MeGUI x264 presets.

[Sharktooth]

EDIT
WARNING
- MeGUI does not install x264 encoder presets via the updater anymore, as it used to do in earlier versions. It is now recommend to use the 'Target Playback Device' option in the 'x264 configuration dialog' instead.
- You can still create and import x264 encoder presets at your convenience. But the presets mentioned in this post will certainly be outdated and not supported correctly by current MeGUI versions.
/EDIT
Here's a list of the new MeGUI x264 presets. They will replace the old ones.
So, ensure to DELETE ALL the old x264 profiles/presets BEFORE IMPORTING this ones:

MeGUI presets in Japanese (wiki) (http://x264.tobinaka.com/index.php?Presets)
Thanks to tobinaka

DXVA-HD-Anime_Toons Fast
DXVA-HD-Anime_Toons HQ
DXVA-HD-Fast
DXVA-HD-Balanced
DXVA-HD-HQ
DXVA-HD-Extra Quality
DXVA-HD-Insane
DXVA-SD-Anime_Toons Fast
DXVA-SD-Anime_Toons HQ
DXVA-SD-Fast
DXVA-SD-Balanced
DXVA-SD-HQ
DXVA-SD-Extra Quality
DXVA-SD-Insane

The "DXVA" group presets ensure DXVA hardware compatibility and good compression/quality. The 'FAST' tagged profiles are consistently faster but have a bit lower compression/quality (this is true for other preset groups too). Those presets replace the old HQ and AE ones. The SD and HD tags mean for Standard Def and for High Def. encodings.

Device-Archos605
Device-Cellphones_PDAs-Level1.0
Device-Cellphones_PDAs-Level1.1
Device-Cellphones_PDAs-Level1.2
Device-Cellphones_PDAs-Level1.3
Device-iPhone
Device-iPod 5.5G
Device-iPod
Device-PSP
Device-Zune

The "Device" group presets, is for Portable Devices compatibility.

Standalone-AppleTV
Standalone-AVC-HD
Standalone-PS3-Xbox360
Standalone-PS3-Xbox360_Fast
Standalone-Xbox_HiRes
Standalone-Xbox_LoRes
Standalone-Blu-ray
Standalone-Blu-ray_Fast
Standalone-HD-DVD
Standalone-HD-DVD_Fast

The "Standalone" group presets, ensure compatibility with Stand Alone players and devices.

Unrestricted 1pass ABR
Unrestricted 1pass ABR Fast
Unrestricted 1pass MaxSpeed
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Anime_Toons
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Fast
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Balanced
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Extra Q.
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane
Unrestricted 1pass Lossless
Unrestricted 2pass Fast
Unrestricted 2pass Balanced
Unrestricted 2pass HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality
Unrestricted 2pass Insane
Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons Fast
Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons Balanced
Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons Extra Q.
Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons Insane
Unrestricted 2pass QuickTime for Windows

The "Unrestricted" group presets is for people not caring about hardware compatibility and are particularly good for mid-high/high end completely software PC playback (without DXVA videocards). Those ones are good to replace HQ and AE presets too. 1 pass ABR presets are not recommended. Those are there only because the encoder support that mode OR if you need fast encodings and somewhat have bitrate limits, try to not use them. 2pass or other modes will produce way better results. The maxspeed preset uses constant quality and minimum settings.

Additional notes: If you dont know what preset to choose or you're uncertain, use the DXVA HD or SD (depending on the source definition: SD - standard definition, HD - High definition) presets as default encoding presets or Unrestricted 2pass HQ or Balanced.
All anime/toons of all presets groups have Psy-RDO DISABLED and a higher deblocking filter values.
The presets are made for MeGUI however you can port or include them in other encoding GUIs or Apps.
The presets should work but I assume no responsibilities for anything that could happen (including and not limited to exploding cats or psycho bunnies) blah blah blah... usual stuff.

DOWNLOAD (http://mirror05.x264.nl/Sharktooth/MeGUI/profiles/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip)
(mirror (http://www.webalice.it/f.corriga/megui/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip))
Ver.85
Changelog:
V50: Initial release
V51: The Unrestricted 2pass preset now uses slower/higher compression settings but 1 less ref frame.
V52: All the Unrestricted 2pass presets were missing the "Turbo" option for first pass. Insane does not use Turbo 1st pass.
V53: Changed Unrestricted 1pass Constant Quality Trellis = 1 to 2
V54: Changed Unrestricted 1pass Constant Quality Deblocking to -1,-1
V55: Limited the max b-frames number in some presets due to this: https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139827
V56: Renamed Unrestricted 2pass -> Unrestricted 2pass HQ. New Unrestricted 2pass Balanced preset. More bframes tweaking.
V57: New Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality presets (HQ, Balanced, FAST). They replace the old one. AVC-HD and BD maxbitrate & buffer tweaks.
V58: Added Device-Zune preset. B-Frames updated to 3 in Device-PSP preset.
V59: Min Keyint -> 2 in all Blu-Ray and AVC-HD presets. Weighted B-Prediction disabled on any Anime/Toons presets.
V60: New Insane presets for DXVA group. Fixed Trellis 1 -> 2 in DXVA HQ presets.
V61: Revised/Fixed VBV settings for most of the restricted presets. Too much changes to list them. Also Trellis 1 -> 0 in Device-PSP preset (due to Psy-RDO).
V62: Revised settings for Device-PSP preset... added some more juice. Removed b-pyramid from all DXVA group presets... this time it is FOREVER until x264 gets properly patched.
V63: Rised the min-keyint value to 4 in all HD-DVD presets.
V64: DVXA-SD-HQ preset still had b-pyramid.
V65: New Balanced presets in DXVA group. Some tweaks here and there... too much to list.
V66: Restored min-keyint value to 2 in both HD-DVD presets. Disabled AQ in all Anime/Toons presets (it did more harm than good).
V67: Tweaks, Tweaks, Tweaks... too much to be listed (most are concerning Trellis) and removed b-pyramid from DXVA-SD-Balanced preset (it was not meant to be there).
V68: Updated partition types for Device-iPod, Device-iPod 5.5G and Device-Zune presets.
V69: Fixed the Device-PSP preset (messed up in the previous version).
V70: Various VBV buffers changes for Device group presets. Trellis 0 to 1 in Device-PSP preset. New Device-Cellphones_PDAs-Level1.3 preset.
V71: Revised all VBV max bitrate and buffers in all restricted presets. Renamed Device-AppleTV -> Standalone-AppleTV (changed group).
V72: Removed b-pyramid from DXVA-SD-Anime_Toons (missed it in a previous update)
V73: New Extra Quality presets for both DXVA and Unrestricted groups. New Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane preset. All Insane presets are even more insane. Extra Quality presets are a blend between HQ and Insane presets settings. Other minor tweaks.
V74: General tweaks discussed here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1180105#post1180105
V75: Completely new Anime/Toons presets.
V76: Changed AQmode 2 to 1.
V77: Updated psy options format for the new MeGUI version
V78: Removed Psy-Trellis (set to 0) in all presets coz it's too much experimental. Set b-adapt to 2 where it was possible without hurting speed too much and on all the Insane presets.
V79: Limited the number of B-Frames when b-adapt 2 is set for encoding speed reasons.
V80: Rised the number of B-Frames in Unrestricted presets to 16 where b-adapt 1 is used. All HQ presets now use b-adapt 2.
V81: Presets format updated due to the recente changes in x264 API plus some very slight changes in some options.
V82: Fixed subme mode from 7 to 9 in Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane.
V83: Fixed some typos in presets names. Added Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Anime_Toons preset. Added P4x4 partitions option where possible.
V84: Added Device-Android G1 preset based on kosmonaut findings (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=145137).
V85: Fixed VBV Buffer size for Standalone-Blu-Ray presets.

READ CAREFULLY: Download the archive. Delete all the MeGUI x264 presets before importing these ones. Import the presets using the MeGUI File->Import Presets menu'.
If you want to get back the old presets, delete these ones and use the Force Reinstall option in megui Options->Update for the x264 presets.

[rack04]

Fantastic. Thanks for all your hard work.

My observations:

Are the HQ tags going to be removed from the DXVA profiles? Not that it really matters but just to be consistent with the other profiles. Should the ones that are "not recommended" even be included?

[Sharktooth]

not recommended means the encoder can do much better with 2 passes but... if you need really FAST encoding an have bitrate limits, you can ignore the 'Not recommended'.
DXVA presets are all HQ presets, even the fast ones.

[Nightshiver]

Aww, so you're not keeping the old AE (anime) presets? If not, I'll probably not want to update unless one of the new presets can do the same job.

[Sharktooth]

Use the Unrestricted (better choice) or DXVA presets for Anime.

[Nightshiver]

Is there a particular one that most closely resembles AE-Maxquality? Might be the unrestricted 2pass insane... Another question. Are the DXVA 2pass for all of them?

[Sharktooth]

Unrestricted 2pass insane it's even better than AE-Maxquality but may be a bit slower. That's if you need to hit a filesize or bitrate.
I'd use Unrestricted 2pass. In both cases i would edit the profile or create a new one starting from one of those 2 and rise the inloop filter values to 1 and 1...
If you want i can add two general HQ anime presets in the Unrestricted and DXVA groups.

Edit: Too late, you convinced me.... added.

[smok3]

ok, so i'am not a megui regular, but how about all this acronims (PD, SA), how about 'PortableDevice' and 'Standalone' instead?

(looking at the gui, encoder settings has a full-width pulldown, so that should not be a problem?)

[Sharktooth]

dang, i was thinking the same. ill see what i can do.

edit: done.

[Sharktooth]

pff... damn windows and M$... lost all presets...
proceding with a hard undelete... crossing fingers.

[rack04]

not recommended means the encoder can do much better with 2 passes but... if you need really FAST encoding an have bitrate limits, you can ignore the 'Not recommended'.
DXVA presets are all HQ presets, even the fast ones.

So should it be DXVA-HD-HQ_Fast?

[Kurtnoise]

First, congrats for the update. :) Hoping you haven't lost everything...:/


I vote to rename/remove 2 things :
"PortableDevice" to "Device". I think it's more appropriate (or let just the device type as name). Plus, I don't think that the PS3 and the Xbox are portable. ;)
Standalone : is it really necessary ? BluRay and HDVD is self explanatory imo...



and btw, is it useful/interesting to keep the Insane preset ? It should be removed (just my opinion though...)

[smok3]

or merge portableDevice and Standalone into TargetDevice or only Device (or Hardware maybe).

[Sharktooth]

First, congrats for the update. :) Hoping you haven't lost everything...:/


I vote to rename/remove 2 things :
"PortableDevice" to "Device". I think it's more appropriate (or let just the device type as name). Plus, I don't think that the PS3 and the Xbox are portable. ;)
Standalone : is it really necessary ? BluRay and HDVD is self explanatory imo...



and btw, is it useful/interesting to keep the Insane preset ? It should be removed (just my opinion though...)
..probably the Xbox presets will be moved under the SA group...
just done.
however im trying to recoved the files. the damn NTFS is a rotten POS.
Insane is there for Insane PPL. I can assure you there are a lot...

[saint-francis]

Thanks Sharktooth. I'm looking forward to checking these out. I appreciate the effort.


Insane is there for Insane PPL. I can assure you there are a lot...

I'm one of those people. I often (about once a week or so) use the HQ insane profile. With the power of affordable processing these days and looking at what's on the horizon for processors I'm personally not too excited about Hardware decoding. I do have a question about the DXVA profiles though. How many reference frames will they use? With MPC HC I'm now getting hardware acceleration with 10 reference frames and the current DXVA profiles only use something like 3.

[Sharktooth]

Depends on the resolution SD or HD. The DXVA profiles are made to be compatible with ALL DXVA decoders (including powerDVD and MPC).
Obviously MPC's decoder has less limitations than cyberlink's, but a couple of additional refs (when there are already 3 or more) do not change your life and neither the encoding quality.

[saint-francis]

but a couple of additional refs (when there are already 3 or more) do not change your life and neither the encoding quality.

Are you saying that the difference between 3 and 10 reference frames is negligible?

[Sharktooth]

yep. more then 3 refs = negligible gain and using more refs = enormous encoding times.
i swear!!! i definatly lost all files dated after 18 july 2008... on 2 different HDDs... thanx NTFS!!!

[Dark Shikari]

yep. more then 3 refs = negligible gainI'd put the cutoff more around 4-5. And more than 5, even, is certainly not for animated footage or CGI.

[Sharktooth]

3 was chosen for DXVA or other HW compatible presets.
Unrestricted presets have more refs, expecially the anime one.

[Dark Shikari]

3 was chosen for DXVA or other HW compatible presets.
Unrestricted presets have more refs, expecially the anime one.Isn't the limit 4, not 3, for 1080p 4.1?

[Sharktooth]

dunno i threw a random number (3, but it could have been 4 as well) coz i lost the presets and i didnt remember if it was 3 or 4... or whatever. my memory is really short lately...

edit: the limit depends on the DPB size.

[smackbadger]

Shouldn't PSP be under PortableDevice, since PSP=PlayStation Portable right?

[Kurtnoise]

I'm one of those people. I often (about once a week or so) use the HQ insane profile.
what is the real gain to use a such preset ?

[yesgrey]

not recommended means the encoder can do much better with 2 passes but... if you need really FAST encoding an have bitrate limits, you can ignore the 'Not recommended'.

I think it would be a good idea including this as a note in the first post. It's better have all the relevant info there, and this question will arise more often... After a few thread pages the people will only look at the first post, nothing more...

[Sharktooth]

yes, i added the info.

@smackbadger: yes, was already there... i just pasted the wrong name.

[canTsTop]

what is difference between DXVA and PS3-Xbox360 presets? isn't this the same thing?

[Sharktooth]

buffers.

[check]

Why not combine the 'portable devices' and 'standalone' categories into a 'hardware players' or similar category? The split between them is a little arbitrary.

[Sharktooth]

could be an idea. but id like to keep them separated.

[Sharktooth]

EDIT: moved to the first post.

[kurt]

dunno i threw a random number (3, but it could have been 4 as well) coz i lost the presets and i didnt remember if it was 3 or 4... or whatever. my memory is really short lately...

edit: the limit depends on the resolution.
jap, it's 4 for 1920x1088, look here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=972503)....

btw: thanks for all your efforts, these presets are much appreciated!

btw2: when driving with Popcorn Hour, I should stick with Standalone-PS3-Xbox360, right?

[Sharktooth]

i left 4 refs for HD even if some old DXVA video cards/drivers do not support 4. for the same reason i thought to take out b-pyramid but i didnt.

btw2: dunno... but if you find any info about the exact playback capabilities i can make a preset... :)

[saint-francis]

what is the real gain to use a such preset ?

Using crf I have consistently noticed a 3-7 % reduction in size as compared to using a profile like HQ Slow. Using HQ Insane it only takes about 4-6 hours for me to encode the average DVD (depending on the .avs). I don't use such settings on HD content. I did once and it took over 24 hours.

[Sharktooth]

what is the real gain to use a such preset ?
Almost none, really. It's just for the ppl that want to "squeeze even the last drop of juice from the fruit", no matter how much time it takes.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated. If you have V50 please download V51.

[TheRyuu]

All anime/toons of all presets groups have Psy-RDO DISABLED and a higher deblocking filter values.

I think anime should have 0:0 deblocking and toon 1:1 but that's just me. Good anime has detail you know.

The same can be said about possibly using psyRDO in anime to keep fine details (possibly gradients, or gradfun gradients, or even some noise).

Edit: Why is no-dct-decimate on with anime/toon. Shouldn't that be off?

[Sharktooth]

1,1 is the same as the old AE presets. no one ever complained. 0,0 and 1,1 difference is almost unnoticeable.

[Sharktooth]

another update. V52. Re-download. Now it's all in the first post.

[kurt]

i left 3 refs for HD since some old DXVA video cards do not support 4.

btw2: dunno... but if you find any info about the exact playback capabilities i can make a preset... :)
PCH uses the same Sigma Chip as PS3 (8635) but is limited in RAM of course. I'll try to find out the max settings... lately I was driving with this commandline very well (720p encodes though):

--pass 2 --bitrate 4500 --stats ".stats" --level 4.1 --ref 3 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-rdo --bime --weightb
--direct auto --nf --subme 6 --trellis 1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1
--vbv-bufsize 9000 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --me umh --merange 12 --threads auto
--thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

any hints what to change (for maxing out)?

[Sharktooth]

i edited the post you quoted coz i actually did the contrary of what i initially said...

[mozzle]

Sharktooth,

Thanks so much for all your hard work; the presets are indispensable! Sorry about your computer issues.

I had a couple questions about the new presets (V.52), specifically the Unrestricted 1pass Constant Quality preset.

1) I may have misinterpreted something along the way but it was my understanding that Trellis 1 was not compatible with the new PsyRDO. I know PsyRDO automatically turns off Trellis 1 if detected but is Trellis 1 still the official "Recommended Value" for Constant Quality?

2) It appears you have modified quite a few of the presets' Deblocking values. I just wanted to confirm that you didn't mean to change the "Recommended Value" for Constant Quality.

3) Is there a specific reason that "No Fast P-Skip" is unchecked in all of the 1-pass presets?


Thanks again for all of your effort!

[Sharktooth]

1) right. x264 will automatically disable trellis if set to 1 and if psy-rdo is enabled. if the preset contains trellis 1 then it's an error. Trellis with Psy-RDO can be only 0 or 2. 2 is better but slower.

2) i modified all the -2,-1 in -1,-1 since i've seen some slight more oversharpening when psy-rdo was introduced (i've changed monitor too in that period, so it may be also due to that).

3) fast pskip is an optimization, i wont use no-fast-pskip in non insane profiles.

[Sharktooth]

Another update: V53.
Changelog & download link in the first post.

[mozzle]

Sharktooth,

Thanks for the quick reply.

FYI, I'm getting a 404 error on http://mirror05.x264.nl/Sharktooth/MeGUI/profiles/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v52.zip

Looks like the URL still references the previous version (v52).

[Sharktooth]

try now... it didnt update the link.
i've also added a mirror.

[mozzle]

Thanks Sharktooth.

By the way, I primarily do CRF encoding using the Constant Quality preset. I would like to experiment with some of the other presets using Constant Quality. I know you recommend using "Spatial" for B-Frame Mode in CQ. So I would assume that I should change B-Frame Mode to "Spatial" when using a 2-pass preset (e.g. "Insane") in CQ mode, correct?


Thanks again!

[Sharktooth]

Auto is not good for 1 pass (CQ, CRF or ABR). Spatial seems better to me...
However the Unrestricted CQ preset is quite good. There are very few other options to tweak to rise compression/quality.
Just set your preferred CRF and let it go... ;)

[JarrettH]

Reply for the new thread :P

Good to see you in better health :devil:

[Sharktooth]

not much better but at least i can see/read/type a bit better now :)
feel free to test the new presets and to report problems, inconsistencies, etc... :)

[Avenger007]

2) It appears you have modified quite a few of the presets' Deblocking values. I just wanted to confirm that you didn't mean to change the "Recommended Value" for Constant Quality.


2) i modified all the -2,-1 in -1,-1 since i've seen some slight more oversharpening when psy-rdo was introduced (i've changed monitor too in that period, so it may be also due to that).
Unrestricted 1pass Constant Quality still has -2,-1.
What do you mean by oversharpening? If it's more detail then wouldn't 0,-2 or 0,-1 be better (if you're purposefully avoiding default 0,0)?

3) fast pskip is an optimization, i wont use no-fast-pskip in non insane profiles.
Double negative, consider rephrasing. :p

Additionally, merange 32 seems suitable for Unrestricted 2pass Insane.

Finally, how difficult would it be to create a quality slider in MeGUI based on these (and perhaps more fine-grained) profiles?

[JarrettH]

I just like how you've limited the choices. I'll definitely try out the new CQ profile. Maybe you want to make the new default for Keyframe Interval and Min GOP Size 240/24, but you already told me before it doesn't matter a great deal.

Heh Insane is quite funny, even Turbo is off ;p

[Sharktooth]

@avenger: no-fast-pskip is a non issue. it will stay on on Insane preset, but the other really dont need it.
i corrected the deblocking in Unrestricted CQ and will post an update. with oversharpening i mean the encoding looked too sharp (maybe the psy-rdo effect or maybe it's just due to my new display) so i decided for -1,-1 instead of -2,-1. The difference is negligible though.
concerning the quality slider bar post the idea in the megui feature requests tracker.

@JarrettH: the GOP size should be proportional to the source framerate. if you live in a NTSC country you can safely use 240/24 (for 24FPS) or 300/30 (for 30FPS)... for PAL, 250/25 (25 FPS).
The presets are not absolute, you may always adjust them for your needs. I live in a PAL country so i set 250/25 by default but no one said you cant change those values.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated. V54.

[Nightshiver]

Sweet. Thanks a bunch Sharktooth for the anime pre's. Looking good!

[LOGiC]

@JarrettH: the GOP size should be proportional to the source framerate. if you live in a NTSC country you can safely use 240/24 (for 24FPS) or 300/30 (for 30FPS)... for PAL, 250/25 (25 FPS).
The presets are not absolute, you may always adjust them for your needs. I live in a PAL country so i set 250/25 by default but no one said you cant change those values.

@Sharktooth, unfortunately I started my first MeGUI encoding try yesterday evening, which will take me about 30 hours and unfortunately I am trying to encode a 23,976fps source with 250/25 as I didn't switch this.

I am thinking about stopping the encode when I return and starting again. What may happen, if I don't have a proportional of 23,976 (240/24) ? Do you think it's worth a try and letting the machine run ?

Thanks in advance.

[Sharktooth]

it's not a big problem. using bigger GOP doesnt mean having less quality. it could even be the opposite.
Keyint = 10 x FPS and Min GOP = FPS is just a common sense rule... but not mandatory.
keep your encode, you wont notice any difference.

[Octo-puss]

Question: what's roughly the oldest kind of card to support DXVA?
Another one: if encoded with DXVA profile, I assume it will still play on PC with non-DXVA card, only it will be slow?

Gonna test tonight :) thanks for all the work.

[Sharktooth]

geforce 8x00 series and radeon HD 2x00 series (with limitations).

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated. V55.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated. V56.

[yesgrey]

Additional notes: If you dont know what preset to choose or you're uncertain, use ... or Unrestricted 2pass.

V56: Renamed Unrestricted 2pass -> Unrestricted 2pass HQ. New Unrestricted 2pass Balanced preset. More bframes tweaking.

So, I believe if we are uncertain we should use Unrestricted 2pass HQ, right? You forgot to edit the upper line...

One question: Could you give us, the uncertain ones, a measure of the quality/size difference of DXVA HD vs Unrestricted 2pass HQ? Is it only a question of hardware compatibility or does the Unrestricted mode justifies in quality the loss of hardware compatibility? If this question has an answer, I think it would be a good idea including it in the first post...

[Sharktooth]

right... if it's too slow use Unrestricted 2pass Balanced.
i edited the first post too to avoid confusion.

[LOGiC]

@Sharktooth

I just went through some profiles and noticed, that i.e. Standalone-BluRay just has Keyframe interval 24 and Min GOP Size 1 while it should be 240/24. Is this something specific in context with the bluray structure or do I need to change this ? I am just running some re-encoding tests for it.

[Sharktooth]

as i said its not mandatory to set the GOP size and keyint that way. it's just recommended. however blu-ray preset was made that way for blu-ray compatibility.
leave it as it is.

[LOGiC]

@Sharktooth

Thanks for your answer. I know that these settings are not mandatary and that I could have changed them, but I left them as they are as you definately have more experience in those things. My first testclip was great with AVC-HD-Standalone, which almost has the same settings as bluray. For testing purposes, I switched Deblock Strength and Treshold to -1 on AVCHD, which I also liked at the test-encode. I have to admit, that I am almost fully satisfied with this stuff. Thanks for your help.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V57.

[Rumbah]

I just wanted to know if B-frames = 2 for the PSP profile is for speed reasons.
Because I always encode my PSP movies with B-frames = 3 and I never got a problem.

[Sharktooth]

some settings were made for saving batteries.
frankly, i dont remember that one.
however, try encoding something with the PSP preset modifying b-frames from 2 to 3. if it works on the PSP i will update it.

[turbojet]

--nal-hrd along with the aforementioned --key-int 24 is another thing that's not required to get a bluray compatible output via TSMuxer, I've tested this at a local store with 5 bluray players. From what I recall these settings were manadatory to get scenarist accepting the stream, but I could be wrong. I've never used the program, way beyond my budget. The sginifigant thing, and the main reason I'm mentioning it, is both these settings hurt effeciency, a combined 10-15% larger with CRF on tests I've done.

I know sharktooth has said he doesn't want to mix the console and bluray profiles, which is understandable. But the PS3-Xbox360 presets with --vbv-bufsize 30000 --vbv-maxrate 30000 are much more optimal for compatible blurays from TSMuxer then the current ones. They also should play in xbox360 with this small change, if what I've read on the internet about xbox360 supporting up to 30 MB\s video bitrate at 1080p is true, but I cannot test this to be sure. It very well could be a more 'one size fits all' profile, and the current bluray profiles could be named scenarist bluray or something to give the user a much more optimized bluray via tsmuxer profile, but very well could get a little confusing with 2 bluray type profiles. What do you think?

On the other hand megui doesn't output blurays so many users may just opt to use a program that does. I've noticed bluray output via tsmuxer in the feature requests on sourceforge for the past few months but no replies from developers on the matter.

PS: unforutnately --trellis 1 seems to be all but meaningless now with psyRDO builds. Without anyone compiling and posting psyRDO builds that support trellis 1 Is there any reason to still use it in the profiles?

[Rumbah]

some settings were made for saving batteries.
frankly, i dont remember that one.
however, try encoding something with the PSP preset modifying b-frames from 2 to 3. if it works on the PSP i will update it.

I did at least 20 encodes with the profile and b-frames set to 3 and I got no problem at all. I did at least as much with 3 b-frames and RDO level 2 and trellis set to 2 but of course that's slower on the encoding side ;) .

[Sharktooth]

--nal-hrd along with the aforementioned --key-int 24 is another thing that's not required to get a bluray compatible output via TSMuxer, I've tested this at a local store with 5 bluray players. From what I recall these settings were manadatory to get scenarist accepting the stream, but I could be wrong. I've never used the program, way beyond my budget. The sginifigant thing, and the main reason I'm mentioning it, is both these settings hurt effeciency, a combined 10-15% larger with CRF on tests I've done.

I know sharktooth has said he doesn't want to mix the console and bluray profiles, which is understandable. But the PS3-Xbox360 presets with --vbv-bufsize 30000 --vbv-maxrate 30000 are much more optimal for compatible blurays from TSMuxer then the current ones. They also should play in xbox360 with this small change, if what I've read on the internet about xbox360 supporting up to 30 MB\s video bitrate at 1080p is true, but I cannot test this to be sure. It very well could be a more 'one size fits all' profile, and the current bluray profiles could be named scenarist bluray or something to give the user a much more optimized bluray via tsmuxer profile, but very well could get a little confusing with 2 bluray type profiles. What do you think?

On the other hand megui doesn't output blurays so many users may just opt to use a program that does. I've noticed bluray output via tsmuxer in the feature requests on sourceforge for the past few months but no replies from developers on the matter.

PS: unforutnately --trellis 1 seems to be all but meaningless now with psyRDO builds. Without anyone compiling and posting psyRDO builds that support trellis 1 Is there any reason to still use it in the profiles?
dont consider TSmuxer.
megui should be able to output blu-ray compatible streams and streams compatible with all blu-ray authoring sotwares or i will delete all blu-ray presets.
also you're not supposed to use CRF with blu-ray. if you want CRF use another preset.
TSMuxer will be added in the the future. we have no time to reply to all requests.
since psy-rdo is default on (for RDO modes), Trellis 1 is useless if psy-rdo is enabled (when subme >= 6) but it works for subme < 6.
you can still use Trellis 1 with subme 6 and 7 but you have to disable psy-rdo.

[~bT~]

Trellis 1 is useless if psy-rdo is disabled (when subme < 6).

isnt it the opposite?

when psy-rdo is enabled, trellis should be 0 or 2?

[Sharktooth]

yes. :) fixed.

[JarrettH]

Unrestricted Level, Constant Quality HQ looks very good to me. It's very close in resemblance to the original. I think I'll start using that now instead of targeting bitrates with two-pass.
There Will Be Blood [150min] with AC3 5.1 audio came to 2.25gb and Lost Highway [135min] (scaaaaryyyy) came to 1.27gb with AC3 5.1 audio

[Deinorius]

some settings were made for saving batteries.
frankly, i dont remember that one.
however, try encoding something with the PSP preset modifying b-frames from 2 to 3. if it works on the PSP i will update it. Why not use two settings for PSP?
Or least test, if B-Frames 3 eats too much Battery time?

[turbojet]

I can understand your point about must work in all bluray authoring tools, but like I said I could be completely wrong about scenarist. Would need someone with the program to confirm one way or the other. But all in all maybe it's best to wait for tsmuxer capability before really optimizing a preset for it.

I realize multi pass mode is the way to go for bluray, so let me rephrase it in the least confusing way I can think of. nal-hrd key-int 24 combined raise the average quants on a muti-pass encode by 0.5-8 relative to the quant range in use, such as size of 17 vs 18 is alot larger than size between 35 vs 36. In almost every case I can tell a visual difference.

subme => 6 and trellis 1 are in a few presets, and psyrdo isn't disabled which is why I mentioned it. Not that it technically really matters as it just kicks it back to trellis 0. Me saying trellis 1 being meaningless is more my frustration about it once being a very good option for me (higher PSNR/SSIM at often lower bitrates vs default deadzones and noticably sharper in every one of the CRF tests I've done, a few others share the same experiences) now its not an option at all due to one persons opinion. But that's a whole other matter and not for this thread. Let me rephrase it by saying trellis 1 is now meaningless for me as I see enough of an effeciency improvement of B-RDO to justify the very little slowdown.

[nurbs]

Me saying trellis 1 being meaningless is more my frustration about it once being a very good option for me (higher PSNR/SSIM at often lower bitrates vs default deadzones and noticably sharper in every one of the CRF tests I've done, a few others share the same experiences) now its not an option at all due to one persons opinion.

IIRC there is a commandline switch that disables psy-rdo and uses the conventional rdo again. If you use that you can use trellis 1.

[Sharktooth]

@turbojet: Psy-RDO is really much better than trelllis 1, higher PSNR/SSIM doesnt mean more quality. also you can use Trellis 1 for all non RDO modes (subme < 6) and you can even disable psy-rdo using --psy-rd 0 in custom commanldine options (like i did for anime presets) so you can use trellis 1 even for RDO modes (subme >= 6).
I really cant see any problems.

[Killerattacks]

I'm a total beginner regarding encoding, but iirc I read somewhere that when you're encoding anime and want high quality results, the x264 option "No fast P-skips" should be enabled (and 2-pass encoding and a high bitrate of course).
Now my question: If I want to encode anime for the ps3 using megui+x264+ the ps3&xbox360 profile this option is _not_ checked. Would using it make the resulting encode unplayable on those consoles?

[Sharktooth]

BS. the no-fast-pskip thing was a problems only ages ago. ppl continue to think it is necesary but it isnt since it was fixed. high bitrate is not necessary since anime are more compressible than movies. 2 passes is only necessary if you aim at a bitrate/filesize otherwise 1 pass CRF is better. 3 passes is only useful if the 2n pass didnt hit the requested bitrate. the "more passes, more qulity" myth is NOT TRUE (it's just a myth), some idiot spread a falsse voice and the result is ppl is wasting a lot of time encoding. Infact the 1pass CRF gives the higher quality results.
For PS3 you have to use the PS3 preset. no-fast-pskip is not necesary, as i already said, however it doesnt influence playback.

[Killerattacks]

Thanks for clearing that up :)

[Dark Shikari]

BS. the no-fast-pskip thing was a problems only ages ago. ppl continue to think it is necesary but it isnt since it was fixed. high bitrate is not necessary since anime are more compressible than movies. 2 passes is only necessary if you aim at a bitrate/filesize otherwise 1 pass CRF is better. 3 passes is onlyy useful if the 2pass encoding didnt hit the requested bitrate. the "more passes, more qulity" myth is NOT TRUE, some idiot spread a falsse voice and the result is ppl is wasting a lot of time encoding. Infact the 1pass CRF gives the higher quality results.
For PS3 you have to use the PS3 preset. no-fast-pskip is not necesary, as i already said, however it doesnt influence playback.No-fast-pskip does still give a small quality gain; any profile with other more insane settings like --me tesa and --trellis 2 should probably have it.

[Sharktooth]

infact it is there in the insane profile.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V58.

[Rumbah]

I encoded a film with 2 and 3 b-frames fot the PSP and the one with 3 b-frames didn't drain the batteries more than the one with 2 b-frames.

[Sharktooth]

good, then ill keep 3 b-frames in the preset.

[Nightshiver]

Hey sharktooth, I just downloaded the zip'ed presets but can't extract them :( I'm using WinRAR and it's telling me "Unknown method in " and doesn't go on.

[rack04]

Hey sharktooth, I just downloaded the zip'ed presets but can't extract them :( I'm using WinRAR and it's telling me "Unknown method in " and doesn't go on.

Don't extract them, import them. Make sure to read the first post.

[sekhar_co]

Hay Sharktooth, i am new user of meGUI and already encode few movie.
My size of the movie is very small like that-
90MINS (+/- 10MINS) = 300MB
120MINS (+/- 10MINS) = 400MB
And source was m-HD (micro HD: HDD/Blueray encoded to 1 mkv file) which was allready encoded with meGUI and the size is 1.5 or 2.2 GB
My question is How i encode with such small size video and which profile i use to get maximum quality.

Plz try to mention MeGUI application steps. Thanks in advance :D

[fib0by]

I'm encoding a .264 video track to fit it on a DVD DL (8.5 GB). Will multiplex it with the AC3 audio track and author a BD image with tsmuxer after encoding is done. I am targeting the bitrate so that the whole thing, after authoring, fits in 8150 MB.

