In video encoding, it's the ultimate question
. It's what we're all trying to do, and there's no one answer. There are lots of little settings in Nandub that can change the way specific types of scenes are handled (luma, compression...). As a newbie, use Gordian Knot, and follow all the directions. It's more foolproof than setting Nandub options yourself. Also make sure that you have a reasonable first pass %; above 55-60 is pretty good quality. Of course, if it means going with a resolution lower than you want to use, the only answer is to boost the filesize.