diff --git a/.specstory/history/2026-01-21_08-11Z-check-files-py-small-output-error-handling.md b/.specstory/history/2026-01-21_08-11Z-check-files-py-small-output-error-handling.md
index 5b3aae8..bb5edee 100644
--- a/.specstory/history/2026-01-21_08-11Z-check-files-py-small-output-error-handling.md
+++ b/.specstory/history/2026-01-21_08-11Z-check-files-py-small-output-error-handling.md
@@ -17885,3 +17885,576 @@ So when the progress output makes it hard or impossible to type in the encode wi
---
+_**User**_
+
+I'm re-evaluating here.
+1. I think we'll go back to NVENC H.265 for now. I'll use nvenc av1 when I have 40 series GPUs or newer. Copy the encode settings from@encode_VOD.py
+2. The hosts are going to need to have their GPUs specified. The Unraid machines don't have valid GPUs so they can be excluded completely. Pyro and PostIrony are gpu0, RenderScrap is gpu0 AND gpu1, so it needs to be sent an ssh job per GPU.
+3. for HEVC mp4 output, we won't need to use TS containers anymore, right? can we use mp4 containers?
+
+---
+
+_**Agent (model default, mode Agent)**_
+
+Thought Process
+
+The user is re-evaluating the distributed encode setup with several changes:
+
+1. **Switch from AV1 (libaom) to NVENC H.265** - Copy encode settings from encode_VOD.py
+2. **Host/GPU mapping**:
+ - Unraid machines (GuiltsCurse, Godzilla) - exclude completely (no valid GPUs)
+ - Pyro, PostIrony - gpu0
+ - RenderScrap - gpu0 AND gpu1 (needs 2 SSH jobs, one per GPU)
+ So the "hosts" concept becomes host+GPU pairs; RenderScrap appears twice (as RenderScrap:0 and RenderScrap:1 or similar)
+3. **Container**: Use MP4 instead of TS for HEVC output (no need for mpegts pipe/segments)
+
+I need to:
+1. Look at encode_VOD.py for the NVENC HEVC encode settings
+2. Understand current ffmpeg_distributed.py and encode_VOD_pyro.py - how hosts are used, how we'd add GPU per host and exclude some hosts
+3. Confirm MP4 vs TS - for NVENC HEVC to pipe we might still need a container; let me check. Actually for local encoding (not pipe), we can output mp4 directly. The current design: reader (ffmpeg -ss -t -i input -c copy) outputs to pipe, encoder reads pipe and writes to segment file. So we have pipe between reader and encoder. For NVENC we're running encoder on remote - so we have: local reader -> pipe -> ssh -> remote ffmpeg (encoder) -> segment file. The segment file format: we were using mpegts because libaom-av1 had issues with matroska to pipe. For NVENC HEVC, we can use:
+ - Pipe: could use mpegts or raw NAL or ... Actually ffmpeg NVENC can output to pipe as mp4? Let me think. Typically for pipe you use a streaming format. MP4 is not great for streaming/pipe because it needs seeking for moov at end. So we might still use mpegts for the pipe and then... or we could use mp4 for segments if we're writing to file on the remote (encoder writes to file, not to pipe). So: reader outputs to pipe (mpegts or similar), encoder reads pipe and writes to **file**. The segment file on disk can be .mp4 if the encoder outputs HEVC in MP4. So yes - we can have segment files as .mp4. The concat step: ffmpeg concat demuxer supports a list of files. For MP4, concat demuxer works but often re-muxes. So we'd have segment files 00000000.mp4, 00000001.mp4, ... and concat them. So the user is right - we don't need TS containers for the segment files; we can use MP4. For the **pipe** between reader and encoder we might still use a streaming format (mpegts or raw). Let me check - if we use NVENC with -f mp4 to pipe, it might not work well because mp4 needs to be seekable for the moov. So the pipe format could stay mpegts (or we use hevc in mpegts) and the encoder decodes that and re-encodes to HEVC and outputs to .mp4 file. So segments = .mp4, concat list = .mp4 files. Good.