Anyway, technically, this is an AVCHD disk, not a Blu-Ray disk, is that right? So I should use the Standalone-AVC-HD profile, not the Standalone-Blu-ray profile. Is that correct?

I am asking because I used x264.exe settings from another application (RipBot), which are somewhat similar to the Blu-ray profile (very large buffer size and max bitrate), I authored with tsmuxer and put it on a DVD DL, and the result did not play correctly on the PS3 - the image was freezing every few seconds. I assume this was because a mismatch between the encoder settings (Blu-ray-like) and the nature of the disk I authored (AVCHD, not true 25GB Blu-ray).

[Sharktooth]

Hay Sharktooth, i am new user of meGUI and already encode few movie.
My size of the movie is very small like that-
90MINS (+/- 10MINS) = 300MB
120MINS (+/- 10MINS) = 400MB
And source was m-HD (micro HD: HDD/Blueray encoded to 1 mkv file) which was allready encoded with meGUI and the size is 1.5 or 2.2 GB
My question is How i encode with such small size video and which profile i use to get maximum quality.

Plz try to mention MeGUI application steps. Thanks in advance :D
:readguid:
presets are explained in the first post.
next time :search:

@fib0by: AVC-HD is included in the presets. use that and not Blu-Ray or settings from other apps.

[fib0by]

@fib0by: AVC-HD is included in the presets. use that and not Blu-Ray or settings from other apps.

I understand that.
I was asking: is it correct to assume that the AVC-HD preset is the right one for stuff that I put on DVD DL (even though is authored as "BD"), while the Blu-ray preset is the right one for stuff that I may put on actual BD disks?

[tetsuo55]

First i want to say thanks for all the hard work you put into the new profiles!

I have a question about the DXVA/Hardware profiles.

I don't really see any differences between the HD hardware profiles, did you use any special settings beyond the basic h264 level compliance? (All of them should basically be 1 profile)

I read something about bluray forcing some settings? in that case that settings should be common to all HD hardware profiles. or does it break another system?

I see you chose ref-frames 3 where 4 is possible, you could make this 4 in all cases for HD


--------------

I know megui is not able to do so yet, but to accurate calculate the maximum ref-frame limit on a video to video basis the following formula can be used:

IF Width="<=720" AND height="<=576" GOTO="SD"
ELSE GOTO="HD"

SD
6531840 / (Height X Width) = max number of ref frames
HD
8355840 / (Height X Width) = max number of ref frames

[Sharktooth]

the SD presets use a higher number of reference frames. the user-side difference between HD and SD presets is SD, if used for HD, the playback wont be accelerated by DXVA cards.
having more refs for SD means a slightly better compression (hence quality) but not in all cases. It will be at least equal...

however im sorry but i dont think we will implement a DXVA compliance check since DXVA is windows centric and subject to changes...

[tetsuo55]

however im sorry bud i dont think we will implement a DXVA compliance check since DXVA is windows centric and subject to changes...

Now i understand your resistance, you think DXVA has something to do with windows.
You're right in thinking so, the name is confusing.

Let me put it this way:

DXVA is the exact same thing as a Bluray player or an X360. Its just a different way of doing the same thing

They all have the same Goal: Play back level 3.1 and level 4.1 compliant files. The rules for playback are defined by the Joint Video Team (JVT).

Since the bugs in x264 have been fixed it has been perfectly capable of encoding files that work on any device that supports hardware decoding of an H264 AVC file. The only difference is the chosen container.


Although its true that DXVA has slightly loose restrictions on things like bitrate the limits we have talked about in the past never exceeded the least capable device.

Its very simple. Any and ALL devices that claim that they can play back HD level 4.1 will only do so if the file does not exceed the following limits:
-MAX bitrate of 40Mbit/s(standard says 50, but i'm not 100% sure that it works on all devices at that bitrate)
-MAX ref frame limit of: 8355840 / (Height X Width) = max number of ref frames

Its very simple. Any and ALL devices that claim that they can play back HD level 3.1 will only do so if the file does not exceed the following limits:
-MAX bitrate of 17.5 Mbit/s
-MAX ref frame limit of: 6531840 / (Height X Width) = max number of ref frames

-----------

Now if i understand correctly you have found an extra limit when the resulting file is played back on a blu-ray player. This limitations should then be valid for all hardware players (that it happens to work on a DXVA player simply means that that device is not as strict with that part of the rules)

[Sharktooth]

post a feature request in the feature request tracker but i think low priority will be assigned to it.

[tetsuo55]

okay cool.

And as far as your presets are concerned. All Hd and SD decoders can and probably should have a single preset as they al act the same (aside from any bugs that might be present)

[shon3i]

I basic agree with tetsuo55 about hardware/bluray profiles, should be one for HD one for SD.

For SD Level 3.0 and 3.1 are fine.

@tetsuo55, your calculation for level 3.1 are wrong.

MaxDPB for level 3.1 is 6750 so when that multiply with 1024 and divide with 1.5 (YV12) you get 4608000 so calculation for max refs are 46080007/(w*h)=max refs, VBV for level 3.1 should be --vbv-maxrate 14000 --vbv-bufsize 14000 for main and --vbv-maxrate 17920 for high profile.

Level 3.0 are more compact for SD video,IIRC all comercial encoders put Level 3.0 on first place, but aslo depends from many factors. I saw some encodes with level 3.2 and working normal on standalones.

[Sharktooth]

nope, as i already said, SD presets has a higher number of refs and if SD preset is used for HD material DXVA wont work.
also levels are different. there are precise specs for HD and SD... so 2 different presets.
everything exceeding the SD res should be encoded with the HD preset.

[saint-francis]

everything exceeding the SD res should be encoded with the HD preset.

I think that in this case the difference between SD and HD needs to be clearly defined.

For example: Is 720p considered SD or HD? ????

Honestly I haven't experimented with 1080p encoding too much recently but I can assure you that all of my 10 reference frame 720p encodings play back with DXVA just fine with MPC HC. I don't use Powerdvd for much more than playing from disk so I don't know what it's capable of. None the less this grey area needs to be addressed.

[tetsuo55]

I basic agree with tetsuo55 about hardware/bluray profiles, should be one for HD one for SD.

For SD Level 3.0 and 3.1 are fine.

@tetsuo55, your calculation for level 3.1 are wrong.

MaxDPB for level 3.1 is 6750 so when that multiply with 1024 and divide with 1.5 (YV12) you get 4608000 so calculation for max refs are 46080007/(w*h)=max refs, VBV for level 3.1 should be --vbv-maxrate 14000 --vbv-bufsize 14000 for main and --vbv-maxrate 17920 for high profile.

Level 3.0 are more compact for SD video,IIRC all comercial encoders put Level 3.0 on first place, but aslo depends from many factors. I saw some encodes with level 3.2 and working normal on standalones.

Yeah 2 hardware profiles
SD
HD

And then the sub profiles fast and anime

Thanks i fixed the formula in the other thread and in MPC-HC

nope, as i already said, SD presets has a higher number of refs and if SD preset is used for HD material DXVA wont work.
also levels are different. there are precise specs for HD and SD... so 2 different presets.
everything exceeding the SD res should be encoded with the HD preset.

We are not suggesting you Blend SD and HD.

We are suggesting that their should be 2 presets


HD
SD
(And then the sub profiles fast and anime)

Then regardless of which hardware unit you actually use you either choose SD or HD depending on the resolution

I think that in this case the difference between SD and HD needs to be clearly defined.

For example: Is 720p considered SD or HD? ????

Honestly I haven't experimented with 1080p encoding too much recently but I can assure you that all of my 10 reference frame 720p encodings play back with DXVA just fine with MPC HC. I don't use Powerdvd for much more than playing from disk so I don't know what it's capable of. None the less this grey area needs to be addressed.

SD is 16*16 to 720*576 (please note the that preset expects you to play back on a Level3.1 capable device, so these encodes might not work on some lower res players like an ipod even if you use the native resolution of an ipod )
HD is 736*???? or ????*592 to 1920*1088

---------

Ideally megui or x264 would have an interactive mode that would use a calculation of "height*width*framerate* to find the lowest possible LEVEL. And then encode at that level. This way the resulting file would be compatible with any device capable of playing that level and any device with a higher level than that. Encoded files would truly be portable across all hardware.

The downside to this approach is that lower levels mean stricter limits on bitrate, a low resolution file encoded at level 3.1 would probably look a lot better visually.

This why i suggest splitting the hardware profiles into 3 parts:
HD, for all hardware that can play this
SD, for all hardware that can play this at native resolution
Custom profiles, based on level limits, for all hardware that do not have/support a 720*576(480) screen(this category already exists, the original xbox would belong here too because of its hardware limits as its actually a software decoder)

Based on the above i would suggest the following

Preset blend suggestion

HD-L4.1-Anime_Toons
HD-L4.1-Fast
HD-L4.1-HQ
HD-L4.1-Insane
SD-L3.1-Anime_Toons
SD-L3.1-Fast
SD-L3.1-HQ
SD-L3.1-Insane
Unrestricted-Anime_Toons
Unrestricted-Fast
Unrestricted-HQ
Unrestricted-Insane
(device specific for handhelds and xbox)
(left over unrestricted profiles)

The Only difference between Unrestricted and HD/SD would be that the unrestricted profiles have been limited with the level limitations, other than that they can be exactly the same (which basically only means a bitrate and ref frame limitation)

[Sharktooth]

I think that in this case the difference between SD and HD needs to be clearly defined.

For example: Is 720p considered SD or HD? ????

Honestly I haven't experimented with 1080p encoding too much recently but I can assure you that all of my 10 reference frame 720p encodings play back with DXVA just fine with MPC HC. I don't use Powerdvd for much more than playing from disk so I don't know what it's capable of. None the less this grey area needs to be addressed.

720p IS HD by definition. also the presets are made to be playable ON EVERY DXVA card with EVERY DECODER supporting DXVA.
MPC-HC decoder is accepting higher parameters than the commercial decoders but usually fails on older vDXVA videocards.

@tetsuo55: ill see what i can do but remember DXVA is not universal and it is a microsoft implementation. Levels are implicit in DXVA 2.0 specs for SD and HD.

Presets updated: v59.

[Sharktooth]

Presets update: V60.

[tetsuo55]

@tetsuo55: ill see what i can do but remember DXVA is not universal and it is a microsoft implementation. Levels are implicit in DXVA 2.0 specs for SD and HD.


DXVA has nothing to do with the videocards ability to decode video. DXVA is simply the language used to communicate between the cpu and the videocard.

The capabilities of videocards to decode h264 streams is no different from other hardware (although there are lots of bugs!)

[Sharktooth]

nope... DXVA is tech that's part of the directx and it was implemented by microsoft.
different video cards have different capabilities, DXVA is made of a common API to let the programmer make common code for different video cards.

[tetsuo55]

nope... DXVA is tech that's part of the directx and it was implemented by microsoft.
different the video card have different capabilities, DXVA is made of a common API to let the programmer make common code for different video cards.

You're right

But because DXVA is such a pain in the ass all newer videocards have "Bitstreaming" which is basically a bluray decoder on the GPU die. If you look closely there is 0 difference between the settings to create a valid bluray file and a valid DXVA file.

[Sharktooth]

...except older DXVA enabled video cards that did that thru GPU programming...

[smackbadger]

Is it possible to start with a DXVA preset, say DXVA-SD-Anime_Toons and change it to a one-pass Quality 22 CRF encode and still have the final output be DXVA compliant, or are 2 passes required to meet the DXVA specs? I'd like my encodes to work if I ever do buy a standalone device in the future, but I have plenty of disk space on my HTPC and I've seen multiple people say that CRF encodes provide better quality if you're not targeting a specific file size.

[Sharktooth]

No. i will add the buffers for DXVA presets to be fully compliant. CRF and VBV (video buffer verifier) wont work as expected.
however it will all depend what will be the max bitrate of CRF 22 encode... if it's below the DXVA specs, it will work.

[tetsuo55]

...except older DXVA enabled video cards that did that thru GPU programming...

Assisted decoder features are either the same or weaker than regular h264 hardware decoders.
That feature is more of a hack than a real hardware decoder(as most of the work is still done in software)

i hope its clear now that aside from a bug here and there(resulting on stricter or looser implementation of the h264 specs) the decoding engine for DXVA and Standalone is exactly the same thing

in other words, anything encoded with the bluray profile will work perfectly fine on a DXVA card and vice-versa


---------

Is it possible to use CRF and limit its bitrate at the same time, or would that make it useless? Depending on SD or HD the bitrate limit can be pretty high

[Sharktooth]

Nope i already told you its not the same. DXVA has no theoretical level and bitrate decoding limits but the videocards ACTUALLY can decode full level 4.1 high profile specs and max bitrate (50Mbps) depending on videocard manufacturer and the decoder used. while blu-ray players have a cap at 40Mbps (10Mbps lower than Level 4.1 HP max bitrate) for discs and 54Mbps for other storage (exceeding level 4.1 by 4mbps for HP) ... and that is by specs.
the 2 things are completely different but videocards have just some things in common with BD players for simplicity. so encoding for DXVA playback wont ensure Blu-Ray compatibility! at all.
h.264 DXVA has different specs than Blu-Ray or other standards: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/c/5fc4ec5c-bd8c-4624-8034-319c1bab7671/DXVA_H264.pdf
more on DXVA 2.0: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa965263.aspx
DXVA is a Microsoft tech... and it's different from anything else.
so this:in other words, anything encoded with the bluray profile will work perfectly fine on a DXVA card and vice-versais NOT true. it's just the ACTUAL DXVA 2.0 compatible hardware can also decode blu-ray video streams. nothing more...
infact, if you think at the Radeon HD 2900 it has DXVA 2.0 support but it is NOT able to decode Blu-Ray streams coz DXVA was implemented thru shaders perfectly respecting the specs but, as i already said, the blu-ray and DXVA specs are different.

for what concerns CRF and bitrate, if you are constrained with a bitrate, CRF has not much sense... use a RC mode.

[tetsuo55]

i read those documents for another reason hehehe. So i agree with you at this point.

It gets even worse(good coding could force DXVA to decode 3.1 streams with the 4.1 engine, thus raising max DPB and allowing 16 ref frames in sd files)

What i am asking for is a single profile that will create a file that will work on both bluray players and DXVA videocards

[Sharktooth]

i dont think ppl will agree on using a "minimum common denominator" preset for both BD and DXVA...
i can add a general use preset that will work for both though but i will not remove any of the BD or DXVA presets.

[chriszxl]

Now 60!!! thx a lot!!!!!!!!

[Sharktooth]

now 60, what?

[sasuke9999]

why did you use trellis 1 with psy RDO and not trellis 2 in DXVA-SD-Anime_Toon? Trellis 2 with psy RDo schould bring the best quali or?

[Sharktooth]

psy-rdo on animes is not so efficient, maybe at all. so i disabled it in all anime/toons presets.
i used trellis 1 to enhance quality. trellis 2 is slow and tends to "flatten" the image in non RDO modes or when psy-rdo is disabled.
feel free to edit our local the preset and use trellis 2 if you want. maybe i will change it at a later time.

[sasuke9999]

so --psy-rd 0 means its deaktivated and --psy-rd 1 aktivated?

[Sharktooth]

psy-rd = 0 deactivated.
it is active BY DEFAULT.

[~bT~]

now 60, what?

presets v60 released.

[tetsuo55]

i dont think ppl will agree on using a "minimum common denominator" preset for both BD and DXVA...
i can add a general use preset that will work for both though but i will not remove any of the BD or DXVA presets.

Wow great solution, thanks! Simple and effective

[Sharktooth]

uhm... DXVA does not support level 4.1 for SD. i have to force level 3.1 but bitrate limits (VBV) will jeopardize BD 1080p encodes.
at this point i dont think it's possible to make it.

[tetsuo55]

uhm... DXVA does not support level 4.1 for SD. i have to force level 3.1 but bitrate limits (VBV) will jeopardize BD 1080p encodes.
at this point i dont think it's possible to make it.

why would 567P(L3.1 SD) settings interfere with 720p/1080p(L4.1HD) settings?

Are you saying that bluray allowes plaback of SD resolution with L4.1 encoding settings? in other words 720x567@16ref frames? Or does it only lift the bitrate limit?

[Sharktooth]

nope im saying i have to make 2 presets, one for SD and one for HD... that is quite useless.
also, DXVA is able to accelerate blu-ray streams... so we already have presets that work on both.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V61.

[tetsuo55]

i'm not finished with all the tests yet but i have a question for you.

if i understand correctly, A standalone bluray player will play any resolution(SD/HD) as long as it stays within the L4.1 limits? In other words a SD stream can be out of L3.1 limits but still work on the standalone?

i have already confirmed this behaviour to be true for DXVA.

---

Also do you have or can you point me to a Bluray edge case? (1920x1080, 54Mbps, 4 ref frames), from tests in the past DXVA was able to decode at least 80Mbps

[Sharktooth]

i'm not finished with all the tests yet but i have a question for you.

if i understand correctly, A standalone bluray player will play any resolution(SD/HD) as long as it stays within the L4.1 limits? In other words a SD stream can be out of L3.1 limits but still work on the standalone?
the blu ray specs says Level 4.1 independently from the resolution.

i have already confirmed this behaviour to be true for DXVA.
Actually i cant remember if DXVA can do the same but i think the actual videocards can since they actually uses almost the same hardware decoders as the blu-ray standalones. that is subject to change though.
Also do you have or can you point me to a Bluray edge case? (1920x1080, 54Mbps, 4 ref frames), from tests in the past DXVA was able to decode at least 80MbpsNope sorry.

[[)370|\|470!2]

pff... damn windows and M$... lost all presets...
proceding with a hard undelete... crossing fingers.

Just wonder: not tired yet of bashing "M$", especially for things you should obviously blame your own incompetence?

[vzmr82]

I know this is a noob question, but I tried to search with no success: how do I delete the old profiles?

The files used to be (in some old version) within megui directory in Program Files, but I can't find them anymore.

Thanks in advance.

RS

[~bT~]

Just wonder: not tired yet of bashing "M$", especially for things you should obviously blame your own incompetence?

sharktooth has been very unwell of late yet he found time to update megui and provide new presets for us all here.

we (majority @ doom9) appreciate his hard work here so go find another thread to post in as your comments don't provide any encouragement or help!

[bond]

Just wonder: not tired yet of bashing "M$", especially for things you should obviously blame your own incompetence?cool down please, striked

[chriszxl]

now 60, what?
nothing..just mean ver.60 on then. :-)
and a question is I most use x264 for 1500-2000kbps source xvid/divx to 600-800 x264.. but I note that deblocking value change in your profile, I wanna know what's diff ? and I think I'd like more sharpen , so whice deblocking value better for me?

[Avenger007]

but I note that deblocking value change in your profile, I wanna know what's diff ? and I think I'd like more sharpen , so whice deblocking value better for me?
Lower deblocking values don't make the image sharper, it just makes block edges more visible and may appear sharper aka placebo effect. ;)
The best deblocking value would generally be the default 0,0; that's probably why it's the default :)

[gav1577]

Hi i have a question about the avchd and bluray profiles why do they both have --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 in them is there any particular reason for this i mean any benefit over standard default values ?
Thanks

[Octo-puss]

I just was testing something and came to an interesting question:

Is it possible that unrestricted 2pass insane profile would result in a LITTLE worse image than the HQ one?

[JarrettH]

Not according to the settings. I looked at both and the difference is just the ridiculous settings not recommended to use are maxxed out. :p

[rica]

Sharktooth; first of all thanks a lot for your hard work!

Do you think it might not be a bad idea to make interlaced DXVA presets since most of the HDTV broadcast is interlaced (at least in Europe)?

And PV2 hard/soft owners can easily watch those re-encoded h264 files in DXVA decoding+deinterlacing mode which created by interlaced DXVA profiles.

I think the file lenght of the created files will be decreased while 1088i=544p.

[florinandrei]

I've been using the Standalone-AVC-HD preset for a while for 1080p content. The results are good, no issues on my PS3.

One question: This preset is supposed to limit the max bitrate to something like 16000kb/s or something like that. And yet, if I encode 2-pass with an average bitrate of about 11000kb/s, when I watch it on the PS3, I see the bitrate going briefly up to like 25Mb/s or so. Isn't that a problem with this preset?

Also, the presets come in an archive format that has issues with some archive management programs. On Windows, I can't extract it with File Explorer, I must use Total Commander if I want to look at individual files.
On Linux, I can't extract files with anything. Weird.

[Octo-puss]

if encoded with DXVA profile, I assume it will still play on PC with non-DXVA card, only it will be slow? or what the difference would be?

[rica]

if encoded with DXVA profile, I assume it will still play on PC with non-DXVA card, only it will be slow? or what the difference would be?

If DXVA compatible card and software don't exist, you will watch even created DXVA re-encodes in software mode and with a high CPU utilization.

[Octo-puss]

I gotta try to see the difference. How exactly are the DXVA profiles different?

[rica]

Octo-puss, you can give it a go with this file if you want:

Original 1920*1080 24p VC1 Terminator3 HD DVD

Used filters for decoding in re-encoding process:

File source(async) > Arcsoft mpeg demux > Arcsoft Video decoder (TMT)

x264 DXVA HD-HQ preset

http://rapidshare.com/files/136868880/EVO_arc.ts.html




_ _ _ _

[Octo-puss]

This is a sample from the source? Or something?
I'll try overnight :)

What kind of CPU usage are we talking about anyway, if it's possible to tell? Roughly!

[rica]

This is a sample from the source? Or something?
I'll try overnight :)

What kind of CPU usage are we talking about anyway, if it's possible to tell? Roughly!

This is a re-encode of the rip from the original HD DVD.

In DXVA mode %4-15 CPU usage with my E6750 and nVidia 8600 GTS. It's gonna be %50-65 without DXVA...

[Octo-puss]

Hmm... I played it and shows about 25% usage on 6750@3.2GHz.

[rica]

When i untick the DXVA feature of the decoder, CPU usage is %35-55...

[Octo-puss]

Untick where?
This is probably beyond me so forget it :)

[florinandrei]

So what would be the lowest common denominator for profiles like PSP, iPod, iPhone, etc? Assuming I want to encode once and play it everywhere. Of course, it would have to be playable on bigger devices such as the PS3, but I assume that's more or less guaranteed, right?

[Atak_Snajpera]

@Sharktooth
PSP profile does not need VBV buffer Size and Max bitrate. PSP supports files even at 25Mbps (720x480) without problems. I would also increase b-frames numbers to 3.
AppleTV according to official website does not support files above 5Mbps (http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html)

[Sharktooth]

apple TV supports peaks up to 12mbps and a sustained rate of 5mbps.
as for PSP i simply dont trust sony. they pissed me off for far too long. 10mbps and 3 bframes will be ok for such a POC... 25mbps will break the L3 compliance...
update is coming... say bye to b-pyramid in DXVA presets... this time it is FOREVER until a proper x264 patch appears...
note to self: dont follow advices when you have doubts they wont work.

edit: Presets updated: V62.

[gav1577]

Hi i have a question about the avchd and bluray profiles why do they both have --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 in them is there any particular reason for this i mean any benefit over standard default values ?
Thanks

Has anyone a answer to my question? Thanks

[Sharktooth]

more etherogeneous quants distribuition.
that means less visual difference between frametypes since TVs are usually overrbright and that may expose some artifacting that wont be visible in the correct viewing conditons.
the obvious counterpart is a small overall quality hit but that is compensated from the above situation. if you're targeting a well calibrated device you should consider using a PC as player with a good Display/TV and then use the DXVA or the Unrestricted presets.

[rack04]

update is coming... say bye to b-pyramid in DXVA presets... this time it is FOREVER until a proper x264 patch...
note to self: dont follow advices when you have doubts they wont work.

edit: Presets updated: V62.

Is this also true for standalone profiles, more specifically blu-ray?

[Sharktooth]

standalones presets never had b-pyramid enabled expecially the blu-ray presets.

[gav1577]

more etherogeneous quants distribuition.
that means less visual difference between frametypes since TVs are usually overrbright and that may expose some artifacting that wont be visible in the correct viewing conditons.
the obvious counterpart is a small overall quality hit but that is compensated from the above situation. if you're targeting a well calibrated device you should consider using a PC as player with a good Display/TV and then use the DXVA or the Unrestricted presets.

Thanks for the info :)

[Sharktooth]

ok, i think i can publish the presets in the megui autoupdate unless there are some other wrong settings.
please test everything you can and if you find any (expecially HW) compatibility problems please repot back.

[Sem]

does the Xbox/PS3 profile (v62) provide the best possible quality that's compatible with a PS3

or does it just produce standard/average quality that's just guaranteed to work with the ps3

[Sharktooth]

Just wonder: not tired yet of bashing "M$", especially for things you should obviously blame your own incompetence?
nope. i lost all files from a certain date on coz of a rare, critiacal but never fixed fNTFS bug. DAMN M$.
plase note, before posing read the forum rules AND dont blow air thru your mouth unless:
1) you know what you're talking about
2) concerns you (are you a MivcroSux employee? uh... i think not - just a fanboy if my memory serves well...)
3) you have something usefull to say

all those conditions were not met so, please refrain from posting at least until you install a brain into your head.
in the meanwhile if you dont know what to do, go play with WMP, Vista, the crappy VC-1 and all their gazillion problems.
thank you... drive thru.

[Sharktooth]

does the Xbox/PS3 profile (v62) provide the best possible quality that's compatible with a PS3

or does it just produce standard/average quality that's just guaranteed to work with the ps3
very good-"near best" quality without using insane encoder settings otherwise it will take ages to encode...

[Sharktooth]

So what would be the lowest common denominator for profiles like PSP, iPod, iPhone, etc? Assuming I want to encode once and play it everywhere. Of course, it would have to be playable on bigger devices such as the PS3, but I assume that's more or less guaranteed, right?
i think the iPod preset is the lowest common... however i dont recommend that coz of FPS and resolution restrictions...

[Sem]

ok thanks

[tetsuo55]

apple TV supports peaks up to 12mbps and a sustained rate of 5mbps.
as for PSP i simply dont trust sony. they pissed me off for far too long. 10mbps and 3 bframes will be ok for such a POC... 25mbps will break the L3 compliance...
update is coming... say bye to b-pyramid in DXVA presets... this time it is FOREVER until a proper x264 patch appears...
note to self: dont follow advices when you have doubts they wont work.

edit: Presets updated: V62.


I changed the requirements for b-pyramids in my thread too, and i also wanted to suggest you completely remove them until they are fixed.

Thanks for following the advice though, thanks to the discussion it lit up we found not 1 but 2 bugs with the b-pyramids :thanks:

[Sharktooth]

i alredy (v62) left b-pyramids enabled ONLY in unrestricted presets.
software decoders should have no problems with it.

[Sharktooth]

presets are now final. they're in megui autoupdate.
to avoid confusion delete the old ones before importing the new ones.

[Octo-puss]

I deleted all the preset files and after updating and restarting I got some kind of message about profiles not being able to be loaded (though I could select them).
After closing and restarting I get this popup:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at MeGUI.OSInfo.GetMOStuff(String queryObject)

MeGUI starts normally after clicking ok.

[Sharktooth]

yes, that was due to the removal of LMP4 encoder in the newer megui version. everything should be ok and working.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: v65.

[rica]

Sharktooth; first of all thanks a lot for your hard work!

Do you think it might not be a bad idea to make interlaced DXVA presets since most of the HDTV broadcast is interlaced (at least in Europe)?

And PV2 hard/soft owners can easily watch those re-encoded h264 files in DXVA decoding+deinterlacing mode which created by interlaced DXVA profiles.

I think the file lenght of the created files will be decreased while 1088i=544p.

Hoping to get any - or + response from shark,
thanks for the new updates btw.

[JarrettH]

Thanks for the continual updates. I have been worried about your health :)

[Sharktooth]

my healt is slowlingly getting worse but at least i partially recovered part of my left eye functionality. so, yes, i can see better now. however i cant stress my sight too much...

@rica: if there is something i really hate, it's interlacing... i firmly think it must die as soon as possible.

[rica]

@rica: if there is something i really hate, it's interlacing... i firmly think it must die as soon as possible.

:thanks:

take care.

[poisondeathray]

For the x264 profiles v65, the Standalone-Xbox_HiRes profile has the enable deblocking box unchecked (the LoRes one is checked, so I think it's just a simple mistake not a compatibility issue?)

[Sharktooth]

nope. it should be lilke that or the xbox wont manage to play the file. it has a slow processor.
note: that preset is for the first xbox ... not the x360...

[BlackPrince]

Superb work Shark. :)

Is it also compatible with StaxRip, or only megui ?

[Sharktooth]

dunno... it's easy to parse and import megui profiles. i dont know if staxrip uses them though.

[Deinorius]

@BlackPrince
Stax said something he would implement kind of importing presets. Up to this time you need to set every preset (or at least the ones you use) for yourself.

But I'm sure he will implement the new presets in a new beta/release.

[Seraphic-]

Was looking over the new presets and this post, but wanted to get some more information on DXVA.

Has video card DXVA assisted playback be supported for awhile now or has it really only come standard recently?
Since I'm encoding for internet distribution, I am wondering how many users would be able to take advantage the feature.

[tetsuo55]

Was looking over the new presets and this post, but wanted to get some more information on DXVA.

Has video card DXVA assisted playback be supported for awhile now or has it really only come standard recently?
Since I'm encoding for internet distribution, I am wondering how many users would be able to take advantage the feature.

The DXVA profiles will create a file guaranteed to work on any DXVA decoder. The file will also work on any Software decoder so its win-win. However the stream might not work on all standalone players like blu-ray players.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: v66.

[chaojenlin]

if i want to encode one movie and let my eeepc can play it through kmplayer, which preset is the best for me?

regard

[Octo-puss]

Not sure if it has anything to do with the presets, but after doing regular update and importing some presets, I get this:

[dant3s]

Hello, I read carefully all threads about new profiles including "dxva" capability. I used until today the old profiles, particulary HD-Insane. After update & reading, I guessed equivalent one in new profile was "DXVA-HD-Insane", but I realized it was not configured in <unrestricted avc level>.
My knowledges are very restricted, but my question is:
Which new profile preset will be equivalent with the old one "HD-Insane", without dxva of course, I don't need it to take advantage for instance.
Thanks a lot for your work. (anf for your reply :p)

[poisondeathray]

Which new profile preset will be equivalent with the old one "HD-Insane", without dxva of course, I don't need it to take advantage for instance.
Thanks a lot for your work. (anf for your reply :p)

I believe "Unrestricted 2pass Insane" would correspond to the old "HD-Insane"

[nawat]

Thank you for your hard work, Sharktooth. Without your profiles, I would be more or less blind on h264 encoding.

By the way, I have one question regarding your new profiles. I used to encode with HQ-Insane and I got around 4.5 fps with my E6420@3.2GHz. However, when I moved to Unrestricted 2pass Insane, the speed dropped to almost 1 fps. Recently, I just bought a Q6600 and with it, the rate is now around 1.6 fps at stock speed (which still should be faster than E6420@3.2GHz). The question is, if the settings for HQ-Insane are maxed out, how could the new Unrestricted 2pass Insane take more time. Is it more maxed out somehow?

Thank you in advance for your reply.

PS. Oh, I have 2 questions after all. Here is the other one. I would like to encode animes to watch on my PSP. Can anything be optimized on the Device-PSP so that it is more efficient when encoding animations? And how are the Anime_Toons profiles optimized for encoding animations?

[elguaxo]

HQ-Insane was using --me umh --merange 16 (I think) and Unrestricted 2pass Insane is using --me tesa --merange 32. There are other small differences, but the ones I mentioned are the ones eating all those fps ;)

[dant3s]

I believe "Unrestricted 2pass Insane" would correspond to the old "HD-Insane"

Thanks a lot ;)

[nawat]

HQ-Insane was using --me umh --merange 16 (I think) and Unrestricted 2pass Insane is using --me tesa --merange 32. There are other small differences, but the ones I mentioned are the ones eating all those fps ;)

Thanks. So it is more insane after all... Maybe I should switch to HQ since it is TOO insane.

[Octo-puss]

I was wondering, why are there no non-DXVA HD presets?

[dant3s]

After some encoding tests, I obtained different encoding times (fps/s) according 2 presets, "x264: Unrestricted 2pass HQ" or "x264: Unrestricted 2pass Insane".
for "HQ" one, I obtained 3.5 fps/s ,and for "Insane" one 0.3 fps/s lol ^^ it's a great difference !
I asked for myself if we can find a preset between these ones, provided encoding speed/time to be faster than Insane (and surely slower than HQ).
I'm sure it's possible, but which parameters could be modified in this case ?
My knowledges are still basic, but it could be achieved by changing (for HQ preset) :
-> "number of reference frames " from 5 to 10
-> "subpixel refinement" level 6 to level 7

I'm right or wrong ?
Thanks for your lights ;)

[Dark Eiri]

The Unrestricted - HQ would be equivalent to the old HQ-Slow or HQ-Slowest?

[saint-francis]

I was wondering, why are there no non-DXVA HD presets?

I think you misunderstand. The "HD" in the HD DXVA presets. The emphasis is on the DXVA and not the HD. It is just settings that will be hardware compatible with 1080p. You can use any of the presets you like with any resolution you like.

[saint-francis]

After some encoding tests, I obtained different encoding times (fps/s) according 2 presets, "x264: Unrestricted 2pass HQ" or "x264: Unrestricted 2pass Insane".
for "HQ" one, I obtained 3.5 fps/s ,and for "Insane" one 0.3 fps/s lol ^^ it's a great difference !
I asked for myself if we can find a preset between these ones, provided encoding speed/time to be faster than Insane (and surely slower than HQ).
I'm sure it's possible, but which parameters could be modified in this case ?
My knowledges are still basic, but it could be achieved by changing (for HQ preset) :
-> "number of reference frames " from 5 to 10
-> "subpixel refinement" level 6 to level 7

I'm right or wrong ?
Thanks for your lights ;)

You could try raising bframes and ref frames. And you might want to also change "subpixel refinement" level 6 to level 7

The Unrestricted - HQ would be equivalent to the old HQ-Slow or HQ-Slowest?

