NyXGridEncode

■Contents

■1. Introduction

Before you install, check that your PC meets the system requirements in 1.2.

●1.1 Product overview

NyXGridEncode is Windows software for converting a stored collection of videos to another format in batches. It encodes the videos in the queue one after another with the settings you specify. You do not need to do anything else until all of them are finished.

• Batch encoding - Add files or folders by drag and drop. When you add a folder, the videos in its subfolders are added as well.
• Fast GPU processing - Uses the hardware encoders of NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD GPUs. Jobs whose settings the GPU cannot handle are moved to the CPU automatically, so processing is not interrupted.
• Reusable settings with presets - Save a combination of resolution, bitrate, audio, and subtitle settings under a name. You can also apply a different preset to each job.
• Folder Watch - Imports videos placed in a specified folder and encodes them automatically. License required
• Distributed encoding - Shares the work among multiple PCs on the LAN to shorten the overall processing time. You can start disconnected agent PCs with Wake-on-LAN. Agent PCs can shut down automatically after the queue finishes. License required
• Stall detection and pause - Stops a job that makes no progress, and processes it again on the CPU if it stalled on the GPU. You can pause encoding and resume it from where it was paused.
• External notifications - Sends notifications to LINE, Discord, Slack, a webhook, or email when the queue finishes, a job fails or stalls, an agent disconnects or stops for auto shutdown, or the PC shuts down automatically. License required
• Always-on operation as a Windows service - When registered as a service, the product keeps encoding while the window is closed and while no one is logged on.

●1.2 System requirements

●1.3 Conventions used in this manual

This manual uses the following four types of boxes for supplementary information. If you are short on time, read the red and orange boxes first.

The following notation is used. Monospaced text such as C:\Program Files\NyXGridEncode\tools indicates a file path or a command, and notation such as Delete indicates a key on the keyboard. Text displayed on the screen is enclosed in double quotation marks, as in "Start Encoding". Click a screenshot to view it at full size, and press Esc to close it.

■2. Setup

Setup consists of three tasks: installing the application, downloading the external tools, and registering a license key. If you download the external tools with an installer option, you can skip 2.2. You can encode without registering a license key (2.4).

●2.1 Installation

Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\NyXGridEncode.

1. Run the downloaded nyxgridencode-1.1.0-setup.exe. The number in the file name is the version. If a prompt for administrator permission appears, select "Yes".
2. In the language selection dialog, select "English" or "日本語" (Japanese), and then click "OK". The installer screens that follow appear in the language you select. The default is the Windows display language (English if it is neither Japanese nor English). When you install over an existing installation, the language you selected last time is the default. The language you select here applies only to the installer and the uninstaller. The product's display language follows the Windows display language, and you can change it under "Display" in Settings (8.7).
3. Check the installation folder. Normally you can keep the default. The installation folder must be under Program Files; if you specify any other location, "NyXGridEncode cannot be installed in this folder." is displayed and you cannot continue.
4. On the "Options" page, select one of the three ways to obtain the external tools, and then select any additional settings (see the table below).
5. Click "Install". If you chose to download external tools, it takes a few minutes to finish.
6. On the completion page, click "Finish". If "Start NyXGridEncode" is selected, the product starts next.

You can also use the product without the installer by extracting the ZIP file (portable setup). For version 1.1.0, the ZIP file is named nyxgridencode-1.1.0.zip and contains the NyXGridEncode-1.1.0-win-x64 folder. Place this folder anywhere you like, and run NyXGridEncode.exe in that folder. In this case, settings and logs are created inside that folder, so you can carry it on a USB flash drive. If you register the product as a Windows service, check the permissions on the folder (12.1).

The folder in the ZIP file and the installation folder contain the following files. The installation folder also contains uninstall.exe, which uninstalls the product.

●2.2 Downloading the external tools

When you start the product, a startup screen appears first. Wait a few seconds while the product checks the external tools and detects GPUs.

If the required FFmpeg is not installed, the message "A required external tool is not installed: FFmpeg" appears, and then the window for downloading external tools opens. To open it later, select "Tools > External Tools" from the menu.

1. Select the check box to the left of each tool to download (the first time you open the window, the tools that are not installed are already selected, and when the source has a newer version, the "Outdated" tools are selected as well).
2. Click "Download". If you selected tools that are already installed, a confirmation appears before the latest version of those tools is downloaded again. If the product was installed with the installer, a prompt for administrator permission appears. Select "Yes".
3. When the download finishes, "Installed N tools." is displayed, and the "Status" column changes to "Installed". Click "Close" to close the window.

●2.3 Registering a license key

Open "Help > License" from the menu.

1. Click "Register".
2. Enter the 36-character key from your purchase email. For a trial license, enter the key from the email you received when the license was issued. The key is split into six boxes of six characters each, but if you paste a copied key into any one of the boxes, it is distributed across all of the boxes automatically, with or without separators.
3. Click "Register". If registration succeeds, the key entry window closes and "Registered." appears in the "License" window.

Register an add-on license key with the same steps after you register the main license key (13.4). For how to apply for a trial license and its conditions, see 13.6.

●2.4 Features available without registration

Even without a registered license key, all encoding functions are available, and the number of parallel jobs is not limited. Only the following eight items are restricted.

Only "Waiting" and "Running" items count toward this limit. Completed and failed items do not. Items that would exceed the limit are not added, and the status bar shows "The limit is 20 items, so N items could not be added. Registering a license raises the limit." after the message that reports how many items were added. While no license is registered, the status bar shows "Running within the free limits. The queue holds up to 20 items." whenever there is no other message to show. This message is not shown when the mode is "Agent". After a trial license expires, this product also runs within these limits (13.6.1).

■3. Screen layout

All everyday operations are done in the main window.

●3.1 Main window layout

◆3.1.1 Command buttons

●3.2 Queue list columns

The list has 17 columns. Point to a column header to see a description of that column.

◆3.2.1 Status display and colors

The row appearance described here is for the "Light" theme. Selected rows are shown in the selection color regardless of their status.

◆3.2.2 Sorting

Click a column header to sort the rows by that column. Each click switches the order from ascending to descending to the default order. The default order is the queue order: the order in which the items were added, or the order you set by moving them manually (3.2.3). The header of the sorted column shows an arrow that indicates the direction.

• Numbers are compared as numbers, so "Episode 2" comes before "Episode 10". Uppercase and lowercase letters, full-width and half-width characters, and hiragana and katakana are treated as the same.
• Rows without a value (blank or "-") are placed at the end in both ascending and descending order.
• The "Status" column is sorted in the order Waiting, Running, Completed, Failed. CPU Fallback counts as Running. The "GPU VD/3D/VE" column is sorted by the decode usage.
• While a column is sorted, the rows are sorted again when their status or progress changes.
• The sort order is not saved. When you restart this product, the rows return to the default order.

The list in "Node Info" can be sorted in the same way (11.4).

◆3.2.3 Changing the run order and the priority mark

The order in which waiting items run depends on the mode and the assignment order (11.2). When the mode is "Standalone", or on a controller whose "Assignment Order" is "List order", waiting items run in queue order. On a controller whose "Assignment Order" is "Efficiency first", larger items are assigned first based on their estimated size. In that case, the queue order applies only among items with the same estimated size.

You can change the queue order with the following operations. Only waiting items can be moved. You can select several items and move them together.

The move and priority operations are on the "Queue" menu and on the right-click menu of the list. The changed order and the priority marks are saved and kept when you restart this product. You can also change them while encoding is running. Changes take effect from the next item that starts.

• Waiting items with the priority mark run before other waiting items, regardless of their position in the queue and the assignment order. Among themselves, items with the mark follow the assignment order.
• In distributed encoding, items with the priority mark are assigned to the node that can finish them soonest. While a marked item waits for a faster node to become free, another idle node may start an unmarked item first.
• When the list is filtered, items move only among the visible items.
• Items cannot be moved while the list is sorted by a column header. Clear the sort first. You can still add and remove the priority mark while the list is sorted.
• When the selection includes running, completed, or failed items, the move and priority operations are unavailable. Point to the menu item or button to see the reason. When you drag, the reason appears in the status bar.
• When the items cannot be moved, Ctrl + Home and the other move keys keep their usual function in the list (for example, Ctrl + Home moves the selection to the first row, and Ctrl + End moves it to the last row). For these keys, no reason appears in the status bar.
• These operations are not available when the mode is "Agent".

●3.3 Status bar

●3.4 Menus

◆3.4.1 File / Encode / Queue

◆3.4.2 View / Tools / Help

"Help > Manual" opens this manual in your default browser. It opens the file in the same folder as the executable: usermanual.html when the display language is Japanese, or usermanual-en.html when it is English. If the file is not found, the status bar shows "The manual was not found: " followed by the path of the missing file.

With "Help > Support", you can send bug reports, requests, and questions to the support desk. Fill in "Type", "Subject", and "Details", and also "Email Address" if you need a reply. The OS, the app version, and the display language are shown under "Information to Send" (if a license is registered, the license ID is included as well). Review the information, select "I agree to send the information above", and click "Send". The PC name and the user name are not sent.

"Help > Save Diagnostics" collects the information used to investigate an inquiry and saves it as a single ZIP file. It contains the activity logs of the last 7 days, the exception log (error.log), the settings, the external tool versions, and environment information (OS, app version, display language, and mode). Auth tokens and shared path passwords in the settings are replaced with "********". The environment information does not include the PC name or the user name. The activity logs contain the names and paths of encoded files. A confirmation saying so appears before saving; click "Save" and then choose where to save the file. The file name is NyXGridEncode-diagnostics-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.zip. The product never sends the ZIP file.

"Help > Check for Updates" reads the latest version information from the official site and shows the result in the "Update Check" window (8.10).

◆3.4.3 Context menu and shortcut keys

On an agent, the following items are not available for the jobs received from the controller.

■4. Encoding your first video (basic steps)

This chapter shows how to encode one video with a built-in preset as is, without changing any individual settings. The operations described in the later chapters build on these steps.

1. Choose the output folder
   Click "Browse" to the right of "Output Folder" at the top of the window, and select where the encoded files are written. By default, all encoded files are created directly in this folder, regardless of where the input files are located. If you specify the same folder as the input files, the original and encoded files are mixed together, so specify a different folder. For how the output folder is handled, see 5.2.
2. Check the preset
   Make sure that the preset box at the top shows "Standard - 1080p". For typical use, you can keep this setting. It encodes to H.265 at 6000 kbps and downscales only videos larger than 1080p. The preset is applied to each row when the file is added, so if you want a different preset, select it before you add the videos.
3. Add the videos
   Drag video files from File Explorer and drop them onto the window. You can also add whole folders; in that case, their subfolders are scanned as well. When the files are added, "Added N items to the queue." appears in the status bar.
4. Click "Start Encoding"
   A dialog asks you to confirm which items to run. Select "Waiting only".
5. Wait for completion
   The list shows the progress and remaining time of each row, and the status bar shows the estimated completion time and the remaining time of the whole run. When everything is finished, a notification sound plays (8.6).

■5. Basic encoding operations

The four basic tasks in everyday operation are adding files, specifying the output folder, starting encoding, and stopping it.

●5.1 Adding files

There are four ways to add files. Files added by any method other than Folder Watch use the preset selected at the top of the main window.

Files to add are identified by their extension. For the 44 supported extensions, see Appendix B. If you switch the file type to "All files (*.*)" in the "Add Files" dialog, you can also add files with other extensions.

For each added file, FFmpeg (ffprobe) retrieves the media information and determines whether the file can be read as a video. While this is in progress, the status bar shows "Retrieving media info. N remaining", and you cannot start encoding until retrieval finishes.

