🎮 CINECONVERT

Portable FFmpeg-powered video converter for Windows, Linux and macOS

Insert cartridge • Press START • Convert

---

════════════════════════════ STORY ════════════════════════════

CineConvert is a video converter that works out of the box: download it, run it, convert. No installer, no registry, no "please download this other thing first". All settings live in config.json right next to the program — carry it on a USB stick.

FFmpeg under the hood, a modern interface on top: sidebar navigation, a drag & drop zone, one action bar with progress, settings cards with toggles, the Inter font and Lucide icons. The live theme stays: pick any color with the rainbow slider and the whole app repaints instantly — light and dark modes included, and the animated waves still roll across the header.

═══════════════════════════ POWER-UPS ═══════════════════════════

	Feature	Description
🗂	File list	Every file gets a card: preview, format · resolution · codec · bitrate · duration · size, and quick combos to change format / resolution / codec / bitrate for that file only
🔬	Per-file settings	Click a preview or "Settings" to open a wide window for one video: preview, key characteristics and every render setting on one page — format, quality and exact CRF/CQ, resolution, codec, bitrate, speed, audio codec/bitrate/channels, mute
🎛	Common settings	The main page shows only the file list. "Common settings" in the bottom bar opens the same window for every file without its own settings. Changes show up on the cards at once, Cancel puts everything back
☑	Selected files	Tick files → "Set up selected" opens the window for all of them; only the fields you change are applied, "mixed" marks where files differ. Render / extract then works on the ticked files
🧪	Advanced options	Quality preset, exact CRF/CQ, encoding speed, audio codec/bitrate/channels, remove audio
🔢	Bitrate presets	Video bitrate from a list of 1000k…10000k in 1000k steps, or type your own (a bare number means kbit/s)
🎬	Video conversion	Resolution (4K→144p), codec (x264, x265, AV1, VP9, NVIDIA NVENC, Intel QSV, AMD AMF), bitrate, container (mp4, mkv, mov, avi, flv, webm)
🎚	Quality presets	As source / Maximum / Balanced / Smaller file — constant-quality encoding (CRF/CQ) with per-encoder values modelled on HandBrake's built-in presets. Smaller files with no visible loss instead of FFmpeg's bare defaults
⚡	Smart lossless mode	Streams are copied 1:1 whenever the target container accepts the source codec: mp4→mkv and mkv→mp4 in a second with zero quality loss
🧠	Safe defaults	4:2:0 pixel format for H.264 (plays everywhere), hvc1 tag for HEVC in mp4/mov (Apple), +faststart for web playback, subtitles kept in MKV, audio auto-fixed for the container (Opus for WebM, MP3 for AVI)
📐	Smart scaling	Fits the frame into the chosen size: vertical videos stay vertical, no black bars, no upscaling, Lanczos scaler
🖥	Hardware encoders	NVENC / QSV / AMF are test-encoded before the run; if the GPU or driver can't do it, the software encoder takes over automatically
🎧	Audio while converting	Codec (aac, mp3, flac, opus, ac3), bitrate, channels (mono/stereo/5.1/7.1) or "copy as is"
🎵	Audio extraction	Rip audio to mp3, aac, flac, wav, ogg, opus, ac3 — copied without re-encoding when the track already is in that format
🎧	Per-file extraction	On the Audio page every card has its own format, bitrate, channels and audio track (language/commentary — real track names from the file) plus an "Extract" button for just that video. "Settings" adds a fragment (start/end), sample rate and loudness normalization (EBU R128). Tick several to set them up or extract them together
📦	Batch processing	Drop several files on the window or use "Add" — they convert one by one, each with its own or the common settings; audio extraction works in batches too
🔍	Video info	Preview frame + 12 key facts at a glance; a "Details" button opens the full breakdown of every stream; with multiple files, page through them with ‹ ›
🎨	Live theme	Any color (OKLCH slider + color picker), saturation, light/dark/system, a one-click theme toggle in the sidebar, animated waves in the header
🌐	7 languages	en, ru, de, es, fr, zh, ar — every screen is translated; translations are plain JSON, easy to add your own
⌨	Shortcuts	Ctrl+O open files · Ctrl+Enter start · Ctrl+1…4 switch sections
🔄	1-click FFmpeg update	Settings → FFmpeg: downloads a fresh build for your system (Windows — gyan.dev, Linux — BtbN, macOS — Martin Riedl's signed builds) and swaps it in atomically, rolling back on failure. The folder button shows where FFmpeg lives
💾	Everything auto-saves	There is no "Save" button — every setting applies and persists instantly, including window size