No. There are differences between all three of them.

[dant3s]

Merci Saint-Francis :)
In fact, my worry is about output file quality. I'm sure that encoding time will be longer with ref frames=10 & subpixel refinement.
I perform some tests, but I would reach a nice combination between encoding time / quality, with the old presets reference.

PS: will "No Fast P-skip" affect encoding time ?

[JarrettH]

You should try Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ if you're after overall quality. I used to use 2 pass trying to target sizes, but it only ended up giving lesser and highly variable quality.
I end up with smaller and better looking files than I would have got trying to target a 2 pass at 1.4gb or something decent.

Here's a few: Lost Highway (1.27gb), There Will Be Blood (2.25gb), Dark City (1.05gb) all with AC3 audio.

I think There Will Be Blood came out the largest not due to its length, but because of the excellent source!

[dant3s]

You should try Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ if you're after overall quality. I used to use 2 pass trying to target sizes, but it only ended up giving lesser and highly variable quality.
I end up with smaller and better looking files than I would have got trying to target a 2 pass at 1.4gb or something decent.

Here's a few: Lost Highway (1.27gb), There Will Be Blood (2.25gb), Dark City (1.05gb) all with AC3 audio.

I think There Will Be Blood came out the largest not due to its length, but because of the excellent source!

I believe in target file size and VBR encoding.
Thanks for your help ;)

[Octo-puss]

I think you misunderstand. The "HD" in the HD DXVA presets. The emphasis is on the DXVA and not the HD. It is just settings that will be hardware compatible with 1080p. You can use any of the presets you like with any resolution you like.

Oh I see! What exactly is hardware 1080p compatible? I thought compatibility would only be an issue for some desktop players or so?

[Dark Eiri]

No. There are differences between all three of them.

Yes, yes, but the quality outputted will be comparable to which one?

[dirk362]

Overall, is the aim of x264_dp_ Unrestricted 2pass Insane.xml to get the true best quality with a fixed size 2-pass ?

Having spent some time performing literally dozens of comparisons of a reflective chapter of an HD-DVD with parameter adjustments, and "to the human eye" comparisons of output, can I ask what is most likely a series of stupid question...

Within the Unrestricted profiles of HQ and Insane we have 6 parameters to compare

Parameter HQ Insane
NbBframes 4 16
noFastPSkip false true
NbRefFrames 5 16
SubPelRefinement 5 6
MeType 2 4
MeRange 16 32

So my questions are:-


Why not just set B-Frames to 16 in all cases as the encoder will dynamically adjust anyway and only use what it needs ?
Does noFastPSkip add to encoding time ? If not, then why not always set to true in HQ and Insane ?
I'd always thought more than 5 Ref Frames generated little or no benefit for quality for anything other than large repetition within the frame (e.g. animation). Normal movies won't get much if any benefit from values higher than 5. What benefit will more Ref Frames give on quality vs the encoding time ?
If going for Insane, why not use subme of 7, or is the belief that 7 over 6 adds little to quality but significantly affects encode time (I've noted that using 7 does slow the whole process quite significantly) ?
Using ME of ESA seems of limited use as its massively slower than UMH, and most people really can't see the difference when taking into account other parameters we're adjusting.
MERange seems to be incredibly useful to improve quality to human eye as it allows more pixels to be checked for motion, but it does add significantly to encode time. I've done some encodes using 32 and 64, and 64 seems much better in overall 2-pass quality, but does add to encode time.

So, if the aim is to get best quality in fixed size 2-pass, I'd wonder whether people would find it better to increase MERange, but decrease ME ?

My own personal experience, and in no way to deflect from the truly exceptional work to generate these profiles, would be to use (for Insane encodes):-

<NbBframes>16</NbBframes>
<noFastPSkip>true</noFastPSkip>
<NbRefFrames>5</NbRefFrames>
<SubPelRefinement>7</SubPelRefinement>
<METype>3</METype>
<MERange>64</MERange>
<VBVBufferSize>0</VBVBufferSize>
<VBVMaxBitrate>0</VBVMaxBitrate>
<DeadZoneInter>6</DeadZoneInter>
<DeadZoneIntra>4</DeadZoneIntra>

I find deblock 1:0:0 with adjusted deadzones is preferable to deblock 1:-1:-1 as this has a tendancy to introduce blocks on HD content when using 21,11 deadzones)

Insane encodes are going to take on average twice as long as HQ encodes when using subme=7 and merange=64 as there is a lot more to calculate against. But you will always get a better quality output (in my experience).

[Avenger007]

Overall, is the aim of x264_dp_ Unrestricted 2pass Insane.xml to get the true best quality with a fixed size 2-pass ?
Those are all just profiles - predefined settings fed to x264. They can in no way guarantee "true best quality" for all the sources you use.
Those two profiles generally give "best quality" with regard to the internal metrics used, BUT the difference between the two is probably small in general.

Why not just set B-frames to 16 in all cases as the encoder will dynamically adjust anyway and only use what it needs ?
With the new B-Frame optimization patch (coming soon :p) the encoding time will take a lot longer with each additional B-frame.
3 b-frames is generally the most practical; higher values offer little advantage except perhaps for anime.

Does noFastPSkip add to encoding time ? If not, then why not always set to true in HQ and Insane ?
Yes it does add to the encoding time by a fair amount.

I'd always thought more than 5 Ref Frames generated little or no benefit for quality for anything other than large repetition within the frame (e.g. animation). Normal movies won't get much if any benefit from values higher than 5. What benefit will more Ref Frames give on quality vs the encoding time ?
Normal movies won't get much benefit from values higher than 6 refs, but there is still a benefit (couple percent perhaps, depends on source)

If going for Insane, why not use subme of 7, or is the belief that 7 over 6 adds little to quality but significantly affects encode time (I've noted that using 7 does slow the whole process quite significantly) ?
Insane uses subme 7. Those values in the XML file are indexed from 0.

Using ME of ESA seems of limited use as its massively slower than UMH, and most people really can't see the difference when taking into account other parameters we're adjusting.
Insane uses --me-tesa. Again, those kinds of settings are the reason why the profile is called Insane. They may improve internal metrics but visually they mean exactly squat :devil:

MERange seems to be incredibly useful to improve quality to human eye as it allows more pixels to be checked for motion, but it does add significantly to encode time. I've done some encodes using 32 and 64, and 64 seems much better in overall 2-pass quality, but does add to encode time.
Higher MERange would be useful for high resolution sources with fast motion, i.e. objects travel over many macroblocks between each frame. 64 might be good for 1080p (just a guess, I haven't tried it)

So, if the aim is to get best quality in fixed size 2-pass, I'd wonder whether people would find it better to increase MERange, but decrease ME ?
That will work if it's favorable for the source.

My own personal experience, and in no way to deflect from the truly exceptional work to generate these profiles, would be to use (for Insane encodes):-

<NbBframes>16</NbBframes>
<noFastPSkip>true</noFastPSkip>
<NbRefFrames>5</NbRefFrames>
<SubPelRefinement>7</SubPelRefinement>
<METype>3</METype>
<MERange>64</MERange>
<VBVBufferSize>0</VBVBufferSize>
<VBVMaxBitrate>0</VBVMaxBitrate>
<DeadZoneInter>6</DeadZoneInter>
<DeadZoneIntra>4</DeadZoneIntra>

Use x264 command line settings; leave the XML for Sharktooth.

I find deblock 1:0:0 with adjusted deadzones is preferable to deblock 1:-1:-1 as this has a tendancy to introduce blocks on HD content when using 21,11 deadzones)
The best thing you've said in your entire post! ;)

Insane encodes are going to take on average twice as long as HQ encodes when using subme=7 and merange=64 as there is a lot more to calculate against. But you will always get a better quality output (in my experience).

Again, most of the time the difference can only be seen with metrics but not visually.

Finally, psy-rdo + psy-trellis nullifies most of those differences.
In the end, you're better of learning exactly what each setting does so you can fine tune them to your source if you really want "true best quality".

Next time :search: , those questions have been answered in detail already, I just gave those answers from what I remember.

[Octo-puss]

One more somewhat lame question. I was suggested to use constant quality for encoding one particular HD stuff - and also to make it DXVA compatible if possible. But there's no constant quality preset in the DXVA category, all are 2pass. Using constant quality would be bad for some compatibility or how is it? I am pretty new to this, only have experience with DVDs so far, so it's quite confusing.

[Sharktooth]

1pass VBV compliancy is not optimal.
just use 2 passes if you have VBV restrictions (DXVA has them...).

[Octo-puss]

edited

When using DXVA presets, the video must be resized to mod16? I tried to encode something and was given an error message:

Your AviSynth clip has the following problem:
AviSynth clip doesn't have mod16 dimensions:
Width: 1920
Height:1080
This could cause problems with some encoders,
and will also result in a loss of compressibility.
I suggest you resize to a mod16 resolution.
Continue anyway?

I think I don't get this with unrestricted profiles.

[dant3s]

The posts from Dirk362 & Avenger007 are very interesting. Thanks to take time to explain taking experience in count.
I just have a question about deblock 1:0:0, how it can be modified in the preset, I see the Deblocking window in Main Tab... but It doesn't appear in the command line window?

[Sharktooth]

@octo-puss :search:

presets updated: v67

[dirk362]

The posts from Dirk362 & Avenger007 are very interesting. Thanks to take time to explain taking experience in count.
I just have a question about deblock 1:0:0, how it can be modified in the preset, I see the Deblocking window in Main Tab... but It doesn't appear in the command line window?
x264 has lots of default values. If you enable a setting, such as deblock, it will use its default unless you change it. Therefore unless you change any settings in the Main Tab to be anything other than 0 and 0, it will assume defaults, which are 1:0:0. If you wish to put this in use the custom command line optional area in Advanced tab, but it will be irrelevant. If you change the settings in the Main tab to anything other than 0, the command line window will be updated accordingly.
If you type in a command prompt when x264.exe is located x264 --longhelp you will find all the settings, and default values etc.

With the new B-Frame optimization patch (coming soon ) the encoding time will take a lot longer with each additional B-frame.
3 b-frames is generally the most practical; higher values offer little advantage except perhaps for anime.
Having read in detail (and re-read a couple of areas as its quite a complex subject) that forum entry (link (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139827)), I can see that in future values for b-frames might be 3 as you've suggested. But that is a while away, and I was commenting on non-patched x264 versions of parameters etc. I fully expect to have to test and potentially refresh all my profiles and parameters once this --b-adapt=2 becomes available and the default.

Higher MERange would be useful for high resolution sources with fast motion, i.e. objects travel over many macroblocks between each frame. 64 might be good for 1080p (just a guess, I haven't tried it)
Most of my testing is with 1080p, and I've found 32 works well across a wide range of live action movies. When encoding time isn't an issue, and only for 1080p, setting to 64, whilst dramatically increasing encoding time, lends itself to higher perceived quality due to better ME.

[Seraphic-]

The DXVA profiles will create a file guaranteed to work on any DXVA decoder. The file will also work on any Software decoder so its win-win. However the stream might not work on all standalone players like blu-ray players.

Are the DXVA profiles unable to attain the same quality as the Unrestricted ones since they are bound by setting limitations?

Also, are profile settings interchangeable? Meaning, if the preset is set to Automated Two-Pass, can it be changed to say Const. Quality and vis versa without complications? Or are those settings only meant to be used with their default mode?

Last, if you use Const. Quality of say 18 and after the encode it says the output bit-rate was around 4956, would using that number with VBR two-pass return the same quality?

[nurbs]

Are the DXVA profiles unable to attain the same quality as the Unrestricted ones since they are bound by setting limitations?
There are some restrictions for the DXVA profiles that limit the number of reference frames depending on resolution, the number of b-frames and there are the VBV constraints. While you can get better quality with the unrestricted profiles the quality gain will generally be small. Cartoons would probably benefit most from breaking the restrictions.

Also, are profile settings interchangeable? Meaning, if the preset is set to Automated Two-Pass, can it be changed to say Const. Quality and vis versa without complications? Or are those settings only meant to be used with their default mode?
Generally they can be changed, but x264 is not as good at sticking to VBV restraints in 1pass as in 2pass. That might also lead to quality issues.

Last, if you use Const. Quality of say 18 and after the encode it says the output bit-rate was around 4956, would using that number with VBR two-pass return the same quality?
Basically yes.

[Seraphic-]

Thanks.

Also, when you enable Turbo mode, it allows for faster encoding, but causes a quality drop, correct?

And does it matter if MeGUI shows my CPU as an Intel Pentium III Xeon when it is an Intel Core 2 Quad (like not taking advantage of all cores during encoding)?

[Sharktooth]

turbo mode allows a faster first pass. the drop in quality is negligible.
also megui is just a gui... the encoding is done by the encoder... so it doesnt really matter what CPU is shown.

[Octo-puss]

Not sure if it has anything to do with the presets, but after doing regular update and importing some presets, I get this:
http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1173951&postcount=182
and again after updating presets via autoupdate

[Sharktooth]

doesnt happen here.
i updated the presets as well and everything is working and didnt crash.

[Octo-puss]

It happens to me ALL THE TIME. I don't know. Right after I click to overwrite the last preset or after checking "don't ask again". And so it does if I delete the presets first. The only working method is manually importing.

[Sharktooth]

i do it every time i publish the new presets... and it doesnt crash...
is your system up to date? have you tried reinstalling megui from scratch?

[Octo-puss]

I can try. But can't test until new version of profiles is out :D
(I assume the whole package is updated each time?)

[Dark Eiri]

No Fast-PSkip is really not needed on Unrestricted HQ? I remember reading somewhere that disabling it can cause blocky backgrounds, right?

[lithiumus]

How does going from Trellis 1 to 2 affect encoding time in general vs. quality?

[Dark Shikari]

No Fast-PSkip is really not needed on Unrestricted HQ? I remember reading somewhere that disabling it can cause blocky backgrounds, right?Not anymore, with AQ, but I'd definitely put it in an "ultra high quality" profile, especially if tesa or trellis 2 is already being used.

[Sharktooth]

I can try. But can't test until new version of profiles is out :D
(I assume the whole package is updated each time?)
options->update then right click on the profiles and selct "force (re)install"
How does going from Trellis 1 to 2 affect encoding time in general vs. quality?
in general, it slowers the encoding, and gives better quality.

[check]

Why does the PS3-Xbox360 preset have nonstandard --ipratio and --pbratio?

[Sharktooth]

already answered that one :)
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1170270#post1170270

[egrimisu]

one question : Audio - force decode via Directshow or not? some versions of the presets have the setting checked some versions not... now i don't know witch is best!!! updated to the latest preset on my notebook and seting was unchecked, updated on my pc and setting was checked. Now who is checking!! updater or some ghost in my pc ;) ?

[Sharktooth]

there is no best. use what works best for you.
ensure you have the same versions of the presets

[florinandrei]

One feature that I would very much appreciate would be the ability to just "Select All" when new presets are being released. Clicking through that big list is not a lot of fun.
And yea, I don't necessarily use all of them, but I'd like to stay updated in case I decide to use a new preset.

I guess this is a MeGUI feature request?

[Sharktooth]

it's already there... right click->check all.

[florinandrei]

more etherogeneous quants distribuition.
that means less visual difference between frametypes since TVs are usually overrbright and that may expose some artifacting that wont be visible in the correct viewing conditons.
the obvious counterpart is a small overall quality hit but that is compensated from the above situation. if you're targeting a well calibrated device you should consider using a PC as player with a good Display/TV and then use the DXVA or the Unrestricted presets.

Keep in mind some of us actually do calibrate their TVs, and use a PS3 as a player. So these profiles are now less than optimal for people with calibrated screens.

I think there should be no penalty for correctly setting up your gear. If anyone takes a penalty, it should be people with non-calibrated displays. Those tend to care less about quality anyway.

Personally, I use the AVCHD profile (I create AVCHD disks on DL DVD) and I'm not sure where that profile stands on this issue (and I can't verify right now), but I'm speaking in principle.

It's those who care less that should take the hit.

[egrimisu]

Of course i selecteed them all the diference is that on my pc for all the preset the decode via directshow was activated and on my notebook not. Do you think that i uncheke/check the settings for about 30 presets? the idea was that i want to keep the quality as closer to the original and i don't know in what metter directshoe affect the quality. Thanks

One feature that I would very much appreciate would be the ability to just "Select All" when new presets are being released. Clicking through that big list is not a lot of fun.
And yea, I don't necessarily use all of them, but I'd like to stay updated in case I decide to use a new preset.

I guess this is a MeGUI feature request?

[Sharktooth]

@grimisu: it's impossible... all the presets come with "Force directshow decoding" disabled... so either you didnt import the profiles or megui cant write to the profiles dir but that will result in a crash...

@florinandrei: simple answer. most ppl do not calibrate it, also consoles have questionable output quality (for example the same DVD looks different from the PS3 to the X360), so..

[egrimisu]

i found the bug, probably is because ui'm using vista x64 : once i set the filter to use directshow and save the profile, all the profiles remain with that setting checked.If you have vista x64 test. Thanks again

[lithiumus]

Keep in mind some of us actually do calibrate their TVs, and use a PS3 as a player. So these profiles are now less than optimal for people with calibrated screens.

I think there should be no penalty for correctly setting up your gear. If anyone takes a penalty, it should be people with non-calibrated displays. Those tend to care less about quality anyway.

Personally, I use the AVCHD profile (I create AVCHD disks on DL DVD) and I'm not sure where that profile stands on this issue (and I can't verify right now), but I'm speaking in principle.

It's those who care less that should take the hit.

Though I don't disagree with your comment, you are not bound in any way to use these profiles. You can adjust the profiles to your liking. The key is that you now understand why and can adjust to YOUR personal liking.

The quality hit is so small that it's hard to tell the quality difference unless you are doing screen cap comparisons and zooms.

On the other hand, the trellis 2 increases encode time significantly i.e. 30-40% longer so unless you've got a nice quad core, you might want to stick with trellis 1.

[Sharktooth]

exactly. nothing stops you to restore the default values or any other settings you like most.

[gav1577]

Hi i have a question about the avchd and bluray profiles what is the cmd --mvrange 511 for what does it do and do i really need it in the cmd line ?

Thanks

[Sharktooth]

it shouldnt, but i always forgot to check if BD/AVCHD needs 511 or can accept the default 511.75...

[gav1577]

it shouldnt, but i always forgot to check if BD/AVCHD needs 511 or can accept the default 511.75...

Ok i will try without it i cant see .75 being a big issue thanks for your reply :)

[Sharktooth]

please report back

[gav1577]

please report back

Ok will do

EDIT ok done a few test clips and played back on a pc and ps3 and and i cant tell the difference between the two IMHO

[Sharc]

All Standalone profiles have very short GOPs (Keyframe Interval, Min GOP Size) as opposed to the Unrestricted profiles.
Is the GOP size limitation given by standalone compatibility constraints?

[nurbs]

Is the GOP size limitation given by standalone compatibility constraints?

Yes. :)

[Sharc]

Thanks. Is this specified in Blu-Ray standard or similar? I idn't find anything about the GOP constraints.
Why this limitation to short GOPs? Lower HW decoder cost / less complexity, I presume.

[hajj_3]

where is the "HQ Slower" profile, i liked that 1, cant remember what settings it used, can someone help me, thanks.

[Sharktooth]

Unrestricted 2pass HQ or, if you want DXVA compatibility for playback, DXVA SD/HD HQ

[nurbs]

Thanks. Is this specified in Blu-Ray standard or similar? I idn't find anything about the GOP constraints.
Why this limitation to short GOPs? Lower HW decoder cost / less complexity, I presume.

It's in the blu-ray standard as far as I know. I think they use it so you can have a smooth fast forward and rewind, because you have at least one seekable frame about every second.

[Atak_Snajpera]

It's in the blu-ray standard as far as I know. I think they use it so you can have a smooth fast forward and rewind, because you have at least one seekable frame about every second.
Good explanation! You don't have to use those crazy keyint values.

[Sharc]

So I could actually use larger keyint (like 250, x264 default) and the files - authored with tsmuxer - should still be playable on a BD standalone which claims to be AVC HD compliant?

[Seraphic-]

When encoding to HD DXVA specs with Megui's preset (1276x716p - 6,000 bitrate), I had some playback issues that are not there when using software decoding.
Have two ATI 3870's in crossfire and their GPU usage is at 4% with software playback and they go to 10% using hardware.
But with the playback slowdowns/stops, not sure if I should continue to use DXVA or just go unrestricted. (thinking unrestricted at this point)

(I'm encoding for internet distribution)

[nurbs]

So I could actually use larger keyint (like 250, x264 default) and the files - authored with tsmuxer - should still be playable on a BD standalone which claims to be AVC HD compliant?

I don't know what AVC-HD allows, sorry, but I don't think you can use larger gops if it is still supposed to work in a normal BD structure.

Have two ATI 3870's in crossfire and their GPU usage is at 4% with software playback and they go to 10% using hardware.

Wouldn't you expect the GPU usage to go up if you use it for decoding instead of the CPU?

But with the playback slowdowns/stops, not sure if I should continue to use DXVA or just go unrestricted. (thinking unrestricted at this point)

Unrestricted probably doesn't offer that many advantages in your case. At that resolution you can use up to 7 refs IIRC, the VBV restrictions also shoudn't be a problem and p4x4 probably doesn't offer any significant quality gain.

edit: About the playback issues, maybe it's because the resolution is not mod16.

[Seraphic-]

Wouldn't you expect the GPU usage to go up if you use it for decoding instead of the CPU?

Yes, yes you would.
Was pointing out the how much of a difference there was though.
To be honest. I thought it would be higher then just 10% usage on the GPUs.

About the playback issues, maybe it's because the resolution is not mod16.

Most my videos will not be mod16. Not sure if that causes the playback issues though.

[Sharc]

Good explanation! You don't have to use those crazy keyint values.
It's in the blu-ray standard as far as I know. I think they use it so you can have a smooth fast forward and rewind, because you have at least one seekable frame about every second.
Thanks guys, I finally found the discussion on the subject here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1118032#post1118032
Seems that using max keyint 24 is on the safe side for BD standalones compliancy.

[Sharktooth]

Most my videos will not be mod16. Not sure if that causes the playback issues though.
DXVA requires mod 16.
Good explanation! You don't have to use those crazy keyint values.
false. you have to use them to be sure all BD players can play your encodings (and not only PS3s) and all authoring softwares accept your encoded streams... PS3 is NOT a blu-ray player. it's a console that can play blu-rays... and does not strictly follows/enforces the bd specs.

[nurbs]

In my defence, I never said you could use longer intervals. I just gave my opinion on why they chose such a short maximum GOP lenght.

[Sharktooth]

defence? no one "attacked" you ... infact you didnt say anything wrong.

[Atak_Snajpera]

false. you have to use them to be sure all BD players can play your encodings (and not only PS3s) and all authoring softwares accept your encoded streams... PS3 is NOT a blu-ray player. it's a console that can play blu-rays... and does not strictly follows/enforces the bd specs.
false. I had user who tested custom made blu-rays with default keyint values in store. Only one "ancient" blu-ray player didn't play at all (old Sony:). I doubt it was caused by keyint value. I suppose it didn't like movies recorded on DVD-R.

[Sharktooth]

if players do not enforce the specs it doesnt mean megui have to produce non compliant streams. also softwares check for that settings and with higher keyints they will reject the streams. so, im sorry, but i wont change the presets to produce uncompliant streams regardless of what players play them or not.
btw, what i said is not false.

[nurbs]

defence? no one "attacked" you ... infact you didnt say anything wrong.

I know. I meant figuratively. English is a foreign language to me and the only place I actively use it is this forum so sometimes things come out wrong.

[djesteban]

Guys, should I use the bitrate calculator with these preset... I noticed it changes the default bitrate in the presets when I use the bitrate calculator. Just want to make sure if I only have to use the preset alone or combined with the bitrate calculator
:)

[Sharc]

Is there a BD (player) compliant 1-pass crf profile? Or is there a basic problem or risk with bitrate/buffer control (VBV buffer size, VBV Max Bitrate)? I am using
--crf 18 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --direct auto --filter -2:-1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --ipratio 1.2 --pbratio 1.1 --threads auto --progress --sar 16:11 --no-psnr --no-ssim

[florinandrei]

if players do not enforce the specs it doesnt mean megui have to produce non compliant streams. also softwares check for that settings and with higher keyints they will reject the streams. so, im sorry, but i wont change the presets to produce uncompliant streams regardless of what players play them or not.

Excellent! We need at least one "reference" encoder to uphold the standards. Keep up the good work, Sharktooth. :thanks:
Of course, if anyone wants to make their own fancy combination of settings, they should be allowed to do so. Looks like MeGUI does that too, so no worries.

Two questions:

1. When encoding with the standalone AVCHD or Blu-Ray profiles, are the resulting videos DXVA-compliant? In other words, are the AVCHD and Blu-Ray profiles subsets of DXVA?

2. To remain 100% standards-compliant, if I burn the movie to DVD-9, I must encode using the AVCHD profile, is that right? (Blu-Ray is supposed to be written on BD media, not DVD)

[Sharktooth]

Is there a BD (player) compliant 1-pass crf profile? Or is there a basic problem or risk with bitrate/buffer control (VBV buffer size, VBV Max Bitrate)? I am using
--crf 18 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --direct auto --filter -2:-1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --ipratio 1.2 --pbratio 1.1 --threads auto --progress --sar 16:11 --no-psnr --no-ssim
1 pass (both ABR and CRF) VBV is not guaranteed to work as expected. keep 2 passes for VBV restricted encodes.

@florinandrei: 1 - blu-rays can be played back on DXVA hardware, so DXVA can be considered a sort of superset of BD specs.
2 - yes.

[djesteban]

guys... aynone know if I should use the bitrate calculator in conjunction with these presets. I notice that if I don't use the bitrate calc, and leave the bitrate to the default 1000 (for HD anime toon), x264.exe crashes at one point.
Thanks in advance

[Octo-puss]

You don't need to I'd say, but not setting any manually is not a good thing either...

[Sharktooth]

what x264 revision are you using? if it crashes it's not coz youd didnt set a different bitrate from the default...

[djesteban]

Sharktooth... i'm using rev. 956. If I let the preset to 1000, then it crashes, if I use the bitrate calculator or set a higher bitrate manually, then the job finishes alright.
My source is a h264 file ripped from one of my anime Blu Ray (using anyDVD and it plays fine, it is not a ripping problem). Do you personally keep the default bitrate or do you adjust the bitrate with the calculator... or even, just manually?
I'm running Vista64 also... dunno if that could be a problem

[Sharktooth]

what version of megui are you using since from some versions the bitrate calculator doesnt automatically set the bitrate.
i usually use the autoencode feature...

[~bT~]

^ does the latest version set the bitrate?

[Sharktooth]

it asks you if you want to do it.

[djesteban]

I'm using meGUI v0.3.0.2005... latest version at the moment of this post. So does that mean using the bitrate calculator is useless? That it won't influence my encode? It is weird though that the software will crash on encode if I don't change the bitrate to >1000.
Sharktooth, also I noticed that if I change the bitrate to 18125 in the config option using 2pass anime_toons I get a file of 4,232,978 KB in size... if I double this bitrate (to 36250), then I get a file of 4,239,162 KB in size. Is it normal that the difference in size is so small if I double the bitrate!?!?! Or is there something I'm doing wrong?
Also, in the bitrate calculator it gives me the option to choose a specific size (like DVD9 for example) and it will supposedly adjust the bitrate so it fits this particular size. Well, if I choose DVD9 as a size, I'm still getting a final output of about 4GB.
Personally, I would want a file that's between 7 to 10 GB in size and obviously have the extra quality that would go with the increased file size. Now, the 4GB files that I was talking about above are of surprisingly good quality for a 1080p resolution. I've only noticed two place where it's dark that it is not as good as in the original. I am guessing that pumping the quality a little bit would fix (or almost) those areas.

Any help on how to set my MeGUI would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Avenger007]

:logfile:

[Sharktooth]

i mean, megui will ask you if you want to copy the calculated bitrate in the profile settings. if you answer Yes, it will do it, but it's not automatic...
also... without giving other informations i cant tell you anything.
however i cant see how x264 crashes if bitrate is 1000... i also tried it and works here. so there should be definatly some problems with your system.

[Frank_UK]

I have just had to reinstall megui because of a problem with the new version.
There is no longer the x264 CE high profile
I always used this profile, is it possible to download this profile from somewhere?

[Sharktooth]

it doesnt exists anymore. presets were updated and improved. read the first post.

[Frank_UK]

Thanks for the reply.
I tried using x264 unrestricted 2 pass HQ as a replacement.
The encoding took more than twice as long as CE high profile, and I think the output video is worse quality.
I was really pleased with the quality of the x264 CE high profile.
What profile should I use as a direct replacement to the x264 CE high profile?

[Sharktooth]

Use the balanced preset. HQ is slow coz it's HQ... and no... it cant be worse than CE-Highprofile...
as a rule of thumb (it depends on the settings though...), the more it takes to encode the better will be the result... so if Unrestricted 2 pass HQ took much more time it will be better or at very least equal...

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V68.

[Rumbah]

I think the PSP profile got messed up in the latest release (V68).
CABAC is disabled as are B-frames although the PSP is capable of CABAC and even 3 B-frames.

[Sharktooth]

ooops...
Presets updated: V69.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V70

[qt4eva]

Skarktooth, quick question.
Well I don't know what profile to choose for my encoding so I chose DXVA-SD-Insane since am encoding an SD source. My question,1) if I burn this out to a dvd-5, will it play on a blu-ray player? 2)if this does not play on blu-ray player, can I reencode or do something to it to make it play on blu-ray without loosing anymore quality?
Thanks
Note: If you plan to ask me what blu-ray player I have, my answer is I do not have one yet and planning to buy the Sony S350 real soon.

[Sharktooth]

no. to play it on a blu-ray player you have to create blu-ray compatible structures. in your case is like burning a divx on a CD and pretending your DVD player (not divx) will play it.
as i said, you have to create blu-ray compatible structures, :search:.

[Kurtnoise]

Heya,

what's the current status for VBV size with DXVA presets ? Doesn't seem to be too high ?

see this (https://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=2092927&group_id=156112&atid=798476).

[Sharktooth]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264#Levels
there it says 17500. i can change it to 14000 though... i doubt anyone will use such an high bitrate for SD...

[Kurtnoise]

ok...no problem for me.

[Sharktooth]

uhm. i fixed the avclevels.cs in megui using the info found on wikipedia and the JVT-G050r1.
i couldnt find the correct buffer sizes for high profile though.
im also asking in #x264dev for an explanation of the warning.
17500 seems to be the correct value for high profile. i think x264 is enforcing baseline max bitrates even if --8x8dct is specified in the commandline (which means the encode will be high profile).

[smackbadger]

Just a couple of quick editing suggestions for the first post:
I think this sentence: "The maxspeed profile uses constant quality and minimum settings." belongs in the paragraph under the Unrestricted profiles, not the DXVA profiles.
You can remove this text ", probably the Xbox presets will be moved under the SA group." from the paragraph under the Device group, since you did move the Xbox presets under the Standalone group.

Also, I'm just curious why the AppleTV is in the Device group, not the Standalone one?

Thanks for the great profiles!

-John

[Sharktooth]

thanks for you suggestions, changes done... except changing the apple tv group. i will do it along with the next presets update ;)

@kurtnoise and all: i've implemented the correct maxbitrate and buffer values in megui (next version). x264 validate_levels hasnt any differentiation between high profile and baseline/main so it will throw warnings if the specified values do not match with the baseline level. luckily they're just warnings... coz high profile has higher values, so specifying the correct values for max bitrate and buffers will still work as expected.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V71

[Kougar]

Hi, thanks for all this profiles ^^

In the bluray standalone, how to remove the buffering ? I've remove the time buffer but i've always it :/

[Sharktooth]

it's not time buffering... the VBV buffer is another thing and if you remove it you cant specify a max bitrate...that will produce a non blu-ray compliant stream.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V72

[JarrettH]

thanks for detailing the changes cause I just update the ones I use and delete the ones I don't

[Kougar]

What i can do for remove the buffering in MPC so please ?

[Sharktooth]

i dont know what you mean with buffering but if you're referring at the initial delay before playback thats not due to buffering and you cant remove it (if it was buffering then it would be 1 second since blu-ray buffer duration is 1 second at max...)
it's just the time needed to create the directshow chain... if it takes too long then your system is screwed (probably by codec packs)...
anyways this has nothing to do with megui presets.

[Kougar]

Exellent, thanks again ^^

[Seraphic-]

Sharktooth, is the Unrestricted 2pass Insane preset maybe too "Insane"? I'm running a Q9450, 4GB DDR2-1066 and at 720x480p have 2.75FPS (don't even ask about 1280x720p :eek:).
I have a higher end system (1.7TB raid0 - Crossfire 3870s) and the insane profile just seems too insane, lol.

Unrestricted 2pass HQ has much less encoding times at the same bit-rate.
Let me ask though, is letting an Unrestricted 2pass Insane encode complete worth the extra time?
How much of a quality gain would I be looking at?

[Sharktooth]

well... not much, but there is indeed a difference. btw, the Insane preset is for the insane ppl... ;)
i will probably add a semi-insane preset... for semi-insane ppl ;)

[Seraphic-]

well... not much, but there is indeed a difference. btw, the Insane preset is for the insane ppl... ;)
i will probably add a semi-insane preset... for semi-insane ppl ;)

Does encoding at non mod16 negate the benefits?

[Sharktooth]

no...

[Seraphic-]

no...

