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VidCoder is a free Windows video converter and disc ripper that runs the HandBrake encoding engine inside its own interface, adding a queue that encodes several files at once, watched folders, and a portable build needing no installer.
HandBrake is free, and it already has a perfectly good interface, so the obvious question about VidCoder is why it exists at all.
The answer is the queue: VidCoder runs the same encoding engine, but it will encode several files at once, watch a folder and pick up whatever lands in it, and run without ever being installed.
If you convert one file a week that difference is worth nothing, and if you convert a hundred it is worth most of an evening.
What VidCoder Adds to HandBrake
Both programs use the same HandBrake encoding library, so the output quality at identical settings is identical. What differs is everything around the encode.
- Several encodes at once. VidCoder can run multiple jobs in parallel rather than one after another, which matters enormously on a modern many-core processor that a single encode leaves half idle.
- Watched folders. Point it at a folder and anything dropped in gets queued and encoded automatically, with no further clicking.
- A portable build. Unpack and run, nothing written to the registry - useful on a work machine where you cannot install software.
- Its own preset system, layered on top of HandBrake's, with picker rules that choose settings based on what the source actually is.
None of that changes what the encoder does. It changes how much of your attention the process costs, which is the part that actually wears people down.
Which Build to Take
Two lines are published side by side, and the naming does not make the difference obvious.
| Build | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| 12.x stable | Almost everyone. This is the tested line and the current releases in it are small bug fixes rather than changes you would notice. |
| 13.x beta | Windows on ARM machines, and testers. The beta line is where the ARM64 build lives, along with newer database handling and watcher fixes. |
The ARM64 point is the one that decides it for some people. If you are on a Snapdragon-based Windows laptop and want native performance rather than emulation, the beta is currently the only line that offers it.
Each line ships as an installer and as a portable archive, so that decision is separate from the version one.
What It Encodes To
Output goes into MP4, MKV or WebM containers, and the encoder list comes straight from the HandBrake core underneath.
x264 remains the safe choice for anything that has to play everywhere without argument. x265 gives you roughly the same quality in a much smaller file, at the cost of longer encodes and fussier playback support.
The current HandBrake core also brings AV1 into the encoder list, which is the newest of the three and the most efficient. It is also the slowest to encode and the least universally supported, so it is worth reading whether AV1 is worth it over H.265 before you re-encode a library into it.
On the audio side it handles the usual set including AAC, AC3, E-AC3, FLAC and Opus, with passthrough so an existing surround track can be copied across untouched rather than re-encoded.
Hardware Acceleration
Software encoding gives the best quality per megabyte and takes the longest. Hardware encoding hands the work to a dedicated block on your graphics card and finishes several times faster, at some cost in efficiency - a bigger file for the same visible quality.
VidCoder supports NVIDIA NVEnc, Intel Quick Sync with hyperencode and load balancing, and AMD VCE. The v12 line raised the cap on simultaneous NVEnc jobs from three to five, which pairs directly with the parallel queue above.
The Hardware tab in Global Settings lists every encoder your system actually exposes, which saves guessing at what your machine can do. There is also configurable hardware decoding through Media Foundation - if that phrase means nothing to you, what Media Foundation is explains the layer of Windows it belongs to.
Use hardware for speed, software for archives. A rough rule that holds up: if the file is a convenience copy for a phone or a tablet, hardware encoding is the obvious choice. If it is the copy you intend to keep, x265 or AV1 in software will store the same quality in less space, and you only pay the time once.
Ripping DVDs and Blu-rays
VidCoder reads discs directly and handles titles, chapters, angles, subtitle tracks and forced subtitles properly, which is more than most converters manage.
What it cannot do is decrypt. Commercial discs carry CSS, AACS or BD+ protection, and VidCoder has no facility for removing any of it, so a retail disc will not open until something else has dealt with that first.
MakeMKV is the usual answer, producing an MKV that VidCoder can then encode - our guide to using MakeMKV for free covers its unusual licensing arrangement.
AnyDVD and DVDFab are the commercial alternatives, both paid and both aimed at the same step in the process.
One honest note on the rules. Removing disc encryption is unlawful in a number of countries even when you own the disc and only want a copy for yourself, and that varies enough by jurisdiction that it is worth knowing where you stand rather than assuming. Unencrypted discs, home recordings and your own footage raise none of this.
