MeGUI x264 presets. [Archive] - Page 18

Shevek

1st April 2010, 15:23

I'm returning to x264 encoding using MeGUI after a break of about a year and having read through the last few pages of this thread I've just about got to grips with the new profiles, this being my current cmd line for a 720p encode, based on Unrestricted (DXVA) - 2-pass with preset and bitrate changed:

program --preset faster --pass 2 --bitrate 3000 --stats ".stats" --output "output" "input"

However I still have one question - does the old rule of updating the Max & Min GOP for the frame-rate still apply?

i.e. 240/24 for film, 250/25 for PAL, 300/30 for NTSC

TIA

priyank123

3rd May 2010, 13:12

hey Can u plz help me i am a new bee i just wanted to convert a dvd rip movie to mkv so tell me the settings with the help of which i can get the best quality output i have done some conversions with ur profile but still not satisfied with the quality and also tell me about how we can use the avisynth profiles :helpful::helpful::helpful::helpful:

Inspector.Gadget

3rd May 2010, 14:22

priyank123: Use search, post in the correct thread, don't cross-post, use standard English, don't spam emoticons, and above all read the rules.

vassie

30th June 2010, 10:01

Does anyone know where I can get the older presets from? The insane, HQ, balanced etc.

Thanks

Underground78

30th June 2010, 10:07

Does anyone know where I can get the older presets from? The insane, HQ, balanced etc.

Thanks

Why not just use the new ones with different quality preset (insane would be placebo, balanced medium and HQ slow or slower) ?

vassie

30th June 2010, 10:15

Why not just use the new ones with different quality preset (insane would be placebo, balanced medium and HQ slow or slower) ?

I'll give that a go, haven't used MeGUI in a while, just wondered where they had gone

Thanks

Sharktooth

30th June 2010, 13:31

devs implemented presets directly into x264 and they are even better than the old insane, hq, balanced...etc. megui presets.
so, just open the x264 config window and you will find the preset slider... Medium (default) is more or less the old Balanced preset... Insane is called Placebo...etc.
that way you even have more choices ;)
remeber that if you set advanced settings AFTER setting the preset you will change the preset values to what you set (or at least it should be that way...)
happy encoding :)

hardkorn

13th October 2010, 17:09

program --tune film --pass 2 --bitrate 5277 --stats ".stats" --slow-firstpass --thread-input --b-adapt 2 --rc-lookahead 24 --merange 64 --me umh --direct auto --subme 10 --partitions all --trellis 2 --no-fast-pskip --aq-mode 4 --profile high --level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 6 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --vbv-bufsize 17000 --vbv-maxrate 17300 --output "output" "input"

Thanks for posting your custom profile.

Is it neccessarry for 6 reference frames(as I've read somewhere it breaks bluray/1080 compatibility - "If you want the target to be Bluray/AVCHD compatable, Ref Frames must be 4.") ?
Also the nb of frames to lookahead you've set it to 24 instead of the 40-50 default value. Is there a reason you did that? Will it not decrease the video quality?

Also the merange value you've set it to 64. Any reason ?

Thank you.

kaid

3rd November 2010, 15:21

I've confirmed these settings to work on Several BD-players (Samsung, Sharp, Pioneer) and the PS3, muxed with TSmuxer to both AVCHD and Bluray:
x264 --crf <quality level> -r (4 for 1080p, 9 for 720p) --b-adapt 2 --me umh --direct auto --subme 10 --level 4.1 --b-pyramid strict

All the rest is defaults of the current x264 snapshot.

The only players it did not work were a Sony BDP-S370 and a Philips BDP-3000, which are rather cheap and should be supported. anyone knows why these two showed huge macroblock errors for most moving stuff?

This one (based on the ffmpeg libx264 slow preset, under /etc/local/share/ffmpeg!) also works on the PS3, but I didn't get a chance to test it with the Bluray-Players:
x264 --crf <quality level> -r (4 for 1080p, 9 for 720p) --b-pyramid strict --b-adapt 2 --direct auto --min-keyint 25 --rc-lookahead 50 --ratetol 20 --me umh --subme 8 --chroma-qp-offset -2

When x264 became Bluray-compliant, just why did they refuse to tell us just HOW to encode properly for Bluray (or AVCHD)? The only settings I found linked from Shikari's blog entry were "don't use these settings, they're compliant but very bad quality!"-grade settings. Those are the things I just don't understand...