Would like to encode with mod16, but after cropping to visible pixels, it seems all my console videos always end up like 2 to 4 pixels short. :p

[Sharktooth]

i usually crop till i remove the black bars. if the res is mod 16 i proceed encoding, if not, i resize to the nearest mod16 res.

[Seraphic-]

i usually crop till i remove the black bars. if the res is mod 16 i proceed encoding, if not, i resize to the nearest mod16 res.

But doesn't that "damage" the overall pixels? My thought process was to keep the original pixels you are giving during the capture and not to distort them by resizing.

Thought about adding borders to mod16, but seems counter productive when you are cropping them to give visible pixels.

Also, would this be a good semi-insane? (not that I know much about these settings)
program --pass 2 --bitrate 7500 --stats ".stats" --ref 12 --mixed-refs --bframes 12 --b-pyramid --b-rdo
--bime --weightb --direct auto --filter -1,-1 --subme 6 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct
--me umh --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

[Sharktooth]

2-8 pixels are not a real distortion if you use a good resizer...
however, swap subme 6 with subme 7 and we're almost there...

[Seraphic-]

2-8 pixels are not a real distortion if you use a good resizer...
however, swap subme 6 with subme 7 and we're almost there...

What re-sizer are you using?

program --pass 2 --bitrate 5000 --stats ".stats" --ref 12 --mixed-refs --bframes 12 --b-pyramid --b-rdo
--bime --weightb --direct auto --filter -1,-1 --subme 7 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct
--me umh --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

With the new settings I'm getting 166FPS (turbo first pass) and 15FPS on second pass with 720x480p.

In YV12:
width mod-2
height mod-2 if video is progressive
height mod-4 if video is interlaced

Also, if not resizing and working with progressive, is it recommended to encode with mod2 for width and height? Or maybe mod4 for width and mod2 for height? (have been doing mod4 for both width and height)

[Sharktooth]

lanczos or better.
as a general rule the more you stay away from mod16 the more the problems you may encounter.

[Seraphic-]

lanczos or better.
as a general rule the more you stay away from mod16 the more the problems you may encounter.

I've been using Spline36Resize. Is mod2 for height/width okay though or stay at least mod4?

If you do make an official semi-insane here is what I had using new new settings for 1280x716p 59.94FPS:
43FPS turbo first pass and 12FPS for second pass. Which is MUCH higher then the full insane preset.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V73.
Next update: more Anime/Toons presets.

[rica]

Presets updated: V73.
Next update: more Anime/Toons presets.

Shark;

we are tired of updating but you are not tired of working harder ;
dunno how to thank to you.
Congrats.

[Sharktooth]

I've been using Spline36Resize. Is mod2 for height/width okay though or stay at least mod4?

If you do make an official semi-insane here is what I had using new new settings for 1280x716p 59.94FPS:
43FPS turbo first pass and 12FPS for second pass. Which is MUCH higher then the full insane preset.
I'd say, stay at least mod4. However my suggestion is always the same, keep it mod16 as long as you can.
About the presets, i've just updated it. The new ones are called "Extra Quality" (i've made Extra Quality presets for 1 pass CRF and DXVA too).

@rica: you're welcome.

[Avenger007]

May I make a few suggestions wrt the Unrestricted profiles...

1) Const. Quality Balance:
a. Use default of --merange 16 instead of 12.
b. --trellis 1 may be appropriate instead of 0 (esp. for using psy-trellis)

2) The Extra Quality profiles are a nice idea :). For both CQ and 2-pass:
a. Use --ref 8 instead of 10
b. Use --b-frames 6 instead of 10
c. --merange 24 or 32 may be appropriate instead of 16
d. --no-fast-pskip may be appropriate

3) Insane (both CQ and 2-pass):
a. Use --merange 48 or 56 or even 64 (it's Insane :p)

4) For all CQ profiles:
a. Use --direct auto instead of spatial since it may be slightly better and there is nothing to lose.
b. Higher CRF values for profiles below Insane might be a good idea esp. since psy-rd increases bitrate significantly.

5) For all proflies: Leave default --deblock 0:0 instead of --filter -1,-1; not everyone has your blocky lovin' eyes Sharktooth :rolleyes:

[Sharktooth]

1a. uhm...
1b. ok. i just missed it. other balanced presets already have trellis 1.

2a. ok
2b. ok
2c. dunno, it will slow things down by a lot... maybe 24
2d. naaa.

3a. insane presets are already so slow they dont need a further slowdown or ppl will bitch about them

4a. --direct auto is suboptimal with 1 pass encodings.
4b. Q18 in h.264 is the mathematical equivalent of MPEG4-ASP Q2. when psy-rdo is finished and commited it will probably have a compensation for that file-size increase...

5(a). dunno, maybe.

[Avenger007]

1a. :confused: It's already there in 2-pass.

2c. Your're using --me umh so --merange 32 shouldn't be too bad.
2d. --no-fast-pskip may help when you want that Extra Quality ;)
If you want more speed then use --b-frames 3 or 4 (when using --b-adapt 2) and --ref 5 or 6

3a. Are you kidding me: --me-tesa --ref 16 --bframes 16 :rolleyes:

4a. Even if --direct auto is suboptimal (when choosing between spatial and temporal) with 1 pass encodings, that doesn't make spatial better by default (even if it's optimal) since it only has one choice -- spatial.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1166060#post1166060
4b. I don't like that answer :devil:. What does "mathematical equivalent of MPEG4-ASP Q2" have to do with anything? Are you saying it looks just as good as CRF 18? :confused:
Higher bitrate is also due to faster, less efficient settings; increasing CRF helps compensate.

5. Make it so #1 :p

[mozzle]

@Avenger007 and Sharktooth

Regarding 4a.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1166060#post1166060

It doesn't appear that there was any consensus of opinion on the issue of Auto vs. Spatial in CRF mode. Can we get a ruling from the Star Chamber on this one?

BTW, many thanks to Sharktooth for your unceasing effort. :thanks:

[Sharktooth]

1a. there is a mistake in that preset. me algo should be hex not umh. that's why merange is 16 in the 2pass presets.

2c. merange 32 is an insane setting and yep... it's slow. higher values are even slower and i doubt will help improving quality.

2d. no-fast-pskip is another insane setting. the improvement is so subtle it's not wort using it.

3a. nope, insane, is already too slow and merange >32 is not helping quality. Insane doesnt mean unusable...

4a. auto in 1 pass will do the wrong choices sometimes, that means it sometimes chooses temporal when spatial is better instead. since usually auto chooses more than 9 out of 10 spatial, spatial is better for 1 pass encodings. that's not gonna change.

4b. Higher bitrate is due to psy-rdo not to other settings. as i said Q18 in h.264 is the equivalent of Q2 in asp, that also means it will produce transparent quality. Also, as bitrate, CRF is variable to the user preference. it the user feels CRF 18 is too much he can rise it.

5. 0:0 and -1:-1 differencies are so minimal you wouldnt distinguish them. -1:-1 gives the extra sharpness in some details it makes it look much better.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V74 (sorry... more anime/toons presets in the next update).

[Coolpplse]

5. 0:0 and -1:-1 differencies are so minimal you wouldnt distinguish them. -1:-1 gives the extra sharpness in some details it makes it look much better.

So I use CRF 23 for some MPEG2 HD1080i caps that I made cause I'm trying to save space encoding them to x264 1080i Interlaced, does setting -1/-1 to 0/0 cause x264 to raise the bitrate to acheive my CRF setting? Or should I leave it back down at -1/-1 or an even lower setting so that a lower bitrate could achieve CRF 23?

[Sharktooth]

what you said has no sense.
you specify the CRF and x264 encodes at that CRF value. period.

[Coolpplse]

what you said has no sense.
you specify the CRF and x264 encodes at that CRF value. period.

Right but does the Deblocking values influence the bits required to achieve the CRF value that I use? and if so which would be better for higher CRF values

[gav1577]

Sharktooth i have a question what are the max Recommended resolutions for xbox
high res and low res ? Thanks

[Octo-puss]

Is there really any point in mix between HQ and Insane profiles? 99% of people can't tell the difference between the two anyway, imo...

[shon3i]

Shark can you extend you Blu-Ray profiles where target is BD-5/9 i think buffers and max rate should be lowered, but i am not sure how much, because 40000 is to high for DVD speed?

[gav1577]

Shark can you extend you Blu-Ray profiles where target is BD-5/9 i think buffers and max rate should be lowered, but i am not sure how much, because 40000 is to high for DVD speed?

Just use HD AVCHD Profile Its basically the same as bluray profile
but aimed for dvd media not bluray

[shon3i]

Just use HD AVCHD Profile Its basically the same as bluray profile
but aimed for dvd media not bluray
Did this setting works on PS3?

[Avenger007]

2c. merange 32 is an insane setting and yep... it's slow. higher values are even slower and i doubt will help improving quality.

In that case --merange 24 is reasonable.
Also, people use these profiles to encode HD as well, so higher values should help.

BTW, I like the idea of linking to important posts in the first post of this thread. ;)
All long threads should do something similar or at least customize "Search this Thread" to return those posts first if they are relevant.
Eg. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1174599#post1174599 ;)

[gav1577]

Did this setting works on PS3?

Yes :)

[Sharktooth]

Is there really any point in mix between HQ and Insane profiles? 99% of people can't tell the difference between the two anyway, imo...
i made the extra quality presets for ppl that wants to use the insane presets but havent enough horse power to use them.

[Sharktooth]

Right but does the Deblocking values influence the bits required to achieve the CRF value that I use? and if so which would be better for higher CRF values
i still cant understand. you set the CRF and the encoder encodes at that CRF value...

[kumi]

I noticed that the new x264: Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Balanced preset results in larger filesizes than the previous version. The changed preset settings are:
Trellis 0 -> Trellis 1
Multi Hex M.E. -> Hexagon M.E.
M.E. Range 12 -> M.E. Range 16

Just curious, what are the reasons for the above changes? Was there something wrong with the previous settings?

[Sharktooth]

bigger coz of psy-trellis.
solutions: disable trellis, rise the CRF value.

[kumi]

Sounds good, thanks.

[florinandrei]

Did this setting works on PS3?

Perfectly.

If the physical media is BD, use the Blu-Ray profile.
If the physical media is DVD, use AVCHD.

[gav1577]

Sharktooth i have a question what are the max Recommended resolutions for xbox
high res and low res ? Thanks

Anyone any ideas ?

[Sharktooth]

sorry, i missed your post.
they're empirical and depends on the source too. however with the low-res preset usually below the 600 pixels... with the high res one not above 720px.
XBMC updates may have improved the situation though.

[gav1577]

sorry, i missed your post.
they're empirical and depends on the source too. however with the low-res preset usually below the 600 pixels... with the high res one not above 720px.
XBMC updates may have improved the situation though.

Thanks for the answer i will check out xbmc forums and see if anything has changed :)

EDIT: Found this link at xbmc forums for those interested http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33429&page=3

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V75

[Nightshiver]

What are the key differences between the new "anime/toons" presets and the earlier/old ones?

[Avenger007]

Any chance of using --merange 24 instead of 16 for Extra Quality profiles?
If it's too slow then reduce other settings like --bframes 4 instead of 6.

[Sharktooth]

it's better to keep a higher number of b-frames (expecially on anime/toons) than rise --merange from 16 to 24...

[Avenger007]

But you already have anime/toons presets (which users can tweak to there liking).
Higher --merange can potentially benefit more general sources including HD and fast motion videos.
Besides, you already have --merange 16 for Fast, Balanced and HQ but then a jump to 32 for Insane.

[Sharktooth]

What are the key differences between the new "anime/toons" presets and the earlier/old ones?
too much. if you want similar settings to the old ones use the HQ presets.
remember psy-rdo is now ENABLED.

@avenger: more b-frames are still more usefull in any case. if i had to choose, i'd prefer adding 2 b-frames (from 4 to 6) than rising --merange, unless the number of b-frames is already high. however, ill see how much it will affect the encoding speed and eventually add --merange 24 to EQ presets.

[lolent]

Thank you very much Sharktooth for all your hard work on MeGUI, x264 presets, etc...

Your work is much appreciated (at least by me :p).


PS : I hope your health/eye goes better day by day. I wish you a good recovery too.

[Sharktooth]

thanks. i am recovering but new "problems" emerge every day... it's frustrating...

[lolent]

Arf... :(


Don't discouraged, the wheel turn.
I'm sure ;)

[Logical10]

Why was psy-rdo enabled again?

[Neillithan]

Okay, I would just like to point out that the naming convention you have chosen DOES NOT WORK.

As much as I'd like to praise the amount of work that's going into the simplification of the profiles, I can't. Let me point out a couple of things that I find make these new profiles kind of crappy.

First the good. You divided them up by device. Portable, DXVA, Unrestricted. That's very nice.

The bad. Choosing the right profile is a pain in the rear to figure out. Why? Because they're not understandable by default. You have to research or look inside the profiles to figure out the minor differences. I usually just count the reference frames used and that gives me a good idea of how complex the profiles are going to be.

As of right now, you have 2 sets of DXVA profiles.

DXVA HD and DXVA SD. The problem with that is, the HD and SD are obviously abbreviations for something. HD I'm willing to guess is High definition and SD is standard definition. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

For the DXVA HD profiles, you have several different profiles to choose from.

HD-Balanced
HD-Extra Quality
HD-Fast
HD-HQ
HD-Insane

The problem with that is simple. Due to alphabetization, those are not in order. You can't tell which profiles are less or more complex right off the bat. An easy way to correct this is by using numbers, but that just adds one more variable to the naming scheme. The problem LIES within the naming scheme. By trying to make these human readable, you made matters worse. Which one is higher quality? HQ or Extra quality? They both mean the same thing to me. FAIL.

Also, if the SD profiles have more reference frames and they're meant for standard definition videos, then why the extra complexity? The average noob is gonna look at an SD profile and say "hey, this will actually make my videos higher quality. I'll use this instead." FAIL.

Not to mention, HD and SD implies that resolution is a factor. If you're going to use the HD profiles, you better have an HD resolution. But what dictates HD? Anything exceeding 640x480 or anything 1280x720 and higher? Nothing is explained here. Further research is needed. FAIL.

Want to know the biggest FAIL of all? These profiles are enforced on the stable build of MeGUI. These profiles have been changed 3-5 times (or perhaps my MeGUI is malfunctioning and is redownloading the profiles for no reason). However, the experimenting with these profiles needs to stop and we need settle for what we've got or go back to the old defaults.

P.S. On a slightly unrelated note, put an "Import all" button, or bring back the ability to shift-select multiple profiles. I am not at all thrilled with clicking 30-40 times just to get every single profile.

P.P.S. This post is intended as satirical constructive criticism. If you take it any other way, then FAIL.

[Avenger007]

True, however your "constructive criticism" lacks solutions so I guess that's why it's "satirical". :cool:

There is a request for a quality slider based on the presets at the SourceForge Tracker.
Such a slider would be a facade for the presets, but of course options (check boxes) would be available corresponding to categories related to source characteristics/content (esp. since "best" quality is determined per source) and output. Eg. anime, HD, standalone compatibility, DXVA, portable, etc.
The quality slider should be based directly on Unrestricted profiles but MUST have the ability to adapt its settings based on the options checked.

Custom options or at least tool tips/advice based on rule-of-thumb for common x264 settings would help make the slider user friendly.
Like if the source has a lot of repetition then higher --ref might help or if it's mostly static then higher --bframes might help or if there is fast motion then higher --merange might help, etc., etc., etc.

Such rules-of-thumb for adjusting x264 settings could even be included on the x264 website (or vice versa) since beginners should look to that site first to gain all the experience from experts about tweaking the x264 settings to best (i.e optimal quality) suit their source while being constrained by space and time.

[Kurtnoise]

No, you fail dude...

This is not profiles but presets. I like semantic...
You can rename them whatever you want...
there are sorted in alphabetical order (the 1st letter is taken into account).
there is already a check all/none via the right click on the list :
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5673/presetimportercheckingfh2.th.png (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=presetimportercheckingfh2.png)


So, try to be constructive instead...

[Maccara]

I hate to say it, but I was a bit shocked when I updated from the stable servers.

Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate there is work going on with the presets and welcome them myself (I can figure out from the settings what the differences are etc) - but the average user or especially a newbie will be royally screwed.

Problem no.1: no documentation whatsoever, and the existing documentation refers to old presets => what is the "Average Joe", especially someone new to MegUI, supposed to do? Select "HQ-Slower", as recommended in the linked Wiki "Basic DVD Ripping Guide"?

I'm all for revising the presets, but in my opinion the stable update servers should not be for this kind of "experimentation" when there isn't even any documentation available (and I can fully understand why there isn't documentation yet)...

[Kurtnoise]

agreed...So, instead of upgrading them (you can ignore updates you know), post your questions here and there first. I'm sure someone can help you.

Sharktooth has started some comments in his 1st post.

[Maccara]

agreed...So, instead of upgrading them (you can ignore updates you know), post your questions here and there first. I'm sure someone can help you.

Sharktooth has started some comments in his 1st post.

Yes, I know.

I upgraded them because someone who I recently recommended to try MeGUI just sent me email "this POS doesn't even give correct basic instructions to get started" [paraphrased]. :) (he had downloaded installer and of course the first thing he did was "check for updates" and downloaded everything)
(Edit: and now he found the "HQ-Slower" preset buried in the list too, as the importing didn't override everything - I'll have to check what he actually wants to achieve - probably one of the DXVA profiles would be more suitable now)

Me, I'm not bothered, as the new presets give me some tips I need to check from my own custom presets.

[Neillithan]

No, you fail dude...

This is not profiles but presets. I like semantic...
You can rename them whatever you want...
there are sorted in alphabetical order (the 1st letter is taken into account).
there is already a check all/none via the right click on the list :
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5673/presetimportercheckingfh2.th.png (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=presetimportercheckingfh2.png)


So, try to be constructive instead...

Profiles, Presets. Same difference.

Properly named presets are for the noobs sake, not my sake. Do I really have to respond to this one? Whatever. I already said I could figure out the presets for myself. Try to understand next time. I was voicing my concerns of a general issue, not an issue for me.

I never said they "weren't" alphabetized. As a matter of fact, I said alphabetizing was a BAD thing because it does not put the presets in order from lowest to highest complexity.

Check all via right click? It isn't called MeGUI for nothing. Lets get a button for that option. If I recall, the last stable version of MeGUI at least told you that if you shift-click, you can select multiple profiles. That tip was extremely helpful.

Talk about being "constructive". You're a shining example--although I do admit, the screenshot was helpful.

[Avenger007]

If all you do is criticize without providing solutions then no one will take you seriously; so provide constructive solutions.

[Migs]

Could someone make a preset for encoding video for the Nintendo DS(with the only file extension of .DPG and no .MKV/.AVi/etc.) ? and add support for making .DPG files for the Nintendo DS as well?

[Sharktooth]

as a matter of fact you're not forced to use those presets. if you dont understand what they're made for, make your own ones or ask.
also, there is this thread as pointed out by kurtnoise. megui is not easy to use, we all know that, but it is the most configurable GUI for x264 giving the user a wide range of choices that other GUIs do not offer.
megui has a different user target than the other "easier to use" GUIs, its target are experienced users or newbies that are willing to learn how things work (the same is true for the presets too).

[Sharktooth]

Why was psy-rdo enabled again?
coz without AQ it is ok for detailed animes/toons.
Could someone make a preset for encoding video for the Nintendo DS(with the only file extension of .DPG and no .MKV/.AVi/etc.) ? and add support for making .DPG files for the Nintendo DS as well?
does the dpg muxer exist? also does DS support MPEG4-part2 (ASP) or MPEG4-part10 (AVC) video?

[Migs]

I hav't found the muxer for it, but info on the file specification and such can be found here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NDs-mPeG

At a glance
The DPG file specification is simple. All DPG files contain a 36 byte header, followed by audio, and then a standard mpeg-1 video stream. The audio format can differ; older DPG files used a special WAV format audio, but newer versions of moonshell (Nintendo DS Video Player) have phased that out in favor of MP2 audio.

[Sharktooth]

MPEG-1... megui doesnt support it (too old)... also there is no DPG muxer...
megui is just GUI for various tools.

[Migs]

Okay Sharktooth, thanks for the help and your time though.

[pelle412]

P.S. On a slightly unrelated note, put an "Import all" button, or bring back the ability to shift-select multiple profiles. I am not at all thrilled with clicking 30-40 times just to get every single profile.


When the profile update window comes up, right-click and choose select all and you're done. No more clicks.

[tetsuo55]

I suggested in tha past that megui could auto-calculate a lot of the settings in the presets by itself.

The user would simply check some boxes.

For compatibility:
-Hardware compatible mode(This would enable everything needed for DXVA and standalones)
-Apple/xbox1 mode (This can only be checked when hardware mode is checked, it adds further restrictions for these 2 systems)

When Hardware mode is not checked Megui uses Unrestricted mode

-Anime/Toon(This enables the special anime/toon settings for either hardware or unrestricted)

For quality(the slider idea mentioned above would probably be better)
-Fast
-Balanced
-HQ
-Extra Quality
-Insane

Megui would automatically calculate if it needs SD or HD settings based on the source.(The bonus with this is that max ref-frames can be calculated more accurately for non standard resolutions)

Everything would still be based on the information in this thread.

The screen could be updated with more options for other devices like mobiles. or even better, only a 3rd option added with hardware-custom with selectable devices. These would add device limits but the rest would still be calculated on the fly.

Imho this would be the ultimate solution.

[Neillithan]

@ tetsuo55, I think that's a great idea.

If all you do is criticize without providing solutions then no one will take you seriously; so provide constructive solutions.

Okay, I can see that some people take this whole internet thing way too seriously. If you want constructive solutions, fine. I'll have to extrapolate them from my previous posts.

1. Do not sort the profiles alphabetically. Sort them by their complexities. In addition, use a number to signify complexity.
Also, rename Extra Quality to HQ+ For example:

x264: DXVA-1-HD-Fast
x264: DXVA-2-Balanced
x264: DXVA-3-HQ
x264: DXVA-4-HQ+
x264: DXVA-5-Insane

This is not the most elegant solution, but you can figure out the complexities at a glance and they stay human readable.

You know what? I'm not a fan at all of the new naming scheme. I liked it better when it was HQ Slow, HQ Slower, HQ Slowest. Why? Because it was so easy to figure out at a glance. No deciphering was needed. No perfectly chosen names required. It was simple and I suggest going back to the old naming scheme.

x264: DXVA-1-HD-Fast
x264: DXVA-2-HD-Balanced
x264: DXVA-3-HD-Slow
x264: DXVA-4-HD-Slower
x264: DXVA-5-HD-Slowest (aka Insane)

A 5 year old can figure that out.

One constructive solution down, plenty more to go.

HD and SD. When is it best to use HD or SD profiles? If your videos are 720p+, use HD. If they're 720p-, use SD. I suggest automating the use of HD or SD profiles because having too many presets is confusing. I suggest consolidating HD and SD presets into 1 and making MeGUI decide for you based on your source video's resolution.

as a matter of fact you're not forced to use those presets. if you dont understand what they're made for, make your own ones or ask.

You can rename them whatever you want...

Update the developer build of MeGUI to update a different set of presets. Why? So that the stable build of MeGUI does not get experimental presets. The average user is going to get the updates because they're supposed to be improvements, not experiments. Improvements are usually tested and have the official seal of approval. Experiments belong in the developer build of MeGUI where they can be tested and tweaked. If you think the average user is going to sit there and rename presets because the devs chose bad names, THINK AGAIN. I'm above average and I won't even do that. Choose good names to begin with or don't force experimental presets on everyone. That's a constructive solution, don't argue with me.

there is already a check all/none via the right click on the list :

I am just going to reiterate my response because some people still believe that I am not being constructive.

Please, put an "import all" button. That is a constructive solution. Don't argue with me.

I know this response is bound to get some negative feedback and if it does, you're all whiners. I can't satisfy everyone.

[Kurtnoise]

eehh...calm down and stop louding.

1/ those presets are not experimental or if you think they are, I must confess that all encoders/tools that megui uses are also experimental.
2/ Add a "Import all" button is useless because Check All/Check None are buttons. I mean that they trigger the same thing in this case. So, it's a no from me.
3/ Of course, megui needs some improvements, especially for the presets management.
4/ I'm tired...

[LeXXuz]

I could use some help in finding the right profile to encode files for Sigma 8635 chipset used in TVix 6500/7000 or PopcornHour players.

I want to encode parts of my dvd collection to AVC to save space on my Tvix. So its used for non-HD materials.

Currently I use a slightly modified SA-PS3-XBOX360 profile with constant quality 18 and AVC Level set to 4.0 (recommended by Dvico). I thought to start here because therefore I used XVID CQ2 for my encodes.

Here is my current profile:

program --crf 18.0 --level 4 --ref 3 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-rdo --bime --weightb --direct auto --subme 6 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --vbv-bufsize 9000 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --me umh --merange 12 --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"


The results are quite good, but - as usual - I keep asking myself if some other settings would produce even better results or lower filesizes.

I just got my Tvix box last week and make my first steps with AVC after years of ASP encoding.

So I would really appreciate any suggestions. :helpful:

[Dark Eiri]

I don't see any problem with the new preset naming. Actually I like it better this way. Which one makes more sense for beginners: Slowest or Extra Quality?
I mean, HQ-Slowest, HQ-Fast... the average joe would be thinking "Hey, if it's HQ anyway, why the heck should I use the slowest one?".
So I think the new naming is a lot more user friendly. I don't think numbers would make it actually any better, you don't have to think that much to recognize the order of complexity (Fast->Balanced->HQ->Extra Quality->Insane).

[bottomsup]

For the device profiles that cap the max bitrate like AppleTV at 12,000 what happens if you use the bitrate calculator and the average bitrate for the size you chose is higher than the max?

[Sharktooth]

the encoder will throw a lot of warnings and the encoding will be somewhat screwed.
lower your filesize.

[florinandrei]

1. Do not sort the profiles alphabetically. Sort them by their complexities.

I like that. Alphabetical sort is easy to implement, but a bad choice from a usability perspective.

Update the developer build of MeGUI to update a different set of presets. Why? So that the stable build of MeGUI does not get experimental presets. The average user is going to get the updates because they're supposed to be improvements, not experiments. Improvements are usually tested and have the official seal of approval. Experiments belong in the developer build of MeGUI where they can be tested and tweaked.

Having an experimental version in parallel to a "stable" version is a good thing, of course. But I'm not sure if the MeGUI developers have the resources to do that. Keep in mind they do it as a hobby. Also, I'm not sure how big the user base would be for the experimental version - if that's not big enough, then that version would not provide too many benefits.

With that said, in an ideal scenario, I would appreciate having separate experimental and stable versions, of course.

That's a constructive solution, don't argue with me.

Well, I agree with most of your points, but let's tone it down a couple notches, shall we? :)
Keep in mind that the developers are doing this in their spare time, some of them perhaps despite various challenges that they may be facing in their lives.
So let's take a deep breath and remain polite, civil and mature.

BTW, I've a feeling that the developers might welcome anyone helping them to write code, add new features, fix bugs, etc. ;) Just a friendly hint.

Please, put an "import all" button.

I agree. From a usability perspective, the lack of the Import All button is a defect.
And yes, I was just as frustrated as you are because of this bug. But it is what it is; I just pointed it out, before you did, and that was that, since I don't really have time to contribute code to fix it myself.
This project being run mostly on a volunteer basis, there's not much point in stomping your foot in the ground. Instead, roll up your sleeves and contribute code if you want to help.

And just to drive the point home beyond any doubt: I do agree with the facts that you indicated. I just think that the presentation could benefit from some changes.

[Sharktooth]

Since i am sick of this, presets wont change. make your own if you dont like them. dont discuss megui features or other stuff, except presets, in this thread (FORUM RULE n.3) and the IMPORT ALL buttont WONT BE ADDED (Forum rule n.1 - READ BEFORE ASKING).
ill ask a moderator to delete or move the irrelevant posts.

[Neillithan]

Since i am sick of this, presets wont change. make your own if you dont like them. dont discuss megui features or other stuff, except presets, in this thread (FORUM RULE n.3) and the IMPORT ALL buttont WONT BE ADDED (Forum rule n.1 - READ BEFORE ASKING).
ill ask a moderator to delete or move the irrelevant posts.

bah. -_- You'll wise up someday.

[Sharktooth]

and maybe you will learn to respect the forum rules

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V76

[LeXXuz]

Since i am sick of this, presets wont change. make your own if you dont like them. dont discuss megui features or other stuff, except presets, in this thread (FORUM RULE n.3) and the IMPORT ALL buttont WONT BE ADDED (Forum rule n.1 - READ BEFORE ASKING).
ill ask a moderator to delete or move the irrelevant posts.

So its not allowed to ask for some help to build/modify presets for example for special hardware players either? Sorry that I misunderstood the topic.

[Sharktooth]

yes, sure, it is allowed. i was just sick of ppl hijacking threads.

[Audionut]

Okay, I'm going to use another gui, because I don't like the way that the profiles are named.

Take the simple solution.

Don't argue with devs, and try to say that your way is best, better.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V77

[stax76]

There is a balanced profile using crf 18, wouldn't it be better all balanced profiles using crf 22?

[Sharktooth]

Q18 is the mathematical equivalent o Q2 for ASP. btw, i will adjust it to a higher value in the next updates.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V78

[lexor]

I noticed presets still use stuff like --qcomp 0.5; In light of this change: "Move adaptive quantization to before ratecontrol, eliminate qcomp bias", maybe that setting should be rethought/removed completely (to leave it at default)? But I'm not sure what exactly that change did to the quantizer curve.

[corporalgator]

Love the presets, thanks for the hard work.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=141124

This thread discusses how the new builds are affecting encoding with crf especially at 18 causing files to balloon with no visual quality improvement. Are you going to adjust the crf sizes up from 18? I am already doing this manually.

[Sharktooth]

yep i will adjust CRF as soon as i get consistent results.

[corporalgator]

Cool, you're great :)

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V79

[JarrettH]

I think I'd leave the CRF as is until he finishes updating

r967 - 2.3gb (2,100 kbps video, AC3 5.1)
r968 - 2.6gb (2,700 kbps video, AC3 5.1)
r973 - 2.17gb (2,100 kbps video, AC3 5.1)

Encoding "The Fall" from DVD with CQ HQ preset
I'll likely try again tonight seeing as 977 is out. Sort of annoying :P

[Sharktooth]

infact im waiting...

[Sharktooth]

I noticed presets still use stuff like --qcomp 0.5; In light of this change: "Move adaptive quantization to before ratecontrol, eliminate qcomp bias", maybe that setting should be rethought/removed completely (to leave it at default)? But I'm not sure what exactly that change did to the quantizer curve.
the qcomp 0.5 was there before AQ and that's only for some specific presets.

[buzzqw]

and .. btw the --longhelp of x264 say
--qcomp <float> QP curve compression: 0.0 => CBR, 1.0 => CQP [0.60]

so.. it's fine as is

BHH

[corporalgator]

Why is the default --b-adapt 1 bframes adapt 1 used in unrestricted 1 pass HQ but the frames kept at a low 4? Adapt 1 is the old method where it scaled linearly and thus even using 16 doesn't really give you much a speed reduction and can pay dividends on certain sources. Perhaps this should be much higher or switch to the new adapt 2? The 2 pass anime toons presets might as well use 16 bframes for all the profiles since there's no real speed loss and 16 bframes can pay huge dividends for anime.

[Sharktooth]

not all anime presets. the DXVA ones has b-frames restrictions. ill update the other ones though.
about unrestricted presets and b-frames i have to think about it.

[Dark Shikari]

Why is the default --b-adapt 1 bframes adapt 1 used in unrestricted 1 pass HQ but the frames kept at a low 4? Adapt 1 is the old method where it scaled linearlyNo, it didn't scale linearly; it basically didn't scale at all (pretty much constant speed regardless of --bframes).

[corporalgator]

Ah ok, but yeah, don't see a point of still enabling the legacy adapt 1 and not using more bframes since there's no speed penalty and a possible compression and quality benefit.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V80

[stax76]

There are insane profiles using 4 B-frames and there are balanced profiles using 16 B-frames, I don't know about the new B-frame code but shouldn't in any case insane profiles have a higher value? Higher means slower, right?

[Dark Shikari]

There are insane profiles using 4 B-frames and there are balanced profiles using 16 B-frames, I don't know about the new B-frame code but shouldn't in any case insane profiles have a higher value? Higher means slower, right?B-adapt 2 with 4 bframes is better than b-adapt 1 with 16.

[LeXXuz]

I'm getting confused with these b-frames settings. The help reads like more b-frames help compressibility but have general less quality. So should I use more or less b-frames regarding quality in crf-mode? Please enlighten me with this. :)

[Sharktooth]

the more the better with Adaptive b-frames set to 1 (--b-adapt 1), if set to 2 then 3 or 4 b-frames is enough. a higher value will kill the encoding speed, expecially on multicore CPUs. --b-adapt 2 is definatly better even with a small number of b-frames than --b-adapt 1 (except, maybe, if the source is anime/toons)

[LeXXuz]

the more the better with Adaptive b-frames set to 1 (--b-adapt 1), if set to 2 then 3 or 4 b-frames is enough. a higher value will kill the encoding speed, expecially on multicore CPUs. --b-adapt 2 is definatly better even with a small number of b-frames than --b-adapt 1 (except, maybe, if the source is anime/toons)

Now I got it. :thanks:

I will change my presets to --b-adapt 2 then. I am not really concerned about speed. I still get around 20FPS with almost any quality setting on, the recommended b-adapt2 with 4 b-frames and noise pre-filtering on a full-PAL source resolution. :)

[fib0by]

I could be mistaken, but it seems like recently the encoding speed has decreased somewhat. I'm using the Standalone AVC-HD preset with 1080p material, bitrate between 8000 and 12000 kb/s, 2-pass encoding.
Before, I used to get 12...22 fps during first pass, and 6...8 during second pass.
Now I get 6...8 during first pass and 5 during second pass.
I don't make any changes to the preset, except the bitrate, I use whatever settings come with the preset.

