Anime4K-Batch - Batch Video Upscaler

This batch script enhances the resolution of videos using GLSL shaders like Anime4K, leveraging the power of ffmpeg for processing. Once set up, the script can be called in several ways, however you'd like.

This script provides a purely Windows-based alternative for the core upscaling logic of Anime4K-GUI, allowing for batch processing and customization via script editing.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Configuration
• Installation & Usage
• Extra Utilities
• Limitations
• Credits

Features

• Video upscaling using configurable GLSL shaders (e.g., Anime4K, FSRCNNX).
• Batch processing of multiple video files or folders (optionally recursively).
• Easy right-click context menu integration.
• Command-line interface with options for customization.
• Drag-and-drop support for files and folders.
• Support for various video encoders: H.264, H.265, AV1 (CPU and GPU).
• Hardware acceleration via NVIDIA NVENC (CUDA) and AMD AMF (OpenCL).
• Preserves all audio and subtitle streams (requires MKV output for subtitles).
• Supports MP4, AVI, and MKV container formats for input/output.
• Automatic detection of ffmpeg/ffprobe via system PATH (can be disabled).
• Optional subtitle extraction using extract-subs.bat, configurable via Anime4K-Batch.bat. See Enabling Subtitle Extraction.
• Optional default audio track prioritization using set-audio-priority.bat, configurable via Anime4K-Batch.bat. See Setting Default Audio Priority.

Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10+
• ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe: Required for video processing and analysis. Must be in the system PATH, the working directory, the installation folder, or specified within the script (scripts/glsl-transcode.bat).
• GLSL Shaders: Standard Anime4K upscaling/sharpening shader files (.glsl) are provided in this repository.

Supported ffmpeg and ffprobe binaries can be found in Releases.

Installation & Usage

First, download the latest Anime4K-Batch.zip (or clone the repository).

There are four main ways to install and use the Anime4K-Batch.bat script:

1. Add to Context Menu (Recommended)

1. Standard: Admin rights required.

   • Execute install_registry.bat. That's it! The script should now be available whenever you right-click on video files and folders.

   • If you wish to remove Anime4K-Batch from the context menu, execute uninstall_registry.bat.

   • (Optional) To disable the new Windows 11 context menu for easier access, run this in Command Prompt (cmd.exe):

     REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /ve /f

   • (Optional) If you wish to add specific flags to the utility scripts (e.g., remux recursively using remux.bat), edit the \command lines before executing install_registry.bat. For example (take note of the -r):

     REG ADD "%ROOT_STORE%\Ani4K.Remux\command" /ve /d "\"%BASE_DIR%\scripts\remux.bat\" -r \"%%1\" & pause" /f

2. Basic: No admin rights required.

   • Open PowerShell and set this variable to your path to the script:

     $path = "C:\path\to\Anime4K-Batch.bat"

   • Then execute this command:

     New-Item -Path "Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\*\shell\Transcode with Anime4K\command" -Value "$path ""%1""" -Force; New-Item -Path "Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\directory\shell\Transcode content with Anime4K\command" -Value "$path ""%1""" -Force

   • The script should now be available whenever you right-click on video files and folders.

   • If you wish to remove Anime4K-Batch from the context menu, run the following command:

     Remove-Item -Path "Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\*\shell\Transcode with Anime4K" -Force; Remove-Item -Path "Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\directory\shell\Transcode content with Anime4K" -Force

   • (Optional) To disable the new Windows 11 context menu for easier access:

     New-Item -Path "Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" -Value "" -Force

2. Drag and Drop

• Select one or more video files or folders containing videos.
• Drag them directly onto the Anime4K-Batch.bat file icon. Processing will start with the settings defined in your configuration.

3. Open with Anime4K-Batch.bat

• Right-click on a video file and select "Open with" from the context menu (not available for folders or multiple files).
• Select "Choose an app on your PC".
• Choose Anime4K-Batch.bat and click "Once".
• The script will start with the settings defined in your configuration.

4. Command Line

• Open Command Prompt (cmd.exe) or PowerShell.

• Navigate to the script's directory or use its absolute path.

• Execute the script with optional flags and options, followed by paths to video files and/or folders.

• Arguments are passed to the underlying script(s) (scripts/glsl-transcode.bat and optionally scripts/extract-subs.bat).

  C:\path\to\Anime4K-Batch.bat [options] [flags] "path\to\folder" "path\to\video.mkv" ...

