14 DAY TRIAL // HandBrake, an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, has reached version 0.9.5. Available immediately for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows, the new release boasts BluRay disc structure support, SSA subtitle support, compatibility with MP3 audio in MP4 files, and more.
In addition to outputting various video and audio formats, which include MP4, MKV, AVI and OGM, the program boasts chapter selection abilities, has basic subtitle support (burned into the picture), an integrated bitrate calculator, picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling, as well as grayscale encoding.
The Core Library changes listed by the developer for version 0.9.5 continue with updated libraries (x264, FFMpeg), support for VOBSUB subtitles in MP4 files (Limited Player compatibility), updated Presets for newer devices and better quality, AC3 encoding support, improved DVD Main Feature detection, and universal audio downmix support.
On the interface front, HandBrake 0.9.5 features an updated x264 Advanced Panel, Batch Scan (scan multiple files at once), while the video quality slider drops % value and only shows RF for x264.
It adds a peak framerate option (Capped VFR), the ability to edit queue jobs, and Point-to-Point encoding (second or frame start and end times).
On the Mac side only, the program adds a new Audio Panel as well. It supports >4 Audio Tracks. Also added on the Mac side is VLC detection in /Applications and ~/Applications.
Sadly for PowerPC Mac users, starting with HandBrake 0.9.5 only Intel machines are supported.
“Power PC (PPC) is no longer officially supported,” the developer wrote in a forum post.
“Given limited resources and time, it simply isn’t feasible for this project to support minority platforms,” he explains. “For those of you still using older hardware, we recommend you stick with 0.9.4.”
Softpedia has both PPC and Intel supported versions of HandBrake up for grabs just behind the link you see below..