Cavernize command-line arguments
All Cavern commands will be applied to the conversion expect for -fn, -f, and -format. If not defined, passes will be set automatically based on the recommendation for segment count, which is 2 pass if the source is only one segment, and 1 pass otherwise. If Cavern is not found near Cavernize, Cavernize Lite will be used (refer to the -cav argument).
| First argument | Path to the file. To convert all files in the folder which Cavernize is in, use "--folder". |
|---|---|
| -conv | Export file name. If none given, it becomes Cavernized <source file name>.mkv, changing the output container to Matroska. |
| -astr | Audio stream ID to convert. Starting from 0, only audio streams are counted. If not given, the audio track with the best quality will be selected. |
| -carg | FFmpeg arguments when creating the final file. Default is empty, but if no value is given, and the output file name is .mkv, it becomes "-acodec libopus". |
| -hwaccel | Use this to pass the -hwaccel argument to FFmpeg. |
| -seg | Segment length in seconds. Longer inputs can be converted by segmenting them to avoid memory limits. This behaviour is required as Cavern does not have its own audio file importer in the driver yet, and Unity loads the entire input audio file to the system memory. Cavernize Lite can convert as it reads the input file, so this argument is skipped for conversions with that version. Default is 600. |
| -vstr | Video stream ID to keep. Starting from 0, only video streams are counted. -1, if only audio is converted. Default is 0. |
| -cav | If Cavern is not found near Cavernize (or this argument is given), Cavernize Lite will be used.
It is a lightweight version of Cavern's converter, without the -passes argument, but it's hundreds of times faster (literally).
Cavernize Lite supports regular conversion, and 5 layouts for systems without a Cavern installation: - 0: disable Cavernize, conversion only - 1 (default): try to use the Cavern configuration of the current system, or 5.1.2 if it's not available - 301: 3.0.1 - front left, front right, rear center, top - 312: 3.1.2 - front left, front right, rear center, LFE, top side left, top side right - 402: 4.0.2 - front left, front right, rear left, rear right, top side left, top side right - 404: 4.0.4 - front left, front right, rear left, rear right, top front left, top front right, top rear left, top rear right - 512: 5.1.2 - front left, front right, center, LFE, side left, side right, top side left, top side right |
Audio format info
Consider checking this table before overriding Cavern's recommended MKV/Opus output. Good LFE quality means it's completely or mostly retained, medium quality means it keeps some low frequency data, and bad quality means the data is completely destroyed. If you use channel 4 for anything other than LFE, only use a codec with good LFE quality, otherwise it becomes unusable.
| Codec | FFmpeg ID | Container | Max channels[1] | LFE quality | Audio quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCM integer | s16le, s16be, s24le, s24be, s32le, s32be | MKV | 65536 (64) | Raw | Raw |
| FLAC | flac | MKV, OGG | 8 | Lossless | Lossless |
| Opus | libopus | MKV, WebM, OGG | 255 (64[2]) | Good | Good |
| Vorbis | libvorbis | MKV, RMVB, WebM, OGG | 255 (64) | Good | Good |
| DTS Coherent Acoustics | dca with -strict -2 | MKV, BD (M2TS) | 8 | Good | Good |
| Dolby Digital Plus | eac3 | MKV, BD (M2TS) | 8 (6) | Medium | Good |
| Dolby Digital | ac3 | MKV, MP4, TV (PS/TS), DVD (VOB), BD (M2TS) | 6 | Medium | Good |
| AAC | aac | MKV, MP4, FLV, 3GP, TV (PS/TS), RMVB | 6 | Bad | Medium |
| MP3 | libmp3lame | MKV, MP4, FLV, MPG, TV (PS/TS) | 2 | Not available | Medium |
| MP2 | libtwolame | MKV, MP4, MPG, TV (PS/TS), DVD (VOB) | 2 | Not available | Medium |
| MP2 | mp2 | MKV, MP4, MPG, TV (PS/TS), DVD (VOB) | 2 | Not available | Bad |
[1] - FFmpeg's limits are in brackets when they differ from the format's maximum.
[2] - With the "-mapping_family 255" argument.
Batch samples
Cavernize movie for systems with badly routed bass
If your amplifier/receiver outputs not just the LFE channel, but the fronts too to the subwoofer, use the following command to somewhat compensate for it:
"Cavernize for FFmpeg.exe" %1 -lfe off -lfev 80
This will make the transitions of sources moving from/to the fronts less noticeable.
Cavernize this folder and subfolders
Run this batch code to go through all your MP4 files, and Cavernize them:
for /r %%i in (./*.mp4) do "Cavernize for FFmpeg.exe" "%%i"