+
+I'll read the relevant files to build the plan.
+Tool use: **read_file_v2** • Read file: r:\Videos\mux\encode_VOD.py
+
+
+Tool use: **ripgrep_raw_search**
+
+
+Parameters:
+
+```json
+{
+ "pattern": "nvenc|hevc|h265|-c:v|preset|bitrate",
+ "path": "r:\\Videos\\mux\\encode_VOD.py",
+ "caseInsensitive": false
+}
+```
+Result:
+
+```json
+{
+ "success": {
+ "pattern": "nvenc|hevc|h265|-c:v|preset|bitrate",
+ "path": "r:\\Videos\\mux\\encode_VOD.py",
+ "outputMode": "content",
+ "workspaceResults": {
+ "r:\\Videos\\mux": {
+ "content": {
+ "matches": [
+ {
+ "file": "encode_VOD.py",
+ "matches": [
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 207,
+ "content": " '-c:v', 'hevc_nvenc',"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 209,
+ "content": " '-preset', 'p7',"
+ }
+ ]
+ }
+ ],
+ "totalLines": 2,
+ "totalMatchedLines": 2
+ }
+ }
+ }
+ }
+}
+```
+Status: **completed**
+
+
+
+
+
+---
+
+
+Tool use: **read_file_v2** • Read file: r:\Videos\mux\ffmpeg_distributed.py
+
+Tool use: **read_file_v2** • Read file: r:\Videos\mux\encode_VOD_pyro.py
+
+Thought Process
+
+I need more of encode_VOD.py to get the full NVENC HEVC command (preset, bitrate, etc.) and how the output is produced.
+Tool use: **read_file_v2** • Read file: r:\Videos\mux\encode_VOD.py
+
+
+Tool use: **ripgrep_raw_search**
+
+
+Parameters:
+
+```json
+{
+ "pattern": "\\.ts|\\.mp4|output_path|segment|concat",
+ "path": "r:\\Videos\\mux\\ffmpeg_distributed.py",
+ "caseInsensitive": false
+}
+```
+Result:
+
+```json
+{
+ "success": {
+ "pattern": "\\.ts|\\.mp4|output_path|segment|concat",
+ "path": "r:\\Videos\\mux\\ffmpeg_distributed.py",
+ "outputMode": "content",
+ "workspaceResults": {
+ "r:\\Videos\\mux": {
+ "content": {
+ "matches": [
+ {
+ "file": "ffmpeg_distributed.py",
+ "matches": [
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 89,
+ "content": "def _segment_valid(segment_path: str, expected_duration_sec: float, tolerance_sec: float = 0.1) -> bool:"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 90,
+ "content": " \"\"\"Return True if ffprobe succeeds on segment and duration matches expected within tolerance (like check_files.py).\"\"\""
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 92,
+ "content": " ['ffprobe', '-v', 'error', '-show_entries', 'format=duration', '-of', 'csv=p=0', segment_path],"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 106,
+ "content": "def _build_segments(keyframe_times: List[float], segment_seconds: float, total_duration: float) -> List[Tuple[float, float]]:"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 107,
+ "content": " \"\"\"Build (start_sec, end_sec) segments at keyframe boundaries. When keyframe probe fails, use fixed segment_seconds.\"\"\""
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 111,
+ "content": " # No keyframes: split at fixed intervals so we still get multiple segments"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 112,
+ "content": " segments = []"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 115,
+ "content": " end = min(start + segment_seconds, total_duration)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 116,
+ "content": " segments.append((start, end))"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 118,
+ "content": " return segments"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 119,
+ "content": " segments = []"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 123,
+ "content": " end_target = start + segment_seconds"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 131,
+ "content": " segments.append((start, end))"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 133,
+ "content": " return segments"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 354,
+ "content": "def encode(hosts: List[str], input_file: str, output_file: str, segment_seconds: float = 60, remote_args: str = '', concat_args: str = '', tmp_dir: str = None, keep_tmp=False, resume=False, copy_input=False, probe_host: str = None, probe_path: str = None, remote_ffmpeg_path: str = None):"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 357,
+ "content": " tmp_dir = tmp_dir or 'ffmpeg_segments_'+md5(input_file.encode()).hexdigest()"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 361,
+ "content": " pass # previous job: resume and re-queue failed segments"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 368,
+ "content": " segments = _build_segments(keyframe_times, segment_seconds, total_duration)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 370,
+ "content": " if not segments:"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 371,
+ "content": " tqdm.write(f'No segments for {input_file} (keyframes={len(keyframe_times)}, duration={total_duration}). Check ffprobe.', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 374,
+ "content": " MIN_SEGMENT_BYTES = 1024 # smaller = failed/corrupt segment, re-encode"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 378,
