Simple x264/x265 Launcher

Submit portable freeware that you find here. It helps if you include information like description, extraction instruction, Unicode support, whether it writes to the registry, and so on.
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SYSTEM
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#31 Post by SYSTEM »

deathcubek wrote:Simple x264 Launcher v2.50
https://github.com/lordmulder/Simple-x2 ... /tag/v2.50
Simple x264/x265 Launcher v2.50 [2015-04-17]
* Simple x264/x265 Launcher is based on the MUtilities library
* Updated Qt runtime libraries to v4.8.7 snapshot-5 (2015-03-25)
* Overhauled startup code + show spinner while initializing
* Much improved Avisynth and VapourSynth detection code
* Added option to prefer 64-Bit VapourSynth, when available
* Updated x264 to revision 2538
* Updated x265 to version 1.6+174
Entry updated. :)
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#32 Post by deathcubek »

Simple x264 Launcher v2.60
https://github.com/lordmulder/Simple-x2 ... /tag/v2.60
Simple x264/x265 Launcher v2.60 [2015-10-12]
* Much improved validation of custom parameters
* Massive code clean-up
* Some minor fixes and improvements
* Updated x264 to revision 2597
* Updated x265 to version 1.8+2

siegfried
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#33 Post by siegfried »

It's not portable at-all (zip version used):

c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\
c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\Simple x264 Launcher\ :
- preferences.ini
- templates.ini


HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\com.trolltech.Qt.QImageIOHandlerFactoryInterface:\

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Plugin Cache 4.8.false\

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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#34 Post by siegfried »

Any way to use a sharpener filter in the video conversion? Many thanks

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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#35 Post by SYSTEM »

siegfried wrote:It's not portable at-all (zip version used):

c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\
c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\Simple x264 Launcher\ :
- preferences.ini
- templates.ini


HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\com.trolltech.Qt.QImageIOHandlerFactoryInterface:\

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Plugin Cache 4.8.false\
Did you follow the extraction instructions :?:
  1. Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice
  2. Rename x264_launcher.exe into x264_launcher_portable.exe
  3. Launch x264_launcher_portable.exe
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deathcubek
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#36 Post by deathcubek »

siegfried wrote:It's not portable at-all (zip version used):

c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\
c:\Users\Local Settings\LoRd_MuldeR\Simple x264 Launcher\ :
- preferences.ini
- templates.ini
Config files can be stored in the same directory where the EXE file resides. Just enable "portable mode", as described in the README file.

siegfried wrote:HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\com.trolltech.Qt.QImageIOHandlerFactoryInterface:\

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Plugin Cache 4.8.false\
Not sure about those. Definitely, the application does not create those entries. I assume it's some internal Qt stuff, that the application-layer as no direct control over.

The definition of a "stealth" application says:
„registry entries that are created/updated by Windows for the application (eg. MRU entries for dialog boxes, DirectX entries for DirectX-based apps), or temp files created in the official "Temp" folders are not taken into consideration“

I think we have a similar case here. Having said that, since the application never explicitly writes (or tries to read) those values, they can safely be ignored. You can even just delete the entire key...
Last edited by deathcubek on Sun Oct 18, 2015 7:32 am, edited 5 times in total.

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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#37 Post by deathcubek »

siegfried wrote:Any way to use a sharpener filter in the video conversion? Many thanks
Avisynth has a vast collection of "sharpening" filters.

Of course you can just use the built-in Blur() filter (yes, with negative value it sharpens!), or grab one of the various "sharpener" plug-in's for advanced sharpening:
http://avisynth.nl/index.php/External_f ... Sharpeners

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SYSTEM
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#38 Post by SYSTEM »

deathcubek wrote:
siegfried wrote:HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Factory Cache 4.8\com.trolltech.Qt.QImageIOHandlerFactoryInterface:\

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-95864766-2325389660-2471813846-1002\Software\Trolltech\OrganizationDefaults\Qt Plugin Cache 4.8.false\
Not sure about those. Definitely, the application does not create those entries. I assume it's some internal Qt stuff, that the application-layer as no direct control over.

The definition of a "stealth" application says:
„registry entries that are created/updated by Windows for the application (eg. MRU entries for dialog boxes, DirectX entries for DirectX-based apps), or temp files created in the official "Temp" folders are not taken into consideration“

I think we have a similar case here. Having said that, since the application never explicitly writes (or tries to read) those values, they can safely be ignored. You can even just delete the entire key...
For "stealth", we only ignore registry entries which Windows itself creates. In particular, we have explicitly considered the Trolltech key to make Qt programs non-stealth (e.g. http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/ ... hp?p=31302; I couldn't find an example in the database itself in a quick search.)

I marked Simple x264/x265 Launcher non-stealth.
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deathcubek
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#39 Post by deathcubek »

SYSTEM wrote:For "stealth", we only ignore registry entries which Windows itself creates. In particular, we have explicitly considered the Trolltech key to make Qt programs non-stealth (e.g. http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/ ... hp?p=31302; I couldn't find an example in the database itself in a quick search.)

I marked Simple x264/x265 Launcher non-stealth.
Well, it makes a lot of sense to ignore "registry entries which Windows itself creates", because there is not much the application could do to prevent those entries from being created. It's outside of the control of the application code. Probably no (non-trivial) application could be marked "stealth", if those entries weren't ignored. With the Qt entries things are not much different though. The entries are not created by the operating system, but by the "framework". Still, it's as much outside of the control of the application code, as with the Windows entries. So, if you don't ignore those Qt entries, you are effectively stating that no Qt-based application can ever be "stealth". With Qt being the most widely used cross-platform Toolkit nowadays (I think), it means that most cross-platform tools cannot satisfy the definition of "stealth".