Dark Shikari

3rd November 2010, 15:22

When x264 became Bluray-compliant, just why did they refuse to tell us just HOW to encode properly for Bluray (or AVCHD)?Putting example settings IN THE COMMIT MESSAGE is "refusing"? Seriously? :rolleyes:

Also, the commandlines you're putting together show you have absolutely no idea what you're doing. Read the bloody documentation before you complain about a lack of documentation.

x264 --crf 16 --preset veryslow --tune film --weightp 0 --bframes 3 --nal-hrd vbr --vbv-maxrate 40000 --vbv-bufsize 30000 --level 4.1 --keyint 24 --b-pyramid strict --slices 4 --aud

See? Look how hard that was. Now let's break this down.

x264 --crf WHATEVERYOUWANT --preset WHATEVERYOUWANT --tune WHATEVERYOUWANT --weightp 0 --bframes 3 --nal-hrd vbr --vbv-maxrate 40000 --vbv-bufsize 30000 --level 4.1 --keyint 24 --b-pyramid strict --slices 4 --aud

Even further, there's a guide in this very forum (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=154533) covering this very topic. Read the stickies before complaining!

kaid

3rd November 2010, 17:13

Putting example settings IN THE COMMIT MESSAGE is "refusing"? Seriously? :rolleyes:

Well, maybe I did understand you wrong, but "Finally, also note that the encoding settings given as an example are not a good choice for general-purpose encoding: they are intentionally crippled by Blu-ray restrictions" doesn't sound to me like we should be using these settings. From what i read into that, the settings were only meant for compliance testing...

Also, the commandlines you're putting together show you have absolutely no idea what you're doing. Read the bloody documentation before you complain about a lack of documentation.

I checked every bit of documentation that came with x264, fullhelp, longhelp, all the stuff in /doc... You know how many hits on "bluray" there are in there when i grep for it? two (with --b-pyramid and --open-gop). You know how many for "AVCHD"? None! ;-)

That's my only gripe with x264, which is btw a fantastic piece of software and a showcase example of great OSS projects, amazingly managing to join amazing speed with amazing quality for zero price... Thanks for all your work on it, you did one hell of a job! I just wish one of these countless GPU people would finally come through and port ME to OpenCL/CUDA for x264! ;-D

x264 --crf 16 --preset veryslow --tune film --weightp 0 --bframes 3 --nal-hrd vbr --vbv-maxrate 40000 --vbv-bufsize 30000 --level 4.1 --keyint 24 --b-pyramid strict --slices 4 --aud

See? Look how hard that was. Now let's break this down.

I did use hardkorn's settings from #859:
--tune film --pass 2 --bitrate 5277 --stats ".stats" --slow-firstpass --thread-input --b-adapt 2 --rc-lookahead 24 --merange 64 --me umh --direct auto --subme 10 --partitions all --trellis 2 --no-fast-pskip --aq-mode 4 --profile high --level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 6 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --vbv-bufsize 17000 --vbv-maxrate 17300

The result wouldn't play in the PS3 when I muxed it to AVCHD or Bluray with TSmuxer... So i reduced these settings until i had something that would play!

But thanks for these settings, would be great if you could include these as examples in the x264 documentation! ;-) Or add a tune-preset?
What about the --vbv settings? IIRC TSmuxer does something to the VBV as well, will this cause any problems?

Even further, there's a guide in this very forum (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=154533) covering this very topic. Read the stickies before complaining!

Thanks, that's exactly the thread I was looking for! ;-) I did search a lot on the forums, but i only searched for AVCHD, not Bluray, which is probably why I missed it...

prOnorama

3rd November 2010, 17:33

Even further, there's a guide in this very forum (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=154533) covering this very topic. Read the stickies before complaining!

About that guide: I remember reading somewhere files need to be be outputted as .x264 for Blu-ray compliance and not .mkv, which isn't in the guide (at least not in the first post). Now that might seem logical but for someone who is used to encoding to .mkv this might not be obvious, especially when it's not specifically mentioned in the guide.

kaid

3rd November 2010, 18:17

About that guide: I remember reading somewhere files need to be be outputted as .x264 for Blu-ray compliance and not .mkv, which isn't in the guide (at least not in the first post). Now that might seem logical but for someone who is used to encoding to .mkv this might not be obvious, especially when it's not specifically mentioned in the guide.