+ "content": " for i, (start_sec, end_sec) in enumerate(segments):"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 380,
+ "content": " output_path = f'{tmp_dir}/{i:08d}.ts'"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 381,
+ "content": " if isfile(output_path):"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 383,
+ "content": " if getsize(output_path) < MIN_SEGMENT_BYTES:"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 384,
+ "content": " unlink(output_path)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 386,
+ "content": " elif not _segment_valid(output_path, duration_sec, DURATION_TOLERANCE_SEC):"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 387,
+ "content": " unlink(output_path)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 393,
+ "content": " task_queue.put(Task(start_sec, duration_sec, output_path, split(remote_args)))"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 397,
+ "content": " tqdm.write(f'[2/4] Removed {removed} bad segment(s) (ffprobe failed or duration mismatch), re-queued.', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 399,
+ "content": " tqdm.write('All segments already done (resume).', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 401,
+ "content": " tqdm.write(f'[2/4] Queued {n_tasks} segments (keyframes={len(keyframe_times)}, duration={total_duration:.1f}s)', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 403,
+ "content": " dprint(f'Segments: {len(segments)} total, {n_tasks} tasks queued')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 405,
+ "content": " tqdm.write(f'[3/4] Encoding segments on {len(hosts)} host(s)...', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 471,
+ "content": " list_path = f'{tmp_dir}/output_segments.txt'"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 473,
+ "content": " f.write('\\n'.join([f\"file '{fpath}'\" for fpath in sorted(glob(f'{tmp_dir}/*.ts'))]))"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 475,
+ "content": " tqdm.write('[4/4] Concatenating segments and muxing with audio...', file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 476,
+ "content": " concat_extra = ['-stats_period', '5'] if verbose else []"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 477,
+ "content": " concat_cmd = ["
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 478,
+ "content": " 'ffmpeg', *concat_extra, '-i', input_file,"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 479,
+ "content": " '-f', 'concat', '-safe', '0', '-i', list_path,"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 483,
+ "content": " *split(concat_args),"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 486,
+ "content": " tqdm.write('Concat ffmpeg: ' + ' '.join(join([x]) for x in concat_cmd), file=stderr)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 487,
+ "content": " with TqdmAbsolute(desc='concatenating output segments') as bar:"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 491,
+ "content": " ffmpeg = FFMPEGProc(concat_cmd, update_callback=upd, echo_stderr=verbose)"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 502,
+ "content": " parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Splits a file into segments and processes them on multiple hosts in parallel using ffmpeg over SSH.')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 506,
+ "content": " parser.add_argument('concat_args', default='', help='Arguments to pass to the local ffmpeg concatenating the processed video segments and muxing it with the original audio/subs/metadata. Mainly useful for audio encoding options, or \"-an\" to get rid of it.')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 507,
+ "content": " parser.add_argument('-s', '--segment-length', type=float, default=10, help='Segment length in seconds.')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 509,
+ "content": " parser.add_argument('-k', '--keep-tmp', action='store_true', help='Keep temporary segment files instead of deleting them on successful exit.')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 510,
+ "content": " parser.add_argument('-r', '--resume', action='store_true', help='Don\\'t split the input file again, keep existing segments and only process the missing ones.')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 512,
+ "content": " parser.add_argument('-c', '--copy-input', action='store_true', help='Don\\'t (losslessly) re-encode input while segmenting. Only use this if your input segments frame-perfectly with \"-c:v copy\" (i.e. it has no B-frames)')"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 520,
+ "content": " segment_seconds=args.segment_length,"
+ },
+ {
+ "lineNumber": 522,
+ "content": " concat_args=args.concat_args,"
+ }
+ ]
+ }
+ ],
+ "totalLines": 53,
+ "totalMatchedLines": 53
+ }
+ }
+ }
+ }
+}
+```
+Status: **completed**
+
+
+
+
+
+---
+
+Thought Process
+
+Now I have a clear picture.