After the Encode
MKVToolNix is the tool for anything you want to change about an MKV afterwards - renaming tracks, setting default and forced flags, adding subtitles or splitting the file - and it rewrites only the container, never the video, so nothing is re-encoded.
For playback, VLC Media Player opens essentially anything VidCoder can produce, and the K-Lite Codec Pack extends the same support to every other player on the system.
HEVC is the one that reliably causes trouble on Windows. If an x265 export will not play, the HEVC Video Extensions fix it system-wide, and our guide to playing HEVC in VLC covers the player-side settings.
Other Encoders Worth Knowing
VidCoder occupies a specific spot - more automation than HandBrake, far less complexity than the filter-chain tools. If it is not the right spot for you, the neighbours are good.
| Tool | Pick it when |
|---|---|
| StaxRip | You want real filter chains and direct encoder settings, and you are willing to learn them. |
| Shutter Encoder | You work with broadcast and production formats that consumer converters do not touch. |
| XMedia Recode | You mostly want to remux and passthrough rather than re-encode. |
| Simple x264/x265 Launcher | You know the encoder switches you want and just need a window to hold them. |
| MeGUI | You are working through an older DVD-to-AVC workflow that already assumes it. |
If you are weighing the two most common choices against each other, we compared StaxRip against HandBrake in detail, and most of that comparison applies to VidCoder too, since it is the same engine underneath.
What Has Actually Changed Recently
Worth setting expectations here, because the version numbers move faster than the program does.
The v12 line arrived with the Hardware tab listing available encoders, Quick Sync hyperencode with load balancing, the NVEnc simultaneous cap raised to five, configurable Media Foundation decoding, and a move to .NET 10. Point releases since have been maintenance - the HandBrake core moved to 1.11.2, and the most recent handful are crash fixes around audio encoder fallbacks.
The v13 beta line is where the structural work is happening. It added the ARM64 build, moved to newer database handling with native ARM64 support underneath, and has been steadily fixing the watched-folder and shutdown behaviour.
What It Runs On
- Windows only, 64-bit. There is no Mac or Linux build, and HandBrake itself is the answer on those platforms.
- ARM64 native, in the v13 beta line only.
- Installer or portable archive, both published for both lines.
- Free and open source, with no adverts, no bundled extras and no paid tier.
Quick questions
What does VidCoder do that HandBrake does not?
It encodes several files at once instead of one at a time, watches folders and queues automatically, and ships a portable build. The encoding engine and the output quality are identical, because it is the same engine.
Do I need HandBrake installed as well?
No. The encoding library is built into VidCoder, so it is one download and nothing else to set up.
Should I take 12.23 or the 13 beta?
12.23, unless you are running Windows on an ARM processor. The ARM64 build only exists in the beta line, which is otherwise similar with rougher edges.
Will it rip a commercial DVD or Blu-ray?
Not on its own. VidCoder reads discs but cannot remove CSS, AACS or BD+ encryption, so a retail disc needs something else to handle that before VidCoder sees it.
Should I use hardware or software encoding?
Hardware when speed matters and the file is a convenience copy. Software when the file is one you intend to keep, because it stores the same quality in a meaningfully smaller file.
Can it encode AV1?
Yes, through the HandBrake core it ships with, alongside x264 and x265. Expect longer encodes than either, and check that your playback devices handle AV1 before committing a library to it.
Is there a Mac or Linux version?
No, and there is unlikely to be one - VidCoder is a Windows application. HandBrake itself runs on all three platforms and is the direct answer there.
More converters and encoders are in the rest of Video Encoders.
Download VidCoder 12.23 and point it at a folder rather than a file to see what the queue actually does, or tell us how you got on - the only review here dates from 2012.
BE
Finally I have found what I have spent about 2 months looking for.
An encoder that will :-
1. Read Vob files with AC3 audio
2. Will Batch encode multiple files at once (with out having to set each up one by one!)
3. Has AC3 pass through
4. Dose not mess up the Image size or aspect.
5. Give amazing results
6. It simple to use and easy to tweak.
Thank you to the vid coder team, you have made me very happy. Keep up the good work. and remember if it ain't broken don't try and fix it!
An encoder that will :-
1. Read Vob files with AC3 audio
2. Will Batch encode multiple files at once (with out having to set each up one by one!)
3. Has AC3 pass through
4. Dose not mess up the Image size or aspect.
5. Give amazing results
6. It simple to use and easy to tweak.
Thank you to the vid coder team, you have made me very happy. Keep up the good work. and remember if it ain't broken don't try and fix it!
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