Command Line Options & Flags

Using these options/flags override settings defined inside the script(s) for that specific run. Place them before the file/folder paths.

Options & Flags:

• -w <width>: Override target width.
• -h <height>: Override target height.
• -shader <file>: Override shader filename (relative to shader path).
• -shaderpath <path>: Override the base path for shaders.
• -codec-prof <type>: Override encoder profile (e.g., nvidia_h265, cpu_av1).
• -cqp <value>: Override the Constant Quantization Parameter (quality, 0-51).
• -container <type>: Override output container format (avi, mkv, mp4).
• -suffix <string>: Suffix to append after the base filename part (default: _upscaled).
• -sformat <string>: Alias of -format option for extract-subs.bat.
• -alang <list>: Comma-separated audio language priority for -set-audio-priority (e.g., "jpn,eng").
• -r: (Flag) Process folders recursively.
• -f: (Flag) Force overwrite if an output file with the target name already exists.
• -delete: (Flag) Delete original file after successful transcode (USE WITH CAUTION!).
• -extract-subs: (Flag) Extract subtitles using extract-subs.bat before transcoding. Passes -f, -suffix, and -format (-sformat) flags automatically.
• -set-audio-priority: (Flag) Set default audio track on the output file using set-audio-priority.bat after transcoding. Passes -f and -lang (-alang) flags automatically.

Command Line Examples

These examples demonstrate various command-line possibilities. While some are based on the default settings, others showcase specific flags and options. Note that features like subtitle extraction and default audio setting require enabling them via flags (-extract-subs, -set-audio-priority) or modifying Anime4K-Batch.bat (see Enabling Subtitle Extraction). Note that, without editing the script, Anime4K-Batch.bat acts as an alias for glsl-transcode.bat. Adjust paths and options as needed.

• Upscale everything in a folder recursively to 4K using ModeA_A HQ shader in MPV's config, force overwrite, extract subs, and set default audio priority to Japanese -> Russian -> English:

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -w 3840 -h 2160 -shaderpath "%appdata%\mpv\shaders" -shader Anime4K_ModeA_A.glsl -r -f -extract-subs -set-audio-priority -alang "jpn,rus,eng" "C:\path\to\input\folder"

  (This assumes you are calling Anime4K-Batch.bat which passes flags to glsl-transcode.bat. The -extract-subs and -set-audio-priority flags trigger the respective sub-scripts)

• Upscale to 1080p, use a lower quality setting (higher CQP for smaller files), output as MP4, specify a custom shader folder (using default shader file), process folders recursively, extract subs, and set default audio (using default priority):

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -w 1920 -h 1080 -cqp 32 -container mp4 -shaderpath "C:\MyCustomShaders" -r -extract-subs -set-audio-priority "C:\path\to\input"

• Upscale, extract subs without specifying language, and force overwrite:

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -extract-subs -sformat "FILE.title" -f "C:\path\to\video.mkv"

• Upscale to 4K with CQP 24 and set default audio to English:

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -w 3840 -h 2160 -cqp 24 -set-audio-priority -alang "eng" "C:\path\to\video.mkv"

• Use default settings from glsl-transcode.bat but process folders recursively and extract subs:

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -r -extract-subs "C:\path\to\folder" "C:\path\to\another\video.mp4"

• Upscale recursively, extract subtitles, set default audio, and delete original files after successful transcode (USE WITH CAUTION!):

  Anime4K-Batch.bat -r -extract-subs -set-audio-priority -delete "C:\path\to\folder"

Note: Running the script twice in the same directory should double the worker threads/cores, without any conflict or additional overhead. From my experience (NVIDIA V100), GPU usage isn't maxed unless two processes are running at the same time.

Using this method, Anime4K_ModeA_A-fast.glsl (Fast) performs at more than double the speed of Anime4K_ModeA_A.glsl (HQ), whereas trying to run two HQ transcoding processes tends to cause a bottleneck with Graphics performance, due to the nature of GLSL shaders.

Output

Upscaled video files are saved in the same directory as their corresponding input files. The filename will be the original name plus the configured OUTPUT_SUFFIX (default: _upscaled) in glsl-transcode.bat. Extracted subtitles (if enabled) are also saved in the same directory, named according to the -format option in extract-subs.bat.