.264 you mean? I just tried that, let's see if this new encode also works on the BDP-s370 and the Philips...

And yeah, i second the motion that this should be in both the guide as well as the --fullhelp! ;-)

BTW: It's weird that TSmuxer was able to tell the framerate from the .264 elementary stream - i thought stuff like framerate was not in an elementary stream? At least that's what MKVmerge has been claiming for years! Or is the TSmuxer default just always 24fps?

An interesting factoid that I gathered from the guide is that apparently the max ref-frames for 720p is 6 and *not* 9 like the Wikipedia page on H.264 levels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264#Levels) says... yet another inconsistency between the official H.264 spec and Bluray, just when you thought Level 4.1 was all that it took...

I've done 720p encodes with 9 ref-frames before and they always worked...

P.S: Shikari, I just had an idea: Why not make "Speed, Quality, Price - choose any three!" the official x264 slogan? ;-D

nurbs

3rd November 2010, 19:13

Well, maybe I did understand you wrong, but "Finally, also note that the encoding settings given as an example are not a good choice for general-purpose encoding: they are intentionally crippled by Blu-ray restrictions" doesn't sound to me like we should be using these settings. From what i read into that, the settings were only meant for compliance testing...
You read it wrong. What it says is:
These are the settings you need for Blu-ray. Blu-ray restrictions make encoding less efficient, so don't use Blu-ray settings if you aren't encoding for Blu-ray.

AVCHD has by and large the same restrictions as Blu-ray. The difference is more restricted VBV.

By the way since this is the MeGUI presets thread, MeGUI already contains working AVCHD and Blu-Ray presets so you could just use those or read the mandatory settings out of them.

prOnorama

4th November 2010, 01:18

.264 you mean? I just tried that, let's see if this new encode also works on the BDP-s370 and the Philips...

Yes that's what I meant, slip of the tongue (it's not strange as the term "x264" is used a zillion times on this board while .264 rarely)

By the way since this is the MeGUI presets thread, MeGUI already contains working AVCHD and Blu-Ray presets so you could just use those or read the mandatory settings out of them.

So MeGUI outputs valid .264 files for further processing (muxing) by default using the Blu-ray profile? I'm asking because the "File Format" drop box still let's you choose from "MP4", "MKV" and "RAWAVC" (is this the same as .264 ???) when selecting the BluRay profile. So I'm a bit confused.

(Haven't tried it yet but getting a Blu-ray burner for Christmas so I'm doing some homework on how encode for BD-25 iin the future)

kaid

4th November 2010, 01:22

Nurbs: yeah, now that I re-read the comment, i do get what he meant. I was thinking "general purpose" referred only to encoding for bluray, not to h.264 encoding in general...

No MeGUI for me, sorry, I only work on *nix! ;-)

Capsbackup

4th November 2010, 02:44

So MeGUI outputs valid .264 files for further processing (muxing) by default using the Blu-ray profile? I'm asking because the "File Format" drop box still let's you choose from "MP4", "MKV" and "RAWAVC" (is this the same as .264 ???) when selecting the BluRay profile. So I'm a bit confused.

If I understand it correctly, MP4, MKV, M2TS,TS, etc... is the container. The codec is .264. The file format selection is for you to choose your desired finished encode which could/should include the audio as well. So if you want a Blu-ray or AVCHD, the container needs to be .M2TS. Apple Ipod would be MP4, etc... But the RAWAVC is .264 for all of these containers. :cool:

prOnorama

4th November 2010, 04:58

If I understand it correctly, MP4, MKV, M2TS,TS, etc... is the container. The codec is .264. The file format selection is for you to choose your desired finished encode which could/should include the audio as well. So if you want a Blu-ray or AVCHD, the container needs to be .M2TS. Apple Ipod would be MP4, etc... But the RAWAVC is .264 for all of these containers. :cool:

I was talking about intermediate encoding stages not Schmapple Ipodz downsized crap, go away. I know what the final output format should be, I'm not retarded.

No .264 is not a codec, x264 is. And my question was about the specific Blu-ray compatibility for encoding streams to .264 for Blu-ray output.