You cannot add files when external tools are missing or when this PC is running as an agent. If you enable "Auto-start encoding when items are added" under "Auto Run" in Settings, encoding starts as soon as files are added (8.5).

●5.2 Specifying the output folder

Type a path in the "Output Folder" box at the top of the main window, or click "Browse" and select a folder. When you type a path, enter an absolute path such as D:\Encoded. You cannot change the folder while encoding is running. Click "Open Output Folder" to open the output folder in File Explorer.

Output files are created directly in the output folder with the same name as the input file. The extension matches the container of the preset. By default, files added from subfolders are also written directly to the output folder. To recreate the input folder structure in the output folder, select "Recreate folder structure in the output folder" (8.2.5). If a file with the same name already exists, the output is written under a numbered name, such as name_1.mp4 or name_2.mp4. Input files are never overwritten. If the specified folder does not exist, it is created when the output is written.

An existing output file is overwritten only when you rerun a completed row with "Encode" on the context menu and select "Overwrite" (5.3.2). For files imported by Folder Watch, if an output folder is specified for the watched folder, the output is written there instead (Chapter 10).

The output folder is determined for each item. If every item is written to the output folder of its watched folder, you can start encoding even if no output folder is specified in the main window. If the items to encode include any that are written to the output folder in the main window (items added manually, or items imported from a watched folder whose output folder is "Default"), encoding does not start until you specify an output folder. If an item added during a run has no output folder, only that item fails, and "No output folder is specified." is shown in its "Notes" column.

●5.3 Starting encoding

When you click "Start Encoding", a confirmation dialog shows the queue counts (total, completed, waiting, and selected) and asks you to choose what to encode.

Rerunning items does not delete existing output files, as the confirmation dialog states: "Returning to waiting does not delete the previous output. A new file is created with a different name."

◆5.3.1 Number of concurrent jobs

Specify how many jobs run at the same time under "Encoding" in Settings (8.2). For GPU encoding, the limit is the total of the "Parallel Jobs" values of all GPUs; for CPU encoding, the limit is the "Parallel Jobs" value itself.

◆5.3.2 Running selected rows and specifying the assignment target

Select rows in the list, right-click, and select "Encode" to show a list of assignment targets. Select a target to start encoding only the selected rows. While encoding is running, the selected rows are added to the running encode (5.4.3).

Of the selected rows, "Waiting" rows start as they are, and "Failed" rows are returned to "Waiting" before starting. If the selection includes "Completed" rows, you are asked how to handle the previous output.

●5.4 Stopping, pausing, and canceling individual jobs

◆5.4.1 Stopping and pausing

While encoding is running, "Start Encoding" changes to "Stop / Pause" (so does the first command on the "Encode" menu). Click it, and then select "Stop", "Pause", or "Cancel" in the confirmation that appears.

While paused, click "Resume" to continue from where encoding stopped. No confirmation is shown.

◆5.4.2 Canceling individual jobs

Select a running row and press Ctrl + Delete, or select "Cancel" on the context menu. When the confirmation appears, click "OK". The output of the selected rows is discarded, and the rows return to "Waiting". Other rows continue processing.

◆5.4.3 Adding rows to the running encode

While encoding is running, select "Waiting", "Completed", or "Failed" rows in the list, right-click, and select "Encode" to add the selected rows to the running encode. The other rows continue to be processed. Use this to run a row that you canceled individually, or to add other rows to a run that you started with "Selected only".

• The choice of assignment target and the handling of "Completed" and "Failed" rows are the same as when encoding is not running (5.3.2).
• The status bar shows the number of added rows in the form "Added N items to the running encode."
• This command is unavailable when only running rows are selected. Point to "Encode" to see the reason.
• Rows cannot be added while the run is finishing, for example after you cancel the whole run. The status bar shows "The encode is finishing. Encode again after it finishes."

●5.5 Retrying and cleaning up the queue

"Retry Failed", "Clear Completed", and "Clear All" are available as buttons at the top of the main window and on the "Encode" menu. "Delete" is on the context menu and the "Queue" menu.

●5.6 Filtering the list

Filter the list with the buttons in the upper row of the status bar ("All", "Waiting", "Running", "Completed", and "Failed") or with "Show All", "Filter by Waiting", "Filter by Running", "Filter by Completed", and "Filter by Failed" on the "Queue" menu.

• Each click on "Waiting", "Running", "Completed", or "Failed" selects or clears that button. You can select more than one; for example, select "Waiting" and "Running" to show the waiting and running rows.
• "All" clears all the selections and shows all rows. All rows are also shown when you clear the selections one by one until none is selected.
• Selected buttons are highlighted, and the matching items on the "Queue" menu show a check mark.

Each button also shows a count, as in "All (7)". When there is at least one failed item, the "Failed" button is shown in red.

Filtering affects only the display. Hidden rows are still encoded. When no rows match, "No items match the filter." appears in the middle of the list, and you can switch back to "Show All" from there.

●5.7 Exporting and importing the queue

You can save the queue items to a file and load them on another PC or at a later time. Both operations are on the "Queue" menu.

◆5.7.1 Export

1. Select "Queue > Export Queue".
2. Select the states to export. You can select Waiting, Failed, and Completed. Waiting and Failed are selected by default.
3. Click "Export" and specify where to save the file. The default file name is NyXGridEncode-queue-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.json.

• Running items are exported as waiting.
• The file contains the input file path, preset name, audio and subtitle selection, subtitle style, crop, trim, assigned node, and priority mark of each item, and the base folder used to recreate the folder structure (8.2.5). Progress, logs, history, and output file paths are not included.
• Export is available when the queue has items.
• Jobs received as an agent are not exported.
• One file can contain up to 5,000 items and 1 MB. If the queue exceeds these limits, select fewer states and export again.

◆5.7.2 Import

1. Select "Queue > Import Queue".
2. Select an exported file.

The items in the file are added to the end of the queue as waiting items. Importing does not start encoding. The status bar shows the result as item counts. The following items are not added, and their counts are shown.

If the preset in the file does not exist on this PC, the item is added with the preset selected in the main window, and the count is shown. The same applies to items whose preset name is longer than 64 characters. Items that were added by Folder Watch are treated as manually added items on the importing PC, and their output goes to the output folder set in the main window. Whether the folder structure is recreated depends on the "Recreate folder structure in the output folder" setting on the importing PC (8.2.5).

If the file cannot be read, nothing is added, and the status bar shows one of the following reasons.

Import is available when the external tools are installed. When the product runs as a Windows service, the service performs the import. After the items are added, the result appears in the status bar and in the window that lists the items whose input file was not found. The service treats items with a network path, and items whose input file the user operating the window cannot read, as items whose input file was not found. If the items to import exceed the 4 MB limit for sending to the service, nothing is sent, and "The items to import exceed the size limit for sending to the service. Select a file with fewer items." is shown. Export and import are not available when the mode is "Agent".

■6. Presets

A preset is a complete set of encoding settings saved under a name so that you can reuse it. Five presets are built in. If they do not meet your requirements, add a preset (6.2).

●6.1 Built-in presets

All five presets use the mp4 container and "Downscale only" scaling. Only videos larger than the specified size are downscaled; smaller videos are output at their original size. Black bar auto-detection is enabled in all of them. Loudness normalization is enabled in every preset except "Archive - 4K High Quality". Subtitle handling is "Burn in" for "Subtitle Burn-in - 1080p" and "Keep as track" for the others. In every preset, the preferred language for audio and subtitles is Japanese, followed by English. "Standard - 1080p" is selected by default.

●6.2 Creating and editing presets

Open the editor with "Tools > Edit Presets" or the "Edit Presets" button at the top of the main window. When the editor opens, the preset selected at the top of the main window is already selected in the editor. You cannot open the editor while encoding is running. The same applies while the product is processing jobs as an agent. If encoding starts while the editor is open (for example, by auto-start), clicking "OK" does not save the presets, and "Presets cannot be edited while encoding is running." is shown at the bottom of the window. Click "OK" after the encoding finishes.

If an entry is invalid or a combination of settings needs attention, the reason is shown at the bottom of the window. While an entry is invalid, you can neither move to another row nor save. Notes (messages that begin with "Note: ") do not prevent saving.

●6.3 Preset settings

◆6.3.1 Container and video

◆6.3.2 Audio

With automatic selection, one audio track is kept in the output. To keep multiple audio tracks, select them for each row in the list (7.2).

●6.4 Subtitle settings

Choose how subtitles are handled with "Handling". "Preferred Language" is the subtitle language used with automatic selection; tracks are chosen the same way as for audio.

You can edit "Subtitle Style" below only when "Burn in" is selected. You can check the resulting appearance in the sample below the fields.

●6.5 Setting the preset per job

Select rows in the list (multiple rows can be selected), and select the preset to apply from "Preset" on the context menu. The preset is applied to all selected rows at once, without confirmation. The status bar then shows "Changed the preset of N items to "<name>"."

• Running rows are not changed.
• Completed and failed rows return to "Waiting" when their preset is changed. In this case, the status bar message continues with "Returned M completed or failed items to waiting." The previous output files are not deleted.

The preset box at the top of the main window sets the preset for files you add from now on, so it does not affect existing rows.

■7. Per-job settings

A preset is a set of settings shared by multiple jobs. Adjustments such as removing black bars from particular jobs only, outputting only a specified range, or choosing which audio to keep are specified per job.

●7.1 Adjust (crop, trim, and subtitle style)

Select a single row in the list, and then click the "Adjust" button at the top of the main window or select "Tools > Adjust". Adjust is unavailable in the following cases. Point to the button to see the reason.

• A running row is selected. Completed rows can be adjusted, and the changes take effect when the row is run again.
• FFmpeg (including ffprobe) or libVLC is not installed. Get them from "Tools > External Tools" (2.2).
• This PC is running as an agent.
• A row for a job received as an agent is selected. This applies to rows that remain in the list after you change the mode.

Click or drag the "Position" bar to show the video at that point. Click "Play" to play from the current position, and click it again to stop. "Volume" is the preview playback volume and does not affect the output. While a crop is specified, a short clip for checking the result is created before playback, so it takes a few seconds for playback to start.

◆7.1.1 Crop (cutting off edges)

Enter the number of pixels to cut off in the four boxes: Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. You cannot set the crop by dragging a frame with the mouse. After entering the values, click "Apply" to update the preview. The maximum for each box is the video width or height minus 2.

For video with black bars at the top and bottom, we recommend using "Auto-Detect". It detects the black bars in the actual video, fills in the boxes, and updates the preview.

◆7.1.2 Trim (extracting a range)

Enter times in "Start" and "End". If Start is empty, the output starts from the beginning; if End is empty, the output runs to the end. You can enter times in two formats.

Move the "Position" bar, and then click "Current Position" to the right of Start or End to enter that time in that box. Use this to set positions while checking the video. To clear both boxes, click "Clear". If an entry is invalid, the reason is shown at the bottom of the window when you click "OK" (for example, the end position is at or before the start position, or the range exceeds the length of the input).

◆7.1.3 Overriding the subtitle style

When the subtitle handling of the preset is "Burn in", selecting "Override subtitle style for this item only" lets you specify a subtitle style for this row that differs from the preset. The settings are the same as those of the preset's subtitle style (6.4), and their initial values are the preset's settings.

The subtitle to be burned in is overlaid on the preview video. The overlay is for checking size and position, and details may differ from the actual burned-in result. To remove the override, clear the check box and click "OK".

In the following cases, the check box cannot be selected, and the reason is shown to the right of it.

