large DVD-9 to DVD-5 with DVD Rebuilder - which encoder?

[bubabms]

Hi,
I have a DVD-9 with ~160 minutes of video on it. I want to keep the single audio track as it is (224 kbps AC3) which takes me to the problem of reducing the video size to 54% with a smallest possible quality loss. There is no "extras" part which I could steal space from.

Not really knowing which settings to use, I tried DVD Rebuilder with CCE 2.67 Trial with VBR_passes 4, VBR_Bias 30 and Quality Prec 20, Quantization Matrices: Main Feature -> Encoder Default, Low Bitrate -> Low Bitrate, Very Low Bitrate -> Low Bitrate.

596 minutes later I had files that would fit on a DVD-5, but looking at some of the scenes I noticed that the quality was not as good as I hoped it would be.

What can I do to get even better quality? I've been thinking about QuEnc in High Quality Mode, Two Pass VBR Encode and Trellis Quantization ("very slow" sounds like I should give it a try :rolleyes: ). I could certainly spend days (or weeks) trying different encoders and different settings, but maybe there is someone who can give me some advice after all!

If it's any help to you in giving me some advice, here is the result of the Preparation Phase:

- CCE SP ECLCCE encoder selected.
- VTS_01: 3,837,155 sectors.
-- Scanning and writing .D2V & .AVS files
-- Processed 243,199 frames.
-- Building .AVS and .ECL files
- Reduction Level for DVD-5: 54.0%
- Overall Bitrate : 3,359Kbs
- Space for Video : 3,988,924KB
- HIGH/LOW/TYPICAL Bitrates: 4,341/600/3,359 Kbs

The video is interlaced, by the way.

TIA

[Mug Funky]

if you're using quenc, try turning on the QLB matrix - it makes a difference when your bitrate is below 4500 or so (yours is).

trellis is not particularly useful - you're better off gaining that "little bit extra" through other means. it's not worth the extra slow... extreme and slow settings can actually make the encode worse.

set your max bitrate to as high as you would a regular DVD - this doesn't affect the average bitrate at all, rather it gives action scenes somewhere to go. 8500 is my blanket max BR for everything, but you could probably go higher if your DVD player and media is good enough (try 9800 - 224 for audio).

the same things basically apply for CCE. don't bother with 4 passes... if it hasn't got it right after 2 ditch the encoder :) in CCE if you're encoding interlaced, set "alternate scan" and offset line to 0 (to make sure it doesn't b0rk your field-order, as a vast majority of interlaced DVDs are top-field first).

most of this stuff is available on this forum. i recommend a search for every setting you're unsure of. they've all been covered (for all major encoders, too).

[bubabms]

Now that was fast. :thanks:

[Wishbringer]

Give AutoQMatEnc 0.30b a trial... (CCEAQM=1)
Then perhaps use an additional filter:
RemoveGrain() or DeGrainMedian()
this would smooth some parts of the video and give it a better compressablity.

Ok, i used FFT3Dfilter() too, but it's sloooooow.
Now i have an converted epic film with 318 mins from two DVD9 to one DVD5...
Not perfect, but on a normal TV watchable.

[TomBrooklyn]

if you're using quenc, try turning on the QLB matrix - it makes a difference when your bitrate is below 4500 or so (yours is).

trellis is not particularly useful - you're better off gaining that "little bit extra" through other means. it's not worth the extra slow... extreme and slow settings can actually make the encode worse.

set your max bitrate to as high as you would a regular DVD - this doesn't affect the average bitrate at all, rather it gives action scenes somewhere to go. 8500 is my blanket max BR for everything, but you could probably go higher if your DVD player and media is good enough (try 9800 - 224 for audio).

Hi,
I have been using QuEnc with DVD Rebuilder.

- I don't see how to turn on the QLB Matrix. Can you advise?
- - Also, how could I predict that my bitrate would be below 4500?
- - - And how could I find out exactly what it was? ( I saw this once somewhere, but I can't remember. It was in IfoEdit or PgcEdit or a utility like that.)

- How would I change my max bitrate?

- I have a Panasonic S35 player. Is that good enough to set the bitrate higher?

- I have been using Memorex +RW and +R and Maxell -R DVD Media. Are those good enough to set the bitrate higher with?

[Boulder]

DVD-RB shows the average bitrate after the prepare phase. Max bitrate can be changed via the ini file, I think it's simply max_bitrate=nnnn under the [Options] heading.

[Mug Funky]

for the max bitrate thing, you'll have to try it and see... i use 8500 on glass mastered discs, but i also use it for burns and they work fine i think (i don't have time to watch everything i burn...)

[Boulder]

I've been using 9000 with HC without problems on a Pioneer DV-343. HC keeps the max bitrate well whereas CCE sometimes spikes above the specified maximum.

[TomBrooklyn]

DVD-RB shows the average bitrate after the prepare phase. Max bitrate can be changed via the ini file, I think it's simply max_bitrate=nnnn under the [Options] heading.
Ahh, I have only accessed QuEnc features and options through RB. In RB Options, I don't think that control or that line is accessible.

[Boulder]

It's in the rebuilder.ini file..

[TomBrooklyn]

Ah, I see. I have't gone into that before. I've just made setting adjustments that are available through the skin interface. I may pass on messing around with any of those files until I'm a little more familiar with RB. Thanks for that info though. TomBk

[urvieh]

Just one thing that isn't clear to me: When do I have to decide in favour of the QLB matrix -- if the max bitrate is below 4.5 or the typical bitrate? I'd assume the latter, but I might be mistaken?