Sharktooth

4th November 2010, 05:03

to be blu-ray compatible, the encoding format in the video part should be raw stream (.264) since both .mp4 and .mkv will screw up access unit delimiters.
so if you want to encode for blu-ray, just select .264 as x264 output and then process the raw stream muxing both audio and video into a .m2ts file.

kaid

16th November 2010, 16:17

Okay, just some quick feedback: I tested an AVCHD/BD encoded with Shikari's suggested settings (-r 4 --crf 22 --preset slow --tune film --weightp 0 --nal-hrd vbr --vbv-maxrate 15000 --vbv-bufsize 15000 --aud --keyint 24 --bframes 3 --slices 4 --level 4.1 --b-pyramid strict) on a multitude of BD-Players.
It worked like a charm on all the ones I could test in the 30 minutes that I had: Panasonic DMP-BD45/65, Sony BDP-S370/S570/PS 3, Pioneer BDP-120, Samsung BDC-6900, LG BX 580, Philips BDP-3000 and Sharp BD-HP90S.

sneaker_ger

17th November 2010, 19:10

Are you using tsMuxerR?
Are you're outputting to H.264 ES (not mkv or mp4) as suggested by Sharktooth? You might also want to uncheck "Add picture timing info" and "Continually insert SPS/PPS". (IIRC)

Sharktooth

9th December 2010, 15:44

are you running megui with admin privileges? if not, it can't delete the presets unless it's installed in an user owned directory.
an alternate way to do that is to delete all the files in the megui\allprofiles\x264 and reinstall the presets from options->update (right click on the Tx264 entry and select "force (re)install").
the avchd presets and the BD5/9 presets are very slightly different. check the commandline options.

rapscallion

9th December 2010, 15:57

Thanks ST, actually I had deleted the post before you posted your answer because this morning I was able to delete the X264 profiles that I wanted to, permanently this time.

I did see that there were small differences between AVCHD and BD-5/9, namely the vbv-maxrate/bufsize.

So, if BD5/9 are also avchd, under what circumstances would you use the plain AVCHD profile ?
(it apears to me that AVCHD is redundant to BD-5) :confused:

Sharktooth

9th December 2010, 17:24

AVCHD is a different standard from Bluray. you can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD
keep in mind the max data rate on those specs includes the audio stream.

rapscallion

9th December 2010, 18:00

I realize that they are different. However, in the case of these profiles, a bd-5 is a single layer dvd (4.3gb) and a bd-9 is a dual layer 8.4gb dvd.
So they are both standard dvd's not capable of the Blu-ray spec. So aren't they both AVCHD profiles?

All 3 profiles vbv-maxrate out @ 15000 or less :

BD-5/9

--level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2
--vbv-maxrate 15000 - --vbv-bufsize 15000 --weightp 0 --colorprim "bt709" --transfer
"bt709" --colormatrix "bt709"</CustomEncoderOptions>

AVCHD

--level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 -
]-vbv-maxrate 14000 ---vbv-bufsize 14500[/COLOR] --weightp 0 --colorprim "bt709" --transfer
"bt709" --colormatrix "bt709"</CustomEncoderOptions>

I don't mean to nit pick re this, but it just seems to me that the AVCHD profile is redundant to the BD-5.

Sharktooth

13th December 2010, 02:03

AVCHD is a different standard. I mean, the format is different. It's a sort of sub-set of blu-ray formats.
--pass 2 --bitrate 4000 --stats ".stats" --open-gop bluray --level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --vbv-maxrate 14000 --vbv-bufsize 14500 --weightp 0 --colorprim "bt709" --transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709" --output "output" "input"
--pass 2 --bitrate 4000 --stats ".stats" --open-gop bluray --pic-struct --level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud --nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --vbv-maxrate 15000 --vbv-bufsize 15000 --weightp 0 --colorprim "bt709" --transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709" --output "output" "input"
even if similar i dont have the "hardware" to test if the BD5 preset is completely compatible with AVCHD coz of the "--pic-struct" option.

rapscallion

13th December 2010, 03:27

I do have the hardware so I'll test it out and let you know..

From what I've read, in a search of the forum, your posts re this seem to indicate that the option is for "interlaced" sources, but can be used for progressive with no harm : http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1415797&highlight=--pic-struct#post1415797

Also, the first post of that thread makes the same statement :

"Quote:--pic-struct
Need only when fake interlaced is used, and it's default on with interlaced and pulldown. It's fine with progressive aslo, and some BD verification tools request to be present in stream."

Logically, I would deduce that BD-5/9 (standard dvd's) are avchd because they can't be Blu-ray compatible.

It would seem that the "--pic-struct" option isn't really necessary for BD-5/9.