What could be the cause? Changes in the presets? Changes with x264?

[Sharktooth]

changes in the preset (in the latest update), since it now uses b-adapt 2 but that should affect the first pass only and not by that much considering the low number of b-frames.
check your avisynth script and maybe post it along with the logfile

[gahz]

i had a quick question about crf preset that is confusing me.

the crf presets have trellis turned on but most of the documentation i have seen for x264 options says to not turn trellis on for crf.

can someone please help me with my confusion. thanks in advance.

whoops in my confusion i forgot to write what my question was. so which way is the correct/better way to do crf? trellis on or off and if the answer is on, then why do the x264 guides state to not use trellis with crf?

[Sharktooth]

why not?

[gahz]

why not?

well when i went and looked up x264 options to see what each thing does i came up to a few sites that stated to not use trellis for single pass. here's an example:
http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/x264_options_page6.html

if you scroll down to: Trellis RD Quantization

it states: Never turn it on in single pass quantizer mode, as it would lead to unexpected results

am i just getting things mixed up and crf is not single pass quant mode?

[mozzle]

Hi Sharktooth.

I noticed that in the the new Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane preset, --no-dct-decimate is activated but in all other 1pass CRF presets it is not. I remember reading at http://avidemux.org/admWiki/index.php?title=H264#H.264.2FAVC_options_explained that "Since DCT Decimation leads to significant smaller files in Quantizer Modes (QP or CRF) it's recommended to keep this setting enabled (edit: or disabled in the case of MeGUI, right?). You should not disable the DCT Decimation, unless you have a very good reason to do so."

Also from http://ffmpeg.x264.googlepages.com/mapping "By default, x264 will decimate (remove all coefficients from) P-blocks that are extremely close to empty of coefficients. This can improve overall efficiency with little visual cost, but may work against an attempt to retain grain or similar. DCT decimation should be left on unless there's a good reason to disable it."


For reference, here are the current (v.80) 1pass CRF presets:

Unrestricted 1pass Const. Extra Q.
program --crf 18 --ref 8 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --b-rdo --bime --weightb --filter -1:-1 --subme 7 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Fast
program --crf 18 --ref 3 --bframes 16 --filter -1:-1 --subme 5 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ
program --crf 18 --ref 5 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --b-rdo --bime --weightb --filter -1:-1 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input

Unrestricted 1pass Lossless
program --qp 0 --nf --subme 1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4 --merange 12 --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Unrestricted 1pass MaxSpeed
program --crf 22 --nf --no-cabac --subme 1 --partitions none --me dia --threads auto --thread-input --aq-mode 0 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane
program --crf 18 --ref 16 --mixed-refs --no-fast-pskip --bframes 4 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --b-rdo --bime --weightb --filter -1:-1 --subme 7 --trellis 2 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --me tesa --merange 32 --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-dct-decimate --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Was this intentional? If so, what is the benefit of activating this option in this specific instance?


As always, thanks for all this meticulous work!!!


Cheers! :)

[Avenger007]

well when i went and looked up x264 options to see what each thing does i came up to a few sites that stated to not use trellis for single pass. here's an example:
http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/x264_options_page6.html

if you scroll down to: Trellis RD Quantization

it states: Never turn it on in single pass quantizer mode, as it would lead to unexpected results

am i just getting things mixed up and crf is not single pass quant mode?
What's there to be confused about when using an x264 guide that's more than 2 years old esp. given the rapid development of x264 (Psy-RDO/Psy-Trellis)? :rolleyes:
Short answer: trellis can be used in both 1 and 2 pass modes.
If you want to know more about x264 Settings then check http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings

[Sharktooth]

@mozzle: --no-dct-decimate gives a slightly better quality, so in insane presets, where quality is what counts, it's enabled (pay attention at the double negation... --no-dct-decimate means dct decimation is disabled, so enabling --no-dct-decimation just disables dct decimation...)

[fib0by]

changes in the preset (in the latest update), since it now uses b-adapt 2 but that should affect the first pass only and not by that much considering the low number of b-frames.
check your avisynth script and maybe post it along with the logfile

The AviSynth script is just the most simple one made by MeGUI. I don't make many changes, I pretty much use the program defaults.

DirectShowSource("E:\hd\blah\video.mkv",fps=23.9759856527702,audio=false)
#deinterlace
#crop
#resize
#denoise

[Information] Log
-[Information] Versions
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.0.2015
--[NoImage] OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 (5.1.196608.2600)
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0 SP1 (2.0.50727.1433)
-[Information] Hardware
--[NoImage] CPU : AMD Phenom(tm) 9850 Quad-Core Processor
-[Information] Log for job1 (video, blah.avs -> )
--[Information] [8/3/2008 5:53:46 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [8/3/2008 5:53:46 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 11000 --stats "E:\hd\blah\blah.stats" --level 4.1 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --bframes 3 --b-adapt 2 --direct auto --subme 2 --partitions none --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --vbv-bufsize 16500 --vbv-maxrate 16500 --qcomp 0.5 --me dia --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output NUL "E:\hd\blah\blah.avs" --mvrange 511 --aud --nal-hrd --sar 1:1
--[Information] [8/3/2008 5:53:47 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] avis [info]: 1920x1080 @ 23.98 fps (62337 frames)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast
---[NoImage]
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice I:5847 Avg QP:21.97 size:104725
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice P:26584 Avg QP:22.41 size: 65997
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice B:29906 Avg QP:23.67 size: 38537
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 18.2% 26.9% 20.0% 34.9%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb I I16..4: 72.1% 0.0% 27.9%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb P I16..4: 49.1% 0.0% 0.0% P16..4: 39.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% skip:11.7%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb B I16..4: 20.1% 0.0% 0.0% B16..8: 27.0% 0.0% 0.0% direct:22.6% skip:30.2% L0:33.5% L1:47.0% BI:19.5%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: final ratefactor: 23.00
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: direct mvs spatial:99.2% temporal:0.8%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: kb/s:10828.6
---[NoImage] encoded 62337 frames, 6.20 fps, 10833.77 kb/s
--[Information] [8/3/2008 8:41:28 PM] Job completed
--[Information] [8/3/2008 8:41:28 PM] Postprocessing
---[Information] Deleting intermediate files
-[Information] Log for job2 (video, blah.avs -> blah.264)
--[Information] [8/3/2008 8:41:28 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [8/3/2008 8:41:28 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe" --pass 2 --bitrate 11000 --stats "E:\hd\blah\blah.stats" --level 4.1 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --ref 3 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-adapt 2 --b-rdo --bime --weightb --direct auto --trellis 1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --vbv-bufsize 16500 --vbv-maxrate 16500 --qcomp 0.5 --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "E:\hd\blah\blah.264" "E:\hd\blah\blah.avs" --mvrange 511 --aud --nal-hrd --sar 1:1
--[Information] [8/3/2008 8:41:30 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] avis [info]: 1920x1080 @ 23.98 fps (62337 frames)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast
---[NoImage]
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice I:5847 Avg QP:22.92 size: 98466
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice P:26584 Avg QP:22.94 size: 62059
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice B:29906 Avg QP:24.02 size: 45080
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 18.2% 26.9% 20.0% 34.9%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb I I16..4..PCM: 10.3% 83.1% 6.6% 0.0%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb P I16..4..PCM: 1.2% 15.0% 0.5% 0.0% P16..4: 47.9% 13.3% 9.2% 0.0% 0.0% skip:13.0%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb B I16..4..PCM: 0.1% 4.5% 0.1% 0.0% B16..8: 56.2% 0.9% 2.0% direct: 8.6% skip:27.8% L0:40.6% L1:55.1% BI: 4.2%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: 8x8 transform intra:87.1% inter:76.7%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: direct mvs spatial:92.4% temporal:7.6%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: ref P L0 77.3% 16.0% 6.7%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: ref B L0 85.8% 14.2%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: kb/s:10996.1
---[NoImage] encoded 62337 frames, 6.02 fps, 11001.23 kb/s
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 11000 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 11001 kbit/s
--[Information] [8/3/2008 11:34:12 PM] Job completed
--[Information] [8/3/2008 11:34:12 PM] Postprocessing
---[Information] Deleting intermediate files
----[Information] [8/3/2008 11:34:12 PM] Successfully deleted E:\hd\blah\blah.stats

[tomcat_]

Thanks for the nice post clarifying all that....

I recently updated my Megui after a long time and i thought i had lost all my profiles....

I was wondering if you guys can help me with something as I only know basic things about video encoding.

I used to be using CE-Quicktime profile, with nero codec for audio. I mainly encode old, normal DVD movies (not HD, etc) and play them with winamp or win media player, and i use the cccp codecs. Sometimes i do play the files on quicktime in a mac.

Is there any alternative of these new presets to CE-Quicktime, and even more, is there a better preset that i can use for the above encoding? I'm not fussy about speed or size of the final file, i just want max quality.

thanks for your help

[JakFrost]

NDAAC-HE-MultiChannel-HQ-192Kbps - v80

Just noticed yesterday that the ABR bitrate in this preset is set to "128Kbps" not "192Kbps".

[JarrettH]

Wrong thread...but I'm wondering where the thread for the Audio presets is. :p

[Nightshiver]

there is no thread on audio presets

[Sharktooth]

Thanks for the nice post clarifying all that....

I recently updated my Megui after a long time and i thought i had lost all my profiles....

I was wondering if you guys can help me with something as I only know basic things about video encoding.

I used to be using CE-Quicktime profile, with nero codec for audio. I mainly encode old, normal DVD movies (not HD, etc) and play them with winamp or win media player, and i use the cccp codecs. Sometimes i do play the files on quicktime in a mac.

Is there any alternative of these new presets to CE-Quicktime, and even more, is there a better preset that i can use for the above encoding? I'm not fussy about speed or size of the final file, i just want max quality.

thanks for your help
Quicktime on mac has no restrictions on h.264 decoding so you're safe using (for example) any DXVA or Unrestricted presets.

@JakFrost: thanks, ill fix it in the next audio presets update.

[breez25]

Hi, is there any way to use the old PD-Nokia N95-Profile in the latest MeGUI version?

When I copy the xml to the profiles folder or use the Import Presets feature, the profile could not be loaded.

Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

the PD-Nokia N95 preset is/was the same as Device-Cellphones_PADs-Level1.3
use that instead of the old preset.

[breez25]

oh okay, thank you! :)

[fib0by]

The slowdown for Pass 1 is not an isolated occurrence. It's the norm now. I can send more logs if need be, just let me know, but anyway it happens every single time now. Pass 1 is barely 15% faster than Pass 2. Before, it was much faster, up to 3x.

[nurbs]

As sharktooth said --b-adapt 2 makes the first pass slower. The more cores/cpus you have the more the slowdown will become apparent, because not everything that is needed is multithreaded.

[fib0by]

As sharktooth said --b-adapt 2 makes the first pass slower. The more cores/cpus you have the more the slowdown will become apparent, because not everything that is needed is multithreaded.

I see.

Well, at this moment, on a Phenom quad core, when encoding 1080p with the Standalone AVC-HD preset, the Turbo mode is made all but useless by the slowdown. There's no Turbo 1st pass, it's almost all the same from an encoding speed perspective.

I'm not saying it's the end of the world, I can probably live with it for a little while, but it should probably be fixed eventually.

[nurbs]

If speed is important to you you can use --b-adapt 1. You could also try to do several simultanious encodes and give each of them only one thread. Never tried it, but if you can get it running it would alleviate your problem with the first pass.

[Sharktooth]

if you remove the "turbo" option it will be way much slower ... even than the second pass...

[fib0by]

If speed is important to you

Before, when pass 1 was fast, I could start an encode in the morning and it would be completed before I got back home. It was just right. I bought the Phenom specifically for this purpose and it was working very well.

Now, it takes up to 12 hours to do an encoding. This is already a bit too much because the evening is wasted, I have to wait for the encoder to finish. Now even the new Phenom is not fast enough.

you can use --b-adapt 1.

OK, so that's faster. But I assume there are other implications - what are those?

[nurbs]

--b-adapt 1 is what was used before. --b-adapt 2 was only recently added to x264.
1 is the fast b-frame decision, 2 is the optimal b-frame decision. So you get less quality for the same bitrate, but with a quadcore you should have some nice speed gain.

[boissy]

I don't see how to delete the old x264 presets

:rolleyes:

[nurbs]

If you want to delete only a few go to the codec config and delete them. Otherwise open the folder ...\megui\allprofiles\x264 and delete them there.

[Sharktooth]

close megui before manually deleting the presets from the folder.

[boissy]

Thank You

:)

[fib0by]

--b-adapt 1 is what was used before. --b-adapt 2 was only recently added to x264.
1 is the fast b-frame decision, 2 is the optimal b-frame decision. So you get less quality for the same bitrate, but with a quadcore you should have some nice speed gain.

So, if I understand it correctly, --b-adapt 2 is currently slower because of a limitation in x264 - that part of the code is currently single-threaded, is that correct?
If so, I guess at some point multi-threading will be implemented for that part of the code and things will get back to normal?

[Dark Shikari]

So, if I understand it correctly, --b-adapt 2 is currently slower because of a limitation in x264 - that part of the code is currently single-threaded, is that correct?
If so, I guess at some point multi-threading will be implemented for that part of the code and things will get back to normal?Its not that the code is singlethreaded--its that the code runs in the main thread only, its not even in a single thread. As a result, if a large percentage of time is spent in the frametype decision, all the other threads eventually block while waiting for frametype to finish.

[fib0by]

Its not that the code is singlethreaded--its that the code runs in the main thread only, its not even in a single thread. As a result, if a large percentage of time is spent in the frametype decision, all the other threads eventually block while waiting for frametype to finish.

I understand now, thanks for explaining it.

Hopefully this will change, since multi-core CPUs are becoming more and more popular these days and people find it easier to buy quad cores.

With the old method, the encoder was able to saturate all 4 cores on the Phenom 9850. With the new method, it seems to me like all 4 cores are not 100% saturated even during 2nd pass (but they are pretty close); during 1st pass with the new method some cores are idle for quite a long time.

When I started to use x264, I was surprised by how well it was able to scale up performance with the number of cores. I went from 2 cores to 4 and encoding became 2x faster. Now, not so much. :(

[Dark Shikari]

I understand now, thanks for explaining it.

Hopefully this will change, since multi-core CPUs are becoming more and more popular these days and people find it easier to buy quad cores.

With the old method, the encoder was able to saturate all 4 cores on the Phenom 9850. With the new method, it seems to me like all 4 cores are not 100% saturated even during 2nd pass (but they are pretty close)Then you're doing it wrong, because the 2nd pass doesn't do any frametype decision at all.

[saint-francis]

I went from 2 cores to 4 and encoding became 2x faster. Now, not so much. :(

Works fine for me.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x270/saint-francis-photos/x264.jpg

That's 4 cores.

[LOGiC]

@all,

just to give you the information, if this is useful for anyone of you. When encoding 720p and 1080p using meGUI for my Panasonic DMP-BD30 (AVCHD), I always saw stuttering for many titles. I noticed that the VBV buffer was set to 9000, which is the normal spec for AVCHD I believe. I am now using 11500 and get a pretty smooth motion in all movies.

[cynebald]

V59: Min Keyint -> 2 in all Blu-Ray and AVC-HD presets. Weighted B-Prediction disabled on any Anime/Toons presets.
Why was weighted b-prediction (weightb) disabled for the "Anime_Toons" presets?

[Dark Shikari]

Why was weighted b-prediction (weightb) disabled for the "Anime_Toons" presets?Weightb very slightly reduces the effectiveness of multiref-biprediction in most anime. On the other hand, it massively increases the coding efficiency in case of fades, though only when b-adapt 2 is on.

So its a compromise.

[fib0by]

just to give you the information, if this is useful for anyone of you. When encoding 720p and 1080p using meGUI for my Panasonic DMP-BD30 (AVCHD), I always saw stuttering for many titles. I noticed that the VBV buffer was set to 9000, which is the normal spec for AVCHD I believe. I am now using 11500 and get a pretty smooth motion in all movies.

Are you using the Standalone AVC-HD preset? This preset, on my system, using the latest version of the presets, has VBV Buffer Size set to 16500. Maybe you're using an old version of the preset?

[lchiu7]

I have a bunch of captured HD broadcasts which are h.264/DD 5.1 and 1080i. After cleaning out ads etc. they end up being about 3.3G in size for 43 minutes. I am sure I can compress them further to say about 700Mb without too much loss in quality but have had little success with using x264 directly (probably not got the right command line parameters). I suspect megui would do a better job.

Given the myriad of profiles, can anybody suggest a profile that retains the AR of the original broadcast (16:9) and maintains reasonable quality at 700Mb without a day or so of encoding.

I am currently trying out standalone PS3-Xbox 360 fast since my goal is to burn these programs to a DVD and watch them on a PS3 and/or put them on a file server and watch via a Popcorn Hour. This on a dual core Athlon 3500 is taking about 4 hours for pass 1 - no idea what pass 2 will be but short of getting a much faster CPU, is there a profile setting that might cut this time down without too much picture quality degradation?

Thanks

[LOGiC]

Are you using the Standalone AVC-HD preset? This preset, on my system, using the latest version of the presets, has VBV Buffer Size set to 16500. Maybe you're using an old version of the preset?

Well, the presets are just meant to be a help. They varied during all the releases while the official AVCHD spec is 9000. In my opinion 16500 is too much and don't give any advantages. I had a testclip last weekend with 9000, 10500, 11500, 12500, 13500 and 14500. While 9000 was stuttering every few moments, 11500 was almost completely smooth and 12500 and 13500 didn't give any further improvement. I personally had the feeling it went a bit worse for the higher VBV Buffers from 13500 on.

[Deinorius]

Weightb very slightly reduces the effectiveness of multiref-biprediction in most anime. On the other hand, it massively increases the coding efficiency in case of fades, though only when b-adapt 2 is on. Why is nowhere b-adapt 2 activated? At least in HQ/Insane Settings it would be better.
With crf performance loss is marginal for this quality/compressibility gain. To be honest I don't see a recognizable performance loss with Animes and crf (B-Frames 3).

[saemonz]

I always use HQ-slower,which one can replace?

[rack04]

I always use HQ-slower,which one can replace?

Read the first post and decide for yourself.

[Sharktooth]

Why is nowhere b-adapt 2 activated? At least in HQ/Insane Settings it would be better.
With crf performance loss is marginal for this quality/compressibility gain. To be honest I don't see a recognizable performance loss with Animes and crf (B-Frames 3).
what? b-adapt 2 is used in most presets... except anime.

[saemonz]

Read the first post and decide for yourself.

not sure for :Unrestricted 2pass HQ or DXVA-HD-HQ.

give me suggestion ok?

[Sharktooth]

DXVA-HD-HQ is for Hi-Definition footage. If your source is SD use the DXVA-SD-HQ preset.
If you dont care about hardware compatibility and DXVA playback, use the Unrestricted 2pass HQ preset.

[Deinorius]

what? b-adapt 2 is used in most presets... except anime. Hm?
I installed newest v80 presets and it wasn't. I reinstalled presets again, now they are correct I think. So forget it. No idea what happened.

[Underground78]

Hm?
I installed newest v80 presets and it wasn't. I reinstalled presets again, now they are correct I think. So forget it. No idea what happened.

Same here ... :confused:

[Deinorius]

Is it correct, that VBV Buffersize in DXVA-HD-Anime_Toons has 40000 but the other two Anime presets (Fast and HQ) have 50000?

[Sharktooth]

?????

[qt4eva]

does Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality mean it is better quality than Unrestricted 2pass HQ?

[Dark Shikari]

?????Your iPod 5.5g profile seems a bit bizarre. It has deblocking off. Any good reason for this?

[Deinorius]

????? Edit: Never mind. It was an old preset which wasn't deleted.

[Sharktooth]

does Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality mean it is better quality than Unrestricted 2pass HQ?
yes
Your iPod 5.5g profile seems a bit bizarre. It has deblocking off. Any good reason for this?
batteries duration. however i may enable it in the next update.

[lexor]

In the blu-ray profile, both ref and bframes set to 3, is that a blu-ray limit or just a quality/speed trade off decision? I'm asking because during DXVA discussion devs of MPC said that the reason the limit for DXVA is ref=4 is because that's the limit of blu-ray at 1080p. Just asking for a clarification on the profile decision.

[Krytak]

hi,

at 1st, big THANK YOU for your profiles and tehir updates! godo job...

2nd - when i am using your DXVA-SD-HQ profile (revison 81): i must use mod16 or i can stick with mod4 ? Because when i am encoding dvd-pal-anamorph., they will be sometimes over-cropped in mod16 and thats what i dont want. Simply, is mod4 dxva compatible? Thx for any answer, i am n00b.

[Kurtnoise]

mod16 or mod4 has nothing to do w/ DXVA compliancy...anyway, it's worth to try to encode in mod4 for you.

[smok3]

a. maybe stick a x264 version somewhere in that xml (like. compatible with x264 vXYZ and maybe higher)
b. what is the default subme now? 6? is psy-rd default as well? (i know i read that somewhere, just can't find it now...)

[J_Darnley]

smok3, x264 --longhelp is a source of defaults and yes, subme is now 6 by default and psy-rd is on with strength 1.0 but psy-trellis is off.

[juGGaKNot]

Can/is x264 lossless be DXVA ? i want a "HQ" copy for myself so i'm thinking lossless but i want to use my CFG card for decoding.

[Sharktooth]

no...

[Ramir Gonzales]

Any idea why psy-trellis is OFF even in Insane profiles please ?

[RunningSkittle]

read comments on first page:
V78: Removed Psy-Trellis (set to 0) in all presets coz it's too much experimental. Set b-adapt to 2 where it was possible without hurting speed too much and on all the Insane presets.

[smok3]

how come there is 16 b-frames on balanced profiles?

[RunningSkittle]

because it is using the old bframe decision
B-adapt 2 with 4 bframes is better than b-adapt 1 with 16.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139765&page=20

[smok3]

ok, tnx, i'am slowly getting up to date :)

[fields_g]

In V81, "Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane" has subpixel refinement set to 7 while all other Insane profiles have moved to 9. Was this overlooked or is there a purposeful reason for this?

[Sharktooth]

that a plain mistake.
ill correct it as soon as i get 5 free minutes...
tnx for reporting.

[Dark Eiri]

Hey Sharktooth, are you planning to change the PSP profile, now that is confirmed that it can play 16 b-frames?

[Sharktooth]

no coz b-adapt 2 with 3 bframes is better than b-adapt 1 with 16... and b-adapt 2 with 16 b-frames is so slow it isnt useable.

anyways, presets updated: V82.

[rack04]

Does it matter that --sar 1:1 appears twice in the blu-ray profiles?

[blizzbit]

Hi Sharktooth,

I just want to point you to these threads regarding the Blu-Ray profiles. Take a look here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1192939#post1192939) and here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1197218#post1197218).

It's about the Blu-Ray Max VBV buffer = 30000 kbits.

[Damie]

Is x264 supposed to be this CPU intensive?

With a 3,6GHz Core 2 Duo & CoreAVC I'm unable to playback smoothly a 1Mbps 656x368 59.94fps x264 video (drops a few frames every now and then because CPU usage goes over 50%).
When a 29.97fps interlaced DVD is deinterlaced properly, it should be 59.94fps, right?

If i encode it to a 29.97fps video, the CPU usage caps @ 26% and the playback is smooth.

I tried out DXVA-SD-Balanced(& Extra Quality & Fast) for encoding.

With DXVA (GPU decoding) enabled both videos play smoothly with no problems.

[Nightshiver]

No, if a 29.97fps video is DEINTERLACED, it will be 23.976. If it is BOBBED, it will be 59.94. As for x264 being CPU intensive, I would say yes.

[Damie]

No, if a 29.97fps video is DEINTERLACED, it will be 23.976. If it is BOBBED, it will be 59.94. As for x264 being CPU intensive, I would say yes.

Then why does 29.97fps DVDs play at 59.94fps when Purevideo is enabled?

Also 1080i50 videos are played at 50fps when watching with Purevideo HD enabled.

In both cases the video is very smooth and high quality.

[Sharktooth]

:search:

[Dark Eiri]

No, if a 29.97fps video is DEINTERLACED, it will be 23.976. If it is BOBBED, it will be 59.94. As for x264 being CPU intensive, I would say yes.

If a 29.97fps video is deinterlaced it will be 29.97fps. If it's inverse telecined, it will be 23.976fps.

[Nightshiver]

Yeah, I was going to edit my comment when I saw that. It was a little late last night.
Links:

http://www.doom9.org/ivtc-tut.htm
http://scanline.ca/deinterlacing/

[Damie]

"Converting a DVD of music videos in interlaced MPEG2 format to a progressive MPEG4 stream. For these applications, an output framerate of 59.94fps or 50fps is too high. Instead, most deinterlacer filters convert every interlaced frame to one single progressive frame, effectively halving the framerate of the content."

I'm actually converting a DVD music video. So does this mean, 59.94fps would be the right choice for x264 but it's too CPU intensive? If not, why does the original DVD play as 59.94fps when played with Purevideo?

[Nightshiver]

There is no right or wrong. You can do either and it will be fine, it just depends on what you want to do.

[pooyanunited]

HI,
I want to convert MPEG2 files recorded by DVB card SkyStar 2.6D to X264.
Which one is better for me? Unrestricted 2pass Balanced or Unrestricted 2pass HQ or Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality or Unrestricted 2pass Insane?
I mean is it really any major difference between 2pass Balanced and 2pass Insane for me? cause 2pass Insane takes a long time...
tnx in advance

[Adub]

1) What are you yelling about? That is what the color says to me.
2) Well, of course insane is going to offer you better quality, but it will come at the cost of speed.

3) Here is a grand idea, why don't you run some of your own tests, and then figure out for yourself?

You are the only one who knows "which is better" for you. Oh, and that reminds me. We have a forum rule about "best".

[pooyanunited]

1) What are you yelling about? That is what the color says to me.
2) Well, of course insane is going to offer you better quality, but it will come at the cost of speed.

3) Here is a grand idea, why don't you run some of your own tests, and then figure out for yourself?

You are the only one who knows "which is better" for you. Oh, and that reminds me. We have a forum rule about "best".

Hi
Because I'm a ManUtd fan, I always use the RED color, sorry for inconvenience...
I used all of them and I didn't recognize any difference in picture quality! maybe I'm not so accurate or my sample video was not suitable to show the difference...

[Adub]

Well, I would just use the fastest one for yourself then. If you cannot see a difference, then great for you. Use the fastest profile that you can stand then. Problem solved. I can notice a difference between the profiles, but then again I have been encoding video for years and I am stickler for quality. But if the faster profiles work for you, then great, use them.

[boissy]

Well, I would just use the fastest one for yourself then. If you cannot see a difference, then great for you. Use the fastest profile that you can stand then. Problem solved. I can notice a difference between the profiles, but then again I have been encoding video for years and I am stickler for quality. But if the faster profiles work for you, then great, use them.
And wich one is the faster no matter of quality :devil:

:p

NjB

[Nightshiver]

Why don't you do a test and find out for yourself?

[boissy]

Why don't you do a test and find out for yourself?
Cause if you tell me , I'm gone a win TIME.
May be it's one of the best aspect of the Forum Interest.

:rolleyes:

NjB

[AntiJw]

Hi, I want to convert MPEG2 files recorded by DVB card SkyStar 2.6D to X264.
Which one is better for me? Unrestricted 2pass Balanced or Unrestricted 2pass HQ or Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality or Unrestricted 2pass Insane?
I mean is it really any major difference between 2pass Balanced and 2pass Insane for me? cause 2pass Insane takes a long time... tnx in advanceUse "Turbo" (for 1st pass) in MeGUI to save time, without losing much quality.

EDIT: "Turbo"-mode seems to be default now (I saw), so nm :P

[Adub]

If you don't care about quality, then the fastest one is, you guessed it, the one with "Fast" at the end of it. And I know that there are about 4 of these, but if you read the rest of the profile's name, I am sure you can pick out which one is right for you.

Really, this isn't exactly rocket science here people.

[boissy]

Use "Turbo" (for 1st pass) in MeGUI to save time, without losing much quality.
DSidn't find the turbo one :script:

NjB

[Nightshiver]

It's not something you put in the script... edit the profile.

[boissy]

OK, thank you, I found it.

:)

NjB

[Audioboxer]

Thanks for these, incredibly useful for new people like myself.

I have a PS3 and rip my own BR's, what would produce the best quality out of

Standalone-PS3-Xbox360

and

Standalone-Blu-ray

(or does anyone recommend another preset?)

?

Speed isn't really an issue, I have a good rig.

Thanks :)

[Adub]

3) Here is a grand idea, why don't you run some of your own tests, and then figure out for yourself?

You are the only one who knows "which is better" for you. Oh, and that reminds me. We have a forum rule about "best".

I feel like a broken record.

[Nightshiver]

Poor merlin :( I guess some people never learn or just don't care.

[Sharktooth]

Thanks for these, incredibly useful for new people like myself.

I have a PS3 and rip my own BR's, what would produce the best quality out of

Standalone-PS3-Xbox360

and

Standalone-Blu-ray

(or does anyone recommend another preset?)

?

Speed isn't really an issue, I have a good rig.

Thanks :)
12) How NOT to post on this forum:

...

Do not ask "what's best" because this question cannot be answered objectively. Each and everyone has their own view about what's best in a certain area. The best is what works best for you!
forum rules (http://forum.doom9.org/forum-rules.htm)

[Audioboxer]

How is the quality of the video "up to each person" ?

Whatever produces the highest bitrate will generally be best...

I don't know what all the figures mean in MeGUI so I was asking what out of those presets will produce the higher quality video.

I would try myself, but not understanding what all the figures and settings mean coupled with encoding taking quite a while, I thought I'd quickly ask as opposed to waiting 10+ hours to encode two files.

But alas, sorry.

[Sharktooth]

there is no best as per forum rules. the "best" is what is best for you and no one can tell what's best for you. please DONT ASK WHAT'S BEST. it is NOT ALLOWED in this forum.
in order of compression (hence quality) the presets are in this order (lower to higher): Fast, Balanced, HQ, Extra Q, Insane
keep in mind the higher the compression, the higher the time needed to compress (insane presets are insanely slow...).
for general use, i usually recommend 2pass unrestricted or DXVA, balanced or HQ presets.

[ggf31416]

Does this http://git.videolan.org/?p=x264.git;a=commit;h=a0a1bfac7f4a09159f6ef2bf13fb69548b6c5a02 mean that p4x4 should be enabled again for profiles with subme >= 6?

[Dark Shikari]

Does this http://git.videolan.org/?p=x264.git;a=commit;h=a0a1bfac7f4a09159f6ef2bf13fb69548b6c5a02 mean that p4x4 should be enabled again for profiles with subme >= 6?No, p4x4 is still not very useful, its just that where it is useful, its more useful now than it used to be.

I'd say if you had to pick a profile to turn it on in, the best choice would be the slower version(s) of an anime preset.

[vega22]

Hi,
I have a question that i think it´s not yet treated:
I think we need a separate template for video-on-web purposes. For sites like Vimeo or Blip.Tv where we can upload high quality mp4 files, i.e. The Ipod profiles i think not are optimized for streaming/progressive download uses.
For this target, im now using the dxva-sd-HQ, bitrate=400. But im still confused about the optimal values in vbv buffer size and vbv maximum bitrate. Does anyone could advise me on these two settings?

[Sharktooth]

that depends on the service provider.
the buffer and maxbitrate in DXVA preset must NOT be changed since those presets are supposed to be for DXVA compatibility and not for web streaming.

[vega22]

Thanks, Sharkt.
Well, i use the dxva profile only as a base for my custom streaming profile. I need CABAC, ref-frames, B-frames and so. Level 3.1 i think is good for that purpose. I just finish encoding some videos @ 400 bitrate/1000 vbv buffer/1000 vbv max bit. Quality ok+ for streaming. The problem now is Mediainfo says me that the stream max bitrate reach 1800.

[Sharktooth]

did you use 2 passes?

[vega22]

did you use 2 passes?
Of course, automated 2-pass. But i think now that the problem is a bug in the Mediainfo, because when i play the created files with ffdshow and look into info&CPU/movie FPS, the amount of INPUT BITRATE in real time never goes beyond 1000, even in the scenes more complicated and fast.

[AntiJw]

MeGUI should set "--deblock " instead of "--filter", which could be confusing for some people. And in x264's --longhelp it says "--deblock".

EDIT: Thanks Sharktooth, for changing that now.

[[DB-FR] Nikko]

Hi everyone, I have a question about compatibility. Is the DXVA-HD-Anime_Toons HQ preset compatible with PS3/Xbox and Quicktime (on Windows and Mac OS X), or it is already to "strict" ?
thx,
Nikko

[Sharktooth]

no and no.
quicktime has its own preset... same for xbox 360 and PS3.

[[DB-FR] Nikko]

So the last solution for me is to use the Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons HQ preset ?

[Sharktooth]

that would be incompatible with most devices including PS3 and xbox 360... and probably even with quicktime.
you should choose the minimum common denomitator between all those presets and make a new one.
...different devices need different settings...

[Tacio]

what about L5.1 dxva support preset? Or there is no major difference with L4.1 preset?

[Adub]

Uh, I think the reason is that L5.1 is not officially supported by DXVA, yet. I heard that Nvidia is adding support through their graphics cards, but that is all that I know of.

[Atak_Snajpera]

what about L5.1 dxva support preset? Or there is no major difference with L4.1 preset?
There is only one small difference :) Max bitrate can be higher than 50 Mbps and resolution can be higher than FullHD. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264) Now ask yourself how often do you encode above that limit.

[Tacio]

but... if I will change only L4.1 to L5.1 in dxva preset and other setting leave without changing is quality of encoded video would better? :)

[Adub]

No. It should stay exactly the same. The only difference is that whatever you use to play may only look at the L5.1 flag and say that it is not DXVA compatible, when in actuality it is. Just leave the setting flag where it is and don't bother with it.