+
+**1. NVENC HEVC settings from encode_VOD.py (lines 201-226):**
+- `-c:v hevc_nvenc`
+- `-gpu`, gpu (GPU index)
+- `-preset p7`, `-tune hq`
+- `-rc vbr`, `-rc-lookahead 32`
+- `-spatial-aq 1`, `-aq-strength 15`
+- `-cq 0`, `-b:v 10000k`, `-maxrate 10000k`, `-bufsize 20000k`
+- `-c:a copy`, `-map 0`, then metadata for audio labels, then output
+
+For distributed we won't have audio in segments (segments are video-only), so remote args would be something like:
+`-c:v hevc_nvenc -gpu 0 -preset p7 -tune hq -rc vbr -rc-lookahead 32 -spatial-aq 1 -aq-strength 15 -cq 0 -b:v 10000k -maxrate 10000k -bufsize 20000k -an`
+And we need to pass the GPU index per worker.
+
+**2. Host/GPU model:**
+- Current: hosts = list of SSH host strings, one thread per host.
+- New: "workers" = list of (host, gpu_id). So:
+ - Pyro -> ("Pyro", 0)
+ - PostIrony -> ("PostIrony", 0)
+ - RenderScrap -> ("RenderScrap", 0) and ("RenderScrap", 1) -> 2 workers
+ - GuiltsCurse, Godzilla -> excluded
+
+So we need to change from `hosts: List[str]` to something like `workers: List[Tuple[str, int]]` where each entry is (ssh_host, gpu_index). The TaskThread would then need to receive (host, gpu_id) and pass -gpu gpu_id in the encoder command. The display name could be f"{host}:gpu{gpu_id}" or "RenderScrap:0", "RenderScrap:1".
+
+**3. MP4 vs TS:**
+- Currently: reader outputs mpegts to pipe, encoder reads mpegts from pipe and writes **.ts** segment files, concat list is *.ts.
+- For HEVC we can: keep reader->pipe as mpegts (or use hevc in mpegts for pipe - actually the reader does -c:v copy so it's copying the input codec; if input is HEVC we'd be piping HEVC. For simplicity we could keep reader as mpegts - re-encode to mpegts for pipe so the encoder gets a known format. Actually the current reader does -c:v copy -f mpegts so it's copying video codec (could be hevc) into mpegts container to pipe. So decoder on the other side reads mpegts. For NVENC we'd have: reader (mpegts pipe) -> remote ffmpeg -f mpegts -i pipe: -c:v hevc_nvenc -gpu N ... -f mp4 segment.mp4. So encoder outputs to .mp4 file. Yes!