• The subtitle handling of the preset is not "Burn in"
• The input file has no subtitles
• The subtitle to burn in is image-based (such as DVD subtitles or PGS)

●7.2 Selecting audio and subtitle tracks

To keep multiple audio tracks, or to use a track other than the one chosen by the preset's preferred language, right-click the row and select "Audio" or "Subtitles". You can also open the window by double-clicking the "Audio" or "Subtitles" column in the list.

When nothing is selected (automatic selection), one audio track and one subtitle track are selected according to the preset's preferred language. The "Audio" and "Subtitles" columns in the list show the following.

• Checked tracks are kept in the output.
• The track selected with the radio button comes first in the output and is set as the default track.
• When you select a radio button, that track is also checked automatically. You cannot give priority to a track that is not kept in the output.
• If you open the window while automatic selection is in effect, the tracks that would be selected automatically are marked, and "Tracks are selected automatically based on the preset's preferred language." is shown. If you click "OK" without changing anything, automatic selection stays in effect.
• Click "Auto-Select" to return to the selection based on the preset's preferred language.
• You cannot confirm with "OK" while no track is selected.

If you open the window with multiple rows selected, the selection is applied to all of them at once (the window shows "Applies to the N selected items."). The choices are built from the track layout of the first row, so for files with a different track layout, tracks that do not exist in those files are ignored. You can also select a single row, copy its selection with "Copy Audio and Subtitle Selection" on the context menu, and then select other rows and run "Paste Audio and Subtitle Selection".

Running rows and rows for jobs received as an agent are not changed. Completed rows can be changed, and the changes take effect when the row is run again.

●7.3 Checking input files

◆7.3.1 Media info

Select a single row and select "Media Info" on the context menu or the "Queue" menu to check the resolution, codecs, and track layout. Use it when the resolution is not what you expected or to check the number of audio tracks. This display requires ffprobe.

◆7.3.2 Log

To open the log, double-click a row (except in the "Audio" and "Subtitles" columns), or select "Log" on the context menu or the "Queue" menu. The window shows the log output by the encoding program. Each line starts with the date and time it was recorded, in the format [YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS.sss]. The command that was run is recorded at the top of the log, so you can check which settings were passed. While a job is running, new output is appended, and the view scrolls automatically as long as the end of the log is displayed. Up to the latest 2000 lines are kept for each item, and older lines are deleted. If you set the job log retention under "Log" in Settings to a value other than 0, the same content is saved to a file for each job (8.8).

■8. Settings

Open this window from "Tools > Settings" or with the "Settings" button at the top of the main window. Ten categories are listed on the left; selecting one changes the content on the right. You can open it while encoding is running. With "Export" and "Import" at the bottom left, you can save the settings to a file and load them on another PC (8.11).

●8.1 Mode

The "Controller" and "Agent" groups at the bottom can be used only when the corresponding mode is selected. Without a registered license key, "The controller modes require a registered license key." is shown and the two controller modes cannot be selected. For details on each item, see Chapter 11. The Wake-on-LAN settings (11.5.2) are at the bottom of the "Controller" group, and the auto shutdown settings (11.5.4) are at the bottom of the "Agent" group.

Depending on the mode, some items in other categories are also unavailable. Unavailable items are grayed out, and the reason is shown in red.

Folder watch, the file transfer benchmark, auto shutdown when the queue finishes, and external notifications cannot be used without a registered license key, even in a matching mode. In that case, a reason such as "Register a license key to use folder watch." is shown.

●8.2 Encoding

The settings in this category are also used when running as an agent.

◆8.2.1 Encoding method

Select "GPU Encoding" or "CPU Encoding". The default is "GPU Encoding". GPU encoding uses NVEncC / QSVEncC / VCEEncC, and CPU encoding uses FFmpeg. On a PC without a GPU, select "CPU Encoding". Of the groups below, only the one for the selected method can be used.

◆8.2.2 GPU encoding

The list shows each detected GPU in the form "#0 | NVEncC | GPU name". Below the list, the current status is shown, for example "2 detected / 2 in use / 4 parallel jobs in total". If no GPU is detected, "No GPU detected. Click Rescan." is shown and encoding is done on the CPU.

File Split, Segments, and Frame Split apply to the GPU currently selected in the list. The target GPU is shown below the list, for example "Target: #0 | NVEncC | GPU name". When a non-NVIDIA GPU is selected, Frame Split cannot be set.

◆8.2.3 CPU encoding

◆8.2.4 Stall detection

Stall detection stops jobs whose encoder makes no progress within the timeout. A job is treated as stalled when neither the progress percentage nor the frame count increases within the timeout. Log output from the external tool does not count as progress. After the progress percentage reaches 100%, the frame count is still checked until the external tool exits. The MP4 rewrite that runs after the external tool exits (adding filler data and recording the maximum bitrate; 9.3) is not subject to stall detection.

Stopped jobs are handled as follows.

• A job that stalls on the GPU is processed again on the CPU.
• A job that stalls on the CPU fails, and the "Notes" column shows a message such as "Stopped: no progress for 10 minutes." The item is automatically returned to waiting and retried within the same run (up to 2 retries; 14.3).
• The activity log records a WARN entry such as "Encode stalled: input file path / stopped after 10 minutes without progress". The output of the external tool just before the job was stopped remains in the row's log.

◆8.2.5 Output folder structure

When "Recreate folder structure in the output folder" is selected, folders with the same names as the added folder and its subfolders are created inside the output folder, and the output files are written to the matching folders. By default this option is cleared, and all files are written directly to the output folder.

• Duplicate file names are checked, and sequence numbers are added, within the created folder.
• The setting in effect when each item starts processing is used. In distributed encoding, this is the setting in effect when the item is assigned to an agent. If you change and save the setting before an item in the queue starts processing, the change also applies to that item.
• In distributed encoding, the controller creates the folders inside the output folder before it assigns a job.
• When the mode is "Agent", this option is unavailable, and "The controller decides the output path." is shown.

In the following cases, only the affected file is written directly to the output folder without recreating the folder structure. The encode does not fail. The reason is shown in the "Notes" column and logged as WARN in the activity log.

When you run a completed item again with "Encode" on the right-click menu and select "Overwrite", the previous output is not overwritten if a folder on its path is a junction or symbolic link. The output is written under a new name, the "Notes" column shows "The overwrite target path contains a link, so the output file is written under a new name.", and a WARN entry is logged in the activity log. The output is also written under a new name, without overwriting the previous output, if a file has the same name as a folder on the path or if a folder on the path cannot be accessed. In these cases, the "Notes" column shows "A file with the same name as the overwrite target folder already exists, so the output file is written under a new name." or "The overwrite target folder cannot be accessed, so the output file is written under a new name.", respectively.

●8.3 Benchmark

◆8.3.1 GPU / CPU benchmark

For each GPU and the CPU, this finds the fastest parallel count by encoding a test video. The test video (1080p, 30 seconds) is created automatically, and the files used are deleted after each run. The time required depends on the number of targets and "Max Parallel Jobs".

1. Under "What to Measure", select the GPUs to measure and "CPU FFmpeg". All are selected by default.
2. In "Preset", select the settings to use for the measurement. With "Default settings", the measurement uses HEVC / 6000 kbps / 1080p / AAC 128 kbps. Select a preset you actually use to measure the speed with its settings.
3. Set "Max Parallel Jobs". The default is 8, and the range is 1 - 16. Each parallel count from 1 up to this number is measured. The required free space is shown on the right.
4. Click "Measure". A confirmation shows the required and current free space; click "Measure" to start. If there is not enough free space, "There is not enough free space for the measurement. Lower Max Parallel Jobs or free up space." is shown and the measurement does not start.
5. When the measurement finishes, review the results and the recommended values, and then click "OK". The recommended values are entered as the parallel counts in the "Encoding" category. They are saved when you click "OK" in the Settings window.

For each target, the measurement runs in the following order. Because each parallel count is measured at least twice, it takes about twice as long as measuring each count once.

1. The first 5 seconds of the test video are encoded once as a warm-up. This result is not used. The warm-up keeps the time needed to load the program and the test video, and the delay before the GPU clock speed rises, out of the result for 1 parallel job.
2. Each parallel count is measured once while the count increases from 1 to the number you set, and once more while it decreases from that number back to 1. If the PC heats up and slows down as the measurement continues, averaging the ascending and descending runs largely cancels out the penalty on the counts measured later.
3. For any parallel count whose two results differ by more than 5%, the count is measured a third time and the median of the three results is used, so a single result that is far off does not affect the value.

After the measurement, the line for each parallel count shows the time (the average of two runs, or the median of three), the throughput relative to 1 parallel job, and the variation (the difference between the longest and shortest times divided by the median). The lines shown during the measurement are the results of individual runs, each starting with the run number.

A recommended value is determined for each target. Of the parallel counts whose throughput is within 10% of the fastest one, the smallest is recommended, because when speeds are about the same, the count with less load and lower power consumption is preferred. The reason for choosing that parallel count is shown below each recommended value. Parallel counts at which any job failed are excluded from the candidates, including when only one of the runs failed. If, for the recommended or the fastest parallel count, no two of three runs are within 5% of each other, the reason includes "The results varied widely, so measuring again is recommended." Close other applications and measure again. Clicking "Cancel" during the measurement stops it and deletes the files used for the measurement.

◆8.3.2 File transfer benchmark License required

In a controller mode, this measures the file transfer speed between this PC and the connected agents. Files are transferred over HTTP to and from agents that cannot read the shared paths, so the result gives an estimate of that speed.

●8.4 Folder watch License required

For details on each item, see Chapter 10.

You can change the column widths of the list by dragging the borders between the column headers. Columns that do not fit in the list are shown by scrolling horizontally.

●8.5 Auto run

If encoding cannot start automatically with the two items in this section or with "Auto-start encoding when files are detected" in Folder Watch, for example because external tools are missing or an item has no output folder, the status bar shows "Could not start automatically:" followed by the reason, and the reason is also recorded in the activity log.

◆8.5.1 Auto shutdown when the queue finishes License required

When all jobs in the queue have finished and the queue stays that way for the wait time, this PC performs the selected action: shut down, force shut down, sleep, or hibernate. This feature is available when the mode is "Standalone", "Controller + Encoder", or "Controller Only". It requires a Standard or higher license. When the mode is "Agent", this group is unavailable and shows "Agents use the settings in the Agent group on the Mode page." Configure auto shutdown in the "Agent" group on the "Mode" page instead (11.5.4).

These items are separate from the agent auto shutdown settings.

Conditions for a finished queue

The queue is treated as finished when all of the following conditions remain true for the wait time. If any condition stops being true, the wait time starts over.

• There are no waiting items.
• There are no running jobs, including jobs assigned to agents.
• Encoding is not running and not paused.
• At least one job has started since NyXGridEncode started. Jobs interrupted by Stop, failed jobs, and jobs assigned to agents also count. Jobs interrupted by Stop return to Waiting, so the action does not run until you remove the waiting items from the queue.
• Folder watch is not running. While an enabled watched folder exists and folder watch is not paused, auto shutdown is not applicable. It becomes applicable when you pause folder watch.

Waiting for agents to disconnect

On a controller, after the queue is confirmed as finished, the controller waits until all connected agents disconnect. When agents also use auto shutdown (11.5.4), the agents stop first, and then the controller runs its action. The controller does not wait for agents that have stopped for auto shutdown or have disconnected. If the "Agent disconnect wait limit" passes after the queue is confirmed as finished, the controller proceeds without waiting for the connected agents, and a WARN entry is logged in the activity log. The warning or the action starts when both conditions are met: the wait time has passed, and the agents have disconnected.

