Getting a hand from Handbrake

Image by Opensource.com: CC-by-SA 4.0

I have dozens of VHS tapes recorded, in some cases nearly 30 years ago, of our children when they were young. About ten years ago, I used a Linux computer and dvgrab to capture the video using a Firewire port on the computer and an aging digital video camera. The setup worked quite well. I could convert many of the analog tape videos to MP4s using this process.

I was eager to share some video clips with our grandson recently. I wanted him to see what his Mom looked and acted like when she was his age. The videos, converted to digital format and residing in a folder on my Linux computer, were ready to be transferred to my iPhone for sharing.

My usual file transfer method, QRCP, has been reliable for moving files between my Linux desktop and iOS devices. However, I was left disheartened this time when the video transferred seamlessly, but the audio track was mysteriously absent. This disappointment led me to consider using Handbrake as a potential solution. I have used Handbrake in the past to convert video files to a format compatible with iOS and other modern digital playback devices.

I installed Handbrake as a flatpack on my Linux desktop, but you can install it as easily as a system package.

Debian-based systems:

$ sudo apt install handbrake

RPM-based systems:

$ sudo dnf install handbrake

Once installed, I launched the program

At the ‘File’ menu, I selected ‘Open Source’, which opens a dialog box where I can select the video file that I want to convert. I select the one-hundred-twenty-eight megabyte MP4 and then click ‘Open’ at the bottom of the program window.

Looking again at the Handbrake program display I have some choices to make to ensure that the converted video is in the format that will display properly on an iPhone or other iOS device.

Referring to the screenshot above, it is important to choose the particular format in which you want to save the video. There are three choices: MPEG-4, Matroska, and WebM. I chose MPEG-4, and within that, I also chose ‘Web Optimized’, which will ensure that the converted video will be a smaller file and more easily shared on the web or from a mobile device. At the bottom of the program window, you can choose what you will name the completed file. The default is the original name, but I would suggest a different name so that you don’t overwrite the original, which would be important for archival purposes. The default ‘Save’ location is your ‘Video’ folder but you can easily choose some other folder on your system.

Once you are sure you have made all the proper menu selections, you will use your mouse pointer to click the ‘Start’ button at the top of the program window.

This begins with converting and transcoding the larger MP4 file to a smaller compatible file for iOS devices. The process takes a brief period of time and will depend in part on your processor’s speed. The new video is 42 megabytes, a reduction from its original size, and can be replayed and reshared on a mobile device. Handbrake has excellent documentation. It is open source and is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2.