Video Commander 2026.8.0 is now available.
Target VMAF Encoding
A new "Target VMAF" quality mode automatically finds the lowest-bitrate CRF that meets a target VMAF score (default 93). Instead of picking a CRF value by hand and checking the result, you set the quality threshold and let the app figure out the right encode settings.
How it works: Video Commander encodes a 30-second probe clip from the middle of the source, measures VMAF, and binary-searches over CRF values — up to six iterations — until it converges on a CRF that meets the target. The final encode then runs at that CRF. The jobs queue shows meaningful stage labels throughout: "Finding quality (2/6)" during the search, then "Encoding" for the final pass.
After the encode completes, the job detail shows the full result: the CRF found, the achieved VMAF score, output file size, and bitrate — for example, "Used CRF 21 · VMAF 93.47 · 145.3 MB · 2.4 Mbps".
A VMAF model selector (HD / 4K / Phone) is available in the encoding UI to match the libvmaf model to the intended playback target. If the installed FFmpeg doesn't support VMAF analysis, Video Commander will tell you upfront before any encoding starts.
Preview Encode with Auto-Open Player
A new "Preview (30s)" button in the Convert view encodes a short clip to a temporary directory without queuing a full encode job. The seek offset and duration are configurable (5–120 seconds). When the preview finishes, the app automatically navigates to the Player tab so you can review the result immediately.
An "Open in Player" button is also available in the job completion banner and job detail view for both preview and full encode jobs.
The Preview tab has been renamed to Player throughout the app to distinguish the playback view from the preview-encode feature. Encode-side labels ("Preview (30s)", the PREVIEW badge) are unchanged.
AVI Inspection
AVI files are now supported in the inspection views. All existing inspection commands work for .avi files: media info, box/chunk tree, size graph, and paginated sample listing.
Download
Download the latest build from the download page.