What bitrate for different resolutions

[Nigma]

Hi,
I'm wondering what would be the range of suitable bitrates for all the different resolutions for X264 encoded content.

I.e. For SD, 480p, 720p, 1080p

What would the lowest and highest be to achieve compatible quality to the source (DVD etc...)

Thanks.
N.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

This can't be answered, because the bitrate totally depends on the source and on the encoder settings. Resolution is only one factor out of many!
I'd say: Make a CRF=22 encode of your individual source (or a significant part of it) and look at the result to get a first idea of a sane bitrate...

(In case you are not targeting for a specific output size, I'd go with CRF anyway and let x264 decide how much bitrate is needed - it'll do a good job)

[Sagekilla]

Anywhere from crf 18 to crf 22 the quality will be very good. crf 18 can generally be considered transparent (YMMV), but I recommend you try encodes from 18 to 22 and see which one gives the smallest file size and most tolerable image.

Another thing to note is when you're working from a DVD source @ 720x480 (or 848x480 if you resized), you'll need to use crf 18 or so to get "transparent." On HD sources, like Blu-ray, even when resized from 1080p to 720p or 480p, you can get away with using a higher crf like 19 or 20, because the source is much cleaner (DVD @ 480p vs Blu-ray converted to 480p can be a big difference). 300 is a very good example of a horrible DVD source.

To sum it all up:
DVD Source @ 480p: try crf 18 - 22
Blu-ray/HD DVD source @ 1080p to 480p: try crf 19 - 22

Remember, it's your eyes! Find the right crf value that your eyes like best. What I consider good looking at crf 20 you might consider poor looking. Just keep in mind once you find a "good" CRF value to use, you can use this across 99% of all your encodes without having to cherry pick a crf for each one.

Good luck :)

[Blue_MiSfit]

Agreed. CRF is the way to go for most folks. It's impossible to say what bitrate will be appropriate.

Experiment with different CRF values. If you want to get sizes under 8GB or so, consider resizing to 720p, you will probably get better results with most titles.

[Sagekilla]

That's another thing. Try looking at a 720p vs 1080p movie. Does it make a difference to you? If it doesn't, don't waste your storage space.

[Nigma]

Thanks very much for all the replies. I'm new to AVC, so wasn't even ware of the CRF. Everyday is a school day :).

Thanks,
N.