Warning, cancellation, and skipping while in use

These work in the same way as agent auto shutdown (11.5.5). If you click "Cancel" in the warning, auto shutdown does not run until the PC restarts. If a job is added to the queue or folder watch is resumed during the warning, the warning stops. This is not treated as a cancellation, and the conditions are checked again the next time the queue finishes. When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the notification area app in the signed-in user's session shows the warning window. If no user is signed in, the action runs without a warning, and this is recorded in the activity log. For how "Shut down" is requested when NyXGridEncode runs as a service, see 11.5.5. Shutdown and forced shutdown do not install pending Windows updates.

Just before the action

• If "Auto Shutdown" is selected in external notifications, a notification is sent, and NyXGridEncode waits up to 2 seconds for it to be sent (8.6.1).
• The queue is saved, and then the power operation runs.
• After the PC resumes from sleep or hibernation, the action does not run again until another job is processed.

Status

The bottom of the group shows the auto shutdown status on one line. Statuses include "Disabled", "Not available with this license", "Not applicable while folder watch is running", "No jobs processed since startup", "Waiting for the queue to finish", "Waiting for agents to disconnect", "Waiting", "Postponed because the PC is in use", "Warning", and "Canceled until the PC restarts".

The settings in this section are included in "Auto Run, Notification, Display, Log, and Update Check" when you export settings (8.11).

●8.6 Notification

◆8.6.1 External notifications License required

External notifications report events such as queue completion and job failures through LINE, Discord, Slack, a webhook, or email. This feature requires a license that supports agents (Pro or higher). It is not available when the mode is "Agent". Only the instance that holds the queue sends notifications: NyXGridEncode in "Standalone", "Controller + Encoder", or "Controller Only" mode. When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the service sends them, not the window.

Each subject starts with "[NyXGridEncode]". The message body contains the host name and the time, followed by lines in the "Item: value" format, such as "Input: path".

• Tokens, webhook URLs, and the SMTP password are saved encrypted. When you export settings, they are encrypted in the same way as shared path passwords (8.11).
• If a saved value cannot be decrypted, for example after Windows is reinstalled, the box is shown empty. The saved value is kept until you enter it again, and that destination is not used. The activity log records a WARN entry starting with "External notifications: skipping destinations whose settings cannot be read:" followed by the destinations.
• Failed sends are logged as WARN in the activity log. If sends to the same destination keep failing, the number of failures is logged every 30 minutes, and an INFO entry is logged when sending succeeds again.
• When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the service sends notifications using the saved settings. "Send Test" sends directly from the Settings window, not through the service.

●8.7 Display

You can also change these items from the "View" menu in the main window. Changes made from the menu are saved immediately.

●8.8 Log

The activity log and job logs each have a "Retention" setting that controls saving and deleting. The values work the same way for both logs. You can enter a value from -1 to 1000; values outside this range cannot be entered.

When you change the retention and click "OK", the change applies immediately to whether logs are saved. Files past the retention period are deleted at the next startup. The same applies when the product runs as a service. If you edit the settings file directly and enter a value outside the range, it is changed to -1 or 1000 at startup and the change is recorded in the activity log.

◆8.8.1 Activity log

The activity log is one file per day, named app-YYYYMMDD.log. The default retention is 30 days. Set it to 0 to stop saving the activity log. If a day's log reaches 64 MB, the rest of that day's entries are omitted, and the number of omitted entries is recorded at the top of the next day's log. Each line records the date and time ([YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS.sss]), the level (INFO, WARN, or ERROR), and the message, in that order.

The location is shown after "Location:" in this category, and "Open Log Folder" opens it in File Explorer. If you installed to the default location (Program Files) with the installer, the location is %ProgramData%\NyXGridEncode\logs. If you placed the executable in a writable folder outside Program Files, it is the logs folder in the same folder as the executable. Records of unexpected errors (error.log) are also saved in the same folder. Each record uses the same date and time format as the activity log. error.log is not affected by the retention setting and is saved even when the activity log retention is 0, so that the cause of a startup failure is recorded.

◆8.8.2 Job logs

When the job log retention is not 0, the same content as the Log window (7.3) is saved to a separate file each time a job ends. The default is 0 (not saved). When you change it from 0 and click "OK", a confirmation appears explaining that a file is created for each job and that the files use free disk space. If you click "Cancel" in the confirmation, the retention returns to 0 and the settings are not saved. If "Save a log for each job" was on in an earlier version, the retention is set to 30 days; if it was off, the retention is set to 0.

●8.9 Service

"Status" shows "Not registered", "Stopped", "Running", or "Unknown". Clicking a button shows a confirmation, followed by a Windows User Account Control prompt. The progress of the operation is shown below the buttons, and you cannot close the Settings window while an operation is in progress.

When the license does not allow "Register" and "Restart", the reason is shown under the "Service" heading (12.1). "Delete" is available regardless of the license. The service and the window run at the same time, and encoding continues after you close the window. Details, including operation from the command line, are explained in Chapter 12.

●8.10 Update check

Checks for new versions of the product and of the external tools. Both checks are enabled by default. They run at startup and, while the product keeps running, every 24 hours. When a new version is available, it is shown at the right end of the bottom row of the status bar. Neither the product nor the external tools are replaced automatically.

Click "New version" in the status bar, or choose "Help > Check for Updates", to open the "Update Check" window. When a new version is available, it shows the current version, the new version, the release date, and the main changes. Click "Open Download Page" to open the download page of the official site in your default browser.

If the product was installed with the installer, "Update Now" is also shown. Clicking it does the following.

1. Downloads the installer and confirms that its size and SHA-256 match the signed information on the official site. If they do not match, the downloaded file is deleted and the update is canceled.
2. A Windows User Account Control prompt appears; select "Yes".
3. The product exits, and the installer updates it without showing its window. If the product is registered as a Windows service, the service is stopped before the update and started again afterward.
4. When the update finishes, the product starts.

●8.11 Exporting and importing settings

Click "Export" at the bottom left of the Settings window to open a window where you choose the items to export. The items are "Preset", "Folder Watch", "Encoding", "Auto Run, Notification, Display, Log, and Update Check", and "Mode"; by default, all items are selected. Click "Export" and choose where to save the file; it is saved as NyXGridEncode-settings-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.json. The values entered in the Settings window are exported, including values not yet saved with "OK".

"Mode" includes the auth tokens and the shared path passwords. The auth tokens are recorded as they are. The shared path passwords are encrypted with a key specific to this product, so they cannot be read by opening the file. However, anyone who imports the file into this product can use the passwords, so do not store the exported file where other people can read it. If an encrypted password in the file is changed, that password is not imported. Changes to the shared paths and user names in the file are not detected. "Mode" also includes the Wake-on-LAN settings, the manually set MAC addresses, and the auto shutdown settings for agents (11.5). "Auto Run, Notification, Display, Log, and Update Check" includes the external notification tokens, webhook URLs, and SMTP password. They are encrypted in the same way as the shared path passwords. The license, the GPU selection, the window positions and sizes, the output folder, the agent display name, and whether folder watch is paused are never exported, whichever items you select. In the shared path list (11.2.1), the location on this PC, user name, and password used only by the output folder row are not exported either. If you do not select "Folder Watch", those used only by watched folder rows are not exported.

Click "Import" and select an exported file to open a window where you choose the items to import. If presets with the same name exist, choose "Add with a new name" (default) or "Overwrite". Watched folders that use a renamed preset are imported with the new name. If watched folders or output folders are not found on this PC, their number and paths are shown. Click "Import" to reopen the Settings window with the imported values. They are saved when you click "OK". If you click "OK" while encoding is running, the presets are not changed, and the status bar shows "The presets were not changed because encoding is running." The other settings are saved. If a watched folder uses one of the imported presets, the watched folders are not changed either, and "The presets and watched folders were not changed because encoding is running." is shown. If you import "Mode", the auth tokens and the shared path passwords in the file are imported as well. If the file does not contain auth tokens, the tokens on this PC are kept. The shared path passwords are decrypted and saved in a form that can be decrypted only on this PC (11.2.1). If a password in the file cannot be read, for example because the file was edited, "Could not read the passwords for N shared paths:" followed by the shared paths is shown under "Mode", and that password is not imported. The Wake-on-LAN MAC addresses in "Mode" are replaced only if the file contains them; otherwise, the values on this PC are kept. If you import "Auto Run, Notification, Display, Log, and Update Check", the external notification tokens, webhook URLs, and SMTP password are imported as well. For values that are not in the file or cannot be read, the values on this PC are kept.

For the output folder and watched folder rows of the shared path list, the location on this PC, the shared path, the user name, and the password entered on this PC are kept if the row is still in the list after the import. If the file has values for the same row, or has a user name and password for a shared path on the same server, the values in the file are used instead. The values on this PC that are not kept are shown under "Mode", for example "The location on this PC is not kept for N shared paths:" and "The user name and password are not kept for N shared paths:", each followed by the shared paths. The counts are updated each time you change the selected items.

■9. Advanced settings

These are advanced options for each encoder. You normally do not need to change them. Use them only when you want to fine-tune quality or file size.

Open this window with the "Advanced Settings" button in the "Video" group of the Edit Presets window. There are four tabs: "NVIDIA NVEncC", "Intel QSVEncC", "AMD VCEEncC", and "CPU FFmpeg". When you close the window with "OK", the encoders that have settings are shown to the right of the button, for example "Specified: NVIDIA / CPU". If nothing is specified, "Not specified" is shown. The advanced settings are saved together with the preset when you click "OK" in the Edit Presets window.

●9.1 How the advanced settings work

• "Not specified" means that no value is passed to the encoder, so the encoder default is used. The bottom of the window also says "Items left at their defaults are not passed to the encoder, and the encoder defaults apply." When "Mode" in "Rate Control" is "Not specified", encoding uses VBR with the video bitrate of the preset as the target.
• Numeric items and check boxes are likewise not passed to the encoder while they are at their initial values. The meaning of special values, such as "0 for auto" or "-1 for auto", is shown to the right of the numeric fields. Intel "B-Pyramid" and AMD "Deblocking Filter" are on initially and are passed only when you turn them off.
• All four tabs can be edited even on a PC without a GPU. This is because presets are also used on PCs with different hardware, and which encoder processes a job is not decided until it runs.
• Only the tab for the encoder that handles the job is applied. Even if you configure the NVIDIA tab in detail, it is not applied when the job is processed on the CPU.
• "Restore Defaults" resets only the tab that is currently open. The other tabs are not affected.
• "Mode" in the Edit Presets window is linked to "Mode" on each tab. Selecting "CBR" in the Edit Presets window sets "Mode" on each tab to "CBR" (tabs set to CBRHQ are not changed). Switching back to "VBR" returns tabs set to a CBR-type method to "Not specified". Whichever you change last is saved: "Mode" in the Edit Presets window or "Mode" in the advanced settings. A mode that you select on a tab in the advanced settings is saved as is unless you select "Mode" in the Edit Presets window again. When you close the advanced settings with "OK", "Mode" in the Edit Presets window shows the type (CBR or VBR) of the first tab that has a mode set, in the order NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, CPU.

●9.2 Items available for each encoder

The items on each tab are as follows. ✓ indicates that the tab has the item.

●9.3 Settings with the greatest effect on quality

The choices for "Mode" and "Quality" ("Speed Preset" for the CPU) for each encoder are as follows. Each list starts with "Not specified".

"VBR", like "Not specified", encodes with VBR using the video bitrate of the preset as the target. Modes other than CQP, ICQ, LA-ICQ, CRF, and AMD QVBR use the video bitrate of the preset.

●9.4 Items not available for some video codecs

Some items cannot be used with certain video codecs set in the preset.

