News
Video Monkey repository back at github
06/12/12 Tue
There’s been a lot of rework of the Video Monkey website over the last few weeks. I’ve moved servers, redesigned the site and moved things around a bit. That’s all done now, and I hope things are back to normal and better than ever. Please let me know if you are experiencing any more problems. I’ve also moved the source repository back to github. I had moved it to my own server to avoid disk space issues and to get more control over the repository features. But I’ve found that maintaining your own repositories, web interface, bug tracking and secure code access is a much bigger job than I’m willing to take on. Plus, github has tripled their disk space allotment. So, we’re back! Most of the issues that were opened in the bugzilla tracker have been moved into github. If you don’t see an issue you opened, please add it.
I’m also working on a new release with some nice bug fixes and exciting new features. Stay tuned...
Comments
Version 0.12 fixes Leopard compatibility problem
08/09/11 Tue
I just switched to Lion and didn’t install the 10.5 (Leopard) SDK. Consequently the 0.11 release of Video Monkey used the Lion SDK and the result wouldn’t run on Leopard. All that should be fixed now, so all you Leopard holdouts can start using Video Monkey again 
I’ve also refined the bitrate/frame size calculations, so you should get better quality encodings for all sizes. There are a few other bug fixes that snuck in as well. Check it all out in the release notes.
I’ve also refined the bitrate/frame size calculations, so you should get better quality encodings for all sizes. There are a few other bug fixes that snuck in as well. Check it all out in the release notes.
Version 0.11 Released, fixes many format bugs
08/06/11 Sat
Here is the promised 0.11 release with several bug fixes for annoying problems, like the inability to create files for the 1st generation Apple TV, and not being able to make full size MPEG-4 files. I've also added a long standing patch from Lars Koerkemeier which adds Growl support. See the release notes for the full list.
I'm currently working on DVD Authoring and Advanced Settings, but I wanted to get this release out first for those of you who are suffering from them.
Have fun, and don't forget to file bugs...
I'm currently working on DVD Authoring and Advanced Settings, but I wanted to get this release out first for those of you who are suffering from them.
Have fun, and don't forget to file bugs...
Video Monkey is Now Hosted at marrin.org
07/25/11 Mon
A few of you may have noticed me moving bugs over to my new bugzilla database. I've never liked github's issue tracker, so I hope this will make it much easier to keep track of bugs. The downside is that, in order to submit a bug, you have to register for a bugzilla account. Fortunately this is really easy and it will make simpler to communicate about bugs, add yourself to bugs you're interested in tracking, etc. I am trying to integrate bugzilla registration with videomonkey registration. But for now they are completely separate.
Going along with this, the Video Monkey repository is now on marrin.org, along with a gitweb browser. I've updated all the links on the site. Please check it all out and let me know what you think. Also let me know if you find any trouble using the new system.
Going along with this, the Video Monkey repository is now on marrin.org, along with a gitweb browser. I've updated all the links on the site. Please check it all out and let me know what you think. Also let me know if you find any trouble using the new system.
Video Monkey 0.10 Solves Problems on Leopard
03/17/11 Thu
Video Monkey has always been for Leopard and above. Leopard supports 64 bit so I thought I had it made. I wasn’t thinking about the 32 bit Macs still supported by Leopard. No problem, I thought. I’ll just make Video Monkey “universal” - capable of working on both 32 bit and 64 bit Macs. Not so fast. To do that you’d need to make a universal version of ffmpeg, the core of Video Monkey’s encoding function. That is much harder than it sounds, and in fact I’ve spent the last 3 weeks unsuccessfully trying to do just that.
Turns out that the build tools for ffmpeg create a 64 bit executable on Snow Leopard (which is a pure 64 bit OS) and a 32 bit executable on Leopard (which is a hybrid). Sounds perfect? Maybe, but the 64 bit executable SL builds is not compatible with Leopard and I have been unable to convince Leopard to build me a 64 bit ffmpeg, which I assume would work on both. For applications built with XCode this is a simple problem – you simply build on Snow Leopard with a Leopard SDK. But ffmpeg doesn’t use XCode. So I’ll have to try harder or find an ffmpeg guru in the crowd.
In the meantime, here is a version that is 32 bit only. It should work on both Leopard and Snow Leopard. Please let me know if it doesn’t. While going through all this pain I also found the time to fix a few of the bugs some of you have posted with 0.9.
Thanks for supporting Video Monkey!
Video Monkey 0.9 is (finally) here
02/15/11 Tue
The 0.9 release has many new features (check out the release notes). But by far the biggest and most requested (and the least well tested
) feature is support for other video formats. I urge you to try this new feature out and let me know how well it works for your use case(s). I have limited ability to test some of the file formats, like PSP and Tivo. They should all successfully encode but there’s no guarantee they work on the intended device. I’m looking forward to your feedback and improving this much requested feature. I’ve added a new topic on the forum to make it easier to carry on this conversation. Please use that to let me know how it’s all working. I’d also like to hear if you’re having good results with the new formats!But there are many other features in this release as well. A/V offset is a feature I’ve wanted for a while. I often come across videos with bad lip sync. This feature will fix the worst of these sorts of files, where the offset between audio and video is fixed throughout the content, but it can’t handle advanced features like different sync points throughout the video. Still, this simple adjustments works well in many situations.
This version also includes a very fresh copy of ffmpeg. I think I’ve finally cracked the code for building ffmpeg for use with VM so hopefully I can do a better job of keeping up with bug fixes as they come out. This build of ffmpeg should also handle true multithreading. So many of you will see a performance boost.
