VC1 Codecs – Getting rid of them.

HD content with a VC1 codec doesn’t play easily. It gets dicey when using Emby on Android. Starts and stops, looks mushy, jumps, really unpleasant. If a transcode is applied, everything is good, but it’s a resource hog, of course. So what is the idea of needed action? Make the file Direct Play possible … re-encode the file to the H264 codec. “No need to transcode” is the absolute rule, then if you want to transcode on a device is OK too.

One can choose any method of doing it, here is mine since my files are scattered I use Emby to filter VC1 codec and one by one convert original in same folder to H264 Original and ACC. [note– Make sure for your account you have Subtitle turned to off overall or else you will get burnt in subtitles on the custom file.]

This will make a file with -custom next to the original file, and will also have an entry in your servers Conversions tab.

Once the -custom file is fully written, it shows up in Conversion as Downloaded.

I work on one file at a time to be sure and straighten this situation out fully.

I open the original file in mkvtoolnix-gui and uncheck the VC1 video. Next open “add source files” and choose the -custom version, move the H264 video up to the top of the list, I also bring first ACC to the bottom of the original file audio, uncheck whichever audio you don’t want in the file. Keep the chapters, subtitles and tags.

Start the remux, and when done you have three files in the folder. Go into Emby Server and “remove download” the one just remuxed. In the folder delete the -custom file, then the original file, leaving you with the best of the situation, a remuxed original file with one additional ACC downmixed audio track added, and the re-encoded H264 video, chapters and everything plays easily now.

Rescan your library.

I had too many VC1 codec files. Down to about 10 now in one library. There are others in another library, for another day.