STOP USING HandBrake settings for later Gfolio slideshows

Update: I'm not fixing this doc any more. Instead find it in Google docs

Convert videos 2005 to Present Day and Eclectic

I'm converting all my videos so they'll render in Gfolio.

1. Copy one year at a time down from Home Pictures to my desktop
2. Once it's on my desktop, delete all mpgs that already have a converted mp4
3. Now open Handbrake and make sure the queue is cleared.
4. Now select FOLDER (BATCH SCAN). Find your folder and load it. 
5. Now it will say READY. (Or If you already had it open from the last job, it might say QUEUE FINISHED instead of READY.)
6. Choose ADD ALL (it's inside ADD TO QUEUE). Now it will show you the number of jobs PENDING.
7. If at this time Handbrake throws this message, say yes, again and again:
   "there are jobs on the queue with the same destination path. Please choose a different path for this job... Do you wish to proceed trying to add the rest?"
   This happens when Handbrake sees identical titles followed by  numbers like this: (2) and (3). Because it is using the "metadata title" it thinks they're all dupes if they have a different number. It appears if you say yes to each of those, it properly distinguishes between each video title. In this case be sure to clear the queue when you're done so you can start with a clear queue for your next job
8. Now START QUEUE. It can take a long time.
9. When it says QUEUE FINISHED you can now remove all the old videos (the avis, the mpgs, and so forth) and leave the mp4s.
10. Once it has passed your tests, it can replace the folder in Home Pictures.
11. Hold off for a while on doing any backups to Google Drive and Amazon Photos until I'm very confident

Later, see if any images won't render

I've found I might have to convert some images later too, using a different converter. So after I'm done with all video conversions, I can see if any of my images won't render in Gfolio. If that is a problem, then use XnConvert to convert those images.

Addendum 

How I configured my Handbrake Settings

1. Go into Advanced and under File Handling, check the box for Recursively scan directories when using the folder scan mode.
2. Also in Advanced under File Handling, make sure my usual images are being excluded. Be sure to add any to that list that aren't there so they're all excluded: tif, jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,heic,heif,avif,dng,cr2,cr3,nef,arw,orf,raf,sr2,tga,pcx,ppm, mp4. Note that we exclude mp4 so we don't end up with duplicate mp4s
3. In Output Files, in Default Path, use {source_path}
4. Initially I tried moving the resulting year folder to a different place in Google drive and testing it with Gfolio but I'm satisfied with that.
5. Also it looks like I don't need to open Handbrake with admin.

Screenshots of Handbrake Settings

Here's two screenshots (see below) of the advanced settings; however, the setting for excluded filetypes is scrollable, so you won't see them all here.

STOP USING Set up HBBatchBeast to work recursively with HandBrake

 
Note: I discovered I don't need HBBatchBeast after all because HandBrake has recursive in its Advanced settings.

HandBrake seems not to know how to recursively find videos for conversion. I've had to use HBBatchBeast which works with HandBrake, and even so, I had to run HBBatchBeast in admin.

HBBatchBeast is available from Github. Go to releases and then assets and download the zip folder. Extract the zip folder and find the exe file. It's portable so there's no installation, but you will need to keep the entire folder on your hard drive while using HBBatchBeast.

STOP USING Set up Handbrake output folder

You can absolutely tell Handbrake to put each finished file right back into its original folder. Here’s how to set it up correctly. Click to expand:

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Step 1: Open Handbrake's Preferences

First, you need to get to the main settings panel.

1. Open the Handbrake application.

2. In the top menu bar, click on Tools.

3. From the dropdown menu, select Preferences.

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Step 2: Configure the Output Destination

This is the most important step. You'll tell Handbrake to use the source file's folder as the destination.

1. In the Preferences window, click on the Output Files tab on the left.

2. Look for the text box labeled Default Path.

3. Delete anything that is currently in that box and type the following exactly:
   {source_path}
   
   ❗️Important: Make sure to include the curly braces {} and use all lowercase letters. This is a special command that tells Handbrake to use the original video's folder.

4. Next, look at the box right below it labeled File Format. To avoid accidentally overwriting your original video, it's a good idea to have Handbrake automatically rename the new file. A safe and common format is:
   {source}-HB
   
   This will take the original filename and add "-HB" to the end of the new, converted file.

Here is what that settings page should look like:

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Step 3: Verify It's Working

Now, let's make sure the setting is active before you start an encode.

1. Close the Preferences window.

2. Drag a new video file into Handbrake (this setting doesn't apply to files that were already in your queue).

3. At the bottom of the Handbrake window, look at the Save As file path. It should now automatically show the path to the original folder and the new filename.

✅ If the "Save As" path looks correct, you're all set! Just click Start Encode.

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Troubleshooting Error Messages

If you are still getting errors after doing this, the problem is most likely one of two things:

• Permissions Issue: Handbrake might not have permission to save files in that specific folder. This often happens if your video is in a protected system folder, on a network drive, or on an external drive with read-only permissions.

• Quick Test: Try converting a video file located on your computer's Desktop. If it works there, you know the problem is with the folder permissions of your other files, not with Handbrake's settings.

• Filename Conflict: If you don't change the File Format as suggested in Step 2, Handbrake may be trying to save a new file with the exact same name as the original, which can cause an error. Always make sure the new filename is at least slightly different.

STOP USING Convert wmvs and mpgs to mp4s for free with Adobe Express or Handbrake

 
Adobe Express is an online conversion tool
https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/video/convert/wmv-to-mp4

Apparently this works for MPG's too and maybe avi's.

I had an MPG that probably had a bad codec; anyway it got stuck on Adobe's servers. So I tried Handbrake which worked in under a minute. So I now have Handbrake installed on my Windows 11. Note: the installation of Handbrake requires Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0, so don't ever erase that.