═══════════════════════════ CONTROLS ═══════════════════════════

1. 📂 Pick videos — drop files onto the window or click the drop zone (multiple files allowed); each one appears in the list with its own card
2. ⚙ Tune them — "Common settings" in the bottom bar applies to every file; change format / resolution / codec / bitrate right on a file's card, or open its "Settings" for everything at once. Tick several files and press "Set up selected" to configure them together. Leave everything on "As source" / "No changes" for an instant lossless remux
3. ▶ Hit "Render" in the action bar at the bottom (with files ticked it renders only those) — the app asks where to save (or saves straight to the default folder, if you turn the question off), then shows progress, speed and ETA
4. 🏁 Done — a notification with sound, plus "Open file" / "Open folder" buttons

Audio ripping lives in the "Audio" section: pick a format → "Extract audio".

══════════════════════════ SELECT LEVEL ══════════════════════════
                     (which file to download)

Grab the build for your system from Releases:

System	File	How to run
🪟 Windows 10/11	🕹 CineConvert-portable.zip — recommended	Unzip → run CineConvert.exe in the CineConvert-portable folder → it just works, fully offline. FFmpeg is bundled. A regular folder, not a self-extracting exe: starts faster and antiviruses rarely flag it. Keep the folder's files together
🪟 Windows (light)	🪶 CineConvert.exe	Downloads FFmpeg by itself on first launch (internet needed once)
🐧 Linux x86_64	CineConvert-linux-x86_64.tar.gz	Extract → run CineConvert/CineConvert. FFmpeg and Qt libraries bundled
🍎 macOS Apple Silicon	CineConvert-macos-apple-silicon.dmg	Open → drag CineConvert into Applications. FFmpeg bundled
🍎 macOS Intel	CineConvert-macos-intel.dmg	Same as above

Nothing to install: no Python, no libraries, no separate FFmpeg. Windows SmartScreen may warn about an unknown publisher — click "More info" → "Run anyway". macOS blocks apps that are not notarized by Apple on first launch — System Settings → Privacy & Security → "Open Anyway" (or xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/CineConvert.app).

═══════════════════════════ SCREENSHOTS ═══════════════════════════

Dark theme	Settings

File settings (all on one page)	Several files at once

Common settings	Audio extraction per file

Extraction settings: track, fragment, loudness

═══════════════════ CARTRIDGE SPECS ═══════════════════

• Single source file — the whole UI and logic in CineConvert.py (PyQt5/PyQt6-compatible)
• Theme engine — colors are computed in OKLCH (like modern CSS) and compiled into one Qt stylesheet on the fly
• Typography & icons — Inter (fonts/, SIL OFL 1.1, hinted for crisp Windows rendering) and Lucide icons (ISC) rendered from SVG in the theme color
• Encoding engine — quality profiles per encoder, codec↔container compatibility tables, stream-copy decisions based on ffprobe
• Workers — FFmpeg runs in background threads, the UI never freezes, conversion is cancellable
• Reliable FFmpeg updates — download via .part with integrity check, the new binary is test-run before an atomic folder swap with backup and rollback
• Config — config.json next to the program (portable); inside a macOS .app or a read-only folder it goes to the user folder (~/Library/Application Support/CineConvert, ~/.local/share/CineConvert, %APPDATA%\CineConvert): theme, language, output folder, common render and extraction settings, window size
• Locales — locales/*.json: key = widget objectName or item text; any file with a "name" field shows up in the language list automatically

════════════════════════ BUILD FROM SOURCE ════════════════════════
                    ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A START

# Player 1 has joined
git clone https://github.com/bboyJohnn/CineConvert.git
cd CineConvert
pip install PyQt6 pyinstaller pillow

# Run from source (FFmpeg auto-downloads on first launch)
python CineConvert.py

# Build for the current OS with FFmpeg inside (output goes to release/):
#   Windows → CineConvert.exe + CineConvert-portable.zip
#   Linux   → CineConvert-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
#   macOS   → CineConvert-macos-<arch>.dmg
python build_release.py --selftest

All four builds are made by GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/release.yml): every pull request is built and self-tested on Windows, Linux and macOS; Actions → Build & Release → Run workflow (or pushing a v* tag) publishes a release.

═══════════════════════════ CONTINUE? ═══════════════════════════

• 🐛 Found a bug? — open an Issue with the log from the "Logs" tab
• 🧡 Built on FFmpeg (builds by gyan.dev, BtbN and Martin Riedl) and PyQt6; font Inter (OFL), icons Lucide (ISC); quality presets inspired by HandBrake

  GAME OVER? NO — JUST PRESS "RENDER" AGAIN
  © bboyJohnn • CONTINUE ▶