WinFF: Preset to convert to H.265/HEVC under Xenial Xerus?

Question

How do I use WinFF to produce files in the video format H.265/HEVC under Xenial Xerus? I would like to have a WinFF preset to make this an easy, one-click procedure...

Answer 1

The copy of Winff under Xenial Xerus on fresh installation does not produce H.265/HEVC files. It needs a new preset to be able to create these files.

First download and install WinFF, FFmpeg and and an 'expanded' codec pack for FFmpeg fromo the Ubuntu Repositories:

sudo apt-get install winff winff-doc ffmpeg libavcodec-extra

Then create a text file on your Desktop, or any other location, called hevc.wff and paste the following xml snippet into it:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<presets> 
  <HEVC>
    <label>H.265 encoding with AAC sound</label>
    <params>-c:a aac -b:a 160k -strict -2 -c:v libx265 -preset medium -crf 28</params>
    <extension>mp4</extension>
    <category>My Presets</category>
  </HEVC>
</presets>

Save the file, right click on it and select: 'Open with WinFF' and this is enough to save your new preset in ~/.winff/presets.xml and make H.265/HEVC encoding possible from within WinFF!

The finished product can be seen in this screenshot from my own system:

Notes:

1. You will note from the graphic above that it is an easy matter to modify this preset to extend it as you see fit.
2. Extra presets can be conveniently added to the 'My Presets' category as you build up a small library of your own presets!

References:

• FFmpeg and H.265 Encoding Guide
• FFmpeg and AAC