added transcoding to mp4 in import to ensure web playback.

app/utils/image_importer.py

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from app import db
 from app.models import ImageRecord, Tag, ArchiveRecord
 
 FFMPEG_THUMB_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("THUMBS_FFMPEG_TIMEOUT", "60"))  # seconds
+FFMPEG_TRANSCODE_TIMEOUT = int(os.environ.get("FFMPEG_TRANSCODE_TIMEOUT", "600"))  # 10 min default
 Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS = int(os.environ.get("PIL_MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS", "178956970"))
 ARCHIVE_NUM_WIDTH = int(os.environ.get("ARCHIVE_NUM_WIDTH", "4"))
 
@@ -36,9 +37,10 @@ ARCHIVE_NUM_WIDTH = int(os.environ.get("ARCHIVE_NUM_WIDTH", "4"))
 THUMB_SIZE = (400, 400)
 
 # Media and archive extensions we handle
-ALLOWED_MEDIA_EXTS = (
-    ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".jfif", ".png", ".gif", ".bmp", ".tiff", ".webp", ".mp4", ".mov"
-)
+IMAGE_EXTS = (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".jfif", ".png", ".gif", ".bmp", ".tiff", ".webp")
+VIDEO_EXTS = (".mp4", ".mov", ".avi", ".mkv", ".webm", ".m4v", ".wmv", ".flv")
+VIDEO_EXTS_NEED_TRANSCODE = (".mov", ".avi", ".mkv", ".webm", ".m4v", ".wmv", ".flv")  # Non-MP4 formats
+ALLOWED_MEDIA_EXTS = IMAGE_EXTS + VIDEO_EXTS
 ALLOWED_ARCHIVE_EXTS = (
     ".zip", ".rar", ".cbr", ".7z",
     ".tar", ".tar.gz", ".tgz", ".tar.bz2", ".tbz2", ".tar.xz", ".txz"
@@ -1025,6 +1027,88 @@ def generate_video_thumbnail_mirrored(video_path: str, time_position: str = "00:
     return generate_video_thumbnail(str(video_path_p), str(thumb_path), time_position=time_position)
 
 
+def transcode_video_to_mp4(input_path: str, output_path: str = None) -> str | None:
+    """
+    Transcode a video to H.264 MP4 for universal browser playback.
+
+    Args:
+        input_path: Path to source video file
+        output_path: Optional destination path. If None, replaces extension with .mp4
+                     in a temp location.
+
+    Returns:
+        Path to transcoded MP4 file on success, None on failure.
+    """
+    input_p = Path(input_path)
+
+    # Determine output path
+    if output_path is None:
+        # Create temp file with .mp4 extension
+        output_path = str(input_p.with_suffix(".mp4"))
+        if output_path == input_path:
+            # Already .mp4, use temp suffix
+            output_path = str(input_p.with_suffix(".transcoded.mp4"))
+
+    try:
+        os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(output_path), exist_ok=True)
+
+        # FFmpeg command for H.264/AAC transcoding with good browser compatibility
+        # -movflags +faststart: Enables progressive playback (moov atom at start)
+        # -preset medium: Balance between speed and compression
+        # -crf 23: Good quality (lower = better, 18-28 typical range)
+        # -c:v libx264: H.264 video codec
+        # -c:a aac: AAC audio codec
+        # -pix_fmt yuv420p: Pixel format for maximum compatibility
+        cmd = [
+            "ffmpeg", "-y",
+            "-i", str(input_path),
+            "-c:v", "libx264",
+            "-preset", "medium",
+            "-crf", "23",
+            "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p",
+            "-c:a", "aac",
+            "-b:a", "128k",
+            "-movflags", "+faststart",
+            str(output_path),
+        ]
+
+        print(f"[INFO] Transcoding video: {input_path} -> {output_path}")
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            cmd,
+            check=True,
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            timeout=FFMPEG_TRANSCODE_TIMEOUT
+        )
+        print(f"[INFO] Transcoding complete: {output_path}")
+        return output_path
+
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+        print(f"[WARN] Video transcode timed out after {FFMPEG_TRANSCODE_TIMEOUT}s: {input_path}")
+        # Clean up partial output
+        if os.path.exists(output_path):
+            os.remove(output_path)
+        return None
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+        print(f"[WARN] Failed to transcode video {input_path}: {e}")
+        if e.stderr:
+            print(f"[WARN] FFmpeg stderr: {e.stderr.decode('utf-8', errors='ignore')[:500]}")
+        # Clean up partial output
+        if os.path.exists(output_path):
+            os.remove(output_path)
+        return None
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"[WARN] Unexpected error transcoding video {input_path}: {e}")
+        if os.path.exists(output_path):
+            os.remove(output_path)
+        return None
+
+
+def needs_transcode(file_path: str) -> bool:
+    """Check if a video file needs transcoding to MP4."""
+    ext = Path(file_path).suffix.lower()
+    return ext in VIDEO_EXTS_NEED_TRANSCODE
+
 
 def calculate_hash(file_path: str) -> str:
     hash_func = hashlib.sha256()