Configuration

The primary method for configuring Anime4K-Batch is by editing the config.json file, located in the root directory alongside Anime4K-Batch.bat. This file allows you to set persistent default values for nearly all script options, making it the recommended way to customize behavior.

Settings in config.json are automatically loaded by the scripts. For temporary overrides for a specific run, or for scripting particular behaviors, command-line flags can be used.

1. Using config.json (Recommended)

Edit the config.json file using any text editor. This file uses a simple JSON format to define various settings. Changes saved to config.json will apply to subsequent runs of Anime4K-Batch.bat and its associated scripts (like glsl-transcode.bat, extract-subs.bat, etc.), provided they support reading this configuration file.

Example config.json structure:

{
    // --- Input/Output ---
    "Suffix": "_upscaled",         // Suffix to append to output filenames.
    "Container": "mkv",             // Output container format (e.g., 'mkv', 'mp4').
    "Force": false,                 // Force overwrite existing output files.
    "Recurse": false,               // Process folders recursively.

    // --- Transcoding Settings ---
    "TargetResolutionW": 3840,      // Target output width.
    "TargetResolutionH": 2160,      // Target output height.
    "ShaderFile": "Anime4K_ModeA_A-fast.glsl", // Shader filename located in ShaderBasePath.
    "EncoderProfile": "nvidia_h265",// Encoder profile (e.g., cpu_h264, nvidia_h265).
    "CQP": 24,                      // Constant Quantization Parameter (quality).

    // ... and many more settings.
    // For a full list and detailed descriptions, please refer to the actual 'config.json' file.
}

Ensure your config.json is valid JSON. You can find a template or the default config.json in the repository.

2. Command-Line Flags (Overrides config.json)

You can override settings from config.json (and any internal script defaults) by providing command-line flags when executing Anime4K-Batch.bat. These flags apply only to that specific run and do not modify config.json.

This is useful for:

• Testing different settings without changing your defaults.
• Scripting specific one-off tasks.

For a comprehensive list of available command-line options and flags, their functions, and examples, please refer to the Command Line Options & Flags section under "Installation & Usage".

Example: If config.json sets TargetResolutionW to 1920, but you want to upscale a specific batch to 3840, you can run:

Anime4K-Batch.bat -w 3840 "path\to\your\videos"

Additionally, you can modify the main Anime4K-Batch.bat script itself to include default flags in its execution line for glsl-transcode.bat or other sub-scripts. This is an older method but still functional. Flags set this way will also override config.json settings. Example (editing Anime4K-Batch.bat):

:: Original line might be:
:: call "%~dp0\scripts\glsl-transcode.bat" %* ^
:: Modified to always recurse and force overwrite:
call "%~dp0\scripts\glsl-transcode.bat" -r -f %* ^

However, managing defaults through config.json is generally cleaner.

3. Editing Script Variables (Legacy / Advanced)

Prior to the widespread use of config.json, default settings were primarily managed by editing variables directly within the individual script files (e.g., in the --- SETTINGS --- section of scripts/glsl-transcode.bat).

If config.json is present and the script is designed to read it (which is the case for the core scripts), values from config.json will typically take precedence over these hardcoded internal script variables.

This legacy method might still be relevant for:

• Scripts that have not been updated to use config.json.
• Advanced users who want to inspect or modify the script's deepest default behaviors.
• Situations where config.json might be missing or unreadable.

The following settings, for example, can be found and edited directly in scripts/glsl-transcode.bat:

• TARGET_RESOLUTION_W, TARGET_RESOLUTION_H: Desired output video dimensions (width and height).
• SHADER_FILE: The specific .glsl shader file to use (relative to SHADER_BASE_PATH).
• ENCODER_PROFILE: Selects the video codec and hardware acceleration (e.g., nvidia_h265, cpu_av1). See script comments for all options.
• CQP: Constant Quantization Parameter for quality control (lower value = higher quality, larger file, range: -1 to 51).
• OUTPUT_FORMAT: Output video container (mkv, mp4, avi). MKV is recommended for subtitle compatibility.
• OUTPUT_EXT: Automatically set based on OUTPUT_FORMAT.
• SUB_FORMAT: Filename format for extracted subtitles (used by extract-subs.bat).
• CPU_THREADS: Number of threads for CPU encoders (0 for default).
• OUTPUT_SUFFIX: Text added to the end of the output filename (before the extension).
• FFMPEG_PATH, FFPROBE_PATH: Manually specify paths to ffmpeg.exe and ffprobe.exe if automatic detection fails or is disabled.
• SHADER_BASE_PATH: The directory containing the shader files (defaults to shaders\ relative to the script).
• DISABLE_WHERE_SEARCH: Set to 1 to disable searching the system PATH for ffmpeg/ffprobe.
• DO_RECURSE: Set to 1 to enable recursive folder processing by default.
• DO_FORCE: Set to 1 to enable overwriting existing output files by default.
• DO_DELETE: Set to 1 to enable deleting original files after successful transcoding by default (USE WITH CAUTION!).
• DO_EXTRACT_SUBS: Set to 1 to enable subtitle extraction by default.
• DO_SET_DEFAULT_AUDIO: Set to 1 to enable setting the default audio track by default.
• AUDIO_LANG_PRIORITY: Comma-separated list of preferred audio languages for DO_SET_DEFAULT_AUDIO (e.g., "jpn,eng").

It's generally recommended to use config.json for configuration, as direct script edits can be overwritten by updates to the scripts.

Codecs compatibility table

	NVIDIA	AMD	Intel	CPU
H.264	✅	✅	❌	✅
H.265	✅	✅	❌	✅
AV1	⚠️	⚠️	❌	✅

Hardware accelerated AV1 for NVIDIA and AMD is supported only on RTX 4000+ and RX 7000+ series respectively

Enabling Subtitle Extraction

By default, Anime4K-Batch.bat only runs the upscaling script (glsl-transcode.bat). There are two ways to enable subtitle extraction using extract-subs.bat before upscaling:

1. Use the -extract-subs Flag (Recommended):
   • Pass the -extract-subs flag when calling Anime4K-Batch.bat or glsl-transcode.bat. This tells glsl-transcode.bat to trigger extract-subs.bat internally before it starts transcoding. This is useful for one-off extractions without extensively modifying Anime4K-Batch.bat.
   • Optionally, pass the -sformat <string> argument (e.g., -sformat FILE) to set a custom output filename format. If -sformat is not provided, extract-subs.bat will use its internal default priority.
2. Modify Anime4K-Batch.bat:
   • Comment out the line: :: call "%~dp0\scripts\glsl-transcode.bat" %* ^ (add :: at the beginning).
   • Create a new line: call "%~dp0\scripts\extract-subs.bat" %* && call "%~dp0\scripts\glsl-transcode.bat" %* ^. This makes Anime4K-Batch.bat explicitly call extract-subs.bat first.

Setting Default Audio Priority

Similar to subtitle extraction, setting the default audio track priority using set-audio-priority.bat is primarily controlled via flags passed to glsl-transcode.bat (either directly or via Anime4K-Batch.bat).

1. Use the -set-audio-priority Flag (Recommended):
   • Pass the -set-audio-priority argument when calling Anime4K-Batch.bat or glsl-transcode.bat. This tells glsl-transcode.bat to trigger set-audio-priority.bat internally after it finishes transcoding the output file.
   • Optionally, pass the -alang "<list>" flag (e.g., -alang "jpn,eng") to specify the language priority. If -alang is not provided, set-audio-priority.bat will use its internal default priority. MUST be quoted when multiple languages are specified.

(Note: Unlike subtitle extraction, there isn't a simple modification to Anime4K-Batch.bat to always run set-audio-priority.bat after transcoding without using the flag, as the audio setting needs to operate on the output file from the transcode step.)

Extra Utilities

Append-Shaders.ps1

This PowerShell script (Append-Shaders.ps1) allows you to combine multiple GLSL shaders into a single file compatible with ffmpeg's glsl filter (and potentially other applications like MPV). This is useful if you want to chain multiple shader effects for the SHADER_FILE setting in glsl-transcode.bat.