+- Segment extension: .mp4 instead of .ts
+- Concat list: glob *.mp4, output_segments.txt lists .mp4 files
+- Pipe format: can stay mpegts (reader) -> decoder on remote; encoder writes to .mp4. So we need to change: output_path from .ts to .mp4, encoder -f mpegts pipe:1 to writing to file (we're already writing to file with stdout=outfile). So the remote encoder command currently is: ffmpeg -f mpegts -i pipe: [args] -f mpegts pipe:1 and we write that to a file. So we're writing mpegts to the segment file. To write MP4 we'd do: ffmpeg -f mpegts -i pipe: [args] -f mp4 segment.mp4 (output to file, not pipe). So we need to change the remote command so it writes to a file path. But wait - the way it works now is: we run ssh host "ffmpeg ... pipe:1" and we redirect that to a local file (outfile). So the segment file is written on the **controller** (Windows) by the SSH stdout. So the encoder on the remote outputs to stdout (pipe:1) and we capture that. So the segment file is actually written locally. So the format of the segment file is whatever we pass to -f. So we could do -f mp4 and the remote would output mp4 to stdout and we'd write it to segment.mp4. So yes: change -f mpegts to -f mp4 for the encoder output, and change segment extension from .ts to .mp4. The concat step then uses *.mp4. Good.
+
+One caveat: MP4 to stdout can be tricky because MP4 typically wants to seek to write the moov at the end. Some encoders support fragmented MP4 (e.g. -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov) for streaming. Let me check - for hevc_nvenc output to pipe, we might need -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov so the mp4 can be written sequentially. I'll add that to the plan.
+
+Creating the plan.
+
+ Tool use: **web_search** • Searched web `undefined` • **1** results
+
+| Title | URL | Chunk |
+|-------|-----|-------|
+| Web search results for query: ffmpeg hevc_nvenc output mp4 to pipe movflags frag_keyframe | | Links:
1. [nanake / ffmpeg-hevc-encode-nvenc.md](https://gist.github.com/nanake/e5e747f386904911371eee25277c81de)
2. [devjj / ffmpeg-hevc-encode-nvenc.md](https://gist.github.com/devjj/da92e752b2a7ac9371492af4223a18d6/revisions)
3. [Let's set up your homepage Select a few topics you're interested in:](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/55698581/create-mp4-file-from-raw-h264-using-a-pipe-instead-of-files)
4. [Piping MP4 from FFmpeg](https://www.jaburjak.cz/posts/ffmpeg-pipe-mp4/)
5. [How to output fragmented mp4 with ffmpeg?](https://www.exchangetuts.com/how-to-output-fragmented-mp4-with-ffmpeg-1639584787079460)
# FFmpeg HEVC_NVENC Output to MP4 Pipe with Fragmented MP4
## Key Solution: Use `movflags` for Pipe Output
To output HEVC-encoded video to a pipe as MP4, you need to use fragmented MP4 format because standard MP4 requires seeking, which pipes don't support.[4]
## Required Command Structure
Use the `-movflags` option with fragmentation flags:[4][5]
```
ffmpeg -i input -c:v hevc_nvenc -f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov -
```
## movflags Options Explained
- **`frag_keyframe`**: Creates fragmented output where each keyframe starts a new fragment[4][5]
- **`empty_moov`**: Places the `moov` atom at the beginning and makes it empty, followed by fragmented `moof` and `mdat` atoms[4][5]
## Why This Is Necessary
Standard MP4 files use atoms with size headers that must be calculated retroactively by seeking backward—impossible with pipes. Fragmented MP4 splits tracks into small fragments that FFmpeg can keep in memory and output sequentially without seeking.[4]
## Trade-off
Fragmented MP4s have reduced compatibility. Some players (like Windows 10's built-in video player) may report zero duration and have unusable seek bars, though playback typically works.[4]
For HEVC NVENC encoding specifically, apply these `movflags` to your hevc_nvenc command as shown in the structure above.[1][2] |
+
+
+
+
+---
+
+
+Tool use: **read_file_v2** • Read file: r:\Videos\mux\ffmpeg_distributed.py
+
+Thought Process
+
+So for MP4 to pipe we need -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov. The concat demuxer in ffmpeg can concat fragmented MP4s - I believe it works. So the plan:
+
+1. **encode_VOD_pyro.py**
+ - Change DISTRIBUTED_HOSTS_DEFAULT to a list of (host, gpu_id) "workers": Pyro:0, RenderScrap:0, RenderScrap:1, PostIrony:0 (no Unraid).
