Changelog

Every Video Commander release in one place. Major features are covered in depth on the blog.


2026.8.0

April 28, 2026Read full post →
  • Target VMAF encoding mode — automatically binary-searches for the lowest-bitrate CRF that meets a user-specified VMAF score (default 93), using a 30-second probe clip from the middle of the source.
  • VMAF model selector in the encoding UI — choose HD / Default, 4K, or Phone to match the libvmaf model to the intended playback target.
  • Job detail surfaces the full Target VMAF result: CRF found, achieved VMAF score, output file size, and bitrate.
  • Preview (30s) encode — encodes a short clip to a temp directory without queuing a full job; the Player tab opens automatically when it completes.
  • Player tab auto-opens after any encode job completes, with an "Open in Player" button in the job completion banner and job detail view.
  • AVI inspection — all inspection views (overview, tree, graph, samples) now support AVI files.
  • Fixed completed job status label to show terminal state (Complete / Failed / Canceled) rather than the stale last-progress label.

2026.7.3

April 21, 2026Read full post →
  • Temporarily disabled the FFmpeg auto-installer on Windows while a fix is being worked on. Windows users can still install FFmpeg manually.

2026.7.2

April 21, 2026Read full post →
  • MKV inspection — Video Commander can now inspect MKV/EBML files, including sample parsing, powered by the new built-in vc-mkv library.
  • FFmpeg 8.1 builds are now available for both macOS and Windows.
  • The generated FFmpeg command in the Convert view now has syntax highlighting and tooltips explaining each argument.

2026.7.1

April 17, 2026Read full post →
  • Fixed local file validation on Windows that was incorrectly rejecting valid file paths.
  • Tabs now close when middle-clicked.

2026.7.0

April 16, 2026Read full post →
  • Batch encoding — add multiple source files to the encode queue and process them sequentially, each with independent progress tracking.
  • Expanded FFmpeg controls: additional options surfaced in the UI, a new filter chain builder, and stream mapping controls for selecting audio, video, and subtitle streams.
  • Job completion notifications — system notification when a job finishes.
  • Updated progress bar surfaces encoding speed, bitrate, fps, and time remaining.
  • Container and codec compatibility enforcement — incompatibilities are surfaced before a job starts with a clear explanation.
  • VMAF report export — analysis results can now be exported as a report file.
  • Fixed VMAF progress bar accuracy during trimmed-source analysis runs.

2026.6.2

April 6, 2026
  • Updated the sample video on the welcome screen.

2026.6.1

April 4, 2026Read full post →
  • Updated the sample video on the welcome screen.

2026.6.0

March 28, 2026Read full post →
  • Video Commander is now available on Windows.
  • Job detail logs can now be copied to the clipboard.
  • Fixed VMAF analysis on Windows.

2026.5.0

March 20, 2026Read full post →
  • Added built-in DASH/HLS stream validator in the Inspect view — parses manifest trees, runs conformance checks, and surfaces findings categorized by Error, Warning, and Info severity.
  • Selecting a finding highlights the relevant node in the manifest tree, navigable down to individual segments and representations.
  • Segment probing: selecting a segment or representation fetches and analyzes that resource, reporting codec, container, duration, and detected anomalies. Bulk probing across all addressable segments is supported.
  • Files can now be dragged directly onto the app window to open them as a new source tab.
  • Refreshed progress bar visual style to better fit the dark UI theme.
  • Upgraded mp4box dependency to v0.7.0 with improved MP4 parsing accuracy and bug fixes for fragmented and progressive MP4 files.

2026.4.1

March 16, 2026Read full post →
  • Added automatic FFmpeg installer on macOS Apple Silicon — downloads, verifies SHA-256 checksum, and stores the binary path without manual setup.
  • FFmpeg availability is checked once at app startup and shared across all views via a provider context.
  • Settings > Local Tools shows the installed FFmpeg version and checksum, with a Check for Updates button.
  • Installed FFmpeg version and checksum are preserved across app launches.
  • Added 19+ built-in encoding presets to Convert: H.264, H.265, VP9, and AV1 at common resolutions, plus platform presets for YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter/X, Discord, TikTok, and Instagram Reels.
  • New Command Preview panel in Convert shows the reconstructed FFmpeg command before queuing, with copy-to-clipboard.
  • Fixed remote URL encodes saving to the temp directory instead of the Desktop.
  • Fixed preset selection clearing the output path directory prefix.
  • Fixed the Reveal button not opening the correct output directory.
  • Fixed hardcoded video/mp4 MIME type being applied to non-MP4 output artifacts.
  • Error and warning lines in job detail logs are now highlighted in red and yellow respectively.
  • Added "See full log →" link on analysis failure to navigate directly to the job detail view.
  • Added Settings > Data Management with a Clear Work Data action that resets projects, tabs, job history, and analysis results while preserving license, FFmpeg config, and cloud settings.
  • Jobs and job events are now stored in separate files (.jobs.json, .job-events.json) to keep the main store lean.
  • About dialog updated with Lucide icons, platform label in the version string, a Check for Updates button, and expanded to xl size.