[Tacio]

thanks for explanation

[Great Dragon]

Presets archive is corrupted (download only 10 bites). Please fix it.

[buzzqw]

the download is ok

try with another broswer

BHH

[Great Dragon]

Thanx, dont even expect Firefox bugging ;) EI7 is ok.

[atreides93]

Has anyone come up with a pre-set for the new Android based phone (Tmobile G1)?
I wonder if the iphone preset will work. I am going to try it soon

[AntiJw]

Sharktooth, could you please do some "x264: Standalone-Blu-ray HQ" preset? With subme 9 and so on. I don't know what's the highest possible quality limit-settings for this compliancy.

[pelle412]

I apologize if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find the rationale behind the use of trellis 2 in the standalone PS3 and BluRay profiles? I know it can be changed by the user but it's a really slow feature :-)

[AntiJw]

I apologize if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find the rationale behind the use of trellis 2 in the standalone PS3 and BluRay profiles? I know it can be changed by the user but it's a really slow feature :-)There are "Fast"-options without trellis 2, for those presets.

[pelle412]

I know but why was trellis 2 added after such a long time? I can't find the explanation. It belongs more into a semi-insane profile.

[Sharktooth]

blu-ray presets are of 2 kinds: fast and quality.
trellis 2 is in the quality preset and helps retaining the massive amount of grain present in most blu-ray titles.

[pelle412]

Thanks for the explanation.

[G_M_C]

blu-ray presets are of 2 kinds: fast and quality.
trellis 2 is in the quality preset and helps retaining the massive amount of grain present in most blu-ray titles.

I'd like to point to a question i put to Dark Shikari about BR compatible streams here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1213940#post1213940

In the thread i pointed too there was a suggestion that usingx264 with --partitions all set would be the best option for encoding HQ L4.1/BR compatible streams. I've tested this, and it seems that my BR player (Panasonic BD30) has no problems with P4x4 partitions used (i.e --partitions all) during encode.

MeGUI has P4x4 disabled on it Blu-ray profile, i don't know what the original reason was for that, but my opinion is that we reconsider this and update the profile to use all partitions. It would achieve better quality too.

[Adub]

No, not necessarily. p4x4 has been disabled, not for compatibility reasons, but for quality reasons. There were some tests run a while back where p4x4 actually hurt quality. There were only a few cases in which it actually helped, and I think those were at low resolutions, but don't quote me on that.

[Dark Shikari]

No, not necessarily. p4x4 has been disabled, not for compatibility reasons, but for quality reasons. There were some tests run a while back where p4x4 actually hurt quality.Extremely doubtful, especially now that x264 does full RD optimization for subpartitions...

[b66pak]

hi,


i have a question regarding profiles in megui.

i have an iphone and my girlfrien a psp.

i found that encoding with iphone profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by psp and encoding with psp profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by iphone.

to avoid double encoding i ask if it is a middle ground profile for both iphone and psp...


best regards
_

[Sharktooth]

p4x4 is coming back since this: http://git.videolan.org/gitweb.cgi?p=x264.git;a=commit;h=a0a1bfac7f4a09159f6ef2bf13fb69548b6c5a02

[forum king]

hey!!
recently i tried to convert some of my DVDs to a smaller size with MEGUI as everyone is doing this these days.
i used the profile named x264 unrestricted 2 pass HQ.
but i am not able to decide what should be the ideal size of the resultant rips , as i have seen too much blurring of the edges.
could some one suggest what is a good profile for this purpose or which is a good profile + what more changes i can make in that profile so that i get a good quality low sized film.
thanks

[Adub]

Extremely doubtful, especially now that x264 does full RD optimization for subpartitions...

Sharktooth
p4x4 is coming back since this: http://git.videolan.org/gitweb.cgi?p...fb69548b6c5a02

Ah, I see I was running on old information. Okay then, let's turn on the p4x4.

Edit:
@Forum King,
That profile is just fine. Changing your profile will not directly affect your size. Changing the bitrate will. You can use the bitrate calculator to calculate your desired bitrate if you want, and then use that bitrate with the 2 pass unrestricted hq profile, and you should be good to go.

[b66pak]

hi,


i have a question regarding profiles in megui.

i have an iphone and my girlfrien a psp.

i found that encoding with iphone profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by psp and encoding with psp profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by iphone.

to avoid double encoding i ask if it is a middle ground profile for both iphone and psp...


best regards
_



nobody?
_

[Sharktooth]

no-one made it, btw it should be pretty simple to make. look at those presets and make a "minimum common denominator" preset between the two...

[Atak_Snajpera]

Originally Posted by b66pak View Post
hi,


i have a question regarding profiles in megui.

i have an iphone and my girlfrien a psp.

i found that encoding with iphone profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by psp and encoding with psp profile will result in a .mp4 (h264 + aac lc) file that is not recognized by iphone.

to avoid double encoding i ask if it is a middle ground profile for both iphone and psp...


best regards
_


nobody?

PSP does not support CAVLC :)
iPhone does not support CABAC :)

So now you should know the answer why you cannot create one file for two devices

[Sharktooth]

oh... then you're doomed...
there's nothing you can do.

[ThrottleAbuse]

Any idea on why a RAWAVC file created with the standalone-HD-DVD profile would have an aspect ratio of anything other than 16/9 when the AVS script is calling for a 1920:1080 file?

[Adub]

And what happens when you mux that raw avc file into a container and set the aspect ratio flag to 16/9?

[ThrottleAbuse]

I am using tsMuxeR to mux and I don't think it has that setting. I am using H264info to change it from 23.996 fps to 29.97 fps with pulldown and I have tried to use the setting in h264info to flag the aspect ratio, but that just seems to throw off the height and width. Maybe if I set the aspect ratio flag and the height and width in h264info it will come out right. I will try that.

I just figured that the probem could be fixed somehow with MeGUI so it doesn't happen anymore.

[b66pak]

PSP does not support CAVLC :)
iPhone does not support CABAC :)

So now you should know the answer why you cannot create one file for two devices


actually you can...PSP cabac-only spec is obsolete (outdated)...

for who is interested in encoding for both psp and iphone this works:

cabac=0 / ref=1 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=8 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=0 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=703 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

in megui on encoder settings field select x264: Device-iPhone profile...click config...select RC and ME tab...change VBV buffer size to zero...change VBV Maximum Bitrate to zero...select Main tab...change AVC level 3 to level 2...select New and name it Device-iPhone&PSP.

to work on PSP it must be 480x272 (i tried 640x368 and it did not work)...if you find other working resolutions please post it...for better quality you can modify the number of reference frames in RC and ME tab (i tried 3 + mixed reference frames on/off and it worked)...


best regards
_


L.E. it works with AVC level 2.1 too!

[ditche]

Hi, is it possible, if it's useful, to create a profile Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality for anime/toons ?? :)

[Sharktooth]

yes. will add.

[ditche]

Cool :thanks:

[Sharktooth]

just bear with me, i have very little time to work on it.

[poisondeathray]

Just a couple of typos:

"XviD_dp_ Const. Qusntizer 2 FAST.xml" => should be "Quantizer"

"Nero AAC_dp_ NDAAC-HEPS-32Kbos.xml" => should be "Kbps"

[alc0re]

Question about your standalone bluray profile.

What's the difference between yours (sharktooth) and
XolocoTuxmaster's profiles found here? http://www.mediafire.com/?f1zgyj5mn3n

I'm almost a complete nub when it comes to this...I was reading a tutorial for converting blurays to AVCHD compliant videos that will fit on a dual layer dvd and play on my bluray player, and it said to use XolocoTuxmaster's profiles. I don't care about how long the encode takes, I just want better quality at a given bitrate. Which profile will yield better quality at a given bitrate?

[Sharktooth]

@poisondeathray: fixed in next presets version.

@alc0re: i never heard about XolocoTuxmaster's presets...

[disklib]

Hello everyone, this is my first post, but I've been lurking in the forums for awhile, mostly in this thread and it's predecessor. I know it's been said already, but without these presets I would have had no idea how to begin using Megui. So thank you Sharktooth for creating/maintaining them, and to everyone else who helps with their ongoing development.

I'm trying to learn Megui so I can create a HD-based library on a general PC. I'm not targeting maximum file sizes, bitrates, or compatibility w/ specific devices. After various tests on live-action material I've settled on using the "Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ" preset. I adjust the "quality" level up/down depending on the source and have been happy w/ the results.

Now I'd like to try encoding animated material, but I'm not sure where to begin. Specifically, I'm confused as to why there isn't an "Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Anime" preset. Is 1pass or CQ somehow at odds with the goals of compressing this type of material?

[nurbs]

For cartoons take the "Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ" preset, disable psy-rd and maybe aq and you are good to go.

[Adub]

You should have lurked more.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1217460#post1217460

[disklib]

@nurbs - Thank you for the suggestion on which settings to adjust.

@Merlin7777 - I must have overlooked that post while waiting for my forum activation e-mail. It took almost a week to arrive, due to the holiday I suppose. Thank you for pointing it out. I'll be sure to look for it when the presets update.

And based on Sharktooth agreeing to create it, I suppose that answers my question on whether 1pass/CQ is applicable for animations.

[bottomsup]

Hi,

Does anyone know what settings I can use for a Blackberry Storm?

TIA

[nurbs]

Look in the manual. It has to say somewhere it supports profile x at level y. If you tell us that we may be able to help you.

[AntiJw]

What are the restrictions for Popcorn Hour (PCH)? I thought it was as "x264: DXVA-HD..", but I'm not sure if it's "x264: Standalone-AVC-HD"..

[~bT~]

What are the restrictions for Popcorn Hour (PCH)? I thought it was as "x264: DXVA-HD..", but I'm not sure if it's "x264: Standalone-AVC-HD"..

both should work.

[AntiJw]

both should work.Thanks, I'll use DXVA-restrictions then, because it allows better settings (16 bframes, higher bitrate etc.), which is good when encoding 1080p.

[shashaanktulsyan]

Where can I get profiles (for anime specifically) for bitrate lesser than 1000, like (specifically 256, 450, 512) .
I have a commandline parameters for a few, although they do gr8 (from my perspective) they use values that are not recommended (in doom9 guides).
So I was wondering if I could get it from the experts.

Should I just change the value of bitrate in those profile to a lower value? Or should profiles be optimized for lower bitrates?

Slightest guidelines would be appreciated, thanks.

(sorry if this has been answered before, i didn't find any)

Offtopic:
Q)Why I want to do this? A) I have been doing this for a long time, and x264 encoding at those bitrates didn't give a video that was so bad in quality as to bother me.

[mat8035]

I have been using the PS3 profile, but want to use a CRF of 20 instead of 2 pass 1000kbps. If I change this in the encoder settings (MeGUI), will I need to change anything else, or this ok? Or perhaps there is another profile more suited for this? Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

@mat8035: VBV and single pass encoding is not recommended coz it may not work as expected.

@shashaanktulsyan: presets are not relative to bitrate but to "quality". quality is proportional to compression... so, to make things short, for the lower the bitrate the better an higher quality preset...

[mat8035]

@mat8035: VBV and single pass encoding is not recommended coz it may not work as expected.

Thanks for your reply. Would it be better for me to simply increase the bitrate on this profile then? e.g. 2000kbps. Would I need to change anything else? I am using non-mod16 cropped heights so that's why I wanted to use CRF.

[nurbs]

You can increase bitrate or use crf. While it is true that single pass is not as good if you have VBV constraints in most backup scenarios it won't be a big problem. The PS3 supports levels up to 4.1 IIRC which means a vbv max bitrate of 50Mbps. The encodes I have done with HD-DVD and blu-ray sources resized to 720p at crf 22 come out at around 5 Mbps and bitrate never goes anywhere near the allowed maximum bitrate, so there will be no trouble. It depends on what exactly you want to do of course. If you try to encode 720p and have level 3.1 restrictions (17.5 Mbps max) it may be better to use 2pass.

[mat8035]

You can increase bitrate or use crf. While it is true that single pass is not as good if you have VBV constraints in most backup scenarios it won't be a big problem. The PS3 supports levels up to 4.1 IIRC which means a vbv max bitrate of 50Mbps. The encodes I have done with HD-DVD and blu-ray sources resized to 720p at crf 22 come out at around 5 Mbps and bitrate never goes anywhere near the allowed maximum bitrate, so there will be no trouble. It depends on what exactly you want to do of course. If you try to encode 720p and have level 3.1 restrictions (17.5 Mbps max) it may be better to use 2pass.

Thanks. I'm using ST's PS3 profile, which I think has a vbv limit of 24mbps. I should be ok using CRF 20 with this? I would use 2pass bitrate 2000kbps however I have read that it is better to use CRF with non-mod-16 resolutions. This is because you do not suffer a loss in quality, just get slightly overall bitrate. I guess my question is what should I use for non-mod-16 crops, when backing up DVDs for Playback on the PS3, with a file size of about 1-2gb?

[nurbs]

My mistake on the maximum bitrate then. Anyway the bitrate crf will give you depends on the source complexity and the resolution. Since you have a standard definition source crf 20 probably won't violate vbv, but you can't really know what size you will get. I used to backup DVDs with crf 20 and they generally came out in the size range you want, but that was before AQ and psy-rd where added so that might have changed a bit. Personally I wouldn't worry about the quality loss from using non mod16, because x264 uses really efficient internal padding so it is rather small.
Short: If you want a certain filesize and/or have tight vbv constraints use 2 pass, if you want a certain quality and don't care too much about filesize use crf. With DVDs it's unlikely that vbv will be an issue on the PS3, but there may be isolated cases where it is.

edit:
You should maybe do some tests at crf 20 - 22 and see which one you like. It varies from person to person. On high-def sources you can usually get away with a bit higher crf value without noticing the difference.

[mat8035]

My mistake on the maximum bitrate then. Anyway the bitrate crf will give you depends on the source complexity and the resolution. Since you have a standard definition source crf 20 probably won't violate vbv, but you can't really know what size you will get. I used to backup DVDs with crf 20 and they generally came out in the size range you want, but that was before AQ and psy-rd where added so that might have changed a bit. Personally I wouldn't worry about the quality loss from using non mod16, because x264 uses really efficient internal padding so it is rather small.
Short: If you want a certain filesize and/or have tight vbv constraints use 2 pass, if you want a certain quality and don't care too much about filesize use crf. With DVDs it's unlikely that vbv will be an issue on the PS3, but there may be isolated cases where it is.

edit:
You should maybe do some tests at crf 20 - 22 and see which one you like. It varies from person to person. On high-def sources you can usually get away with a bit higher crf value without noticing the difference.

Thanks for your help again. I think I will stick with 2pass encoding, as like you say, non-mod-16 isn't going to be an issue that I will notice. I was happy with the quality of CRF 22, but for some reason couldn't accept that a low bitrate could look any good. I guess that shows just how good x264 is! Playing these back on a 32" 1080p TV, and doubt I could tell the difference from the original DVD unless it was playing alongside.

Just a note that on a CRF 20 encode of 720 x 436, the overall bitrate was 1547 kbps and the max was 6483 kbps. Does that mean that I was noway near the VBV limit?

[nurbs]

Correct. I haven't looked into it much, but on the files I did the max bitrate never went above about 5 times the average. So if the allowed vbv max bitrate is much higher than that as in your case there generally won't be any problems.

[shashaanktulsyan]

@Sharktooth
Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V83

[disklib]

Thanks for making the new Unrestricted Anime-Toons preset.

[buzzqw]

just to mention that in autox264 i added support for MeGui x264 profiles

BHH

[mat8035]

Correct. I haven't looked into it much, but on the files I did the max bitrate never went above about 5 times the average. So if the allowed vbv max bitrate is much higher than that as in your case there generally won't be any problems.

Great. So I should be fine to use ST's PS3 profile, and simply changing it to CRF x? Don't need to change anything else?

[Sharktooth]

... 1 pass rate control is "not so happy" about VBV restrictions. if you use a reasonable bitrate it may work though.

[mat8035]

... 1 pass rate control is "not so happy" about VBV restrictions. if you use a reasonable bitrate it may work though.

Would it be possible for you to include a profile for PS3 CRF next time? Or what would I need to change myself? Or do you still reccommend using VBR over CRF anyway?

[Sharktooth]

no, since it will not always work. id recommend using 2 passes.

[Deinorius]

@mat8035
Just set crf and try it.

@Sharktooth
Why shouldn't it work? It's just crf. It works fine for me.
Why do you use M.E.Range 12 for PS3 profiles anyway? I have no problems with merange 16.

[nurbs]

Whether it will work or not depends on the input and crf you select. If for instance you do a crf 22 encode at 720p there will be no problems 99.9 percent of the time with level 4.1 restrictions, because even in scenes where you need lots of bitrate it's unlikely that you will ever approach the level limit. If you do 1080p, have a very noisy source and do say crf 18 there may be cases where you can get close to the level limit.
When the bitrate needed hits the level limit different things can happen. Best case you have some degradation of image quality but it is small enough that you don't notice it (i.e. you are only a couple of hundred kilobits short of what you need). If you are a lot short you get visible artifacts (i.e. blocking). Worst case you exceed the limit and you may end up with a (partially) unplayable stream, but the outcome in that case depends on the player you use. If you use 2pass x264 will handle all of those cases better than in 1pass. The last case is the only one that is important for hardware compatibility and from what I have read this is also what 2pass ratecontrol is a lot better at preventing (although it got better in 1pass too over the last year). Anyway you will know because vbv violations show up in the log. In the other cases you will still have quality loss with 2pass.
My opinion on this is that as long as you use a typical crf (>=20 for HD) you won't have any problems on 720p. I only did some test encodes at 1080p so I'm not so sure about that, but I don't think vbv violations will be a problem except in isolated cases. The quality issue might come up more often, but it is dependent on the source of course.

merange is only a speed thing (hardware compatibility would be mvrange IIRC)

[Sharktooth]

@Sharktooth
Why shouldn't it work? It's just crf. It works fine for me.
Why do you use M.E.Range 12 for PS3 profiles anyway? I have no problems with merange 16.
1) coz, as i already said, 1 pass RC is not always respecting the VBV restrictions. that doesnt mean it wont work, but just it MAY not work.
2) i set MERange 12 in the preset coz usually ppl encode HD stuff for PS3 and MERange 12 helps speed up the encoding process. you can always use the BD preset which has MERange 16.

[Dan|el]

What would be the best profile for a blu-ray backup?
Encode time is not an issue, going for max quality. HTPC playback.
Also any suggestions on the bitrate? :rolleyes:

Im guessing unrestricted 2pass Insane. Is there a noticable difference between HQ and Insane? What about the DXVA profiles? Sorry for the noob questions.
Thanks for your help.

[nurbs]

There is no best on this forum, because what's best for you depends on what you want to do. For HTPC playback you should maybe use one of the DXVA profiles, because you can use hardware acceleration on playback and some standalones (e.g. popcornhour) can also play back such encodes IIRC.
Bitrates: For 720p something in the range of 4 - 6 Mbps will generally look good, but it is dependent on the complexity of the source video so there might be some where it's not enough or where you are just wasting space.
Insane is much slower than HQ and I'd be surprised if you can see a difference unless you use a really low bitrate for that source. Also I can't remember if Insane uses --trellis 1 or --trellis 2. In my opinion --trellis 2 noticibly smooths the picture so it's not necesarrily the best option if you aim for quality.
IIRC psy-trellis is set to 0 by default in the profiles so you might want to play around with it a bit in the range of 0.5 to 1.0. In my opinion it improves picture quality, but sometimes it can produce artifacts (I didn't notice anything yet) which is why it isn't on by default.

Also for future playback compatibility you might want to wait till january when divx7 comes out. It will use avc as a video codec and is restricted to level 4.0 and maximum keyframe interval 0f 100 frames IIRC, but it's probably best to just wait for the release if you want that. Then again it's hard to tell wheter it will actually catch on.

[Dan|el]

Hardware acceleration shouldn't be necessary. My GPU(GF8200) supports H264, VC-1, and MPEG-2 decoding, so the CPU does close to no work anyway.
Both HQ and Insane use Trellis 2 - but both have 0 psy-trellis.
I'll have a play around with Trellis and psy-trellis then!
Thanks for the reply.

[RunningSkittle]

Hardware acceleration shouldn't be necessary. My GPU(GF8200) supports H264, VC-1, and MPEG-2 decoding, so the CPU does close to no work anyway.
Both HQ and Insane use Trellis 2 - but both have 0 psy-trellis.
I'll have a play around with Trellis and psy-trellis then!
Thanks for the reply.

In order for your GPU to off load the processing, the stream needs to be DXVA compliant.

[Sharktooth]

@nurbs: trellis 2 does not smooth the picture. infact it is recommended along with psy-trellis for very noisy sources.

@Dan|el: there are intermediate presets between "HQ" and "Insane"... they're called Extra Q.
also, as RunningSkittle said, videocards need DXVA compliant streams or they wont decode them...

[nurbs]

In my opinion --trellis 2 noticibly smooths the picture so it's not necesarrily the best option if you aim for quality.

It's my opinion and I stand by it. I did test encodes (with psy-trellis), they looked smooth to me, therefore I don't recommend using it.

[disklib]

Sharktooth, can you please describe the content type/style that you designed the new Unrestricted Anime-Toons preset for? (or conversely, what it's not for)

For example, is it only for the traditional hand-drawn style of flat colors with sharp edges?

As I went to use it I realized that my "animation" collection is a diverse group of styles. (hand-drawn painted cells, cell-shaded CG, photo-real CG, stop-motion, etc).

Thanks

[Sharktooth]

there are no options in x264 that are specifically made for cartoons or anime so the presets are not so selective.
what i did is rise the number of reference frames and use a different b-frame placament straegy (b-adapt 1) and a higher b-frame number. that is to maximize the compression since in toons and animes there are a lot of repeated blocks.
also all anime/toons presets have a lower AQ settings than what is used for movies since it may screw the image quality around hard edge (high contrast areas).

[lexor]

Hi, Sharktooth, I don't know if kurtnoise told you about this, but he added -aud option everywhere (that I can see), so now there is duplication of settings (though I don't know if it matters to x264's parameter parsing).

[Kurtnoise]

you can remove it from the custom command line area...and update the preset.

[Sharktooth]

yes, i know. ill update the presets.
do anyone cares if i remove the HD-DVD presets?

[ricky man]

i am wondering which preset profile is for blu-ray only?

[rack04]

i am wondering which preset profile is for blu-ray only?

Standalone-Blu-ray
Standalone-Blu-ray_Fast

[ricky man]

Standalone-Blu-ray
Standalone-Blu-ray_Fast

i want to convert blu-ray to mkv. will that also works with those profile or not?

[rack04]

i want to convert blu-ray to mkv. will that also works with those profile or not?

The standalone Blu-ray profile is for compliance with standalone Blu-ray players. This doesn't mean that the file will not play on your PC. If you don't know which profile to use and you're going to be playing the file on a PC I recommend you use the DXVA profiles. However, these are not blu-ray complaint. Meaning if you ever decide to author the mkv to blu-ray format and burn to DVD-5/9, it won't play on a standalong Blu-ray player.

[anu]

Hi!
I'd like to encode video files by using the settings which are closest to *HD results. It doesn't mattar to me the speed of the encoding that much, as long as it is not more than 2 days (with P4 512 MB RAM Radeon 9550).
I'm not using any AviSynth functions except of the profile's and DirectShowSource.
These are the settings:
program --pass 2 --bitrate 1000 --stats ".stats" --level 4.1 --ref 16 --mixed-refs --no-fast-pskip --bframes 5 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --weightb --direct auto --deblock 1:2 --subme 9 --trellis 2 --psy-rd 1.5:0 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,i8x8 --8x8dct --qpstep 3 --ipratio 1.0 --pbratio 1.0 --chroma-qp-offset 12 --vbv-bufsize 50000 --vbv-maxrate 50000 --scenecut 50 --me tesa --merange 32 --threads auto --thread-input --aq-strength 2.0 --cqm "jvt" --aud --progress --no-dct-decimate --no-psnr --no-ssim --nr 500 --output "output" "input"
*HD: Some of you will say that HD=720p which is any video file which is X*720. You're right. But when I say HD, I mean like the quality of true real HD, like the one you see on your HD TVs.
I'm encoding very bad quality anime. I'd like to know if any necessary changes should be usefull. Thanke in advanced!

[Sharktooth]

--aq-strength 2.0 is way too high... use a much lower value expecially with anime!
--cqm "jvt"... remove it.
--no-fast-pskip and --no-dct-decimate, are unnecessary
--psy-rd 1.5:0 is too high too...
--ipratio and --pbratio 1.0... definatly not good. use default values.
--chroma-qp-offset 12... use the default.
--qpstep 3... use the default.
--scenecut 50... use the default...
--nr 500 ... remove it. use light denoising in avisynth script creator instead.
--b-pyramid --level 4.1 --vbv-bufsize 50000 --vbv-maxrate 50000 --ref 16... WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO GET? remove them all except --ref 16...

in short... megui has anime presets... use them and DONT TOUCH options if you dont know what you're doing (in your case a complete mess!)

[disklib]

there are no options in x264 that are specifically made for cartoons or anime so the presets are not so selective.
what i did is rise the number of reference frames and use a different b-frame placament straegy (b-adapt 1) and a higher b-frame number. that is to maximize the compression since in toons and animes there are a lot of repeated blocks.
also all anime/toons presets have a lower AQ settings than what is used for movies since it may screw the image quality around hard edge (high contrast areas).

Sharktooth, I apologize for babbling a bit as I try to ask you this...

If I have 2D hand-drawn, flat-color, hard-edge animation, then the Anime-Toon preset seems like a good choice.

If I have 3D computer generated, complex-textures/lighting high-motion animation, then the "normal" HQ presets seem like a good choice. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

What happens when I have something in-between?

Say the 2D colors are now gradients and/or patterns, or the 3D CG has simple shaded colors, not textures/patterns.

Would you say the 2 mentioned presets are appropriate to cover that whole range?

If not, is there a simple "tuning" of the presets that a novice could safely do? (I say this w/ respect to the last line of your last post above, #587)

If the 2 presets are adequate, then I just need to run enough tests to learn where the threshold is between them.

If tuning is appropriate, then I hope that you can provide some guidance on what the settings and their ranges might be.

For instance, AQ is disabled in Anime-Toons, but not in the HQ preset. It seems a simple matter to reverse the settings in an attempt to nudge one preset closer to the other, but not knowing how all the settings interact I'd soon be receiving my own personalized version of the #587 post! And the details you provided in reply to my last post (quoted above) show me that I'd clearly be in over my head. Honestly, anything beyond adjusting the Constant Quality setting, and maybe Deblocking, is beyond me at the moment.

Thanks

[Sharktooth]

id say, start from HQ or Anime presets, create a new one and set a LOW AQ strenght value.

[G_M_C]

PS Sharktooth;

A while back we exchanged some posts concerning the P4x4 partitions. We came to the point that it was agreed that "putting them back in" (including on Bluray and AVCHD profiles) seemed a good idea. I read that it hasnt been added yet (simply change to --partitions all). I fear it was forgotten.

See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1214050#post1214050

Oops EDIT: put in a better link

[Sharktooth]

it was not forgotten. we need to revert a commit though but i ended up without any free time to do it (as usual.................).

[G_M_C]

it was not forgotten. we need to revert a commit though but i ended up without any free time to do it (as usual.................).

Yep, i am familiar with that problem .... work work work, and no play ;)

It'll come, we'll just have to be patient.

[Kurtnoise]

it was not forgotten. we need to revert a commit though.
huh ? really ? and for why ? isn't just the preset to update, is it ?


btw, I don't care to remove hd-dvd presets...:D

[Sharktooth]

- (ateeq) [x264ConfigurationPanel] Fix to correctly apply last P4x4 change to level 3.1 and unrestricted
...
- (ateeq) [x264ConfigurationPanel] Fix doMacroBlockAdjustments for P4x4 compliance at Level 3+ when All option is selected
those ones. they enforce p4x4 to be disabled for levels > 3.1. i have to check them before reverting though.

[Dark Eiri]

Hey, Sharktooth, I've been playing with x264, encoding for the Xbox360, and I noticed that the preset uses --merange 12 and --subme 7. Wouldn't be better to use --merange 16 and/or --subme 8 or 9 and deblocking -1:-1 for extra details?

[nakTT]

Hi Sharktooth,

Any chance for us getting 3-pass presets in the near future? Thank you in advance.

[Adub]

@nakTT
Highly doubtful for two reasons.
1)It is pretty much unnecessary, as the amount of quality you squeeze out with a third pass is so negligible.
2)If you really want a third pass, just add it your self. Set the number of passes to three in the preset configuration dialogue and you are good to go.

[nakTT]

@nakTT
Highly doubtful for two reasons.
1)It is pretty much unnecessary, as the amount of quality you squeeze out with a third pass is so negligible.
2)If you really want a third pass, just add it your self. Set the number of passes to three in the preset configuration dialogue and you are good to go.
Thanks for the reply.

@2) You mean choose something like "Automated 3pass" at the x264 config dialogue? (I am a Noob who is Unfamiliar with MeGUI :D)

@1) Actually I happened to read some where in this forum that 3pass can squeze a little bit more quality at the same bit rate for encoding job that involve very short clip at a very low bitrate.

[Adub]

Yes, "automated 3 pass".

And yes, it can squeeze out more quality, but usually it is some minutely negligible that it isn't worth it. However, you can do it yourself using the automated 3 pass if you so desire.

[Wodan]

edit, looked around and found an answer :) thanks a lot for the presets!!

[nakTT]

Yes, "automated 3 pass".

And yes, it can squeeze out more quality, but usually it is some minutely negligible that it isn't worth it. However, you can do it yourself using the automated 3 pass if you so desire.
Thanks for the clarification, Merlin7777.

[Adub]

My pleasure.

[halsboss]

Thanks. Commandline is useful for many things. Is there any way to translate a profile settings into X264 commandline settings ? eg Device-iPod 5.5G (PAL)

[Grossmeister]

Hello.
I want to convert video from videocamera (PCM, 720x576, PAL) into H.264. As I understood MeGUI is the best tool for it. But can you suggest the profile I should use for my case? It shouldn't be losless, but anyway it should have "best" quality (or at least suggest from which profile group I should choose). Also, when convert that videos I have to use deinterlace, just in case this means something for choosing the best profile.
Thanks.

[Atak_Snajpera]

As I understood MeGUI is the best tool for it.
Who told you that MeGUI is the BEST??? The BEST does not exist in this forum!

[Grossmeister]

Who told you that MeGUI is the BEST??? The BEST does not exist in this forum!
RipBot is good too. :)
OK, let's say MeGUI is the most configurable. In fact, before I used StaxRip several times, but it doesn't have new stable releases, so I'm thinking to switch to MeGUI.

Anyway, my question (about the most suitable profile) is general. Do you have any suggestions?

[Sharktooth]

Atak is right. there is no best as per forum rules.
Use whatever GUI you think is the best for you... there are so many...

[Grossmeister]

OK, I see that a lot of profiles are similar in MeGUI and StaxRip. But, not considering GUI, which profile should I use?

[AntiJw]

OK, I see that a lot of profiles are similar in MeGUI and StaxRip. But, not considering GUI, which profile should I use?On this source ("video from videocamera (PCM, 720x576, PAL)"), if using MeGUI, set "x264: DXVA-SD-Insane"-profile, but disable "--no-dct-decimate".

EDIT: np, Grossmeister, although I hope you have a decent CPU for encoding :)

[Grossmeister]

On this source ("video from videocamera (PCM, 720x576, PAL)"), if using MeGUI, set "x264: DXVA-SD-Insane"-profile, but disable "--no-dct-decimate".
Thanks a lot. :)

[Deinorius]

In fact, before I used StaxRip several times, but it doesn't have new stable releases, so I'm thinking to switch to MeGUI.Even if StaxRip has no new stable releases yet, it's still very stable. If you have used it for a longer time and it worked well, then I don't understand, why you switch to another GUI. I use MeGUI too, but StaxRip serves me more.
I just want to say, switching from a well working software to another one because there are no new releases is imho a damn idea.

[Grossmeister]

I just want to say, switching from a well working software to another one because there are no new releases is imho a damn idea.
But, now, after I tried MeGUI I start to understand what is going on behind the scene. Anyway, I have all three (MeGUI, StaxRip, RipBot) and I can choose what I need.

[Deinorius]

Better idea.

[tobinaka]

Thank you Sharktooth for your daily maintainance of x264's presets which have a lot of good informations.
The link to the presets page in x264 Japanese wiki hasn't been worked because I've edited the wiki in large from last month as admin.
Please change the it as below if you want to keep the link. Best.
http://x264.tobinaka.com/index.php?Presets

[Sharktooth]

thank you for reporting the new link.
i've updated it in the main post.

[SacredCultivator]

Not too sure if this is the place to ask, but in regards to the general public, visually, there is not much of a difference between let's say...
Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Extra Q.
and
the one i currently use {Sorta the Insane Preset}
"program --crf 19.0 --keyint 300 --min-keyint 30 --ref 5 --mixed-refs --no-fast-pskip --bframes 4 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --weightb --deblock -1:-1 --subme 9 --trellis 2 --partitions all --8x8dct --vbv-maxrate 17500 --me umh --merange 32 --threads auto --thread-input --aq-strength 0.5 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input" "

[Sharktooth]

your presets is slower than Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Extra Q. and faster than Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Insane.
considering the difference between those 2 (in terms of compression/quality) are minimal, i dont get your point at all.

[SacredCultivator]

What I was asking was, in regards to noticeable differences in the visual quality to the average viewer, are there any? As I'm aware that my settings are sorta inbetween both the Extra Q. + Insane settings.

[Sharktooth]

personally speaking anything above HQ presets is quite useless to me.
most of the times there are not even any visible (while in motion) differencies between HQ and Insane.