+ - Change DISTRIBUTED_REMOTE_ARGS_DEFAULT to NVENC HEVC from encode_VOD.py (without -gpu, that will be injected per worker).
+ - Pass workers into ffmpeg_distributed.encode() instead of hosts.
+
+2. **ffmpeg_distributed.py**
+ - Change to accept workers: List[Tuple[str, int]] or List of (host, gpu_id). Each thread gets (host, gpu_id).
+ - TaskThread: accept (host, gpu_id), store both; display as "host:gpuN"; when building encoder_cmd, inject -gpu gpu_id and use remote_ffmpeg_path for host.
+ - Segment extension: .ts -> .mp4 everywhere (output_path, glob, list_path).
+ - Reader: keep -f mpegts pipe:1 (unchanged).
+ - Encoder: -f mpegts -i pipe: [remote_args with -gpu N] -f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov pipe:1 (so we write to outfile which gets .mp4 bytes). So remote_args should NOT contain -gpu; we add -gpu {gpu_id} per worker.
+ - Concat: glob *.mp4, list_path lists .mp4 files; concat step stays the same (map 1:v etc).
+
+3. **NVENC remote args** (from encode_VOD.py, video-only for segments):
+ - -c:v hevc_nvenc -preset p7 -tune hq -rc vbr -rc-lookahead 32 -spatial-aq 1 -aq-strength 15 -cq 0 -b:v 10000k -maxrate 10000k -bufsize 20000k -an
+ - We add -gpu {gpu_id} in the distributed code when building the encoder command.
+
+Let me also confirm: for concat of fragmented MP4 segments, does ffmpeg concat demuxer work? Yes - the concat demuxer just concatenates the streams, so as long as all segments are HEVC and we use -c:v copy for concat it should work.
+
+I'll add one more thing: the Task structure currently has ffmpeg_args as a list (from split(remote_args)). We need to inject -gpu gpu_id. So we could either (a) pass gpu_id in Task and have the thread add it when building the command, or (b) have the thread add -gpu self._gpu_id when building encoder_cmd. Option (b) is cleaner - Task stays as is, TaskThread has _gpu_id and when it builds encoder_cmd it does [ffmpeg_bin, '-f', 'mpegts', '-i', 'pipe:', '-gpu', str(self._gpu_id), *task.ffmpeg_args, '-f', 'mp4', '-movflags', 'frag_keyframe+empty_moov', 'pipe:1']. So remote_args in the config should not include -gpu.
+
+Creating the plan.
