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iflicks 2 thoughts?

C

CTay

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 18, 2013
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I am in the middle of rebuilding my process for converting or remuxing files. I decided to give iflicks a try and would like to know what you all have seen as far as performance goes. I have been using subler but I would like to take advantage of the automated features iflicks offers. Subler isn't fast by any means and I have used MP4tools as well. I like the speed there but looking for some added features and more of an all in one program with automated options.

I understand that performance stats are dictated by the system running the program so I am inquiring more for an average. What kind of remux/convert times am I looking at for a 2gb MKV file? Should iflicks be faster than subler or MP4tools? Handbrake is horribly slow for me so I am not interested in that.

I know there are tons of options out there and iflicks seems to be what I am looking for, but I want to make sure the performance is there. I don't mind the 25 bucks but want to know it works.
 
I just ran a quick test with a 1.7GB file and it estimated 1:30 and that's about what it took. Very large movie files can be in the 5 minute range. It's also dependent on what else you have running.
 
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If you aren't re-encoding any of the streams in the MKV, the process shouldn't take very long at all. Since I archive everything in iTunes and watch it on my Apple TV, the only thing that usually has to be encoded for me is the audio stream. My 2015 iMac 5k can churn through an 18gb file in iFlicks 2 in about 1:30 if there's encoding to be done, it's only like :30 for repackages. Mind you, this is with iTunes, Safari, and usually my wife's Lightroom running on her account going in the background.
 
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I tried using a trial beta last night with a 9gb MKV movie that initially said it would take 3 hours. I was a bit concerned so I let it run. It was still running this morning with only half of the file completed. Obviously something is wrong. I assume it's the beta. I think I will pull the trigger on this app. Seems to be pretty good.

Any certain settings or issues I need to look for? I am going to run through Plex so the iTunes portion really is of no concern to me. I still need the files to be capable to run through iTunes though.
 
CTay said:
I tried using a trial beta last night with a 9gb MKV movie that initially said it would take 3 hours. I was a bit concerned so I let it run. It was still running this morning with only half of the file completed. Obviously something is wrong. I assume it's the beta. I think I will pull the trigger on this app. Seems to be pretty good.

Any certain settings or issues I need to look for? I am going to run through Plex so the iTunes portion really is of no concern to me. I still need the files to be capable to run through iTunes though.
Click to expand...

Two questions: What is the output file setting and what is the source file? I'm guessing that it's an MKV container, but what is the video stream encoded in?
 
tjwilliams25 said:
Two questions: What is the output file setting and what is the source file? I'm guessing that it's an MKV container, but what is the video stream encoded in?
Click to expand...


Output setting is HD 1080p.
Source file is a MKV x264
 
Okay, I would suggest changing the output to iTunes Compatible. I've noticed everything else forces a re-encode rather than a simple remux. Since you're already dealing with an h.264 file, there's no need to encode it again. Try changing that setting and see if your results improve.
 
CTay said:
Output setting is HD 1080p.
Source file is a MKV x264
Click to expand...

Why are you using that output setting?

Generally, it's best to just leave the output setting at "itunes compatible".

Read this guide to the output presets: http://support.iflicksapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/202634538-Presets

The HD 1080p preset is doing a ton of things that you probably don't want, which is why it's taking 7 hours. Under that preset, remuxing will not happen ever. It will always re-encode the file, and on top of that, it will always upconvert the resolution to 1080p. Both tasks are very CPU-intensive. Both tasks are also usually unnecessary. First, upconverting file to 1080p doesn't improve quality, and might actually hurt it. Second, re-encoding is only needed when the original encoding is incompatible.

Since your souce file is in x264, under the "itunes compatible" preset, it would take probably only a minute or two to remux that file and import it into itunes.
 
oneMadRssn said:
Why are you using that output setting?

Generally, it's best to just leave the output setting at "itunes compatible".

Read this guide to the output presets: http://support.iflicksapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/202634538-Presets

The HD 1080p preset is doing a ton of things that you probably don't want, which is why it's taking 7 hours. Under that preset, remuxing will not happen ever. It will always re-encode the file, and on top of that, it will always upconvert the resolution to 1080p. Both tasks are very CPU-intensive. Both tasks are also usually unnecessary. First, upconverting file to 1080p doesn't improve quality, and might actually hurt it. Second, re-encoding is only needed when the original encoding is incompatible.

Since your souce file is in x264, under the "itunes compatible" preset, it would take probably only a minute or two to remux that file and import it into itunes.
Click to expand...

OK. I understand what you are saying. I chose that setting simply to bump it to the highest quality. This is exactly why I asked these questions. I appreciate the input.
I want to say I started with the iTunes setting the first time I ran it and canceled it because it stated over 2 hours processing time, but I can't be certain. I will try it again with iTunes. Is there any other setting that could possibly hurt my cause that I need to be aware of?
 
CTay said:
OK. I understand what you are saying. I chose that setting simply to bump it to the highest quality. This is exactly why I asked these questions. I appreciate the input.
I want to say I started with the iTunes setting the first time I ran it and canceled it because it stated over 2 hours processing time, but I can't be certain. I will try it again with iTunes. Is there any other setting that could possibly hurt my cause that I need to be aware of?
Click to expand...

For future reference, it is never possible to bump the quality higher than the source file. Any changes to the source file can only make the output file equal to or worse than the source. Thus, the less you do to the source file, the better.
 
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oneMadRssn said:
For future reference, it is never possible to bump the quality higher than the source file. Any changes to the source file can only make the output file equal to or worse than the source. Thus, the less you do to the source file, the better.
Click to expand...

Definitely makes sense. Something I never thought of.
 
Looks like that fixed it. Running pretty quick now. Thanks for the info everyone.
 
I used the iTunes compatible setting on an MKV Blu-ray Indiana Jones Skull which was about 30G when the output was done the file was still 23G, is there something I'm doing wrong?
 
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