Profile, Level, Speed Preset, Tuning, Extra Parameters, B-Frames, and No Scene Change Detection are grayed out and cannot be changed if they cannot be used with the codec that was selected when you opened the advanced settings. If a grayed-out item has a previously saved value, that value is kept. To clear it, click "Restore Defaults".

Items specified for a codec that cannot use them are not used during encoding. Items that are not used are shown in the "Notes" column of the queue, for example "When processing on the CPU, VP9 does not use the following advanced settings: CRF", and are also recorded in the log.

■10. Folder watch License required

Folder watch imports and encodes videos placed in a specified folder. If you watch the folder where you copy recordings from a recording device, or the folder where downloads are saved, you do not need to add files to the queue or start encoding.

●10.1 Setting up watched folders

1. In Settings, open "Folder Watch".
2. Click "Add" and select the folder to watch. A row is added to the list.
3. Select the row's "Preset". You can specify a preset for each folder individually. A newly added row is set to the first preset in the preset list.
4. If necessary, click "Browse" in the row's "Output Folder" and specify an output folder dedicated to that folder. If it is left as "Default", files are output to the output folder in the main window. Files imported from a watched folder that has its own output folder can be encoded even if no output folder is specified in the main window. To clear the setting, select the row and click "Restore Defaults".
5. Select the row's "Source File After Encoding" (10.3).
6. Click "OK" to save.

You can also set the following items above the list and in each row.

●10.2 Import conditions

The folders are scanned at every scan interval (5 seconds by default). However, a file is not imported as soon as it is detected, because importing a file that is still being copied would mean encoding an incomplete file. A file is imported once all three of the following conditions are met.

1. The file size, checked at every scan, is unchanged from the previous scan twice in a row
2. No other program has the file open
3. FFmpeg can read the file as a video (its duration can be obtained)

As a result, it takes several scan intervals from the time a file is placed until it is imported. When a large file is being copied over the network, the time until that copy finishes is added.

• A file that FFmpeg cannot read is checked again after 1 minute, and the interval doubles each time the file still cannot be read (up to 30 minutes). If the file is updated, it is checked again without waiting for the interval.
• Up to 200 files are imported per scan. The rest are imported in subsequent scans.
• When the number of waiting and running items in the queue reaches the license's "Jobs Allowed" limit, no files are imported until space becomes available. The status bar shows the number of files that could not be added because of the limit.

◆10.2.1 Files that are not imported

●10.3 Handling source files after encoding

For each watched folder, choose one of the following four ways to handle source files that were encoded successfully. Moving, moving to the Recycle Bin, and deleting take place only when encoding succeeds. Files that fail stay where they are. Imported files remain in the processed record, so putting the same file back does not import it again. For the exception in watched folders with "Re-import" on, see 10.3.1.

The result is shown in the status bar, for example "Source: Moved 3 files to the processed folder".

◆10.3.1 Re-import

In a watched folder with "Re-import" on, files that have been moved, moved to the Recycle Bin, or deleted are removed from the processed record. When you put the same file back in the watched folder, it is imported at the next scan. The default is off.

• A file is removed from the processed record only when it has been moved out of the watched folder or deleted. If moving or deleting fails, or if the file is left in place because the Recycle Bin cannot be used, the file stays in the processed record.
• Re-import is not available in rows set to "Leave in place". The file stays in the watched folder, so removing it from the processed record would import it again at the next scan and encode it repeatedly.
• The number of files removed from the processed record is recorded in the activity log.

●10.4 Checking the watch status

While watching is active, the right side of the bottom row of the status bar shows the number of enabled watched folders, for example "1 watched folder". Click it to open the "Folder Watch" page of Settings. If it is not shown, one of the following applies.

• The mode is "Agent"
• Your license does not include folder watch (including when no license is registered)
• No watched folder has "Enabled" on

When files are imported, the status bar shows a message such as "Imported 3 items from the watched folders."

●10.5 Pausing and resuming folder watch

You can temporarily stop scanning all watched folders. Click "Pause Watch" to the right of "N watched folders" in the bottom row of the status bar, or select "Pause Folder Watch" on the "Encode" menu. To resume, click "Resume Watch" or select "Resume Folder Watch".

You can pause watch when at least one watched folder is enabled. It is not available when the mode is "Agent" or when your license does not include folder watch. When the product runs as a service, the command is sent to the service, and the service pauses or resumes its own watch. When the resume command is sent to the service, the service checks that the Windows user who performed the operation can write to the output folder of the main window and to the output folders of the enabled watched folders. If that user cannot write to them, watch is not resumed, and the status bar shows "You do not have permission to write to the output folder: X" (X is the path of the output folder). Pausing is available regardless of write permission.

■11. Distributed encoding License required

Distributed encoding shares encoding work among multiple PCs on a LAN. It does not use a dedicated server or a cloud service. Set up the controller and the agents, and start the product on each PC.

●11.1 Configuration and operation

The PC that assigns jobs is the controller, and a PC that receives and encodes jobs is an agent. When an agent has a free slot, it fetches a job from the controller; while there are no jobs to assign, it checks with the controller every 5 seconds. To process a specific job on a specific PC, specify the assignment target from the right-click menu of the queue list (5.3).

Files are passed between PCs in one of two ways. If an agent can use a shared folder to read the input file directly and write directly to the output folder, it reads and writes the files in place (the fastest method, because no transfer occurs). Otherwise, this product transfers the file itself over the network. The method is determined automatically for each job. If the output path that the agent uses, after replacement with a shared path, is longer than 245 characters, only that job is passed by transfer. The "Notes" column then shows "The output path is too long on the agent, so the output file is handed off in transfer mode.", and a WARN entry is recorded in the activity log. Only one transfer runs at a time, regardless of the number of agents.

●11.2 Setting up the controller

1. In Settings, open "Mode" and select "Controller + Encoder". To only assign jobs without encoding on this PC, select "Controller Only".
2. Specify the "Port". You can leave it at the default, 5555.
3. Click "Generate" to the right of "Auth Token (required)". A 32-character alphanumeric value is set. Make a note of this value. You enter the same value on the agents.
4. If there are shared folders that agents can read directly, add them to the "Shared Paths" list. This setting is optional. Click "Add" and select a folder. To edit the shared path of an added row, double-click it. For locations that the controller handles with drive-letter paths, also specify a "Location on This PC". For shared folders that require a user name and password, also specify the "User Name" and "Password" (11.2.1). The output folder and watched folders are shown in the list automatically, so you do not need to add them.
5. If necessary, select an "Assignment Order". The default, "Efficiency first", assigns the largest jobs first, each to the PC that can finish it soonest. "List order" assigns jobs in the order of the queue.
6. To start the PCs of disconnected agents over the LAN, configure Wake-on-LAN at the bottom of the "Controller" group (11.5.2).
7. Click "OK" to save.

◆11.2.1 Shared paths and locations on this PC

Paths in the queue are locations as seen from the controller, such as E:\Video\a.mp4. When a shared path has a "Location on This PC", files in that location are passed to agents with the beginning of the path replaced by the shared path. For example, if the location on this PC for the shared path \\PC1\E is E:\, E:\Video\a.mp4 is passed as \\PC1\E\Video\a.mp4. This applies to input files, output folders, external subtitle files, and watched folders. The queue list and the controller's own reads and writes keep the original paths. You can open this section from "Manual: Shared paths and locations on this PC" below the shared path list in the settings.

Examples for each kind of shared folder follow. PC1 is the name of the controller PC, and NAS is the name of the NAS.

For administrative shares of this PC (shares named with a drive letter followed by $, such as \\PC1\D$), the location on this PC is filled in automatically. For \\PC1\D$\_Tmp, it is D:\_Tmp.

Below the rows you added, the list automatically shows the following locations. You do not need to add them; they are treated as shared paths automatically.

A UNC path is shown in the "Shared Paths" column, and a drive-letter path is shown in the "Location on This PC" column. That cell cannot be changed. Cells that cannot be changed are shown in gray. Point to the cell to see the setting that the row was added from, for example "Added automatically from the output folder. To change it, change the output folder in the main window." A path that appears in more than one setting is shown in a single row. If a path is the same as a row you added, only the row you added is shown. Rows added automatically cannot be deleted. If you select one and click "Delete", "Rows added automatically cannot be deleted. Change the output folder or watched folder settings." is displayed.

You can enter a value in the other cell: "Location on This PC" for a UNC path row, and "Shared Paths" for a drive-letter path row. In the "Shared Paths" cell of a drive-letter path row, enter a UNC path that agent PCs can use to open that location. The values you enter are saved and, as with the rows you added, used to replace the paths passed to agents. If a drive-letter path is inside the "Location on This PC" of a row you added, the "Shared Paths" cell shows the replaced path that is passed to agents. For example, if you added a row with the shared path \\PC1\E and the location on this PC E:\, and the output folder is E:\Out, the "Shared Paths" cell of the output folder row shows \\PC1\E\Out. If you enter a value, the value you enter is used. A drive-letter path whose "Shared Paths" cell is blank is passed to agents unchanged, and agents open the same path on the agent PC (11.1).

Only the values of the rows shown in the list are saved. If a row added automatically is no longer shown, for example because you disabled its watched folder or changed the output folder, the values entered in that row (location on this PC, shared path, user name, and password) are deleted when you click "OK". This prevents credentials that are not shown in the list from being used when you specify the same location again later. Enter the values again after the row is shown again.

If a shared folder requires a user name and password, specify them in the row's "User Name" and "Password". You can also specify them for rows added automatically. Enter the user name in one of these forms: DOMAIN\user, PCNAME\user, user@domain, or user. A password can be up to 256 characters long. A user name and password can be specified only for rows whose shared path is a UNC path. In other rows, the "User Name" and "Password" cells are shown in gray.

Windows cannot connect to one server with different user names at the same time. If you specify user names for shared paths on the same server, use the same user name and password for all of them. Otherwise, the settings cannot be saved. Shared paths without a user name are accessed with the account that runs this product: the logged-on user when the product is started normally, or NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM when it runs as a service. However, if a shared path on the same server has a user name, those credentials are used.

The controller also uses these user names and passwords for its own access, for example when the output folder or a watched folder is on a NAS. However, the controller does not connect with these credentials to shared paths on this PC (shared paths whose server name is the name or IP address of this PC). Agents receive the credentials from the controller with job assignments and in the shared path connection test (11.3.1), connect to the share with them, and then decide whether to use direct mode or transfer mode. You do not need to enter them on the agents. The controller encrypts the password with a key derived from the auth token before sending it. If the auth token is shorter than 16 characters, for example in a settings file edited by hand, the controller does not pass the credentials to agents and records this in its activity log. If an agent cannot connect, it processes the job in transfer mode and records the failure in its activity log (11.6).

Passwords are encrypted with a key specific to this PC and saved in the settings file. Because the key is shared by all users of this PC, other users who can read the settings file can extract the passwords. For this reason, specify an account that has only the permissions needed to access the shared path. If you reinstall the OS or copy the settings file to another PC, the saved password cannot be decrypted. In that case, enter the password again and click "OK" to save it. When you export settings, shared paths, user names, and passwords are exported (8.11). The passwords are encrypted with a key specific to this product, so they cannot be read by opening the file. However, anyone who imports the file into this product can use the passwords, so do not store the exported file where other people can read it. The PC where you import the file decrypts the passwords and saves them in a form that can be decrypted only on that PC. For credentials without a password in the file, that PC uses its own password for the same shared path and user name, or for a shared path on the same server with the same user name, if it has one. For how the values entered in the output folder and watched folder rows are handled when you export and import, see 8.11.