MPV Shaderlist Format: ~~/shader1.glsl;~~/shader2.glsl;~~/shader3.glsl

Standalone Usage / Command Line Options:

# Combine several Anime4K shaders from MPV's config folder into one file
C:\path\to\Append-Shaders.ps1 -BaseDir "$env:AppData\mpv\" -FileListString "~~/shaders/Anime4K_Clamp_Highlights.glsl;~~/shaders/Anime4K_Restore_CNN_M.glsl;~~/shaders/Anime4K_Upscale_CNN_x2_M.glsl;~~/shaders/Anime4K_AutoDownscalePre_x2.glsl;~~/shaders/Anime4K_AutoDownscalePre_x4.glsl;~~/shaders/Anime4K_Upscale_CNN_x2_S.glsl" -OutputFile ".\shaders\Anime4K_ComplexChain.glsl"

You could then use the flag -shader Anime4K_ComplexChain.glsl or set SHADER_FILE=Anime4K_ComplexChain.glsl in scripts/glsl-transcode.bat.

extract-subs.bat

This batch script (extract-subs.bat) extracts subtitle tracks from video files using ffprobe and ffmpeg. It's designed to be run before glsl-transcode.bat if you want to preserve subtitles, especially when changing container formats (e.g., MKV to MP4).

See Enabling Subtitle Extraction (applies to both Anime4K-Batch.bat and glsl-transcode.bat).

Standalone Usage / Command Line Options:

You can also run extract-subs.bat directly.

C:\path\to\extract-subs.bat [options] [flags] "path\to\folder" "path\to\video.mkv" ...

• -format <string>: Output filename format (default: FILE.lang.title, following Jellyfin's naming convention). Placeholders:
  • FILE: Original video filename (without extension).
  • lang: Subtitle language code (e.g., eng, jpn).
  • title: Subtitle track title, if available.
• -suffix <string>: Suffix to append after the base filename part (default: _upscaled).
  • Note: When running extract-subs.bat standalone (not via Anime4K-Batch.bat), if you don't want any suffix added, use -suffix "".
• -r: (Flag) Process folders recursively.
• -f: (Flag) Force overwrite existing subtitle files.

remux.bat

This batch script (remux.bat) remuxes video files into a different container format (e.g., MKV to MP4) while copying compatible streams (video, audio, subtitles, attachments, data) based on the target container's capabilities. It does not re-encode the video or audio, making it an extremely fast operation.

Standalone Usage / Command Line Options:

C:\path\to\remux.bat [options] [flags] "path\to\folder" "path\to\video.mkv" ...

• -container <string>: Output container extension (default: mp4).
• -r: (Flag) Process folders recursively.
• -f: (Flag) Force overwrite existing output files.

set-audio-priority.bat

This batch script (set-audio-priority.bat) sets the default track based on language priority using ffprobe and ffmpeg. It remuxes the file, placing the highest priority audio track first and marking it as default. This is useful for ensuring media players select the desired language automatically.

It can be triggered automatically after transcoding by using the -set-audio-priority flag in glsl-transcode.bat. The language priority can be specified using the -alang flag in glsl-transcode.bat.

Standalone Usage / Command Line Options:

C:\path\to\set-audio-priority.bat [options] [flags] "path\to\folder" "path\to\video.mkv" ...

• -lang "<list>": Comma-separated language priority (default: "jpn,chi,kor,eng"). Must be quoted if it contains commas.
• -suffix <string>: Suffix for the output filename (default: _reordered). Only used if -replace is not active.
• -r: (Flag) Process folders recursively.
• -f: (Flag) Force overwrite existing output files.
• -delete: (Flag) Delete original file after successful processing (mutually exclusive with -replace).
• -replace: (Flag) Replace original file with the processed version (enabled by default, mutually exclusive with -delete).

Limitations

1. Subtitles: If input files contain subtitle streams, you have a few options:
   • Use mkv as the OUTPUT_FORMAT in glsl-transcode.bat to preserve them within the video container.
   • Enable subtitle extraction (either by modifying Anime4K-Batch.bat or using the -extract-subs flag in glsl-transcode.bat) to save them as separate files using extract-subs.bat. This is recommended if outputting to mp4 or avi, which have poor internal subtitle support.
2. HDR: While the script attempts basic detection, proper HDR preservation is best handled by AV1 encoders (cpu_av1, nvidia_av1, amd_av1). Using other encoders with HDR input may result in non-HDR output.
3. Error Handling: Basic checks are included, but complex ffmpeg errors might require manual inspection of the command output.

Credits

• Based on the core ffmpeg logic in Anime4K-GUI.
• Utilizes Anime4K GLSL shaders (or other compatible shaders provided by the user).
• Relies heavily on the FFmpeg project.
• Google for Gemini, which was helpful in creating this README :D
• Assets: "Transcode" from icon-icons, "Extract" from Veryicon, "Remux" from The Noun Project