Nero Recode H.264 AVC Good Bitrate settings

[UGC]

Sorry folks, I have searched and searched. I figured it would have been asked by now, but my eyes are crossing...lol

I want to back up DVDs using nero's Recode to H.264 AVC. For video only, and I guess using the standard profile (720x480) What is a good setting for the bitrate slider? Something that would compare to the same quality as Divx or maybe a little bit better.

[Dark Shikari]

Higher bitrate = better quality, higher filesize, by definition.

All lossy codecs work the same way in regards to bitrate--saying "the same quality as DivX" is meaningless, its like saying "how much iron do I have to put on this scale to weigh the same amount as titanium?"

Perhaps it would be a better question to ask what bitrate you need to be similar quality to DivX at a specific bitrate?

[SealTooGreat]

Considering Nero Recode doesn't have constant quantizer rate control, you have to rely on bitrate. In my opinion, bitrate calculation upon BPP (along with 2pass) should be the most suitable way. BPP stands for "bits per pixel".

equation -> width*height*fps*bpp/1000=bitrate(kbps)

bpp value is empirical and subjective, so you have to make trials&errors in order to define value which suits your eyes.

try range bpp=0.1 - 0.25 ... Higher value means higher bitrate, better quality, higher filesize.

As for "similar quality to DivX", use bpp=0.16-0.18. In 99% cases it will be better than Divx with the same amount of bpp.

Most people, when using AVC 2pass (or any other codec), set bitrate to satisfy target file size. So you have yet another approach for the same issue.

It's up to you to decide.

P.S. Some would say go for compressibility test, but don't know how it fits in Recode GUI.

[UGC]

Thanks, that helps a lot. It gives me some starting point.

[Sharktooth]

asking what's best is against the forum rules though...

[jwhyche]

asking what's best is against the forum rules though...

How about he is not asking for best but asking for advice?

In my experience nero does at 1620 what x264 and stax do at about 1200.

[Sharktooth]

@jwhyche: the post and the title were edited by neuron2 :p

[UGC]

Hey guys, I am sorry if I broke the forum rules. I did not realise I was doing that. I will try to be more careful in the future.