If the user names and passwords have one of the following problems, clicking "OK" shows the reason in red at the bottom of the window, and the settings are not saved. The shared path or server concerned is shown at the end of the message.

When the controller starts the agent listener, it checks whether each shared path and its location on this PC point to the same folder, and uses only the pairs that it could verify. Shared paths with a user name are checked after connecting with those credentials. Administrative shares of this PC are verified by the form of the path. For other pairs, the controller creates a test file (with a name that starts with .nyxgridencode-map-check-) in the location on this PC, reads it through the shared path, and deletes it immediately. For locations that cannot be written to, the controller checks whether the names, sizes, and modification times of the files in them look the same through the shared path. For a pair that could not be verified, files in its location on this PC keep their original paths and are processed by transfer, so that agents do not read or write the same path on the agent PC. Pairs that could not be verified are checked again every minute, and paths are replaced from the time the pair is verified. The results are recorded in the activity log.

Click "Verify" to run the following checks with the values currently entered and show the results in the "Status" column. The user names and passwords currently entered are also used to actually connect. After the checks finish, the connections made with the entered user names and passwords are disconnected, and the saved user names and passwords are used again.

Other rows are not checked. If there are no rows to check, "No shared path has a location on this PC or a user name." is shown to the right of the button. If the server name of a row's shared path is the name or IP address of this PC, the user name and password are validated on this PC without connecting to it over the network. If such a row has no location on this PC, the check then confirms that the corresponding drive or folder exists on this PC for an administrative share (such as \\PC1\D$), or that the account used for the check can read the folder for any other share. If the share permissions allow only specific users, "This PC cannot access the shared path." can be shown even though agents can connect with the credentials. For rows checked with credentials, the user name used is shown after the result, for example "Verified | User: nasuser". The counts and the account used for the check are shown to the right of the button.

●11.3 Setting up agents

1. On each agent PC, install the same version of NyXGridEncode as on the controller, and download the external tools.
2. In Settings, open "Mode" and select "Agent".
3. In "Controller", enter the controller's PC name or IP address.
4. In "Port" and "Auth Token (required)", enter the same values as on the controller.
5. You can leave "Display Name" blank. If it is blank, the PC name is used.
6. To use auto shutdown on this PC after the queue finishes, configure it at the bottom of the "Agent" group (11.5.4).
7. Click "OK" to save.

Specify the GPUs and the number of parallel jobs used on an agent in "Encoding" in the agent's Settings. The encoding settings follow the controller's instructions, but the encoder that processes each job is determined by the agent's settings. You do not need to synchronize presets to the agents in advance (11.7).

◆11.3.1 Shared path connection test

Click "Test Connection" in the agent section to check, for each path, whether this PC can read and write the controller's shared paths, output folder, enabled watched folders, and their output folders directly, and to show whether each path uses direct mode or transfer mode. Paths that input is read from (shared paths and watched folders) are checked for reading, and paths that output is written to (output folders and watched folder outputs) are checked for writing. Writing is checked by creating an empty test file (with a name that starts with .nyxgridencode-write-check-) and deleting it immediately. If user names and passwords are specified for the controller's shared paths, the agent connects to the share with those credentials before the check. The agent receives the credentials from the controller, so you do not need to enter them on the agent. The check works the same way as the check an agent makes when it receives a job.

A job is processed in direct mode only when both its input file and its output folder are in paths that use direct mode. If either is in a path that uses transfer mode, the job is processed by transfer. The check uses the values currently entered, so you can try it without saving. Paths in a "Location on This PC" that the controller could not verify are not listed (files in them are processed by transfer). An agent also runs the same check when it connects to the controller, and records the numbers of paths in direct mode and transfer mode, and the paths that use transfer mode with the user name used to access them, in the activity log. While connected, the agent checks again whenever the shared path settings on the controller change, and every 5 minutes. If the results change, the agent records them in the activity log.

●11.4 Checking the connection status

Open "View > Node Info". The same content is shown on the controller and on agents. Clicking the mode display in the middle row of the status bar opens the same window. If the notification area icon is present, you can also open it from the icon's right-click menu.

Click "Refresh" to get the latest status immediately. In "Auto-Refresh", select an interval from 1 second to 10 minutes, or select "Do not refresh". Point to a column header to see a description of that column. Click a column header to sort the rows in ascending order, descending order, and then the default order, in the same way as the queue list (3.2.2). In the default order, the controller is in the first row and the agents follow from the second row.

Click "Select Columns", or right-click a column header, to select the columns to display. Mode, Host Name, and Connection are always displayed. The selection is saved in the settings, and the same columns are displayed the next time you open the window.

By default, seven columns are hidden: IP Address, Connected At, Performance Ratio, Max Jobs, Version, Service, and Shared Paths. To check these values, double-click a row to open the node details (11.4.4). If you have saved a column selection with "Select Columns", the saved columns are displayed instead of the default columns.

You can resize the window regardless of the column widths. To change the width of a column, drag the boundary between column headers. If the columns are wider than the window, the table scrolls horizontally. The window size is saved in the settings when you close the window, and the window opens at the same size next time. The default size is 1200 x 420 pixels.

An agent also shows the same list as the controller (the controller and every connected agent) while it is connected to the controller. The agent gets the list from the controller every few seconds, so it can lag a few seconds behind what the controller shows. While the agent cannot reach the controller, only two rows are shown, one for this PC itself and one for the controller it connects to, and the connection status is "Error" or "Not connected".

The node list in the middle row of the status bar works the same way. While the listener is open, the controller shows "Controller (PC1:5555)" followed by the nodes that encode, for example "PC1 (0/6) | PC2 (0/1)". An agent shows "Agent Connected (PC1:5555)" followed by the same node list as the controller. While the agent cannot reach the controller, only this PC itself is shown.

Total FPS, CPU, and GPU show "-" for disconnected agents and for a "Controller Only" PC, which does not encode. When an agent runs a different version from the controller, the right end of the bottom row of the status bar shows "N agents with a different version". Agents can connect as long as the distribution protocol version is the same, but keep the controller and the agents on the same version so that they behave the same way.

◆11.4.1 How failed and reclaimed agent jobs are shown

When an agent stops responding, or when an agent processing a job stops normally, the controller returns the job to "Waiting" and runs it again locally or on another agent. When the agent stops normally, the job is returned to "Waiting" immediately, without waiting 60 seconds. When a job fails on an agent, the controller does the same for transfer failures and failures that cannot be classified (automatic retry, up to 2 times). What happened is shown in the "Notes" column of the queue list on both the controller and the agent. The "Notes" column shows the history, the reason for the failure (failed rows only), and notices in this order, separated by "|".

The controller shows the following history in the "Notes" column. The events are listed from the left in the order they occurred.

On the agent, a failed row shows the reason for the failure and the result of the report to the controller. If the encode succeeded but the output could not be transferred to the controller, "The encode succeeded, but the output could not be transferred to the controller." is followed by the reason the transfer failed.

If the same job is assigned to this PC again, for example by an automatic retry, the reason for the previous failure and the result of the report are moved to the history, followed by "Rerun locally", before the job is processed. Even after the job completes, the "Notes" column shows why the previous attempt failed.

For example, if agent PC2 finished encoding but could not transfer the output to the controller, and the controller then ran the job again locally and completed it, the rows are shown as follows.

The history remains after you restart this product. When you run the item again yourself with "Encode" on the right-click menu or with "Retry Failed", the history is cleared and recording starts over. If you change the preset of a completed or failed item with "Preset" on the right-click menu, the item also returns to "Waiting" and the history is cleared. The detailed times and events are recorded in the activity logs of the controller and the agent.

◆11.4.2 Deleting the records of disconnected agents

An agent that has connected once stays in the Node Info list after it disconnects, so that its job totals and MAC addresses (11.5.3) are kept. To delete a row that is no longer needed, follow these steps.

1. In Node Info, right-click the row of a disconnected agent.
2. Select "Delete" below the separator.
3. Click "Delete" in the confirmation message.

• The job totals, the reported MAC addresses, and the manually set MAC addresses of that agent are deleted, and the row is removed from the list.
• Deleted records cannot be restored. The PC of a deleted agent cannot be started with Wake-on-LAN until the agent reconnects. When the agent reconnects, it reports its MAC addresses again and is shown as a new row.
• The records of an agent that has running jobs cannot be deleted.
• Use this to delete the row that remains under the old name after you change the display name of an agent.

◆11.4.3 Reconnecting, shutting down, and restarting an agent

From Node Info on the controller, you can send the following commands to a connected agent. The commands are available when the mode is "Controller + Encoder" or "Controller Only" and the license supports agents (Pro or higher).

1. In Node Info, right-click the row of a connected agent.
2. Select "Reconnect", "Shut Down", "Force Shut Down", or "Restart".
3. In the confirmation message, click the button named after the command.

• The command reaches the agent at its next status check (within 15 seconds). A command is discarded if it is not delivered within 2 minutes or if the agent disconnects before delivery. If you select another command before delivery, the new command replaces the previous one.
• Before running the command, the agent notifies the controller that it is leaving. Jobs in progress are interrupted, and the controller returns them to "Waiting" and reassigns them.
• If the agent cannot request the shutdown or restart, it reconnects to the controller. The status bar on the agent shows a message such as "Shut down request failed. Perform the operation on this PC directly: reason", and the reason is recorded in the agent's activity log.
• If Windows has not shut down 10 minutes after "Shut Down" or "Restart" was requested (for example, because the shutdown was canceled in response to an app with unsaved documents), the agent reconnects to the controller and records this in the activity log.
• On a PC with Fast Startup turned on, the service process may remain after a shutdown. In that case, the agent reconnects to the controller the next time Windows starts.
• When the agent runs as a service, "Shut Down" and "Restart" are requested by the notification area app under the signed-in user's account (as in 11.5.5). If the notification area app is not running or does not respond within 15 seconds, the service makes the request. "Force Shut Down" is requested by the service.
• The result is shown in the status bar of the main window, for example "Sent a request to PC2: Shut down.", and recorded in the controller's activity log. When the controller runs as a service, the service receives the request from the main window and delivers it to the agent.
• Agents running an earlier version do not receive these commands.

◆11.4.4 Node details

To show the details of a node in a separate window, double-click its row in Node Info, or right-click the row and select "Details". This also works for the controller row. The window is updated at the Node Info auto-refresh interval. Click "Refresh" to get the latest status immediately. Only one window can be open per node. Closing Node Info also closes the node details windows.

• The agent reports its environment, settings, time since startup or resume, and response time with each status check (every 15 seconds). These values are not shown for the first 15 seconds after the agent connects, or for agents running an earlier version. While an agent is disconnected, its last reported environment and settings are shown, but its time since startup or resume and its response time are not.
• On an agent, the jobs and history of other nodes are not shown, because only the controller holds this information. The Jobs tab for the agent's own row shows the jobs it has received. The History tab for the agent's own row shows "History is available on the controller."
• When the controller runs as a service, the jobs and history held by the service are shown.

●11.5 Wake-on-LAN and auto shutdown License required

Wake-on-LAN starts the PCs of disconnected agents from the controller. Auto shutdown shuts down, force shuts down, puts to sleep, or hibernates a PC after the queue finishes.

◆11.5.1 Preparation

To start an agent PC with Wake-on-LAN, configure the following on the agent PC. Item names vary by PC model, NIC, and driver.

The wake request (magic packet) is sent over UDP to port 9. The destinations are 255.255.255.255 and the subnet broadcast address of each NIC on the controller PC. The request does not reach other subnets across a router.

After configuring the PC, connect the agent to the controller once so that it reports its MAC addresses (11.5.3). Then shut down the agent PC and check that "Wake" in Node Info starts it. If you use sleep or hibernation as the auto shutdown action, also check that the PC wakes from that state.

