Updated Readme

README.md

@@ -1,3 +1,56 @@
-# chunk_encoder
+# Chunk Encoder
 
-experimental chunk-encoder
+> **Note:** This project is a work in progress. The scripts, their features, and command-line arguments are subject to change.
+
+A collection of Python scripts to automate a video encoding workflow. The process involves detecting scenes, cutting the source video into smaller segments, encoding each segment individually, and muxing them back into a final file.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Ensure the following command-line tools are installed and available in your system's PATH:
+- `ffmpeg`
+- `ffprobe`
+- `SvtAv1EncApp.exe` (from the SVT-AV1 project)
+- `mkvmerge` (from the MKVToolNix package)
+
+## Workflow
+
+The scripts are designed to be run in sequence. They create and use local directories (`cuts`, `segments`, `temp`) to store intermediate files.
+
+### 1. (Optional) Detect Crop
+If your video has black bars, you can use `cropdetect.py` to find the correct crop values.
+
+```bash
+python cropdetect.py "path/to/your/video.mkv"
+```
+
+### 2. Cut Video into Scenes
+Use [`scene_cutter.py`](scene_cutter.py) to analyze the video, detect scene changes, and split the source into lossless segments in the `cuts/` directory.
+
+```bash
+python scene_cutter.py "path/to/your/video.mkv"
+```
+
+### 3. Encode Segments
+Choose one of the encoder scripts to process the files from the `cuts/` directory. Encoded files will be placed in the `segments/` directory.
+
+**Option A: VMAF-based Encoding (Recommended)**
+Use [`vmaf_encoder.py`](vmaf_encoder.py) to encode each segment to a target VMAF quality level.
+
+```bash
+python vmaf_encoder.py --target-vmaf 96.0
+```
+
+**Option B: Static CRF Encoding**
+Use [`static_encoder.py`](static_encoder.py) to encode all segments with a single, fixed CRF value.
+
+```bash
+python static_encoder.py --crf 27
+```
+
+### 4. Mux Final Video
+Use [`segment_muxer.py`](segment_muxer.py) to combine all the encoded `.mkv` files from the `segments/` directory into a single output file.
+
+```bash
+python segment_muxer.py --cleanup
+```
+Using the `--cleanup` flag will automatically remove the `cuts/` and `segments/` directories