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GUI Detailed Usage

Complete reference for Video Converter's graphical interface.

Main Window Overview

The Video Converter GUI uses a tab-based layout with five main sections:

graph LR
    A[Home] --> B[Convert]
    B --> C[Photos]
    C --> D[Queue]
    D --> E[Settings]

The window has a minimum size of 900×600 pixels and centers on your screen at launch.

Home Tab

The Home tab serves as your dashboard and primary drop zone.

Drag and Drop Zone

The central drop zone accepts:

  • Single video file: Opens in Convert tab for detailed settings
  • Multiple video files: Added directly to the conversion queue
  • Folders: All videos in the folder are scanned and queued

Supported Formats

Drag and drop supports: .mp4, .mov, .avi, .mkv, .m4v

Quick Action Buttons

Button Action
Browse Photos Library Opens Photos tab to select videos from Photos.app
Open Video File Opens file picker dialog

Recent Conversions

Displays a scrollable list of recently converted files with:

  • Original filename
  • Conversion date and time
  • Status (success/failed)
  • Space saved

Statistics Bar

The bottom bar shows real-time statistics:

Metric Description
Hardware Encoder Shows if VideoToolbox is available
Space Saved Total storage saved by conversions
Videos Converted Running count of successful conversions

Convert Tab

The Convert tab provides detailed control over single-file conversions.

Input Selection

  1. Click Browse or drag a file to select input
  2. File information displays:
    • Filename and path
    • Duration and resolution
    • Current codec and file size

Output Configuration

Setting Description Default
Output Path Where to save the converted file Same directory as input
Filename Output filename (auto-generated with _hevc suffix) {input}_hevc.mp4

Encoding Settings

Encoder Type

Encoder Pros Cons
Hardware Very fast, low CPU usage Slightly larger files
Software Smaller files, better compression Slower, high CPU usage

Quality Settings

Quality Value Description Use Case
1-30 High quality, larger files Archival, editing source
30-50 Balanced General use
50-100 Lower quality, smaller files Sharing, streaming
CRF Value Description Use Case
0-18 Visually lossless Archival
18-23 High quality General use
23-28 Smaller files Web, mobile
28-51 Low quality Testing

Conversion Controls

Button Action Shortcut
Start Conversion Begin conversion process -
Cancel Stop current conversion -

Progress Display

During conversion, the view shows:

  • Progress bar with percentage
  • Estimated time remaining (ETA)
  • Current encoding speed (fps)
  • Current frame being processed

Photos Tab

Browse and convert videos directly from your Photos library.

First-Time Setup

Permission Required

Photos access requires permission. If not already granted:

  1. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos
  2. Enable access for Video Converter
  3. Restart the application

Album Browser

The left sidebar displays:

  • All Videos: Every video in your library
  • Albums: User-created albums containing videos
  • Smart Albums: Auto-generated albums (Favorites, etc.)

Video Grid

The main area shows video thumbnails with:

  • Preview image
  • Duration
  • iCloud status (local/cloud)
  • Selection checkbox

Selection and Conversion

  1. Click videos to select (++cmd+click++ for multiple)
  2. Use Select All for batch selection
  3. Click Convert Selected to add to queue

iCloud Integration

Status Icon Description
Local - Video is on this Mac
iCloud ☁️ Video is in iCloud only
Downloading ⟳ Currently downloading from iCloud

iCloud Videos

Videos stored only in iCloud will be downloaded automatically before conversion.

Queue Tab

Manage all pending and active conversions.

Queue List

Each item in the queue displays:

Column Description
Status Pending, Converting, Complete, Failed
Filename Name of the video file
Size Original file size
Progress Conversion progress bar
ETA Estimated time remaining

Queue Controls

Button Action
Pause All Pause all conversions
Resume All Resume paused conversions
Cancel All Cancel and remove all pending items
Clear Completed Remove finished items from list

Individual Item Actions

Right-click on any queue item for:

  • Remove from Queue: Cancel this conversion
  • Open in Finder: Show the source file
  • View Details: Open detailed status

Queue Behavior

  • Maximum concurrent conversions: 2 (configurable in Settings)
  • Failed items remain in queue with error message
  • Completed items show final file size and savings

Settings Tab

Configure all application preferences.

Encoding Settings

Encoder Selection

Option Description
Hardware (VideoToolbox) Uses Apple's hardware encoder
Software (libx265) Uses CPU-based x265 encoder

Quality Slider

Adjust encoding quality:

  • Hardware: 1-100 (lower = better)
  • Software CRF: 0-51 (lower = better)

Preset (Software Only)

Preset Speed Compression
ultrafast Fastest Lowest
superfast Very fast Low
veryfast Fast Below average
faster Above average Average
fast Average Above average
medium Below average High
slow Slow Very high
slower Very slow Higher
veryslow Slowest Highest

Path Settings

Setting Description
Output Directory Default location for converted files
Temp Directory Location for temporary files during conversion
Use Source Directory Save output alongside source file

Processing Settings

Setting Description Default
Concurrent Conversions Max simultaneous conversions 2
Preserve Original Keep source files after conversion Enabled
Delete on Success Remove source after successful conversion Disabled

Notification Settings

Setting Description
Desktop Notifications Show macOS notifications on completion
Sound Play sound on conversion complete
Show in Menubar Display menubar icon with progress

Save Settings

Click Save Settings to persist your configuration. Settings are automatically saved when closing the application.

The menubar app provides background monitoring without keeping the main window open.

When enabled, a small icon appears in the macOS menu bar showing:

  • Idle: Static icon when no conversions
  • Converting: Animated icon with progress percentage

Click the icon to access:

Item Action
Progress Shows current conversion status
Pause/Resume Toggle pause on current conversion
Cancel Cancel current conversion
Open Video Converter Show main window
Quit Exit the application

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+1 Go to Home tab
Ctrl+2 Go to Convert tab
Ctrl+3 Go to Photos tab
Ctrl+4 Go to Queue tab
Ctrl+5 Go to Settings tab

File Operations

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+O Open video file
Ctrl+W Close window

Application

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+, Open Preferences/Settings
Ctrl+Q Quit application

Tips and Best Practices

For Best Performance

  1. Use Hardware Encoder for everyday conversions
  2. Limit concurrent conversions to 2 on most Macs
  3. Close other heavy applications during large batch jobs
  4. Use local storage for output (not network drives)

For Best Quality

  1. Use Software Encoder with CRF 18-22
  2. Use slow preset for better compression
  3. Test with a short clip before batch processing

For Best Organization

  1. Create a dedicated output folder in Settings
  2. Enable "Preserve Original" until you verify results
  3. Use the Queue tab to monitor batch conversions
  4. Clear completed items regularly to keep queue clean

See Also