◆11.5.2 Sending wake requests

The controller sends wake requests in the following three cases. Wake-on-LAN is available when the mode is "Controller + Encoder" or "Controller Only". Requests are sent to disconnected agents whose MAC address is known.

• To check that the PC started, see whether "Connection" in Node Info changes to "Connected".
• Sent requests are logged as INFO in the activity log, and requests that could not be sent are logged as WARN.
• The controller records the time it sent each wake request. This time is used for the "Only when started by Wake-on-LAN" condition of auto shutdown (11.5.5). The time is recorded for requests sent in any of the three cases.
• When the product runs as a service, the service sends the wake request. Requests are sent only to agents known to the service.

◆11.5.3 MAC addresses

Manually set MAC addresses are saved in the settings and are included in "Mode" when you export the settings (8.11).

◆11.5.4 Auto shutdown settings for agents

When the controller's queue has stayed finished for the wait time, the agent PC performs the selected action: shut down, force shut down, sleep, or hibernate. Configure this in Settings on the agent PC, at the bottom of the "Agent" group on the "Mode" page.

Shutdown and forced shutdown do not install pending Windows updates. Whether Fast Startup is used depends on the Windows settings of that PC. If a Fast Startup shutdown cannot be requested, a full shutdown is requested instead, and this is recorded in the activity log.

◆11.5.5 Auto shutdown conditions and warning

When the queue is considered finished

The queue is considered finished when all of the following conditions have been met for the wait time.

• The agent is connected to the controller.
• The controller is not paused.
• No waiting item can be assigned to this agent.
• No job is being processed on the controller or on other agents.
• No job is being processed on this agent.
• This agent has received at least one job since this product started (failed jobs and jobs canceled by Stop on the controller are counted).

The action does not run while the agent cannot connect to the controller. It also does not run when the controller is an earlier version that does not support auto shutdown.

The conditions are checked again when a PC that auto shutdown put to sleep or hibernation resumes, and when Windows starts with the service process still running after a Fast Startup shutdown. The count of received jobs returns to 0, so the action does not run immediately after the PC resumes.

When the PC is considered started by Wake-on-LAN

If "When queue finishes" is set to "Only when started by Wake-on-LAN", the PC is considered to have been started by Wake-on-LAN when both of the following are true.

• The agent connected to the controller within the "Wake request to connection" time after the controller sent a wake request. Wake requests sent in any of the three cases count: "Wake" in Node Info, the start of encoding, and resending while encoding is running (11.5.2). Each wake request is used only for the first connection after it was sent.
• The agent connected to the controller within the "OS startup to connection" time after Windows on the agent PC started. If the PC resumed from sleep, hibernation, or Fast Startup, the time is counted from the resume.

Skipping while the PC is in use

• Only keyboard and mouse input after the queue finishes is counted. Input before the queue finishes (during encoding) does not delay the action beyond the wait time.
• When several users are signed in, the action is skipped if any one session has keyboard or mouse input.
• Skipping also applies when "Force shut down" is selected.
• When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the notification area app in the signed-in user's session reports keyboard and mouse input to the service. When no one is signed in, the PC is treated as not in use.

Warning and cancellation

The warning window appears in front of other windows and shows the remaining seconds and "Cancel". The Windows warning sound plays once when it appears. You can use other windows while the warning window is shown.

• When you click "Cancel", auto shutdown is not performed until the PC restarts. The cancellation is shown on the status bar and recorded in the activity log.
• During the warning, the agent does not accept new jobs. If a job that can be assigned to this agent becomes available on the controller during the warning, the warning stops and the agent continues processing jobs. This is not treated as a cancellation, and the conditions are checked again the next time the queue finishes.
• If the PC goes to sleep or hibernation during the warning, or if the checks stop for 10 seconds or more, the warning ends and the wait time starts again.
• If this agent receives a job just before the action, the action is canceled, the job is processed, and this is recorded in the activity log.
• When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the notification area app in the signed-in user's session shows the warning window. When no one is signed in, the action runs without a warning, and this is recorded in the activity log. If the user signs out during the warning, the action runs when the warning time ends, and this is recorded in the activity log.
• When NyXGridEncode runs as a service, the notification area app requests "Shut down" under the signed-in user's account, because Windows does not accept a normal shutdown from a service while users are signed in. If the notification area app does not respond, the service requests the shutdown. If more than one user is signed in, "Shut down" cannot be requested; select "Force shut down" instead.

Status display and what the controller shows

• One line below the auto shutdown settings shows the status, for example "Status: Waiting for the queue to finish", "Status: Not connected to the controller", "Status: Not available with the controller's license", "Status: Not supported by the controller's version", or "Status: Canceled until the PC restarts".
• Just before the action, the agent notifies the controller that it is stopping. In Node Info on the controller, "Connection" for that agent becomes "Auto-stopped" (11.4).
• If "Agent auto-stopped" is selected in External Notifications on the controller, a notification is sent when an agent stops for auto shutdown (8.6.1). This option is off by default. "Agent disconnected" is not sent for an agent that stopped for auto shutdown.

◆11.5.6 Notes

• "Force shut down" shuts down the agent PC without saving work in progress. On a PC that someone uses for other work, use "Shut down" with "Skip while in use".
• To have an agent PC that was started by Wake-on-LAN connect to the controller automatically, register this product as a Windows service on that PC (12.1). The service starts when Windows starts, so it connects to the controller without anyone signing in. If the product is not registered as a service, the agent does not connect until a user signs in and starts this product.
• The Wake-on-LAN and auto shutdown settings on the "Mode" page are included in "Mode" when you export the settings (8.11).

●11.6 Troubleshooting connections

●11.7 Synchronizing presets

You do not need to synchronize presets to the agents in advance. When the controller assigns a job, it passes encoding instructions that reflect the contents of the job's preset and the per-job settings (6.5, 7.1, 7.2). The agent encodes according to those instructions and does not refer to its own presets. Even if the agent has a preset with the same name and different contents, the result is not affected.

Presets themselves are not synchronized automatically. Adding or changing a preset on the controller does not change the preset list on the agents. To make the agent's presets the same as the controller's, click "Get from Controller" in the Edit Presets window on the agent. This button is available when the mode is "Agent". Getting the controller's presets replaces all presets on the agent. Before this happens, the confirmation "Replaces this host's presets with the controller's presets. All presets on this host will be lost." is displayed; click "Download" to get the presets. The retrieved presets are finalized when you click "OK" in the Edit Presets window. Export any presets you need to keep beforehand.

■12. Running as a Windows service

When this product is registered as a Windows service, encoding continues even after you close the window. It keeps running after you sign out, and it starts automatically when Windows starts. This suits long batch runs that you leave running while you are away from the PC.

●12.1 Registering the service

1. In Settings, open "Service".
2. Click "Register". When the confirmation "Registers and starts the Windows service." appears, click "Register". Unsaved changes in the Settings window are discarded, so if you have changed any settings, save them with "OK" first.
3. The prompt for administrator permission (User Account Control) appears twice, once for registration and once for starting. Allow both.
4. When "The service has been registered and started." appears, click "OK". The window closes automatically, and the application stays in the notification area (system tray).

From then on, if you start the application while the service is running, it connects to the service instead of running on its own. The window shows the service's queue and passes your operations to the service. Because the service performs the encoding, encoding continues even if you close the window. The mode display and node list in the status bar, and Node Info (11.4), also show the state of the service. If the service is stopped, the application runs on its own as before. If you selected "Register as a Windows service" during installation, the service is already registered and started.

"Status" under "Service" in Settings shows "Not registered", "Stopped", "Running", or "Unknown".

"Delete" and "Restart" cannot be clicked when the service is not registered. All of these operations require administrator rights.

●12.2 Operating from the command line

From a Command Prompt running as administrator, you can run NyXGridEncode.exe with the following options.

NyXGridEncode.exe --service-install
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-start
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-uninstall
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-stop
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-restart

After registering with --service-install, run --service-start. Only one option can be specified at a time. The result is not displayed on screen. Check whether the operation succeeded with the exit code (0 for success, 1 for failure) and the activity log. When the license does not allow the operation, the exit code is 1 and the reason is recorded in the activity log. --service-start, --service-stop, and --service-uninstall do not check the license. If the options cannot be read, for example when you specify more than one, the reason and the usage are shown on screen and the exit code is 2. Use --help to display the usage (Appendix C).

●12.3 Shared settings

There is only one settings file, and both the window and the service read it (for its location, see Appendix A). When you save settings in the window, the service is notified to reload them, so you do not need to restart the service. The same applies when you register or release a license and when you download external tools.

●12.4 Notes on running as a service

• While the application is connected to the service, "Connected to the service" is shown on the right side of the bottom row of the status bar. If "Cannot connect to the service" is shown, check the status under "Service" in Settings.
• The folder watch option "Move to the Recycle Bin" cannot be used. If, in a window connected to the service, you select "Move to the Recycle Bin" for a watched folder that has "Enabled" on and then save, the service does not load the changed settings. Change "Source File After Encoding" to a different option and save again. If the service is running with "Move to the Recycle Bin" already set, source files are left in place (10.3).
• While the service is running, the application starts and connects to the same service even if another Windows user already has the window open.
• Auto shutdown for agents (11.5.4) is also available when the product runs as a service. The notification area app in the signed-in user's session shows the warning window and checks for keyboard and mouse input. When no one is signed in, the action runs without a warning, and this is recorded in the activity log.

■13. Managing licenses

Check the license status in "Help > License". If you replace a device, use this product offline, or see "Running within the free limits", refer to the relevant section of this chapter. For trial licenses, see 13.6.

●13.1 Checking the current license status

Open "Help > License". "Registered Licenses" at the top lists the licenses you have registered, and "License Status" at the bottom shows the current license status and entitlements.

"Registered Licenses" shows each license's number, type, edition, license key, license ID, status, and expiration date. The first row is the main license, and the second and later rows are the add-on licenses you have added. The buttons in the window work as follows.

●13.2 Offline use

The license is verified over the internet when this product starts and once a day after that. If the verification deadline passes without the license being verified, the status becomes "Pending". While the status is pending (during the grace period), no features are restricted. The status bar shows "The license has not been verified. The current license remains usable for N more days."

When the grace period ends, the status becomes "Invalid", and the entitlements are reduced to the free limits. However, encoding itself does not stop. Once the PC is connected to the internet, the license is verified again automatically within an hour and restored. To verify it immediately, click "Revalidate" in the License window.

License messages are shown on the left side of the bottom row of the status bar when there are no messages from other operations.

●13.3 Replacing a device

If the old PC can still be used, select the main row in the License window on the old PC and click "Release". In the confirmation "Releases this device from the license.", click "Release". That PC returns to the free limits, and one device slot becomes available.

If you cannot release it, for example because the PC has failed, register the license key on the new PC. If the device limit has been reached, a message containing "Select an unused device and replace it." is displayed, and the "Registered Devices" list appears at the bottom of the license key registration window. Check the name and last-used date of each device, select the device to release, and click "Replace".

●13.4 Adding add-on licenses

Enter an add-on license key using the same "Register" button after you have registered the main license. You do not need to choose between main and add-on; the type is determined automatically from the key. When an add-on is added, "Add-on added. Agents: N PCs" is displayed, and in the list of registered licenses, the "Type" column shows "Add-on" (the main license row shows "Main"). "Agent" under "License Status" shows the total number of agents for the main and add-on licenses combined.

To use an add-on license on another device or with another license, select the add-on row in the list and click "Release". An add-on license whose attachment has been removed can be registered again on another device or with another license.