Also, thank you so much for taking the time to make these presets !! I'd be totally lost without them.

Edit: BTW, what does that option do/affect?

Capsbackup

13th December 2010, 16:09

After updating the presets, I notice the x264 configuration dialog has tunings set to default for these new presets. Since my iPod converts are DVD / Blu-ray movies, is it safe to change the tunings to film?
If left at default is there a difference visually for these type of conversions?

rapscallion

13th December 2010, 22:23

AVCHD is a different standard. I mean, the format is different. It's a sort of sub-set of blu-ray formats.....snipped
even if similar i dont have the "hardware" to test if the BD5 preset is completely compatible with AVCHD coz of the "--pic-struct" option.
Apparently it's completely compatible.

I encoded a 15 min clip, from The Thin Red Line, using profile x264:BD5 1080p-720p.

Used 9000kbps bit rate, automated 2 pass. Muxed with the audio (Tsmuxer) to AVCHD format and then burned to a DVD+RW.

When loaded into my Pioneer BDP-51, the player displayed "DVD+RW AVCHD" on the tv screen and "AVCHD" on the player's display. Just as it has always done on my AVCHD encodes.

Playback was flawless.

Of course, YMMV in other brands of players. My Samsung BDP1200, for example, will not play any AVCHD discs whatsoever, since the 2nd firmware update. (their intention)

Sharktooth

14th December 2010, 02:31

@rapscallion: then it's safe to assume avchd preset is redundant.

@Capsbackup: you should look in the h.264/avc forum. almost all x264 tuning/presets are expained somwhere there or have a look here: http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings

rapscallion

14th December 2010, 02:52

@rapscallion: then it's safe to assume avchd preset is redundant.

I would say so.

lintran

24th January 2011, 07:28

Hello,
Does DXVA-HD-HQ and Unrestricted 2pass HQ (setting with same bitrate and source is HD) will give same video quality? The defference is just only DXVA-HD-HQ will give DXVA hardware playback compatibility?
Thanks all.

LigH

24th January 2011, 13:20

TwoToad

28th January 2011, 19:47

Which profile should I use for AppleTV 2nd Gen? It isn't included in the new batch of presets (been hanging on to the old one). There's iPod (5G, 5.5G), iPhone 3GS - iPod Classic/Nano/Touch, and iPhone. Or would AppleTV2 be able to use one of the other presets, like PS3?

Shevek

28th January 2011, 20:23

For DXVA compatibility, x264 needs to be restricted in several options regarding referential complexity. Therefore, if the targeted bitrate is tight, a DXVA compatible preset may conserve less quality than an unrestricted preset. But test for yourself if you would notice that at all.

Just how much does DXVA restrict quality?

I run an HTPC which has an ATI Radeon 3200 chipset.

As I understood it, DXVA is the way to go to ensure that the GPU is handling the decoding.

Is that correct?

Am I limiting the quality of my encodes needlessly?

Is there another preset which I can use which will ensure GPU decoding?

For playback of the files I mostly use Windows 7 Media Center but also have PowerDVD 10, Media Player Home Cinema or VLC.

TIA

Shevek

5th February 2011, 16:12

Apologies for the repost, just wanted to make sure this didn't get missed because of the recent server down-time.

For DXVA compatibility, x264 needs to be restricted in several options regarding referential complexity. Therefore, if the targeted bitrate is tight, a DXVA compatible preset may conserve less quality than an unrestricted preset. But test for yourself if you would notice that at all.

Just how much does DXVA restrict quality?

I run an HTPC which has an ATI Radeon 3200 chipset.

As I understood it, DXVA is the way to go to ensure that the GPU is handling the decoding.

Is that correct?

Am I limiting the quality of my encodes needlessly?

Is there another preset which I can use which will ensure GPU decoding?

For playback of the files I mostly use Windows 7 Media Center but also have PowerDVD 10, Media Player Home Cinema or VLC.

TIA

lintran

22nd February 2011, 04:30

Hi!
For normal film (exam Taken, 2012..) i usually use Unrestricted 2pass HQ Preset. And for Anime (exam Astro Boy, A Christmas Carol..) i used Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons HQ Preset.
But I just want to know, with films that have both person and Anime ( exam Alvin and the Chipmunks..), which preset should i choise?
Thanks all.

