIA NVENC hardware acceleration whenever a compatible GPU is available.

Supported features include:

• H.265 / HEVC hardware encoding
• Automatic GPU utilization monitoring
• Encoder and decoder utilization monitoring
• GPU memory usage reporting
• Automatic detection of stalled FFmpeg processes
• Automatic recovery from encoding failures

By offloading video encoding to the GPU, the application significantly reduces CPU usage while maintaining excellent transcoding performance.

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Logging

Detailed logs are stored in:

MEDIA_DIR/logs/

The logs include transcoding activity, errors and progress information, making troubleshooting and auditing straightforward.

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Updating

Keeping the application up to date is simple.

First, update your local repository:

git pull

Native Installation

Run the installer again:

sudo ./install.sh

The installer updates the application while preserving your existing configuration and media library.

Docker Deployment

Rebuild and restart the containers:

docker compose up -d --build

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License

This project is released under the MIT License.

You are free to use, modify and distribute this software in accordance with the terms of the license.

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Contributing

Contributions are always welcome.

If you discover a bug, have an idea for a new feature or would like to improve the project, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

Every contribution, no matter how small, is appreciated.

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Acknowledgements

This project would not be possible without the outstanding work of the following projects and communities:

• FFmpeg
• NVIDIA NVENC
• The Movie Database (TMDb)
• OMDb API
• ttyd

Many thanks to everyone involved in developing and maintaining these tools.

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Roadmap

Planned improvements for future releases include:

• Enhanced web dashboard
• Additional transcoding profiles
• Multi-language support
• Improved metadata handling
• Better Docker customization
• Expanded monitoring and statistics

Suggestions and feature requests are always welcome.

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FFmpeg Auto Transcoder

Automatically identify, transcode and organize your movie collection using FFmpeg and NVIDIA NVENC.

Designed to run unattended on Linux, Docker and NAS environments—simply copy your movies into the incoming directory and let the application handle the rest.

Happy transcoding! 🎬