●13.5 Switching the main license

If you register a different main license key on a PC that already has a main license registered, a confirmation is displayed stating that the current main license will be released and replaced with the new main license. Click "Switch" to release the device registration of the current main license and register with the new main license. When this completes, "Switched." is displayed, and one device slot of the released license becomes available. If you enter the key of the same main license, it is registered again.

For notes on switching from a purchased license to a trial license, see 13.6.

●13.6 Trial licenses

A trial license lets you use the same features as Pro for a limited period. Apply for one on the "Apply for a Trial License" page of the official website. To open the official website, click "Official website" in "Help > About". You cannot apply from within the app.

1. On the "Apply for a Trial License" page of the official website, enter your email address and click "Apply".
2. Open the link in the confirmation email. The link expires after 24 hours and can be used only once.
3. On the linked page, click "Issue". The license key is shown on the page and is also sent to you by email. The trial period starts at this point.
4. In this product, open "Help > License" and register the license key (2.3).

While a trial license is in use, the remaining trial period is shown on the left side of the bottom row of the status bar when there is no other message. It is shown as "Trial license: N days left" while 24 hours or more remain, "Trial license: N hours left" when less than 24 hours remain, and "Trial license: less than 1 hour left" when less than 1 hour remains. While the status is "Pending" (13.2), it is shown after "The license has not been verified."

If you enter a different trial license key on a PC where a trial license has been registered, the key entry window shows "A trial license has already been used on this PC. Enter the key for a purchased license.", and the key is not registered.

◆13.6.1 After a trial license expires

When a trial license expires, this product runs within the free limits (2.4). "Status" in the License window changes to "Invalid", and the status bar and the message in the License window show "The trial license has expired. Running within the free limits." When the mode is "Agent", the status bar shows "The trial license has expired." Your settings, presets, and queue are kept. Register the key for a purchased license to use the features of that license.

If this product runs as a Windows service (12.1) in a mode other than "Agent", the service stops as follows.

1. The service does not start new jobs and waits for the running jobs to finish, including jobs assigned to agents. The status bar shows "The trial license has expired. The service will stop after the running jobs finish."
2. When no jobs are running, the service changes its startup type to "Manual" and stops. From then on, the service does not start when Windows starts.
3. The next time you start the app window, a confirmation asks whether to delete the service and the Windows Firewall rule. If the app starts in the notification area, the confirmation appears the first time you open the window.
4. Click "Delete" and allow the administrator prompt (User Account Control). The service and the Windows Firewall rule are removed, and the status bar shows "Removed the service and the Windows Firewall rule." If you click "Cancel" or do not allow the administrator prompt, the service is not removed, and you are asked again the next time the app starts.

• If encoding is paused (5.4), the service does not stop until you resume and the jobs finish.
• If you register the key for a purchased license or change the mode to "Agent" while the service is waiting to stop, the stop is canceled, and the status bar shows "Canceled the pending service stop."
• If, when the app window starts, a purchased license allows the service to be used or the mode has been changed to "Agent", no confirmation is shown. The service remains stopped with the startup type "Manual". To keep using the service, click "Register" on the "Service" page of Settings (12.1). The service is registered again to start automatically when Windows starts, and then started.
• If the service cannot be stopped, the status bar shows "Could not stop the service after the trial license expired. Click Delete on the Service page in Settings.", and new jobs can be started again. The startup type of the service is changed back to "Automatic". If encoding was running before the stop, the waiting jobs start automatically. Otherwise, the waiting jobs start the next time encoding is started. To stop the service, click "Delete" on the "Service" page of Settings.
• A service in "Agent" mode is not stopped. The service is also not stopped when a purchased license expires or becomes invalid.

■14. Troubleshooting

This chapter is organized by symptom so you can go straight to the relevant section. If none of the items apply, check the logs. Their locations are described in 14.8.

●14.1 Four places to check first

Most causes are shown or recorded in one of the following four places.

●14.2 "Start Encoding" does not work

If "Start Encoding" is disabled, point to the button to see the reason. One of the following appears after "Cannot start:". In the table, X and Y stand for actual folder paths, and N for a number of items.

If the button is disabled and no reason is shown, the queue has no waiting or completed items. If only failed items remain, return them to waiting with "Retry Failed", and then start.

◆If encoding does not start after you click "Start Encoding"

If encoding does not start after you click "Start Encoding" and select the targets, the reason is shown at the left end of the bottom row of the status bar.

●14.3 Encoding fails

Failures are classified by cause. A summary is shown in the "Notes" column of the failed row. When an item encoded on this PC fails, the summary also appears at the left end of the bottom row of the status bar at that moment. Failures of items encoded by an agent are not shown in the status bar. The same summary is also recorded in the report file (report-YYYYMMDD.txt in the report folder) and the activity log (app-YYYYMMDD.log). In the report file, a failed row shows the category name in the "Input" and "Output" columns and the summary at the end of the row.

"Input corrupted", "Not writable", "Out of space", "Tools missing", and "Invalid request" are not retried automatically, because repeating them does not change the result. "Transfer failed" is often caused by a temporary network interruption, so it is retried automatically in the same way as "Failed". "Stalled" is also retried automatically. When GPU encoding fails because of "GPU session limit", "GPU not supported", "Stalled", or a reason that cannot be classified, the item is processed again on the CPU before it is treated as failed. In this case, the reason is shown in the "Notes" column (14.4).

●14.4 The GPU is not used / processing is slow

◆Main GPU-related reasons shown in the "Notes" column

In the table, NVENC and QSV stand for the type of GPU used (NVENC / QSV / VCE). The per-side limit message appears only when an NVIDIA GPU is used.

●14.5 Folder watch does not work

●14.6 Cannot connect in distributed encoding

For the complete list, see 11.6. The four most common causes are as follows.

For items that fail in distributed encoding, summaries such as the following are recorded in the report file and the activity log on the controller.

●14.7 Wake-on-LAN or auto shutdown does not work

For details on the settings and conditions, see 11.5.

◆14.7.1 Wake-on-LAN does not start the agent PC

◆14.7.2 The agent does not shut down automatically

First, on the agent PC, open the "Mode" page in Settings and check the status shown below the auto shutdown settings.

The agent's activity log records when the warning is canceled, when the action runs without a warning, and when the action switches to shutdown because sleep or hibernation is not available.

◆14.7.3 The controller or standalone PC does not shut down automatically

First, open the "Auto Run" page in Settings and check the status shown at the bottom of the auto shutdown group (8.5.1).

The activity log on this PC records when the action proceeds after the "Agent disconnect wait limit" passes, when the warning is canceled, and when the action runs without a warning.

●14.8 The application does not start

If startup fails, "Could not start." or "An unhandled exception occurred." is displayed, and the details are recorded in logs\error.log. The "Details:" part of the message shows the path of that file. The logs are stored in the following locations.

If the product starts, you can also check the log location under "Log" in Settings.

app-YYYYMMDD.log files and job logs older than the retention period are deleted when this product starts.

●14.9 An operation cannot be performed

●14.10 Insufficient free space is reported

The free space in the output folder is checked when encoding starts and each time an item finishes encoding.

All output folders that the run writes to are checked. If you specify an output folder for each watched folder, those output folders are also checked, and the message shows the folder name. Locations whose free space cannot be retrieved (such as some network locations) are not checked.

The free space of the temp folders is also checked. For the temp folders, only a warning is shown when free space falls below 15 GB; processing does not stop.

The warning is shown in a form such as "The app temp folder is running low on free space: X left. Trimming and subtitle burn-in may fail." If the two temp folders are on the same drive, they are reported together in one message.

●14.11 If the problem persists

If the problem persists, you can send an inquiry from "Help > Support".

1. Open "Help > Support".
2. Select a "Type" ("Bug", "Feature Request", "Question", or "Other"), and enter a "Subject" and the "Details".
3. If you need a reply, enter your "Email Address".
4. Review the contents shown under "Information to Send", select "I agree to send the information above", and click "Send".

When the inquiry has been sent, a reference number is shown. If it cannot be sent, the reason appears at the bottom of the window. "Information to Send" includes the OS (Windows version), the app version, and the display language. If a license is registered, the license ID is also filled in automatically and sent. The PC name and user name are not sent. You can enter up to 50 characters for the subject and the email address, and up to 963 characters for the details.

Include the following information in the details.

1. What you were doing when the problem occurred, and the date and time.
2. Messages shown in the status bar, tooltips, the "Notes" column, and so on.
3. The log of the failed item. Double-click the row to open its log, select the error lines at the end, and copy them (Ctrl + C). You can also select the whole log with "Select All".
4. The relevant lines of the activity log. Under "Log" in Settings, click "Open Log Folder", and copy the related lines from app-YYYYMMDD.log for that day. Records since the app started can also be selected and copied in "View > Log Viewer".

Files cannot be sent from the inquiry window. Paste only the necessary log lines into the details. If you are asked for the full activity logs for an investigation, you can create a ZIP file with "Help > Save Diagnostics" (3.4.2). Submit the ZIP file as instructed.

■15. Appendices

●Appendix A: Data locations

Where settings, the queue, and logs are stored depends on the location of this product's executable.

●Appendix B: Supported file formats

The following extensions are treated as video files by "Add Folder", drag and drop, and folder watch. There are 44 in total.

Whether a file is actually a video is determined by FFmpeg. A file that cannot be read fails even if its extension matches. Files with extensions that are not on the list are ignored when folders are scanned and when files are dropped. The "Add Files" dialog shows files with the listed extensions by default. If you switch the file type to "All files (*.*)", you can also add files with extensions that are not on the list.

◆Output formats

Audio "Stream Copy" can be selected for any container, but encoding fails if the original audio format is not supported by the output container. When subtitle tracks are kept, they are converted to mov_text for mp4 and mov and to WebVTT for webm, and they are stored in their original format for mkv. Subtitle burn-in is available even for containers marked "No" for subtitle tracks.

●Appendix C: Command line

NyXGridEncode.exe                                      Start normally with the window shown
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-install                    Register as a service (does not start it)
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-uninstall                  Stop and remove the service
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-start                      Start the service
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-stop                       Stop the service
NyXGridEncode.exe --service-restart                    Restart the service
NyXGridEncode.exe --tray                               Start minimized to the tray
NyXGridEncode.exe --install-tools=<tool-name>          Download external tools
NyXGridEncode.exe --install-tools=<tool-name> --force  Also re-download installed tools
NyXGridEncode.exe --help                               Show this help (-h and /? also work)

The tool names you can specify for --install-tools are as follows.

NyXGridEncode.exe --install-tools=ffmpeg,nvenc
NyXGridEncode.exe --install-tools=all
NyXGridEncode.exe --install-tools=nvenc --force

• Specify the tool names after =. Separate multiple names with commas; they cannot be separated with spaces.
• The latest version from the original source is always downloaded. Tools that are already installed are downloaded again only when you add --force.
• You can specify only one operation at a time. Arguments are not case-sensitive.
• Registering, removing, starting, stopping, and restarting the service require administrator rights. Run the command from a Command Prompt opened as administrator. Downloading external tools also requires administrator rights when the product was installed with the installer (placed under Program Files).
• --service-install fails if the required external tool (FFmpeg) is not installed. When the mode is not "Agent", registering a new service and --service-restart require a Standard or higher license (12.2). To start the service after registering it, run --service-start.
• The --help text is shown in a window. It is not written to the Command Prompt.

Service operations and external tool downloads do not display a window. They return the result as an exit code and record it in the activity log.

●Appendix D: Glossary

NyXGridEncode User Manual - for version 1.1.0 - published 2026/10/10 - revised 2026/10/14
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