[SacredCultivator]

Oh's cause I did notice quite abig difference in Encoding Speed between all presets of HQ / Extra Q / Insane, but in regards to Quality/ Visual Differences... I wasn't able to see much... So I guess I'll probably opt for just using the HQ preset opposed to the Extra Q.

As honestly to me... Definitely can't see much of a quality gain... And I'm not those quality freaks that is able to tell the difference between those presets.

[dolphinjet]

Hello, I recently tried the new profiles after updating megui
I used the Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Anime_Toons one with no change


program --crf 18 --ref 5 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --weightb --deblock -1:-1 --trellis 2 --partitions all --8x8dct --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

core 0.3.1011

x264 1093


The output is generally nice but I noticed some color bands especially in dark areas, dark red or dark blue. The demarcating lines between the color bands are sometimes too obvious.
(I compared to source video playing on same monitor)

I only occasionally compress them when I want a small size back up. What settings should I choose to reduce the bands or should I use another profile?


If you've got banding, you'll need to use a filter for debanding, such as gradfun2db.

@Nightshiver
Edit: thanks for telling me about the filter
When used with encoding, the time lengthen quite a bit.
It also introduced some blocks in some moving areas.

In fact, I used it to play with fddshow without the need to re-encode. Fortunately, its not very resource eating.

[Nightshiver]

If you've got banding, you'll need to use a filter for debanding, such as gradfun2db.

[Dark Shikari]

Psy-trellis can help banding in some cases, but I'd recommend trying gradfun first.

[Nozomi]

I found Sharktooth's MeGUI x264 presets profile basically all came with default bitrate of 1000 for 2Pass profiles, for 720P or 1080P encoding would it be too small? For example, would it be more reasonable to use 3000 - 5000 for a 720P encoding?

[ricky man]

what is a good bitrates for HD movies?do you think 10000 or more bitrates are too much for HD movies or not? should i encode the HD movies to L4.1 or L5.0 or even L4.0?

[Sharktooth]

Nozomi, the bitrate is automatically re-calculated whe using the autoencode or oneclick encoder features.
manual encoding require more "participation" by the user, including setting a bitrate/quant in the preset.

@ricky man, your question about bitrate has no answer. you dont set a bitrate if you want a certain quality and viceversa. so, if you're aiming at a final filesize, then that's the final filesize. if you're aiming at a certain quality then you should not care about the filesize.
L4.0 is DivX 7 compatible. L4.1 is Blu-Ray compatible. Both are DXVA compatible. obviously additional restrictions are required to full compatibility with those "standards"...

[Kido]

Maybe it's a lame question, but 10 minutes of google didn't give me an answer: is there a way to convert this presets into command line options? I mean i'm using x264 cli without any gui.

[Deinorius]

Well, the easiest way for use is to use a GUI. But even if you don't want to use a GUI, you can use it to get the commandline. In MeGUI and StaxRip you can get it easily.
Why do you not use a GUI?

[Kido]

Well, the easiest way for use is to use a GUI. But even if you don't want to use a GUI, you can use it to get the commandline. In MeGUI and StaxRip you can get it easily.
Why do you not use a GUI?
1). I'm using linux and there isn't MeGUI and StaxRip for it.
2). I've written quite a nice script for encoding video files, so there isn't any need in gui.
I've got windows at work, so i can install megui there, then import preset and then copy command line, but it's quite a bother.

[Sharktooth]

i was writing a parser/converter some time ago. if i find some time i will complete it.

[buzzqw]

@Kido

you could check autox264, it runs MeGui profile (or you can use it to translate into mencoder/x264 options)

BHH

[saikrupal000]

Actually i rip the movies from dvd9 and dvd5's to 1cd rips

and i am using x 264 unrestricted 2pass hq..getting gud quality

is there any chance of getting more quality by using other preset..

if there can u share plz...

[smok3]

i was writing a parser/converter some time ago. if i find some time i will complete it.

excellent news, hopefully that will mean the presets can go into the core?

:thanks:

[lchiu7]

Actually i rip the movies from dvd9 and dvd5's to 1cd rips

and i am using x 264 unrestricted 2pass hq..getting gud quality

is there any chance of getting more quality by using other preset..

if there can u share plz...

Well if you can't see much difference between your original DVD and your encode, then you probably have reached the limit of what x264 can do. X264 can't make the conversion better than the original. The fact that you are getting potentially DVD9 down to about 600Mb is pretty good in itself.

[saikrupal000]

Well if you can't see much difference between your original DVD and your encode, then you probably have reached the limit of what x264 can do. X264 can't make the conversion better than the original. The fact that you are getting potentially DVD9 down to about 600Mb is pretty good in itself.

Offcourse v can't get better quality than original one...but is there any chance of getting more quality by using diff preset instead of unrestricted 2pass hq...:confused:

[Sharktooth]

unrestricted 2pass Extra Q. or Insane... but it will take much longer to encode.
personally, i never use presets "higher" than HQ...

[th3obr0]

The HQ-Slow and other HQ presets are not available in the .ZIP archive. How to get them?

HQ-Fast: Quality profile without using advanced R/D features.
HQ-Slow: Pretty slow but not much. Quality is near the best.
HQ-Slower: Slower than HQ-Slow but it tries to squeeze some more compression thru the use of more reference frames.
HQ-Slowest: Same as HQ-Slower with more reference frames.
HQ-Insane: All settings maxed out.


EDIT

I just realized these are not supported anymore, so which would be the best HQ preset to replace HQ-Slow or Slower for best quality?

Thanks!

[Sharktooth]

did you read the first post?

[th3obr0]

did you read the first post?

I believe I did :). Most tutorial mention the HQ-Slower profile to getting best results, but there wasn't any such profile in the .zip file I downloaded. I was just wondering if there is some equivalent profile.

[saikrupal000]

unrestricted 2pass Extra Q. or Insane... but it will take much longer to encode.
personally, i never use presets "higher" than HQ...

ya it ll take much longer time but i don't have those presets i am downloading now... thanks a lot

[Sharktooth]

@th3obr0: the HQ presets are very similar to what you're looking for.

[th3obr0]

@th3obr0: the HQ presets are very similar to what you're looking for.

Thanks for this information. I will experiment with the HQ presets. But still, do you prefer any specific preset for higher quality? :rolleyes:

[Sharktooth]

i usually never go beyond HQ.
Extra Q. and Insane are just for ppl with a lot of time to waste.

[Adub]

Insane, yes. However, I have found Extra Q to actually be quite reasonable in it's time usage and does produce fantastic results.

[kingkenny]

Hey Sharktooth,

Congrats on putting all ya time etc into these funky profiles.
If you dont mind I'd like to ask for some info and help?

Pretty new to Megui. Spent a lot of time and hrs messing with Vob files and examining the output. Reading various forums to try and get a better undertstanding of how the Megui works and the x264 codec and profiles. i.e. http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/x264_options_page2.html as well as the stuff on Doom9...

Also some odd how too's PDF (Presented by COMTEC Mobile Solutions.) I'll be honest and admit I am a little confused. Probably information overload!! :) Most of the posts and info are from 2006 onwards.

To be honest if the above data/settings are too old and no longer relevant then it would be nice for somebody that knows about this stuff to put a 2009 guide together... :))))

i.e. Example For...
DVD to Xvid - recommended settings...but dont use...blah...
DVD to x264 - recommended settings...but dont use unless...

I've read that for films set the loop to 0,0 and 1,1 for Anime.
That setting B-frames to more than 5 is pointless?
That the "P4x4" option requires the "P8x8" option and can improve overall quality...?

It just that the output I am getting (DVD > x264 > MP4) looks OK at the mo using the current default profiles (yours...) with no changes but if theres anything else that can help improve the sharpness or quality then I'd like somebody if they can and have the time - to help point me in the right direction.

Should I be using info that I have read from a few years back or is it not relevant anymore?

What happens if I change the loop filter to 0,0 for the x264 2pass Extra Quality? or should I just leave the profiles as they are...(assuming they have already been pre-tuned) for the desired output.

I am still reading stuff and trying to take it all in. I guess once you get the logic behind it... it all makes sence.

I guess its a bit like trying to understand a woman! I think I'll stop there... lol

Kind Regards,

King

[Sharktooth]

inloop deblocking is somewhat subjective.
the lower the value the sharper the image but more blocks will appear. 0,0 is the x264 default but i prefer slightly lower values.
the p4x4 option is usefull at low resolution (SD and lower) but it's rather useless at higher ones.
more b-frames are usually usefull for cartoons and some anime sources. 5 adaptive b-frames are enough for movies, expecially if you set the b-adapt option to 2 (optimal).
if you need more sharpness you can rise the psy-rd and/or psy-trellis values a bit. keep in mind those options are bitrate hungry...
you can even try to sharpen the source with some avisynth filter until it pleases you.
about the info you can find on megui, documentation is a bit lacking since "things" are rapidly evolving, however look always for the most recent info you can find before trusting old guides.
concerning presets, you're free to make your own but i suggest you to keep the ones coming from the auto-update servers unaltered to avoiding overwriting your setting when new presets get into the update servers.
however, default presets (the ones from this thread are the same that comes with megui) were well tuned and made from the suggestions from the users, so they're good as they are (except subjective settings as inloop deblocking, bitrate, quantizer/CRF and few others) or at least they're a very good starting point for creating personal presets.

[kingkenny]

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated....:)

Regards,
King

[loretta80]

Request:
what about PNA like TomTom's?
I have a TomTom GO 920T here. Screen 480x272. I do tests at the moment with xvid in 25fps and mp3 in 44khz (because i didn't find the option to resample at 22khz) mono 48kbit/s cbr. Here some infos: http://www.tomplayer.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=166
I want to play it back on the TomTom with Tomplayer 0.22 which based on mplayer i think.

I would like a one-click preset that convert every input to these values. Is it possible? Because the one click encoder doesn't accept avi's or mkv's.

Thanks a lot

BTW: Is it possible to use the ATI GPU encoder (avivo) with a programm like megui?

[lexor]

Is there a reason why --thread-input is not present on Blu-ray profile? I don't see any notes on problems in the --help, and it's a difference between 13fps and 20fps on my i7. Or is it there to make blu-ray_fast seem faster? ;)

btw, I can't find the option in MeGUI that turns --thread-input on/off, I have to add custom command, but blu-ray_fast doesn't use custom commands and has that option.

/edit: fixed typo, 20 not 26

[Dark Shikari]

Is there a reason why --thread-input is not present on Blu-ray profile? I don't see any notes on problems in the --help, and it's a difference between 13fps and 20fps on my i7. Or is it there to make blu-ray_fast seem faster? ;)

btw, I can't find the option in MeGUI that turns --thread-input on/off, I have to add custom command, but blu-ray_fast doesn't use custom commands and has that option.

/edit: fixed typo, 20 not 26
--threads auto implies --thread-input ;)

[lexor]

--threads auto implies --thread-input ;)

Ok, I've got to report this in MeGUI thread, I changed blu-ray_fast to multi-hex (and profile does report --me umh), but the log reports dia...

that was the source of speed difference.

[Sharktooth]

post the logfile.
--me dia is perfectly normal in the 1st pass if the Turbo option is selected.

[lexor]

post the logfile.
--me dia is perfectly normal in the 1st pass if the Turbo option is selected.
bah, that's what I get for trying to do 2pass after years of crf. there is no turbo for blu-ray profile, but there is for fast one.

All is good now :) The world is sane once again.

[Codex0nz]

Sorry for this stupid question but im slightly confused, at the moment i've been using Unrestricted 2pass Anime_Toons Insane which uses 16 b frames

But i was looking at DXVA-SD-Anime_Toons HQ which only uses 3 b-frames

i was under the impression that you needed at least 10-20 bframes for anime / cartoons? :S

After reading through this thread (ish) it seems better to use the dxva profiles, am i right?

Can someone please clear my confusion :<

[Kurtnoise]

by specifying 16 Bframes (which is the max admitted by x264), you let the compressor choose the right # by itself...

[Codex0nz]

ok so if i choose 16 frames, x264 will decide how many frames is necessary automatically, correct?

[Kurtnoise]

ok so if i choose 16, x264 will decide how many b-frames is necessary automatically, correct?
correct with the bold modification...

[Codex0nz]

that's what i meant >_>

<_<

look

a goose

[jult]

READ CAREFULLY: Download the archive. Delete all the MeGUI x264 presets before importing these ones. Import the presets using the MeGUI File->Import Presets menu'.When I try import, it wants the .Zip archive, and when I select it, this yields an empty window where nothing can be selected to import. Hmm.. megui is still a bit flaky.

meGui also keeps asking me to update, while I already DID and it already SAYS it has downloaded the update and requires a restart. It's in an endless loop.

Again, Sharktooth; Do you have these profiles in normal text-format? I don't need meGui, but I'm interested in the script-commands (CLI form).

[Sharktooth]

the presets are not needed to be manually added if you have an internet connection and let megui auto-update.
Do you have these profiles in normal text-format? I don't need meGui, but I'm interested in the script-commands (CLI form).
no, sorry.

[jult]

the presets are not needed to be manually added if you have an internet connection and let megui auto-update.Yeah, that's what I did, and it keeps telling me I need to update. meGui is buggy. I have done nothing out of the ordinary and tried to let it do its thing. It will keep telling me I need to update. Very annoying.

And, like I wrote: I only get an empty Window showing nothing to import after I selected the .zip.

By the way, I found the commands in txt here: http://x264.tobinaka.com/index.php?Presets

[Sharktooth]

jult, what you say it's quite weird since i cant reproduce your problem and no one filed a bug report on that regard.
so basically the problem is on your end and it's not a megui bug.

[-Phantom-]

why are you using 16 brames in Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality ** presets, they are not used x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 1.8% 98.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
i checked speed of compression - speed the same (+/- 2 fps)
but i think you should to change brames to ~3 in Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Fast only

[Sharktooth]

short answer: no.
long answer: :search:

if after searching you have still no idea why the answer is no, then you didnt search enough.

[-Phantom-]

more b-frames in Unrestricted e.hq and insane presets
V79: Limited the number of B-Frames when b-adapt 2 is set for encoding speed reasons.
insane and speed incompatible things...
e.hq - 3->6
insane - 4->10 or 16:)

[Sharktooth]

10 or 16 b-frames and b-adapt 2 = suicide...
and 4 b-frames with b-adapt 2 is better than 16 b-frames with b-adapt 1 or 0.
on the other hand since b-adapt 1 speed inpact is negligile, it's better to let the encoder choose the number of b-frames to place in a row. so the unrestricted presets with b-adapt 1 come with 16 adaptive b-frames and the encoder makes the decision on how many b-frames to use...
you didnt search enough :p

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V84.

[-Phantom-]

10 or 16 b-frames and b-adapt 2 = suicide...
--me tesa is suicide

4 bframes - 2.13 fps
16 bframes - 1.92 fps

me multi hex (--me umh), 16 bframes - 5.18 fps

bitrate ( --crf 18) : 5919, 5852, 5856

[Sharktooth]

try with --b-adapt 2 and 16 b-frames. if only you followed my advice and used the search function you would have found this: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139827
i wont change the presets coz you didnt get documented expecially since by now many PCs have multiple cores CPU and --b-adapt 2 is NOT multithreaded.

[-Phantom-]

try with --b-adapt 2 and 16 b-frames.
results from previous post with --b-adapt 2
4 bframes - 2.13 fps == insane preset (1 pass const quality)
16 bframes - 1.92 fps == insane preset + 16 bframes
me multi hex, 16 bframes - 5.18 fps == insane preset + 16 bframes --me umh
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139827
i read this after first :search:

--b-adapt 2 is NOT multithreaded.
really? show me...
i have 95% load on 4 cores

[nurbs]

Frametype decision isn't threaded, it's just less noticable with --b-adapt 1. Dark Shikari posted it a hundred times so you can easily find confirmation if you don't belive Sharktooth. If you use very slow settings you can still easily get high CPU load. Also if you do a multipass encode the frametype decision is done in first pass so it doesn't make a difference in the second.

[-Phantom-]

nurbs,thanks
but i don't understand why Sharktooth don't want increase b-frames

if i see in log
consecutive B-frames: 7.5% 26.7% 27.8% 12.3% 7.5% 4.5% 3.8% 1.7% 0.6% 1.8% 1.6% 1.3% 0.0% 0.5% 0.5% 1.1% 0.6%
there is no a lot of 0.0 or 0.1-0.2, at end
so i need more than 4 bframes

i show that me algoritm tesa is more harder than 16 bframes

i understand that there are various video sequences...

[Sharktooth]

i understand that there are various video sequences...
that's the reason. also, in your sequence the first 4 or 5 consecutive b-frames are making the real difference.
also, no one stops you from creating your own preset for your own purpouses.
i tried to find an optimal compromise (--me TESA was for ppl complaining there was no TESA in insane presets... so, at the end, i had to gave up...) for "usability".

[-Phantom-]

give up for this once :)
increace brames just a little

[ghat]

hi

Can we have a profile for dumb guys trying to rip a DVD.. to AVC

may be

x264-Standalone-avc-SD

or else what is the best profile...

I used the guide at http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/MeGUI/Basic_DVD_Ripping_Guide/Video

there is no HQ-Slower, so I used

x264-Unrestricted 2pass HQ, and ended up with a 1.2GB rip with 1Kbps bitrate, (too big I guess compared to the xvid's I used to do with GK)
and more over, the rip plays with windows and mplayer(ubuntu) but fails with the latest SVN of my XBMC(jaunty/linux) media center...

anyways I am still experimenting...

Ghat

[Sharktooth]

there is no best as per forum rules.
the presets are meant to produce "hardware" (devices, standalone players, PC, etc) playable file.
it all depends on the target for your encoding.
now, about the bitrate problem, you better read some guides since eventually you didnt get an idea of the megui "workflow".

[SpAwN_gUy]

sorry, (someone can delete this post later)...
V84: Added Andtroid G1 preset
i think it should be without t ...
sorry to just pointing this out ;)

[fifteen]

Is there any reason the x264: Standalone-Blu-ray bitrate is set to 8000?

Can it safely be increased? (in terms of compatibility with Bluray players and in terms of playback of Bluray on DVD media)

I have a scene that contains white noise and a fade.....

[ghat]

hi

I also have a thread on this other forum...

http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=302423

Do we have any XBMC linux users here who have faced similar problems ?

Ghat

[Sharktooth]

sorry, (someone can delete this post later)...

i think it should be without t ...
sorry to just pointing this out ;)
yup. typo.

[Sharktooth]

Is there any reason the x264: Standalone-Blu-ray bitrate is set to 8000?

Can it safely be increased? (in terms of compatibility with Bluray players and in terms of playback of Bluray on DVD media)

I have a scene that contains white noise and a fade.....
that bitrate is just a default. feel free to change it as long as you keep it below 40000.

[Sharktooth]

hi

I also have a thread on this other forum...

http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=302423

Do we have any XBMC linux users here who have faced similar problems ?

Ghat
im sorry but as long as it plays on other players, it means the problems lie somewhere in XBMC.

[fifteen]

x264: Standalone-Blu-ray vbvbufsize is set at 40000

this thread: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134402
states that it's 30000 for bluray

Which is wrong?

[b66pak]

hi, today i encoded a 22 minute episode of South Park from a HD source...i used Xvid: 2pass HQ (no Qpel) meGUI profile for a 624x352@23.976 fps .avi...the desired final lenght was 1/4 of a cdr (175mb) but i get 220mb!!!...what could be the problem?

would be nice to add anime profiles for xvid and x264 for console (psp, ps3, xbox, xbox360) even iphone...
_

[rapscallion]

What profile should I use for AVCHD playability (DVD9) in a standalone Blu-ray player, please ? I'm guessing " x264:standalone-blu-ray" but want to be sure. Surprised that there isn't a AVCHD profile preset as many are converting mkv files.

[Sharktooth]

x264: Standalone-Blu-ray vbvbufsize is set at 40000

this thread: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134402
states that it's 30000 for bluray

Which is wrong?
blu-ray specs say 40000 as you can verify by youself reading the blu-ray FAQ (http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_vs_dvd_comparison).

hi, today i encoded a 22 minute episode of South Park from a HD source...i used Xvid: 2pass HQ (no Qpel) meGUI profile for a 624x352@23.976 fps .avi...the desired final lenght was 1/4 of a cdr (175mb) but i get 220mb!!!...what could be the problem?

would be nice to add anime profiles for xvid and x264 for console (psp, ps3, xbox, xbox360) even iphone...
_
Xvid has no particular settings that can give a significant improvement for anime.
about your wrong filesize, did you consider the audio in the calculations?

What profile should I use for AVCHD playability in a standalone Blu-ray player, please ? I'm guessing " x264:standalone-blu-ray" but want to be sure. Surprised that there isn't a AVCHD profile preset as many are converting mkv files.
There is indeed an AVCHD preset (Standalone-AVC-HD). However AVCHD is not MKV.

[rapscallion]

There is indeed an AVCHD preset (Standalone-AVC-HD). However AVCHD is not MKV.
Yes, what I was saying is that I'm converting an MKV file to an AVCHD (DVD9), and when I installed MEGUI 3 days ago, I didn't see that x264 option. Found your post on pg1 and downloaded the complete profile list, so I have it now. Thank you !

[b66pak]

Xvid has no particular settings that can give a significant improvement for anime.
about your wrong filesize, did you consider the audio in the calculations?

yes i do...audio was already done...i used autoencode, set the size to 1/4 cdr and add the external audio...

log said "calculated the bitrate after substracting audio 930kbs" and finally "desired bitrate 930kbs, obtained bitrate 1200kbs"...very weird...
_

[shon3i]

blu-ray specs say 40000 as you can verify by youself reading theYes for Maxrate not for buffersize, you probably mis understood something. Every original BD movie have buffer @ 30000 and maxrate from 30000-40000. Every H264 BD compactible encoder have max buffer at 30000 (mc, elecard, sonic) and if you want stay to bluray, you can't use higher

[Sharktooth]

Oops...

[fifteen]

Yes for Maxrate not for buffersize, you probably mis understood something. Every original BD movie have buffer @ 30000 and maxrate from 30000-40000. Every H264 BD compactible encoder have max buffer at 30000 (mc, elecard, sonic) and if you want stay to bluray, you can't use higher

This brings up another question of mine. Why are people using bufsize settings that are quite a bit lower for bd5/bd9....I always thought bufsize was hardware related. Wouldn't that mean that the bufsize should sit at 30000 even if the maxrate might be set way lower to account for bd5/bd9 max read speed?

Sharktooth, could you include a bd5/9 preset?

[shon3i]

This brings up another question of mine. Why are people using bufsize settings that are quite a bit lower for bd5/bd9....I always thought bufsize was hardware related. Wouldn't that mean that the bufsize should sit at 30000 even if the maxrate might be set way lower to account for bd5/bd9 max read speed?

Sharktooth, could you include a bd5/9 preset?
I just have same dilemma, look here http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=145917. I am ask same question, but nobody can comfirm.

[b66pak]

hi, today i encoded a 22 minute episode of South Park from a HD source...i used Xvid: 2pass HQ (no Qpel) meGUI profile for a 624x352@23.976 fps .avi...the desired final lenght was 1/4 of a cdr (175mb) but i get 220mb!!!...what could be the problem?

here is the log:

[Information] Log
-[Information] Versions
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.1.1022
--[NoImage] OS : Windows XP Professional x86 SP3 (5.1.196608.2600)
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0 SP1 (2.0.50727.1433)
-[Information] Hardware
--[NoImage] CPU : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+
-[Information] Log for job4 (video, South Park s13 e02 720p.avs -> )
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:31 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:31 PM] Preprocessing
---[Information] Bitrate calculation for video
----[NoImage] Desired size after subtracting audio: 152247KBs
----[NoImage] Calculated desired bitrate: 941kbit/s
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avs" -pass1 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.stats" -bitrate 941 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:36 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =893546.00, length(bytes) = 123311173
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 28.12, fps = 35.56, length(bytes) = 3880
---[NoImage] I frames: 341 frames, size = 34909/ 11904257, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] P frames: 10788 frames, size = 6744/ 72763662, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] B frames: 20639 frames, size = 1872/ 38643219, quants = 3 / 3.00 / 3
---[NoImage] N frames: 5 frames, size = 7/ 35
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31773, Bitrate = 941kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job5 (video, South Park s13 e02 720p.avs -> South Park s13 e02 720p.avi)
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avs" -pass2 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.stats" -bitrate 941 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1 -avi "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avi"
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:32 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =1487624.00, length(bytes) = 191861615
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 46.82, fps = 21.36, length(bytes) = 6038
---[NoImage] I frames: 341 frames, size = 59251/ 20204743, quants = 1 / 1.00 / 1
---[NoImage] P frames: 10791 frames, size = 6568/ 70885591, quants = 1 / 1.94 / 3
---[NoImage] B frames: 20639 frames, size = 4882/ 100771267, quants = 1 / 2.55 / 4
---[NoImage] N frames: 2 frames, size = 7/ 14
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31773, Bitrate = 941kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 941 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 1162 kbit/s
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job6 (mux, South Park s13 e02 720p.avi -> South Park s13 e02 720p-muxed.avi)
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\avimux_gui\avimux_gui.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Local Settings\Temp\tmp33.tmp"
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream: Unicode flag: 1
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:44 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:44 PM] Job completed

today a tried another South Park episode with the same oversize problem!

here is the log:

[Information] Log
-[Information] Versions
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.1.1022
--[NoImage] OS : Windows XP Professional x86 SP3 (5.1.196608.2600)
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0 SP1 (2.0.50727.1433)
-[Information] Hardware
--[NoImage] CPU : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+
-[Information] Log for job10 (video, South Park s13 e03 720p.avs -> )
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:00 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:00 PM] Preprocessing
---[Information] Bitrate calculation for video
----[NoImage] Desired size after subtracting audio: 153679KBs
----[NoImage] Calculated desired bitrate: 949kbit/s
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avs" -pass1 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.stats" -bitrate 949 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:01 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =929218.00, length(bytes) = 114875401
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 29.24, fps = 34.21, length(bytes) = 3614
---[NoImage] I frames: 325 frames, size = 39803/ 12936290, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] P frames: 10734 frames, size = 6260/ 67195543, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] B frames: 20716 frames, size = 1677/ 34743519, quants = 3 / 3.00 / 3
---[NoImage] N frames: 7 frames, size = 7/ 49
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31782, Bitrate = 949kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job11 (video, South Park s13 e03 720p.avs -> South Park s13 e03 720p.avi)
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avs" -pass2 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.stats" -bitrate 949 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1 -avi "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avi"
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:33 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =1603479.00, length(bytes) = 193737801
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 50.45, fps = 19.82, length(bytes) = 6095
---[NoImage] I frames: 325 frames, size = 65628/ 21329271, quants = 1 / 1.00 / 1
---[NoImage] P frames: 10739 frames, size = 6547/ 70310139, quants = 1 / 1.88 / 3
---[NoImage] B frames: 20716 frames, size = 4928/ 102098377, quants = 1 / 2.48 / 4
---[NoImage] N frames: 2 frames, size = 7/ 14
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31782, Bitrate = 949kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 949 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 1173 kbit/s
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job12 (mux, South Park s13 e03 720p.avi -> South Park s13 e03 720p-muxed.avi)
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\avimux_gui\avimux_gui.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Local Settings\Temp\tmp178C.tmp"
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream: Unicode flag: 1
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:46 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:46 PM] Job completed

look at highlighted sections!

any suggestions?
_

[Socio]

I am using the "Standalone-Blu-ray" preset and the encoded image is very soft, too soft, I am not sure if it is the preset settings or it is being over compressed, or both.

Anyone else get this?

[Sharktooth]

here is the log:

[Information] Log
-[Information] Versions
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.1.1022
--[NoImage] OS : Windows XP Professional x86 SP3 (5.1.196608.2600)
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0 SP1 (2.0.50727.1433)
-[Information] Hardware
--[NoImage] CPU : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+
-[Information] Log for job4 (video, South Park s13 e02 720p.avs -> )
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:31 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:31 PM] Preprocessing
---[Information] Bitrate calculation for video
----[NoImage] Desired size after subtracting audio: 152247KBs
----[NoImage] Calculated desired bitrate: 941kbit/s
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avs" -pass1 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.stats" -bitrate 941 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:17:36 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =893546.00, length(bytes) = 123311173
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 28.12, fps = 35.56, length(bytes) = 3880
---[NoImage] I frames: 341 frames, size = 34909/ 11904257, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] P frames: 10788 frames, size = 6744/ 72763662, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] B frames: 20639 frames, size = 1872/ 38643219, quants = 3 / 3.00 / 3
---[NoImage] N frames: 5 frames, size = 7/ 35
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31773, Bitrate = 941kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job5 (video, South Park s13 e02 720p.avs -> South Park s13 e02 720p.avi)
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:31 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avs" -pass2 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.stats" -bitrate 941 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1 -avi "F:\x264\South Park s13 e02 720p.avi"
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:32:32 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =1487624.00, length(bytes) = 191861615
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 46.82, fps = 21.36, length(bytes) = 6038
---[NoImage] I frames: 341 frames, size = 59251/ 20204743, quants = 1 / 1.00 / 1
---[NoImage] P frames: 10791 frames, size = 6568/ 70885591, quants = 1 / 1.94 / 3
---[NoImage] B frames: 20639 frames, size = 4882/ 100771267, quants = 1 / 2.55 / 4
---[NoImage] N frames: 2 frames, size = 7/ 14
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31773, Bitrate = 941kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 941 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 1162 kbit/s
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job6 (mux, South Park s13 e02 720p.avi -> South Park s13 e02 720p-muxed.avi)
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\avimux_gui\avimux_gui.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Local Settings\Temp\tmp33.tmp"
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:24 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream: Unicode flag: 1
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:44 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/28/2009 8:57:44 PM] Job completed

today a tried another South Park episode with the same oversize problem!

here is the log:

[Information] Log
-[Information] Versions
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.1.1022
--[NoImage] OS : Windows XP Professional x86 SP3 (5.1.196608.2600)
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0 SP1 (2.0.50727.1433)
-[Information] Hardware
--[NoImage] CPU : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800+
-[Information] Log for job10 (video, South Park s13 e03 720p.avs -> )
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:00 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:00 PM] Preprocessing
---[Information] Bitrate calculation for video
----[NoImage] Desired size after subtracting audio: 153679KBs
----[NoImage] Calculated desired bitrate: 949kbit/s
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avs" -pass1 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.stats" -bitrate 949 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:07:01 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =929218.00, length(bytes) = 114875401
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 29.24, fps = 34.21, length(bytes) = 3614
---[NoImage] I frames: 325 frames, size = 39803/ 12936290, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] P frames: 10734 frames, size = 6260/ 67195543, quants = 2 / 2.00 / 2
---[NoImage] B frames: 20716 frames, size = 1677/ 34743519, quants = 3 / 3.00 / 3
---[NoImage] N frames: 7 frames, size = 7/ 49
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31782, Bitrate = 949kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job11 (video, South Park s13 e03 720p.avs -> South Park s13 e03 720p.avi)
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:32 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe" -i "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avs" -pass2 "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.stats" -bitrate 949 -kboost 100 -chigh 30 -clow 15 -overhead 0 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -vhqmode 4 -closed_gop -lumimasking -imin 1 -pmin 1 -bvhq -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -bmin 1 -par 1:1 -threads 1 -avi "F:\x264\South Park s13 e03 720p.avi"
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:22:33 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
---[NoImage] xvid_encraw - raw mpeg4 bitstream encoder written by Christoph Lampert 2002-2003
---[NoImage] Tot: enctime(ms) =1603479.00, length(bytes) = 193737801
---[NoImage] Avg: enctime(ms) = 50.45, fps = 19.82, length(bytes) = 6095
---[NoImage] I frames: 325 frames, size = 65628/ 21329271, quants = 1 / 1.00 / 1
---[NoImage] P frames: 10739 frames, size = 6547/ 70310139, quants = 1 / 1.88 / 3
---[NoImage] B frames: 20716 frames, size = 4928/ 102098377, quants = 1 / 2.48 / 4
---[NoImage] N frames: 2 frames, size = 7/ 14
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] Trying to retrieve width and height from input header
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Avisynth detected
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input colorspace is YV12
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Input is 624 x 352, 23.976fps (2500000/104271), starting from frame 0
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Number of frames to encode: 31782, Bitrate = 949kbps
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: xvidcore build version: xvid-1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Bitstream version: 1.2.1
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected CPU flags: ASM MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 3DNOW 3DNOWEXT TSC
---[NoImage] xvid [info]: Detected cpus = 1, threads requested = 1, threads in use = 1
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 949 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 1173 kbit/s
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Job completed
-[Information] Log for job12 (mux, South Park s13 e03 720p.avi -> South Park s13 e03 720p-muxed.avi)
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Started handling job
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Program Files\megui\tools\avimux_gui\avimux_gui.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Local Settings\Temp\tmp178C.tmp"
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:24 PM] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream: Unicode flag: 1
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:46 PM] Postprocessing
--[Information] [3/29/2009 8:49:46 PM] Job completed

look at highlighted sections!

any suggestions?
_
uhm... no.

[Sharktooth]

I am using the "Standalone-Blu-ray" preset and the encoded image is very soft, too soft, I am not sure if it is the preset settings or it is being over compressed, or both.

Anyone else get this?
if you didnt modify the preset rising the deblocking to very high values, then the presets settings cant be the cause of your problem.
:logfile: :script:

[Sharktooth]

Presets updated: V85

[floz23]

Sharktooth (or anyone else), can you give me a resource or some tips on where I should begin to improve my streaming mp4 (AVC) encoding profiles?

Right now I'm using the unrestricted quicktime profile with an upped bitrate to 1200kbit. Thats for my HD streams 720p 15fps.

For my SD, I'm using the ipod (not 5g profile) with a bitrate of 500k. So far everything works out pretty well, but I'm sure there are some basic changes I could make to improve things a little more.

All of this is through progressive download to the JwPlayer on my webpage. I will be getting a wowza streaming server soon for all this.