LigH

22nd February 2011, 10:39

"Anime" means "line drawings" (like Chihiro), not "computer generated" (like Toy Story).

lintran

22nd February 2011, 13:38

"Anime" means "line drawings" (like Chihiro), not "computer generated" (like Toy Story).
Oh, i see. You mean Anime_Toons Presets
should only use for film that "line drawings" like Chihiro, Lion King..?
P/S: How do i know exactly a film that "line drawings" or "computer generate"?
Does "line drawings" mean it draw by hand (like almost old cartoon film)?
And almost new cartoon film are "computer generated"? (like toy story, rango, despicable me, tangled, megamind...)

lintran

22nd February 2011, 15:18

Other question: If i use 2 computers with difference hardware system, and use Megui to encode 1 movie with same Preset, same bitrate on both 2 computers (exam Unrestricted 2pass HQ at 3000kbps). So does these give same result (quality,filesize..) ? ( i dont talk about encode processing time, ofcource it will difference)
Thank you

nurbs

22nd February 2011, 15:35

Depending on the settings you use you won't necessarily get the same encode, but they'll be very similar at least. Some settings, like VBV, make x264 non-deterministic, so even if you do the same encode on the same computer the result isn't always the same.

lintran

7th March 2011, 10:14

Shevek

7th March 2011, 20:34

When using one of these preset in this topic (exam Unrestricted 2pass HQ Preset). Do I have to configure GOP Size in x264 advanced setting? If yes, could you plese tell me GOP Size setting for 23.976 and 24.000 fps.
Thank you.

I asked exactly the same question last April:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1388069#post1388069

I didn't get an answer!:(

Shevek

7th March 2011, 21:00

How much does DXVA restrict quality?

I run an HTPC which has an ATI Radeon 3200 chipset.

As I understood it, DXVA is the way to go to ensure that the GPU is handling the decoding.

Is that correct?

Am I limiting the quality of my encodes needlessly?

Is there another preset which I can use which will ensure GPU decoding?

For playback of the files I mostly use Windows 7 Media Center but also have PowerDVD 10, Media Player Home Cinema or VLC.

TIA

LigH

8th March 2011, 11:49

@ lintran / Shevek:

Limiting the GOPs to ~10 seconds max / ~1 second min is a suggestion for convenience, a compromise between compression efficiency (the longer GOPs, the more efficient the encoding can be, because I-frames have the biggest sizes) and reliability and seekability (the longer GOPs, the longer decoding errors are visible as they are only reset on I-frames, and the less smooth seeking may be as you can start decoding only on I- or even IDR-frames).

If your playback device does not demand a further limitation of GOP sizes (like the Blu-ray specs), then you can set up almost any GOP size range (there may be an MPEG4-AVC specific "hard limit", though, which I don't know). If you are generous regarding bitrate, you may reduce the GOP lengths for more reliable playback. According to the internal help text, the maximum GOP size is defaulted to 250, not to "10 seconds, depending on the framerate"; but as already mentioned, it is a compromise, a suggestion only. Feel free to decide on your own, as long as the playback device does not limit you further.
__

DXVA compatibility indeed restricts the complexity of the video stream. Furthermore, it usually requires the video dimensions to match a few specific presets exactly. So i.e. "thou shalt not crop", keep it at 1920x1080 or 1280x720 or 720x576|480 exactly, possibly including some black letterbox bars.

All that limits the quality only if you also need to restrict the bitrate. If you use a quality based encoding mode (CRF), then the output size may get bigger with DXVA restrictions than without, but the quality can stay more or less the same. In other words: It limits the efficiency, the quality per size.

Shevek

8th March 2011, 11:56

Many thanks for both responses LigH.

TwoToad

29th March 2011, 02:38

I found the answer to my question from a few months past. It appears that all Apple devices are gravitating towards the same specs. The iPhone4, 4th gen iPod Touch, iPad2, and AppleTV2 appear to have the same specs from Apple's website. So to answer my question about which profile to use for an AppleTV2, I would use the "iPhone" preset.

There does appear to be an error in this profile. In the configuration window, under the Misc tab, the Custom Command Line specifies "--level 3" when in fact these devices support Level 3.1, per Apple's website. Can this be fixed, or do I need to go to sourceforge and make a ticket?

Also, why are the --vpv-buffsize, --vbv-maxrate, --profile, and --level specified in the custom command line, when they are supported by the various options of the configuration window? Should/could these be moved out? I may be missing something here like preventing knob twisting idiots, like me :), from messing the profile up too much?