Plan: Correct encoding decision model

[shiny-code-bot]

Objective

Correct Mediaforce's encoding decision model after the ab-av1/VMAF workflow proved to be the wrong long-term center of the product. Keep the working host orchestration, queue, staging, review media, and settings surfaces, but move the product toward a size-first and subjective-review-first workflow where metrics are guardrails instead of the boss.

The near-term correction is to make the operator's preferred outcome explicit: target episode size normalized by runtime, 1080p/source-preserving resolution defaults, and low-bitrate AV1 tolerance as configurable policy. The longer-term correction is to evaluate and integrate a scene-aware engine path such as Av1an or Xav with SSIMULACRA2 support after the workflow can compare outputs honestly.

Finish Line

Size-first review workflow is explicit, tested, and has a measured scene-aware engine migration path.

Current Status

State: Done
Next action: Return to app testing with the improved size-first defaults and current ab-av1 engine path.
Blocked by: None
Waiting for: None
Last verified: 2026-05-27 after #102, #103, and #104 were completed; PRs #105-#110 merged; bounded bakeoff evidence collected on mounted /Volumes/media.

Scope

• In: Policy/default fields for size-first goals, assistant/tuning context, Folder Studio/settings display, docs, tests, and the durable engine-migration plan.
• In: Review of blast radius around encode quality search, host capability checks, queue review gates, and settings persistence.
• Out: Replacing the encode engine in the first slice, rewriting queue orchestration, or making Av1an/Xav mandatory before a bakeoff.

Acceptance Criteria

• Defaults include a configurable size goal, typical runtime, quality floor, max height, and metric guardrails.
• Runtime settings can save/load those defaults without dropping existing settings.
• Folder tuning payloads expose the default size goal so the assistant has a concrete target even when the operator says only "use the defaults" or asks for a smaller encode.
• UI copy distinguishes target size from safety ceiling and review metrics.
• Existing ab-av1 sample/encode paths remain backward compatible.
• Tests cover normalization, settings save payloads, and folder tuning context.
• Follow-up issues exist for scene-aware engine bakeoff and SSIMULACRA2/Av1an/Xav integration.

Relationships

Parent plan for the encoding decision-model correction. Sub-issues track independently reviewable implementation slices.

Validation

• uv run --with pytest pytest tests/test_tuning_runtime.py tests/test_encode_queue_recovery.py
• npm --prefix frontend run test:unit -- --run
• npm --prefix frontend run check
• npm --prefix frontend run lint
• bash scripts/pre-commit-check.sh before PR readiness

Decisions

• The current ab-av1 sparse VMAF/XPSNR workflow is retained only as the fast sample engine, not treated as the product's final decision model.
• Size target and subjective review are first-class product concepts; VMAF/XPSNR are guardrails.
• Do not make Av1an/Xav/SSIMULACRA2 mandatory until a local bakeoff proves installability, speed, and output quality on representative episodes.

Open Questions

Resolved for this plan:

• Representative bakeoff item used: tv/Stranger Things/Season 4/Stranger.Things.S04E09.Chapter.Nine.The.Piggyback.1080p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.Atmos.H.264-Kitsune.mkv.
• Final engine selector decision for now: keep the current global ab_av1_fast_sample engine for production testing; treat Av1an/SSIMULACRA2 as future integration work after host plugin/runtime readiness is proven across a broader sample set.

[shiny-code-bot]

Completed the encoding decision-model correction plan.

Merged implementation stack:

• Add size-first encode defaults #105 added size-first encode defaults and settings support.
• Add scene-aware engine bakeoff planning #106 added scene-aware bakeoff planning.
• Fix auto-boost bakeoff metric support #107 fixed bakeoff metric support details.
• Make Folder Studio retry decisions actionable #108 and Clarify Folder Studio review flow actions #109 rebuilt Folder Studio decisions/actions around review flow clarity.
• Add Folder Studio decision smoke fixtures #110 added browser smoke coverage for approved and missed-target Folder Studio states.
• Bake off scene-aware encoding engines #103 collected bounded local bakeoff evidence and closed with a recommendation.
• Rebuild Folder Studio around review decisions #104 closed after Folder Studio decision-flow acceptance passed.

Current recommendation for testing:

• Continue production/app testing on the current ab_av1_fast_sample engine path.
• Defaults are now size-first: 300 MB / 45 min basis, max 1080p, VMAF 85 target, VMAF 80 floor.
• Av1an is runnable and promising but not ready to replace production yet because the local SSIMULACRA2 target-quality plugin stack still needs a dedicated host integration pass and broader evidence.
• Xav and Auto-Boost remain research candidates because the binaries are not installed locally.

Verification:

• PR Add Folder Studio decision smoke fixtures #110 local pre-commit acceptance and CI passed.
• Bounded bakeoff evidence collected on /Volumes/media with plan/results stored outside the repo under ~/Library/Application Support/mediaforce/bakeoff and ~/Library/Caches/mediaforce/bakeoff.