Shell script to batch convert old QuickTime moves to MP4

readme.md

1. Install Homebrew through the macOS Terminal: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
2. Install ffmpeg: brew install ffmpeg
3. Copy the mov_to_mp4.sh script into a folder containing one or more QuickTime files.
4. Change to the directory containing the script: cd /path/to/mov_to_mp4.sh
5. Run the script to batch convert all .mov files to .mp4. Results will be stored in a subfolder named "output". sh mov_to_mp4.sh

This will create visually lossless mp4 videos that will play in a modern version of QuickTime. If a truly pixel-perfect lossless file is desired, change -crf 15 to -crf 0. The resulting file will not play in QuickTime, but this is useful for creating intermediate archival copies that can be converted to a new format in the future without degradation.

mov_to_mp4.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
OUTPUT="$SCRIPT_DIR/output"

if [ ! -d "$OUTPUT" ]; then
  mkdir -p "$OUTPUT";
fi

for i in *.mov;
  do ffmpeg -n -i "$i" -c:v libx264 -preset veryslow -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 15 -c:a aac "$OUTPUT/${i%.*}.mp4";
done

mp4_to_mov_68k.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Create a QuickTime movie with Cinepak encoding, playable on 68k Macs.

SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
OUTPUT="$SCRIPT_DIR/output"

SCALE=320
FPS=10

if [ ! -d "$OUTPUT" ]; then
  mkdir -p "$OUTPUT";
fi

for i in *.mp4;
  do ffmpeg -n -i "$i" -c:v cinepak -q:v 10 -r $FPS -vf "scale=$SCALE:$SCALE:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease" -c:a pcm_s8 -f mov "$OUTPUT/${i%.*}.mov";
done