This release also has a couple of teasers. In addition to the continued tease of DVD creation, the format menu also shows a custom encoding item. This will eventually allow you to customize the encoding beyond the presets in the other formats. Hopefully these features will be out soon.
Have fun!
Pardon Our Dust
02/12/11 Sat
So have a look around and watch out for the cranes and paint buckets!
What’s been happening with VideoMonkey?
12/26/10 Sun
It’s been a long time since anything has been going on with the project, so I thought it was high time to get out some news. Truth is, I’ve been really busy at work and haven’t had time for Video Monkey lately.
But I’ve gotten a new drive to get more encoders into Video Monkey. The code is not in great shape for adding encoders. For one thing commands.xml, the file that contains all the rules and JavaScript code for telling the encoders what to do, is in dismal shape. So I went back to the drawing board.
First, I wanted to get a new version of FFMPeg, the heart of the encoding system. The version in use is ancient and is missing many bug fixed and a few features. You’d think it was easy to get the latest command line utility, but it is far from it. First of all, any version that is available online is either too old, doesn’t have all the needed encoders, or is linked with shared libraries. So I’ve been working at building my own version, which is another mountain to climb.
FFMPeg needs many support libraries some of which are really hard to build. This is the dark side of Open Source Software. You have to depend on the whims of those willing to do the work. For many those whims can be very fickle. Just look at Video Monkey, it has been stale for the last several months because it sole developer (me) was busy with other things. I am happy to be able to use the great work others. These libraries are outstanding and crucial to Video Monkey. I just wish some were easier to build and use.
My initial hope was to make a script that would build all the support libraries and then build ffmpeg. But that is too difficult at this time. So I’ve settled for just getting something to build. And I’ve succeeded at getting version 0.6.1 (the latest at time of this writing), working with the latest support libraries. I hope it works better and is an asset to Video Monkey moving forward.
Next, I wanted commands.xml to be easier to use. I think I’ve got that, too. I am now using the latest ffpresets files, so H.264 (MP4) output should be better and faster. I’ve also made some improvements to the JavaScript interface. So I hope I am now set to write some new encoders! Look for encoders that output MP4 encoded video. After that I will look at how to encode to FLV, WMV and others. I might even be able to add MKV output (although I dislike the format strongly)!
But I’ve gotten a new drive to get more encoders into Video Monkey. The code is not in great shape for adding encoders. For one thing commands.xml, the file that contains all the rules and JavaScript code for telling the encoders what to do, is in dismal shape. So I went back to the drawing board.
First, I wanted to get a new version of FFMPeg, the heart of the encoding system. The version in use is ancient and is missing many bug fixed and a few features. You’d think it was easy to get the latest command line utility, but it is far from it. First of all, any version that is available online is either too old, doesn’t have all the needed encoders, or is linked with shared libraries. So I’ve been working at building my own version, which is another mountain to climb.
FFMPeg needs many support libraries some of which are really hard to build. This is the dark side of Open Source Software. You have to depend on the whims of those willing to do the work. For many those whims can be very fickle. Just look at Video Monkey, it has been stale for the last several months because it sole developer (me) was busy with other things. I am happy to be able to use the great work others. These libraries are outstanding and crucial to Video Monkey. I just wish some were easier to build and use.
My initial hope was to make a script that would build all the support libraries and then build ffmpeg. But that is too difficult at this time. So I’ve settled for just getting something to build. And I’ve succeeded at getting version 0.6.1 (the latest at time of this writing), working with the latest support libraries. I hope it works better and is an asset to Video Monkey moving forward.
Next, I wanted commands.xml to be easier to use. I think I’ve got that, too. I am now using the latest ffpresets files, so H.264 (MP4) output should be better and faster. I’ve also made some improvements to the JavaScript interface. So I hope I am now set to write some new encoders! Look for encoders that output MP4 encoded video. After that I will look at how to encode to FLV, WMV and others. I might even be able to add MKV output (although I dislike the format strongly)!
Version 0.8 Released with better Metadata search
04/08/10 Thu
Well version 0.7 fixed the crashing problems, but introduced some instability in the metadata search feature. So I’ve gone through and fixed those problems. Along the way I’ve added better error reporting and improved the usability quite a bit. Now when you search using the search box (because the name of the show was not found in the filename) it will still use any season/episode information. This helps because many shows are in a folder with the show name, but each episode file just contains the sXXeXX string. You can also now use the search box to search on multiple files. So you can select all your files, enter the search box and it will give you the right season and episode for each.
Some shows have each season in a separate folder and only the episode number is in the filename. Video Monkey now handles these, too. Just select all the files, enter the show name in the search box, and Video Monkey will set the show name and the episode number. You just need to set the correct season on one file, right click on the “Season:” label and select “Use this value for all files”. Now you have the right show name, season and episode, and you’re ready to encode!
Enjoy, and as always please report any problems you find.
Some shows have each season in a separate folder and only the episode number is in the filename. Video Monkey now handles these, too. Just select all the files, enter the show name in the search box, and Video Monkey will set the show name and the episode number. You just need to set the correct season on one file, right click on the “Season:” label and select “Use this value for all files”. Now you have the right show name, season and episode, and you’re ready to encode!
Enjoy, and as always please report any problems you find.
Version 0.7 Released with crashes fixed
03/17/10 Wed
Sorry it’s been so long since doing a release. This one is just a quick fix for the crash when trying to encode around 3 files. I’ve been able to successfully encode over 30 files, so I think the problem is gone. I hope to get on with some of the bugs and add support for XBox encoding and others.
Version 0.6 Released
12/17/09 Thu