(I don't know whether GTK+ or WxWidgets also create some registry entries for their own housekeeping, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do)

Image

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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#40 Post by SYSTEM »

deathcubek wrote: Well, it makes a lot of sense to ignore "registry entries which Windows itself creates", because there is not much the application could do to prevent those entries from being created. It's outside of the control of the application code. Probably no (non-trivial) application could be marked "stealth", if those entries weren't ignored. With the Qt entries things are not much different though. The entries are not created by the operating system, but by the "framework". Still, it's as much outside of the control of the application code, as with the Windows entries. So, if you don't ignore those Qt entries, you are effectively stating that no Qt-based application can ever be "stealth".
Yeah, this is all correct. (Personally, I think stealthiness doesn't matter that much anyway.)
deathcubek wrote: With Qt being the most widely used cross-platform Toolkit nowadays (I think), it means that most cross-platform tools cannot satisfy the definition of "stealth".
Indeed. A quick look shows that most programs in our database are Windows-only. The few programs which are cross-platform and stealth usually
  • use a wrapper such as PortableApps.com Launcher for the portable version, which will also remove registry traces as a bonus
  • are such massive projects (such as the Mozilla Firefox web browser) that they don't use a third-party toolkit (since such a toolkit would be too restrictive)
  • use a toolkit which doesn't leave registry entries behind (see below), or
  • are so simple that they survive without a toolkit (mainly games)
(By the way, my project achieved stealthiness and cross-platform support by using a toolkit which doesn't leave registry entries, namely Agar. It was a necessity because I needed the GUI elements to be drawn via OpenGL, so that I wouldn't need to place them around the 3D view or even into a separate window.)
deathcubek wrote: (I don't know whether GTK+ or WxWidgets also create some registry entries for their own housekeeping, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do)
IIRC, GTK+ leaves a file behind, and wxWidgets doesn't leave any traces.
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deathcubek
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#41 Post by deathcubek »

Indeed. A quick look shows that most programs in our database are Windows-only. The few programs which are cross-platform and stealth usually

use a wrapper such as PortableApps.com Launcher for the portable version, which will also remove registry traces as a bonus
Actually, even "Windows only" applications need some kind of GUI framework, as you certainly wouldn't want to write a non-trivial GUI with plain Win32 API.

And Qt would always be my preferred choice these days. Went trough the pain of developing an MFC-based application once. Encountering nasty problems all the way. In the end, I re-wrote the whole GUI code in Qt in about one day, solving all the problems at once. See also:
http://www.freehackers.org/Qt_versus_MFC#Introduction

Having to use a "wrapper" Launcher around to the actual application is not a solution I like. It's more a "workaround" to make an application appear portable, which actually is not portable.

FWIW, here is a new test version with experimental "registry clean-up" feature:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mulders ... r/Testing/
Last edited by deathcubek on Sun Oct 18, 2015 1:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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SYSTEM
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#42 Post by SYSTEM »

deathcubek wrote: Actually, even "Windows only" applications need some kind of GUI framework, as you certainly wouldn't want to write a non-trivial GUI with plain Win32 API.
As strange as it may seem, I think most programs in our database are using pure Win32 API for their GUI. I don't know where all these programmers doing things the hard way are coming from...
deathcubek wrote: And Qt would always be my preferred choice these days. Went trough the pain of developing an MFC-based application once. In the end, I re-wrote the whole GUI code in Qt in about one day, solving all the problems at once.
Interesting. I have mainly heard good things about Qt as well. (Also, my preferred desktop environment on GNU/Linux is KDE Plasma, which is based on Qt.)

Since I'm a game programmer, I don't have a need for such toolkits (either at work or in spare time projects), but if I'll ever find myself developing a desktop utility program, I'll definitely consider Qt.
deathcubek wrote: Having to use a "wrapper" Launcher around to the actual application is not a solution I like. It's more a "workaround" to make an application appear portable, which actually is not portable.
You'll be happy to hear that most of the TPFC community agrees with you on this. :)
deathcubek wrote: FWIW, here is a new test version with experimental "registry clean-up" feature:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mulders ... r/Testing/
Thank you! :)
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#43 Post by deathcubek »

Simple x264 Launcher v2.61
https://github.com/lordmulder/Simple-x2 ... /tag/v2.61
Simple x264/x265 Launcher v2.61 [2015-10-19]
* Refined custom parameters validation code, again
* Fixed processing of CLI arguments for Launcher (regression in v2.60)
* Remove "junk" Trolltech registry key when application quits
* Updated x264 to revision 2638
* Updated x265 to version 1.8+31
Last edited by deathcubek on Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#44 Post by SYSTEM »

deathcubek wrote:Simple x264 Launcher v2.61
https://github.com/lordmulder/Simple-x2 ... /tag/v2.61
Simple x264/x265 Launcher v2.61 [2015-10-19]
* Refined custom parameters validation code, again
* Fixed processing of CLI arguments for Launcher (regression in v2.60)
* Remove "junk" Trolltech registry key when application quits
* Updated x264 to revision 2638
* Updated x265 to version 1.8+312
Wow, that was fast. :) I updated the database entry and marked it as stealth again.
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Re: Simple x264/x265 Launcher

#45 Post by deathcubek »

Simple x264 Launcher v2.63
https://github.com/lordmulder/Simple-x2 ... /tag/v2.63
Version 2.63 [2015-12-19]
* Updated build environment to Visual Studio 2015 with Update-1
* Updated x265 to version 1.8+167

Version 2.62 [2015-11-18]
* Make 'custom' Avs2YUV parameters work again
* Changed mode for the Status/Progress columns to "ResizeToContents"
* Updated x265 to version 1.8+106

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