2026.4.0

March 10, 2026Read full post →
  • Complete UI retheme — deeper dark background across the shell, sidebar, title bar, and tab strip with subtler borders and improved contrast.
  • Replaced floating JobsDock and bottom dockbar with a dedicated Jobs panel in the sidebar, featuring a live badge for queued and running jobs.
  • Jobs panel uses a split-panel layout: job list on the left, full job detail with inline log output on the right.
  • Removed the separate ConsoleDock — all log output is now surfaced per-job inside the Jobs panel.
  • Sub-tab state retention: each source now remembers which tool tab was last active when switching between files or streams.
  • Preview player now autoplays only on first load; re-navigating to an already-loaded source no longer triggers unwanted autoplay.
  • Cloud Encoding section in Settings now checks license status on load and shows an upgrade prompt for non-Pro users.

2026.3.6

March 9, 2026
  • Expanded inspect overview details to surface more media context at a glance.
  • Fixed license key sanitization to prevent character omission during activation.
  • Improved Box Tree UI and added Box Graph flat/hierarchy views with drill-in behavior and right-click load-to-graph.
  • Enriched manifest inspect views with codec humanization (H.264/H.265/AV1/VP9/AAC/Dolby/DTS/Opus/subtitles) and raw codec tooltips.
  • HLS master playlists now show bitrate ranges, video range (SDR/HLG/PQ), HDCP columns, and session data tables.
  • HLS media playlists now include segment duration stats (min/avg/max), init segment URI visibility, and detailed encryption key panels.
  • DASH manifests now parse ContentProtection into DRM names (Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay) and show DRM badges across overview/tree/table views.
  • Added Copy buttons to URI cells across variants, renditions, segments, init segments, and key URIs.
  • Routed HLS and DASH playback to Shaka Player; Video.js now handles progressive sources only.
  • Upgraded Shaka debug tooling with ABR switch history and segment request logs (status, size, RTT), plus reset-on-source-change behavior.
  • Unified player controls and styling with shared UI components and consistent panel styling.
  • Fixed DASH manifest copy button behavior, refined sample source/welcome layout, removed stale listeners, and reduced redundant IPC fetches.

2026.3.5

March 7, 2026
  • Release distribution migrated to the new GitHub repo: video-commander/releases.

2026.3.4

March 6, 2026
  • Improved overall stability in day-to-day media workflows.
  • Fixed minor UI issues and consistency gaps reported after 2026.3.3.
  • General quality improvements to keep the app responsive during longer sessions.

2026.3.3

March 6, 2026
  • Improved overall stability in day-to-day media workflows.
  • Fixed minor UI issues and consistency gaps reported after 2026.3.1.
  • General quality improvements to keep the app responsive during longer sessions.

2026.3.1

March 4, 2026Read full post →
  • FFmpeg configuration now lives in Settings and is shared across Convert, Analyze, and Delivery — set a custom binary once and ffprobe is resolved from the same directory.
  • Improved VMAF Analyze flow with clearer reference-versus-distorted file setup, browse actions for both files, file-difference validation, and recent job output surfacing.
  • Convert and Delivery now point users to global FFmpeg settings when FFmpeg is missing.
  • Delivery engine panel makes it clearer which packaging engines are unavailable in the current build.
  • Wording updates, job/progress presentation improvements, and sidebar layout spacing fix.

2026.3.0

February 25, 2026Read full post →
  • Added interactive per-frame VMAF timeline graph in the Analyze view — plots quality scores across the full video duration to pinpoint encoding issues.
  • Built-in license activation flow — enter and activate a license key in Settings, with license badge shown in the title bar and About dialog.
  • Substantially expanded Preview player debug overlay: buffering state, dropped frames, current bitrate, resolution, and improved quality/bandwidth selector controls.
  • Range of UI polish, bug fixes, and internal refactoring for stability and maintainability.

2026.2.2

February 20, 2026
  • Added Analyze feature with VMAF video quality assessment.
  • Added Delivery & Packaging support for FFmpeg HLS/DASH workflows.
  • Added Manifest Inspection for HLS and DASH manifest files.
  • Various UI/UX improvements, bug fixes, and performance enhancements.

Initial release

December 18, 2025Read full post →
  • Media inspection for video and audio files, including tracks and metadata.
  • MP4 structure visualization with tree and graph views of box hierarchies.
  • Track and sample analysis for deeper insight into timing and layout.
  • Conversion workflows powered by FFmpeg.