encoderPro/FILTER-FEATURE-SUMMARY.md

Video Attribute Filtering Feature - Summary

What Was Added

Users can now filter videos by specific attributes like resolution, audio channels, file size, codec, and more. This makes it easy to find and encode specific types of files.

Available Filters

Audio

• 🔊 5.1+ Audio - Videos with surround sound (6+ channels)
• 🔉 Stereo Only - Videos with stereo or mono audio (< 6 channels)

Subtitles

• 📝 Has Subtitles - Videos with embedded subtitles
• ❌ No Subtitles - Videos without subtitles

Resolution

• 📺 4K - 3840x2160 or higher
• 📺 1080p - 1920x1080 to 3839x2159

Codec

• 🎞️ H.264 - Videos encoded with H.264/AVC
• 🎞️ H.265 - Videos encoded with H.265/HEVC

File Size

• 💾 Large Files (>5GB) - Files larger than 5GB

Other

• All Videos - Show all videos (removes filter)

How It Works

Backend Changes

1. Database Schema Updates (dashboard.py)

Added new columns to the files table:

• video_codec - Video codec name (h264, hevc, etc.)
• audio_codec - Audio codec name (aac, ac3, dts, etc.)
• audio_channels - Number of audio channels (2, 6, 8, etc.)
• width - Video width in pixels
• height - Video height in pixels
• duration - Video duration in seconds
• bitrate - Video bitrate in bits per second

Migration automatically adds these columns to existing databases.

2. Media Inspection (reencode.py)

Updated LibraryScanner.scan() to extract media attributes using FFprobe:

• Parses video streams for codec, resolution
• Parses audio streams for codec, channels
• Extracts format info for duration, bitrate
• Saves all attributes to database

3. Filter Query Logic (dashboard.py)

Added filter_type parameter to get_files() method with SQL filters:

if filter_type == 'surround_sound':
    query += " AND audio_channels >= 6"
elif filter_type == '4k':
    query += " AND width >= 3840"
# etc...

4. API Endpoint (dashboard.py)

/api/files now accepts filter parameter:

GET /api/files?filter=surround_sound
GET /api/files?filter=4k&state=discovered

Frontend Changes

1. Filter Buttons UI (dashboard.html)

Added filter button bar with 10 filter options:

• Visual design matches dashboard style
• Active filter highlighted in blue
• Inactive filters in gray

2. JavaScript Functions (dashboard.html)

• applyFilter(filterType) - Sets active filter and reloads file list
• currentAttributeFilter - Tracks active filter
• loadFileQuality() - Updated to include filter in API call

3. Button State Management

Filter buttons update styling to show active state:

• Active: Blue background, bold font
• Inactive: Gray background, normal font

User Experience

Before

Users could only filter by state (discovered, pending, completed, etc.) or search by filename.

After

Users can:

1. Click a filter button to show only matching videos
2. Combine filters with state filters (e.g., "Show discovered files with 5.1 audio")
3. See exactly which videos match their criteria
4. Easily find videos that need re-encoding (e.g., all H.264 videos to convert to H.265)

Example Use Cases

1. Convert All H.264 to H.265

1. Click 🎞️ H.264 filter
2. Click 📁 Discovered quick select
3. Choose sweetspot_qsv profile
4. Click ▶️ Encode Selected

2. Prioritize Large Files

1. Click 💾 Large Files (>5GB) filter
2. Select files with checkboxes
3. Encode to save disk space

3. Find 4K Content

1. Click 📺 4K filter
2. See all 4K videos in library
3. Use appropriate 4K encoding profile

4. Upgrade Stereo to Surround

1. Click 🔉 Stereo Only filter
2. Find videos that could benefit from audio upgrade
3. Plan audio enhancement workflow

Files Modified

dashboard.py

• Lines 145-170: Added new columns to database schema
• Lines 197-215: Added database migration for new columns
• Lines 322-381: Updated get_files() to support attribute filtering
• Lines 739-749: Updated /api/files endpoint to accept filter parameter

reencode.py

• Lines 364-398: Updated add_file() to accept media attributes
• Lines 899-943: Updated scan() to extract and save media attributes

templates/dashboard.html

• Lines 605-640: Added filter buttons UI
• Lines 1434: Added currentAttributeFilter variable
• Lines 1445-1452: Updated loadFileQuality() to include filter in API call
• Lines 1613-1631: Added applyFilter() function

Testing

To test the feature:

1. Scan Library

   • Click "Scan Library" button
   • Scanner will extract media attributes for all files
   • May take longer than before due to FFprobe calls

2. Apply Filters

   • Click different filter buttons
   • File table should update to show only matching files
   • Active filter should be highlighted in blue

3. Combine with State Filters

   • Select a state from dropdown (e.g., "Discovered")
   • Click an attribute filter (e.g., "5.1+ Audio")
   • Should show only discovered files with surround sound

4. Select and Encode

   • Apply a filter
   • Select files with checkboxes or "Discovered" button
   • Choose profile and encode

Performance Considerations

• Scanning: Now slightly slower due to FFprobe calls for each file
• Filtering: SQL queries are efficient with proper indexing
• First Scan: Existing files need rescanning to populate new attributes

Future Enhancements

Possible additions:

• HDR Detection - Filter for HDR/Dolby Vision content
• Bitrate Ranges - Custom bitrate thresholds
• Frame Rate - Filter by 24fps, 30fps, 60fps, etc.
• 720p Filter - Add 720p resolution option
• Codec Combinations - Filter by video+audio codec pairs
• File Age - Filter by when files were added
• Compression Ratio - Filter by how much compression potential exists