+
+Tool use: **create_plan**
+
+
+Parameters:
+
+```json
+{
+ "plan": "# NVENC HEVC distributed encode with per-host GPU and MP4 segments\n\n## 1. Copy NVENC HEVC settings from encode_VOD.py\n\nFrom [encode_VOD.py](r:\\Videos\\mux\\encode_VOD.py) (lines 201–226), the local encode uses:\n\n- `-c:v hevc_nvenc` with `-gpu` (index)\n- `-preset p7`, `-tune hq`\n- `-rc vbr`, `-rc-lookahead 32`\n- `-spatial-aq 1`, `-aq-strength 15`\n- `-cq 0`, `-b:v 10000k`, `-maxrate 10000k`, `-bufsize 20000k`\n\nFor **distributed segments** (video-only, no audio): use the same video options and `-an`. The `-gpu` index will be injected per worker in the distributed code, not in the shared remote args string.\n\n**Proposed default remote args** (no `-gpu`; added per worker):\n\n```text\n-c:v hevc_nvenc -preset p7 -tune hq -rc vbr -rc-lookahead 32 -spatial-aq 1 -aq-strength 15 -cq 0 -b:v 10000k -maxrate 10000k -bufsize 20000k -an\n```\n\n---\n\n## 2. Workers = (host, gpu_id); exclude Unraid; RenderScrap = 2 workers\n\n**Current:** `hosts: List[str]` — one thread per host (Pyro, RenderScrap, root@GuiltsCurse, PostIrony, root@Godzilla).\n\n**New:** `workers: List[Tuple[str, int]]` — each entry is `(ssh_host, gpu_index)`. One thread per (host, gpu).\n\n- **Pyro:** gpu 0 → `(\"Pyro\", 0)`\n- **PostIrony:** gpu 0 → `(\"PostIrony\", 0)`\n- **RenderScrap:** gpu 0 and gpu 1 → `(\"RenderScrap\", 0)`, `(\"RenderScrap\", 1)`\n- **GuiltsCurse, Godzilla:** not in the list (Unraid, no valid GPUs)\n\nSo the default workers list becomes:\n\n```python\nDISTRIBUTED_WORKERS_DEFAULT = [\n (\"Pyro\", 0),\n (\"RenderScrap\", 0),\n (\"RenderScrap\", 1),\n (\"PostIrony\", 0),\n]\n```\n\n- [encode_VOD_pyro.py](r:\\Videos\\mux\\encode_VOD_pyro.py): replace `DISTRIBUTED_HOSTS_DEFAULT` with `DISTRIBUTED_WORKERS_DEFAULT`; all call sites that pass “hosts” should pass “workers” and any env (e.g. `DISTRIBUTED_HOSTS`) can be replaced with something like `DISTRIBUTED_WORKERS` (e.g. parse `\"Pyro:0,RenderScrap:0,RenderScrap:1,PostIrony:0\"`).\n- [ffmpeg_distributed.py](r:\\Videos\\mux\\ffmpeg_distributed.py): `encode()` and `TaskThread` take workers instead of hosts. Each thread gets `(host, gpu_id)`; display name e.g. `Pyro:gpu0`, `RenderScrap:gpu0`, `RenderScrap:gpu1`, `PostIrony:gpu0`. When building the remote encoder command, add `-gpu str(gpu_id)` (and keep using `remote_ffmpeg_path` for the binary on Unraid if you later add back a non-NVENC path).\n\n---\n\n## 3. MP4 segments and pipe-safe output\n\n**Current:** Reader outputs mpegts to pipe; encoder reads mpegts and writes **.ts** segments; concat uses `*.ts` and `output_segments.txt` listing `.ts` files.\n\n**New (HEVC):**\n\n- **Segment extension:** `.ts` → `.mp4` everywhere: segment paths, resume/validation, glob for concat list, and `output_segments.txt` content.\n- **Encoder output:** Remote encoder currently does `-f mpegts pipe:1` and the controller writes that stream to the segment file. Change to MP4:\n - Use **`-f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov pipe:1`** so MP4 can be written sequentially over pipe (standard MP4 needs seeking; fragmented MP4 is pipe-safe). Segments will be fragmented MP4 (playback fine; concat demuxer works with them).\n- **Reader:** Keep `-f mpegts pipe:1` (no change).\n- **Concat step:** Glob `*.mp4`, list those in `output_segments.txt`; concat command stays `-f concat -safe 0 -i list_path`, `-map 1:v`, etc. No need for TS anymore.\n\n**Files to touch in ffmpeg_distributed.py:**\n\n- Segment path: `f'{tmp_dir}/{i:08d}.ts'` → `f'{tmp_dir}/{i:08d}.mp4'`\n- Glob for concat: `glob(f'{tmp_dir}/*.ts')` → `glob(f'{tmp_dir}/*.mp4')`\n- Encoder command: after `*task.ffmpeg_args`, add `-gpu str(self._gpu_id)` (from TaskThread’s worker), then `-f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov pipe:1` instead of `-f mpegts pipe:1`.\n\n---\n\n## 4. Implementation summary\n\n| Area | Change |\n|------|--------|\n| **encode_VOD_pyro.py** | `DISTRIBUTED_HOSTS_DEFAULT` → `DISTRIBUTED_WORKERS_DEFAULT` (list of (host, gpu)); `DISTRIBUTED_REMOTE_ARGS_DEFAULT` = NVENC HEVC string above (no `-gpu`); pass workers into distributed encode; optional env `DISTRIBUTED_WORKERS` (e.g. `Pyro:0,RenderScrap:0,RenderScrap:1,PostIrony:0`). |\n| **ffmpeg_distributed.py** | `encode(workers: List[Tuple[str, int]], ...)`; `TaskThread(host, gpu_id, ...)` with `_host_tag()` like `RenderScrap:gpu1`; encoder_cmd includes `-gpu str(gpu_id)` and `-f mp4 -movflags frag_keyframe+empty_moov pipe:1`; segment paths and concat glob/list use `.mp4`. |\n| **CLI** | If ffmpeg_distributed is invoked directly, add a way to pass workers (e.g. `-H host:gpu` repeated, or keep `-H host` and add optional `--gpu` per host; minimal change is to accept workers as the primary interface). |\n\n---\n\n## 5. Data flow (unchanged structure, new types and formats)\n\n```mermaid\nflowchart LR\n subgraph controller [Controller]\n Queue[Task queue]\n Concat[Concat step]\n end\n subgraph workers [Workers]\n W1[\"Pyro:gpu0\"]\n W2[\"RenderScrap:gpu0\"]\n W3[\"RenderScrap:gpu1\"]\n W4[\"PostIrony:gpu0\"]\n end\n Queue --> W1\n Queue --> W2\n Queue --> W3\n Queue --> W4\n W1 --> Segs[.mp4 segments]\n W2 --> Segs\n W3 --> Segs\n W4 --> Segs\n Segs --> Concat\n```\n\n---\n\n## 6. Optional: remote_ffmpeg_path and Unraid\n\nUnraid hosts are no longer in the worker list, so `DISTRIBUTED_REMOTE_FFMPEG_PATH` / `remote_ffmpeg_path` are only relevant if you add non-Unraid hosts that need a custom ffmpeg path. No change required for the “exclude Unraid” design; keep the existing parameter so RenderScrap/Pyro/PostIrony can still use default `ffmpeg` on PATH.\n",
+ "name": "NVENC HEVC distributed workers",
+ "overview": "Switch distributed encode from AV1 (libaom) to NVENC H.265 using encode_VOD.py settings; model workers as (host, gpu_id) so RenderScrap gets two workers (gpu0 and gpu1), Unraid hosts are excluded; use MP4 for segment and concat with movflags for pipe-safe output."
+}
+```
+Additional data:
+
+```json
+{
+ "reviewData": {
+ "status": "Requested",
+ "selectedOption": "none",
+ "isShowingInput": false
+ },
+ "planUri": "file:///c%3A/Users/Nathan/.cursor/plans/nvenc_hevc_distributed_workers_efd618b8.plan.md",
+ "hasOpenedEditor": true
+}
+```
+Result:
+
+```json
+{
+ "rejected": {}
+}
+```
+Status: **completed**
+
+
+
+
+
+---
+
+_**User**_
+
+Implement the plan as specified, it is attached for your reference. Do NOT edit the plan file itself.
+
+To-do's from the plan have already been created. Do not create them again. Mark them as in_progress as you work, starting with the first one. Don't stop until you have completed all the to-dos.
+
+---
+
+_**Agent (model default, mode Agent)**_
+
+
+
+---
+
+
+
+---
+
+
+Tool use: **todo_write** • Error parsing todo list data
+
+