Any help or resources would be very helpful.

thanks all,
-Adam

[djesteban]

Hi guys,
So I started an encode from a Blu-Ray source, using the Unrestricted 2pass HQ preset. I am not cropping or resizing so that output is the same size as source (keeping it 1080p). Now, the only thing I changed from the HQ preset is the bitrate, which I modified using the Bitrate Calculator (in the Total Size box, I have put a custom value of 8.6GB, which gives me an average bitrate value of 10310 kbit/s for a 2h movie). This changed the value of the bitrate in preset from 1000 (default) to 10310.
In the Input tab, I then choose RAWAVC as a file format, Enqueued job and I did not check Add pre-rendering job; I then started the job in the Queue tab.
Now, I know this is suppose to be a slow process, but now I am wondering if I have done something wrong here, since the first pass took a little over 28h and it is now at around 15% of the second pass and this took 8h, so it's a total of 36h... so I am estimating this is going to take a total of 56h! Is this normal?

Here's the spec of my machine:
1x Intel quad core Q9450 2.66Ghz
8Gb of RAM
GeForce 8800GT
Over 250Gig free on the HDD I am outputting to.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal? If not, what am I doing wrong?

Thank you in advance!

[blizzbit]

Oops...
Take a look here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1197444#post1197444)...

[Sharktooth]

Take a look here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1197444#post1197444)...
already fixed it.

@djesteban: HQ presets are definatly resource demanding. however you have a quad core CPU. ensure all four cores are running at about 100% load, otherwise there is something slowing down the encoding process.
there could be several causes:
1 - slow decoder (the source must be decoded prior to being encoded, so if the decoder is slow it cant feed frames as fast as the encoder needs)
2 - complex avisynth script (the script requires too many cpu cycles so, again, the encoder cant be fed as fast as it can encode)
3 - the encoder is not running multithreaded (ensure the Threads option is set to Auto in the preset config window).

[djesteban]

already fixed it.

@djesteban: HQ presets are definatly resource demanding. however you have a quad core CPU. ensure all four cores are running at about 100% load, otherwise there is something slowing down the encoding process.
there could be several causes:
1 - slow decoder (the source must be decoded prior to being encoded, so if the decoder is slow it cant feed frames as fast as the encoder needs)
2 - complex avisynth script (the script requires too many cpu cycles so, again, the encoder cant be fed as fast as it can encode)
3 - the encoder is not running multithreaded (ensure the Threads option is set to Auto in the preset config window).

1- When you say decoded, do you mean that the protection as been removed? If so, the source that I am using is from a blu-ray image file (.ISO) that I did that is fully decrypted. I am mounting the image an pointing my AVS script from this image (see my script below). If this is not what you meant by decode, can you give me more insight?

2- This is my avs script... I would say that it is fairly simple:
DirectShowSource("J:\BDMV\STREAM\00000.m2ts", fps=23.976, audio=false)
#deinterlace
#crop
#resize
#denoise

Maybe it doesn't like M2TS files? Should it be a TS?

3- Encoder should be running multithreaded... it is set to 0 (auto), though, I have noticed that the CPU usage never go above 65%... when it is not encoding, there's nothing else taking CPU power. I have no anti virus or anything of this kind of ressource hugger. How can I make it so it takes full power?

Thank you in advance!

[Inspector.Gadget]

Why use DSS with an M2TS file? If it's MPEG-2 or H.264, consider using DGIndex or DGAVCIndex. If it's VC-1, consider paying the license fee and grabbing DGVC1DecNV.

[Sharktooth]

1 - when i said decoded i didnt mean decrypted... i meant decoded. your source, once decrypted will contain a mpeg-2, mpeg-4 AVC (aka h.264) or VC-1 video stream. those needs decoding to be re-encoded.

2 - read Inspector.Gadget's post.

[djesteban]

Thanks Sharktooth and Inspector.Gadget for your help... still have a couple of questions:

- If I use DGAVCDec as a decoder, will it decode from a .m2ts file directly, or is it best to demux the .264 stream first?

- Does anyone have a good avs template example or a tutorial on how to use avs script with DGAVCIndex, because it seems that I can't create one with the AviSynth script creator that comes as a part of meGUI.
Should I use something like this as a template for DGAVCIndex? :
loadplugin("...\DGAVCDecode.dll")
loadplugin("...\Decomb.dll")
avcsource("__vid__")
fielddeinterlace()

I guess this is a very basic example, but is there anything else I would like to append this? Also, I see that there's a fielddeinterlace function... if my source is progressive, should I remove that line? Also, is the decomb.dll needed? Where can I get information about the different function to use in an AviSynth script that will be use in combination with DGAVCDecode.

Thank you in advance again!!!

[Sharktooth]

all info are available in the DGAVCDec thread.

[rack04]

Thanks Sharktooth and Inspector.Gadget for your help... still have a couple of questions:

- If I use DGAVCDec as a decoder, will it decode from a .m2ts file directly, or is it best to demux the .264 stream first?

- Does anyone have a good avs template example or a tutorial on how to use avs script with DGAVCIndex, because it seems that I can't create one with the AviSynth script creator that comes as a part of meGUI.
Should I use something like this as a template for DGAVCIndex? :
loadplugin("...\DGAVCDecode.dll")
loadplugin("...\Decomb.dll")
avcsource("__vid__")
fielddeinterlace()

I guess this is a very basic example, but is there anything else I would like to append this? Also, I see that there's a fielddeinterlace function... if my source is progressive, should I remove that line? Also, is the decomb.dll needed? Where can I get information about the different function to use in an AviSynth script that will be use in combination with DGAVCDecode.

Thank you in advance again!!!

If you're working with a Blu-ray source then I would process with eac3to to handle audio overlaps due to seemless branching and then index with DGAVCIndex. I have had no problems using DGAVCDec with MeGUI. Do you have the path configured properly? Do you have DGAVCDecode.dll in the avisynth plugin folder? You would really need to know if your source is progressive or interlaced before you could even begin working with a template. I would consentrate on getting DGAVCDec working with MeGUI first.

[Sharktooth]

he should since megui auto-downloads dgavcdec from the auto-update server.

[djesteban]

If you're working with a Blu-ray source then I would process with eac3to to handle audio overlaps due to seemless branching and then index with DGAVCIndex. I have had no problems using DGAVCDec with MeGUI. Do you have the path configured properly? Do you have DGAVCDecode.dll in the avisynth plugin folder? You would really need to know if your source is progressive or interlaced before you could even begin working with a template. I would consentrate on getting DGAVCDec working with MeGUI first.

Hi rack04, is there an advantage using eac3to to demux audio/video track instead of working with tsMuxer?... or do they do the exact same thing?
Thanks

[rack04]

Hi rack04, is there an advantage using eac3to to demux audio/video track instead of working with tsMuxer?... or do they do the exact same thing?
Thanks

This would be better asked in the eac3to thread so we don't clutter up this thread.

[djesteban]

rack04
Cool, that's what I did

Also.... why is this thread not stickied...? it should!!!

[yesgrey]

The "Unrestricted 1pass const. quality" profiles all give the same quality?
From my understanding, since all use CRF 18, they should give the same quality, and the difference between them being related only to the size of the file created.
I've run a quick test to see the results, here they are:
-Unrestricted 1pass const. quality fast: 35651kB
-Unrestricted 1pass const. quality balanced: 41383kB
-Unrestricted 1pass const. quality HQ: 40575kB
-Unrestricted 1pass const. quality EQ: 40319kB

So, except the fast profile, all others seem to confirm my assumption. Am I right, or in fact the "higher quality" profiles are for high quality instead of higher compression?

[nurbs]

crf only gives you constant quality for a certain set of settings. You change the settings and the meaning of crf changes. Slower settings will always give you better quality for a certain bitrate, but in crf mode the file will not necessarily end up smaller.

[Eric B]

I've looked at the differences in the presets between DXVA HQ (SD & HD), Xbox360, BluRay, HDDVD and AVCHD. By removing the common parameters and the bitrate, and reordering the parameters, we get (supposed ordered by decoding complexity):
DXVA SD HQ --level 3.1 --ref 8 --bframes 3 --trellis 2 --vbv-bufsize 14000 --vbv-maxrate 17500 --deblock -1:-1
DXVA HD HQ --level 4.1 --ref 4 --bframes 3 --trellis 2 --vbv-bufsize 50000 --vbv-maxrate 50000 --deblock -1:-1
BluRay --level 4.1 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --trellis 2 --vbv-bufsize 30000 --vbv-maxrate 40000 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --qcomp 0.5 --nal-hrd --sar 1:1 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --deblock -1:-1
AVCHD --level 4.1 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --trellis 1 --vbv-bufsize 16500 --vbv-maxrate 16500 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --qcomp 0.5 --nal-hrd --sar 1:1 --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2
HD-DVD --level 4.1 --ref 3 --bframes 2 --trellis 2 --vbv-bufsize 14475 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --qcomp 0.5 --nal-hrd --keyint 14 --min-keyint 2 --deblock -1:-1
Xbox360/PS3 --level 4.1 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --trellis 2 --vbv-bufsize 24000 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --qcomp 0.5 --merange 12

I am wondering what are the key parameters in the settings which will prevent to make a video encoded in one preset to be readable in HW of other preset (e.g. a DXVA video in a XBox360 or Blue-Ray player).
The bufsize and maxrate are clearly important settings. Is the ref (references frames) also a critical point? I mean, will a blue-ray/AVCHD player read a video encored with the DXVA SD profile with 8 reference frames?
The settings are explained in http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings but the consequence are not always clear...
Thank you for the further explanations!

[nurbs]

--vbv-maxrate depends on profile and level
--ref depends on level and resolution of the video (all reference frames have to fit into the decoded picture buffer of the hardware player for the stream to be playable)
some hardware wants --nal-hrd and a specific maximum keyframe interval
Take a look at the wikipedia article about Mpeg4 AVC. The limitations of the profiles and levels are explained there. Often when I read about people having hardware compatibility problems here on the forum it seems to be too many reference frames.

[Eric B]

I've read again the part about --ref in mewiki, which confirms your saying: --ref 4 or 3 is related to the resolution: within level 4.1, the max being 4 for 1080p and 9 for 720p.
I've tested many videos (DVD rip in DXVA-SD profile, or HD samples in h264 (Divx7 HD or Apple Mov)) in a Panasonic BD-35 blue ray player and a Xbox360.
1) In the BD35, once muxed in AVCHD, almost all the video are correctly decoded. The pb is that AVCHD standard does not allow "free" resolution and AR: you get strange black bands below the video (with 720x432 video) or no video at all (Terminator Salvation Trailer, 1280x528). Moreover, AVCHD requires AC3 track, which could take a big part of the file once only the video is recompressed to h264. On the other side, you gain the better upscaling of blue-ray player.
2) in the Xbox360, the AVCHD is not recognized, but the files are:
2a. the mov files are read, but because of a high bitrate (peak of 40 Mbits in the BBC-in-the-blue sample), some frames are dropped / video decoding freezes....
2b. I've just tested 2 videos in mp4 container: one DVDRip in x264 DXVA SD + AAC LC, and ElephantsDream in video in Divx7 HD + AAC LC + subtitles. None were readable, despite a update of the xbox. A pb of mp4 container?
EDIT: as mentioned below, they had indeed 5.1 AAC, preventing the playback.
2c. the wmv-hd files were ok (ms samples in VC1/WMA3 5.1)

[nurbs]

2b. I've just tested 2 videos in mp4 container: one DVDRip in x264 DXVA SD + AAC LC, and ElephantsDream in video in Divx7 HD + AAC LC + subtitles. None were readable, despite a update of the xbox. A pb of mp4 container?
The xbox360 doesn't play files with 5.1 aac tracks. That might be the problem.

[Eric B]

yes, you re right, I have to test again with stereo aac along avc video in mp4 container, or 5.1 ac3 in avi file (ac3 in mp4 is not std compliant, so I doubt it will work)

[nurbs]

ac3 in mp4 is not std compliant, so I doubt it will work Has been standardised half a year or so ago. Still not much hardware support, definitly not on the xbox360 or ps3.

[Puffin617]

Hi there,

Thanx alot for all your good work - it is much appreciated...

I've got a Nokia N96 but I'm not sure what the x264 settings are for this device...

I've looked all over the net but I can't find any specs relating to the H.264 specs on this phone...

Which of your "device" profiles would be the most appropriate?

Regards,
Barend

[nurbs]

The phone supports maximum 640*480 resolution @ 30 fps. I don't know which device preset is appropriate, but it should handle more than the baseline presets offer. Try encoding some 5 minute clips with the other device presets and see if the phone plays them.

[rack04]

Maybe this is intentional but should "Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality Balanced" have -bframes 16?

[Sharktooth]

@rack04: yes.

[Sharktooth]

Hi there,

Thanx alot for all your good work - it is much appreciated...

I've got a Nokia N96 but I'm not sure what the x264 settings are for this device...

I've looked all over the net but I can't find any specs relating to the H.264 specs on this phone...

Which of your "device" profiles would be the most appropriate?

Regards,
Barend
It should work with Level 1.3 preset for PDAs and cellphones.

[SacredCultivator]

Just wondering, for the DXVA presets, that wouldn't include let's say XBOX/PS3's would it? As I'm just sorta messing around with some settings, Single Pass (As I don't mind the variable Size Outputs). As previously been using the Unrestricted Presets but some users are reporting 'a bad atom', which made me sorta look into settings but not 100% sure what settings affect the Hardware Compatibility issue.

---
EDIT:
Main difference I see between my current settings and the DXVA or even the PS3/XBOX360 profiles are the AVC Level (I use Unrestricted, whereas the others are 4.1) and under the Macroblock Options I had p4x4 enabled and the presets don't.

Oh and naother is b-pyramid was enabled for me and disabled for the other 2 presets.

Apart from those 3 differences do the other settings conflict with compatibility issues?
As my b-frame mode is Spatial because I don't use 2-pass (which Auto would be the recommended value)
(I don't use any CQM's)

And the issue of the bad atom, which is related to a 64-bit bit time code, would simply adding "assumefps(23.97)" or assumefps(29.97) as the last line fix the issue?

[Arshad07]

I have a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, but i cant seem to find a profile to encode my videos so that it can play on the phone. I tried everything, including the iPOD/iPhone/cellphones profiles. But none work. :( Any help please

Thanks

[nurbs]

@SacredCultivator:
p4x4 won't break compatibility with hardware players (definitly works with PS3), but it only helps at low resolutions. If you do DVD resolutions or higher I would deactivate it.
b-pyramid used to cause problems but seems to work now (tested only 720p on DXVA, ps3 and wd-tv).
A (explicitly specified) level of 4.1 or lower is definitly needed for PS3 and I think for DXVA as well, but it's generally a good idea to always specify a level, else x264 will guess a level that fits your settings.
b-frame mode doesn't matter for playback.

No idea what you mean with bad atom, but the PS3 for instance won't play files > 4GB (which use 64-bit timestamps).


@Arshad07:
Maybe it's the resolution. The phone only supports 320*240 @ 30fps.

[SacredCultivator]

Thanks nurbs for the explanations.

Just a few things I wanted to comment.

yeah minimum resolutions I deal with are 640x480 (I dunno if you'd count that as low resolutions)

I guess I'll enable b-pyramid then since it doesn't cause any problems now. {But I guess it still has some problems given taht the presets for the DXVA / PS3|360 still has it disabled)

And the bad atom seemed to give some itunes/quicktime users problem because of the 64-bit timestamps. And adding "assumefps(23.97)" seems to have been a workaround for that mentioned in another thread. But definitely none of the files I work with are over 4GB's

[Arshad07]

@Arshad07:
Maybe it's the resolution. The phone only supports 320*240 @ 30fps.

I did that, still doesnt work :(

[Sharktooth]

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1284920&postcount=724
... if it doesnt try with 1.2 or 1.1 ...

[Arshad07]

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1284920&postcount=724
... if it doesnt try with 1.2 or 1.1 ...

Works like a charm with the 1.3. Cheers mate! :)

[juGGaKNot]

DOWNLOAD (http://mirror05.x264.nl/Sharktooth/MeGUI/profiles/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip)
(mirror (http://www.webalice.it/f.corriga/megui/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip))
Ver.84
Changelog:

DOWNLOAD (http://mirror05.x264.nl/Sharktooth/MeGUI/profiles/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip)
(mirror (http://www.webalice.it/f.corriga/megui/MeGUI-x264_generic_profiles_v85.zip))
Ver.85
Changelog:

Edit it :)

[Sharktooth]

done. thanx.

[Chainmax]

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1284920&postcount=724
... if it doesnt try with 1.2 or 1.1 ...

Hmm...that limits the resolution choices to ~QVGA max, right? Do you reckon if it can handle that it might be able to playback VGA-sized Xvid at max settings?

[loretta80]

Hi, there.

Is there already a preset for PNA's like the TomTom Go series? I have got a 920T with tomplayer (tomplayer dot net)mplayer based and here is the commandline the builder suggests:

mencoder -audio-preload 0.8 -delay 0.1 -af volnorm -srate 22050 -oac mp3lame -lameopts mode=3:cbr:br=96 -subfont-autoscale 3 -subcp latin1 -noodml -vf scale=480:272,crop=480:272 -sws 9 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vhq:vmax_b_frames=0:vbitrate=720 -ffourcc XVID -o outfile infile

Maybe the framerate have to be adjusted to 10fps for PNA's with lower than 400Mhz and 12fps for higher ones.

BTW. there is a newer version of MEncoder svn rev 29312 - 05/18/2009

[Visor]

Hello,

I've tried encoding a couple of movies using Xoloco's 'Standalone-Blu-ray' presets (one using normal preset and the other using the 'fast' preset) and both produced videos that have a brightness (gamma?) push that is way too high. It's not so noticable in daytime scenes, but dark scenes look very washed out. The brightness jump occurs both on my PC (using MPC & CoreAVC) and on my Sony BDP-S350 player (after I mux the .mkv into an AVCHD using TSMuxer).

I've made no adjustment to the presets, and I used the default settings in MeGUI to make the avs file:

DirectShowSource("E:\Movie.mkv", fps=23.976, audio=false, convertfps=true)
#deinterlace
#crop
#resize
#denoise

I have allowed MeGUI to download all the latest updates. x264 is currently Jeeb's patched build 1162. Any idea what the issue could be? Is there something in either MeGUI, the Blu-ray presets, or the AVS file that I need to change in order to prevent the brightness push?

Thanks a bunch,
Visor

[Sharktooth]

this is NOT the place to discuss 3rd party presets for megui.

@loretta80: no tomtom presets yet. i'll see if i get more info to create one. thanx anyway for your suggestions.

[Visor]

this is NOT the place to discuss 3rd party presets for megui.

My apologies, the reason why I posted here was because the Standalone-Blu-ray presets are listed on the first post of this thread. I didn't see a separate thread for 3rd party presets... maybe you could forward me the link?

At any rate, I found the answer (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=761756#post761756) to this issue, which turned out not to be preset-related after all, but instead AviSynth-related. I needed to add the following statement to my .avs file:

ColorYUV(levels="TV->PC")

Cheers,
Visor

[Dark Eiri]

The Xbox360 / PS3 profiles are still set to 3 ref-frames? I can play 4 ref-frames on the Xbox360 flawlessly, wouldn't be better to update it?

[Sharktooth]

3 or 4 refs do not make much of a difference.

[djesteban]

Ok, I am confused as to which one is better between:
Unrestricted 2pass HQ or Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality

Thanks in advance

[Sharktooth]

Extra Q. is slower so it compresses more ("better"... better for what?)

[djesteban]

Extra Q. is slower so it compresses more ("better"... better for what?)

Yeah... I guess I should've been more precise. Better in terms of picture quality... I mean which one will give me good quality between those two settings

[m3mbran3]

Yeah... I guess I should've been more precise. Better in terms of picture quality... I mean which one will give me good quality between those two settings

extra quality

[j8ee]

I think there's a little error in the AppleTV preset, B-frame mode is set to none.

I don't have an AppleTV, but reading up about it it does indeed handle cabac, even if the spec's from Apple says it can't. When using cabac there's some limitations on the bitrate though, and it's not completely clear how it's related. On the handbrake forum they are investigating that to some extent, but but I can't find anything that justifies changing your preset, not yet anyway.

[Adub]

I have to wonder, are these presets, and thus MeGUI, ever going to take advantage of the new --preset and --tune flags recently added to x264?

[j8ee]

Well, the presets themself are no "advantage" in megui's case, as they are only useful when using it on the commandline so you don't have to decide so much yourself. Sharktooth's presets already do that. Nothing in the encoders capabilities are changed with the inbuilt presets. They can however give suggestions to tweak the megui presets a little, as the x264 developers are clever guys and undoubtedly can justify the settings for their presets.

[Adub]

I understand that, however, what about the --tune flag?

[j8ee]

Exactly the same. I intended to use the term presets in a general way, for covering all of the added switches.

[Sharktooth]

I have to wonder, are these presets, and thus MeGUI, ever going to take advantage of the new --preset and --tune flags recently added to x264?
yes. im already working on it.

[Adub]

Ah, great, thanks Sharktooth.

[JarrettH]

Didn't have to ask :cool:

[easy2Bcheesy]

I'm running a fully updated MeGUI and I'm having issues with the 1 Pass Lossless profile. It errors out on the video encoding stage:

"x264 [error]: high profile doesn't support lossless"

I imported the lossless profile outside of the auto updater using the v85 presets. Have I done something wrong? How can I get lossless working?

[nurbs]

Select the profile and hit config, then save it again. If that doesn't work set "AVC Profiles" in the first tab of the config dialog to "Autoguess".

[easy2Bcheesy]

That worked (without needing to auto-guess)... thanks!

[axlrose26]

Hi Sharktooth,

I am pretty new to encoding. I have a lot of vids (scenes and movies) on my HDD, and my motive is to save hard disk space by converting the wmv, avi, and mpeg files to mkv. At the same time I would like to retain 90-95% of the quality of the original files.

I downloaded meGUI and the x264 presets from one of your threads. All the vids that I am planning to convert to mkv are intended for viewing only on my computer, and hence I assume that the "Unrestricted" presets would be the best.

I have a few questions.

Unrestricted 2pass Fast
Unrestricted 2pass Balanced
Unrestricted 2pass HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality
Unrestricted 2pass Insane

1. What is the difference among the 5 presets mentioned above in terms of output quality and the size of the output file?

2. Which preset would give the BEST quality output and which one would reduce the file size the MOST and at the same time maintain 90-95% of the original vid quality??

3. The "Extra Quality" preset is better than "HQ" in terms of quality??

If my assumption of using "Unrestricted" presets is wrong, then kindly inform what presets shall I use in order to convert the wmv and avi files to mkv format. Please remember, the objective is to maintain 90-95% of the original file quality and save the max hard disk space.


Thanks,
Axl.

[j8ee]

Those presets compresses more in the order you wrote them, and should give better and better video quality starting from fast down to insane. Extra Quality is slower/better quality than HQ (confusing naming, I agree). Regarding quality and size, it's actually impossible to say - you have to try for yourself and see what works for you. It seems like a bad idea to re-encode your videos though, you will probably be disappointed in the result. In my opinion what you want to do is impossible. But don't ask in this thread about those things, this thread is only about the presets. In fact, you probably don't need to ask at all, just search and read, it's very very unlikely that you will ask something that haven't been answered many times already. Read the forum rules again, rule 1,2,3 and 12 especially.

[m3mbran3]

I was just comparing the unrestricted EQ and DXVA EQ settings and noticed that the only differences were no b-pyramid, no p4x4 and a VBV buffer size set. From reading varying threads it seems as if b-pyramid caused trouble with older video cards but that seems to be fixed now. I'm not sure about p4x4 and I assume the VBV buffer size is so that the video remain within its profile limits.

I was just wondering what settings would maintain dxva compatibility in most scenarios (ps3, xbox360, pc gpu playback etc.)? From my limited testing on my pc with ATI 4850 and ps3 the unrestricted EQ settings seem to work fine on both. Do you think the DXVA profiles could be updated to include b-pyramid and/or p4x4?

[tetsuo55]

Not all decoders support B-pyramids, i doubt Sharktooth will ever add this (but nothing prevents you from adjusting the profile locally)

[juGGaKNot]

p4x4 is harder to decode and encode with small benefit.

[Betsy25]

Unrestricted 2pass Fast
Unrestricted 2pass Balanced
Unrestricted 2pass HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality
Unrestricted 2pass Insane

Perhaps to give clearer idea, i would be better to change 2pass Extra Quality into 2pass Extra HQ.
Unrestricted 2pass Fast
Unrestricted 2pass Balanced
Unrestricted 2pass HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Extra HQ
Unrestricted 2pass Insane

[Dark Shikari]

p4x4 is harder to decode and encode with small benefit.Decode? Not really.

Also, the presets should really be renamed in a more intuitive way.

Fastest
Fast
Medium
Slow
Slowest

or something like that.

[juGGaKNot]

Decode? Not really.

Really ? partitions all it is then.

[Forteen88]

Because x264 don't support slices yet, shouldn't L4.0 be set for the Blu-ray profiles, as L4.0 doesn't require slices?! Maybe a check for the allowed Blu-ray compliant resolutions should be done too?! Thanks

[Grossmeister]

Can someone tell which of these profiles is the most similar to StaxRip 1.1.1.3 "Quality"? Or, maybe, there is same profile written in MeGUI XML structure?

[Underground78]

Hello,

I've seen v86 and v87 of the profiles but I can't find the changes. Have they been published somewhere ?

[Forteen88]

Now with x264 r1242+ (multi-slice support, thanks for that DS!), MeGUI should set --slices 4 in the Blu-ray profiles..

[rack04]

Now with x264 r1242+ (multi-slice support), MeGUI should set --slices 4 in the Blu-ray profiles..

Not until there is a x264 build available with NAL HRD.

[Kurtnoise]

imho, megui presets should be rewritten from scratch from now within the new x264 features.

and yes, I'm lazy to do that myself...Any volunteers ?

Hint: using megui 0.3.1.1055 or higher to create them is highly recommended.

[j8ee]

Sharktooth said he's working on that some time ago - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1305914#post1305914 - I hope he's still on to it. Probably he just have other things to do under the summer, but that's only a guess. I don't think it's necessary with a rewrite, that would imply most commands and switches have changed, and they haven't. There's only need for a few changes and additions, but still these things usually takes a lot longer than expected.

[Kurtnoise]

several settings in almost current presets are not suitable anymore within the current x264. That's why I said "rewrite from scratch"...Each targets also should be redefined.

[Underground78]

Will new presets be based on x264's internal presets ? For exemple DeviceX - Very Fast, DeviceX - Fast, DeviceX - Slow, ... with only changes needed to achieved DeviceX compatibility and maybe a distinction between SD and HD sources ?

[Kurtnoise]

Will new presets be based on x264's internal presets ?
yes...

For exemple DeviceX - Very Fast, DeviceX - Fast, DeviceX - Slow, ... with only changes needed to achieved DeviceX compatibility and maybe a distinction between SD and HD sources ?
Distinction should be made when you select the output target not from input source...

[Underground78]

Distinction should be made when you select the output target not from input source...

Yes of course. I wasn't clear enough but in fact what I wanted to know was if some presets would need to have two "versions", one for SD target, another for HD target ...

So in fact it will be something like this :
--> device [--> SD or HD target] --> Encoding speed/Quality (ultrafast, veryfast, faster, fast, medium, slow, slower, veryslow, placebo) ?

For example : DVXA - SD - Medium, DVXA - HD - Medium, DVXA - HD - Slow ...

[Kurtnoise]

I wasn't clear enough but in fact what I wanted to know was if some presets would need to have two "versions", one for SD target, another for HD target ...
In my point of view, this is meaningless and may introduce some confusions but might be useful for some other people ?

[Underground78]

This only interest of this distinction is to use higher settings for SD, isn't it ? But is it really useful ?

[florinandrei]

When encoding in the CQ mode, there seems to exist different --qp optimal levels depending on whether the target is SD or HD. At least that's how it seems to me, but I could be wrong (the end result depends on so many factors).

If that is correct, then obviously different profile versions need to be created for SD and HD. But otherwise I see no reason.

[Dark Eiri]

When encoding in the CQ mode, there seems to exist different --qp optimal levels depending on whether the target is SD or HD. At least that's how it seems to me, but I could be wrong (the end result depends on so many factors).

If that is correct, then obviously different profile versions need to be created for SD and HD. But otherwise I see no reason.

Talking about Const. Quality mode, yes, 720p @ CRF 21 looks great, but for SD (let's say 640x480) content, you would need as least CRF 18 to "match visually" the 720p@21. For 1080p, you can increase to 22, or more. Of course it depends on your source, these are only estimatives. I believe it's the same for Const. Quantizer.

That's probably because the complexibity of the frame doesn't scale linearly with the resolution increase. (Now that's bad english, I hope you can understand it). I don't think that would require two presets, though. You can change it yourself, as you would change the bitrate for every file you encode, or just save it as another preset with the values you consider appropriate.

I also think there are too many presets. For example, are the DXVA specific ones really required now that DXVA can play almost anything?

[Dark Shikari]

Talking about Const. Quality mode, yes, 720p @ CRF 21 looks great, but for SD (let's say 640x480) content, you would need as least CRF 18 to "match visually" the 720p@21. For 1080p, you can increase to 22, or more. Of course it depends on your source, these are only estimatives. I believe it's the same for Const. Quantizer.No, that's just because you watch them all on the same size screen (upscaled), so artifacts are more noticable in smaller videos than in larger ones, since the artifacts get upscaled along with the rest of the video.

[sat-jokar]

Sharktooth > I have been use HQ Slower Before , but now i can see you Remove the Profile , What is the Alternative to HQ Slower now ?

[szabi]

Hi

Does anyone know why it is not updated anymore?
Last profile version v85 which is from july when x264 version was r1183.

Now last x264 version is r1310 but no new profile for it.

I am not so good at setup x264 that is why I really like this profile collection.
Also i do not see Sharktooth here since a month.
Has he finished this profile job?

Bye
szabi

[stax76]

Somebody should ask Sharktooth if he has any MeGUI plans, seems he didn't make any statement, I hope he is well, currently Kurtnoise is working on it alone.

[Adub]

There are new profiles on the development build. Run a search on the MeGUI Development thread for a link.

[BlackPrince]

no preset is working.....

[LigH]

I believe all those profiles won't work anymore with x264 since the new defaults and generic presets/profiles/tunings were introduced (r1177 - 1st July 2009).

[rapscallion]

There are new profiles on the development build. Run a search on the MeGUI Development thread for a link.
Searched....nothing that I could find since July, when ST went MIA.

[Carpo]

I think the new presents are a little confusing compared to the older ones, i can see what they are trying to do. i guess the new p6 profile is the old x264 HQ profile or something, is there i link where we can compare the new profiles to the old

[rapscallion]

The "old" profiles" are on the first post of this thread. Where are the "new" ones you're referring to ?

[Carpo]

when i update megui i get different profiles in the drop down box

[LigH]

Those are profiles related to the mentioned "new" x264 native presets and tunings.

But they are not anymore related to those in the beginning of this thread.

If you now need e.g. an XBox360 or PS3 compatible (e.g. Level 4.1 and Ref/B restricted) profile based on the "slower" preset with "film" tunings ... make it yourself (until someone uses his leisure time to make them for you).

[quantum5uicid3]

here's some help ;)

http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=149711

[djesteban]

when i update megui i get different profiles in the drop down box

Huh? Which version of meGUI are you using... mine won't find updates for months, and I use 0.3.1.1056 which is suppose to be the latest. How did you get those profile listed?

btw... is the meGUI project dead? Is anyone still working on it?

[mozzle]

btw... is the meGUI project dead? Is anyone still working on it?

With all the heavy-hitters on this forum, you think we'd at least be able to get some kind of status update, even if it's "project is on hold indefinitely". I've got megui in a state where I can use it with the latest x264 so I'm happy but it's just weird that it borked and now there's just silence (apart from frustrated users.) I love this application and have been using it for over a year. I know kurtnoise is on his own but would somebody just tell us what is going on?

[Carpo]

Huh? Which version of meGUI are you using... mine won't find updates for months, and I use 0.3.1.1056 which is suppose to be the latest. How did you get those profile listed?

btw... is the meGUI project dead? Is anyone still working on it?

What i did was to install 3002 - then select development server, untick 1057 from the update list, and let it update the rest, should work if you installed 1056 from sourforge too.

[Warbucks81]

I believe all those profiles won't work anymore with x264 since the new defaults and generic presets/profiles/tunings were introduced (r1177 - 1st July 2009).

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1338462&postcount=4915

Read that post for a link to new profiles. I'm using 1057 with those profiles and the latest build of x264(from x264.nl) without any issues.

You will need to delete any jobs and old profiles in your existing installation before upgrading to 1057. Then install the new profiles.

[audioffile]

Thanks Sharktooth. I've been using your profiles ever since I started using x264. A great help for folks who don't want to have to learn everything in order to encode their first video. Do you have any recommendations for where to start learning a little more about the various settings as I start to tweak things? I only use Unrestricted CQ profiles.

Another question, what is the difference between the various CQ profiles? Just speed of the encoding?

However the Unrestricted CQ preset is quite good. There are very few other options to tweak to rise compression/quality. Just set your preferred CRF and let it go... ;)

When I set crf=23 in my MeGUI One-Click Encoder, the crf=23 actually drops out of the command line. Is crf=23 some type of a default or is this a bug?

Finally, how come no linky to this thread in your sig? :)

[RunningSkittle]

audioffile: megui presets are outdated and should no longer be used. Use the new preset and tuning system instead. This should be included in the new patched megui and also makes running from the CLI much easier. more info here: http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings
example:

x264.exe --preset slow --tune film --crf 20 --level 4.1 --output "output.mkv" input.avs

Also CRF 23 is a default, so of course it "disappeared" it was a redundant option!

[Remicade]

Why is so big the differences between x264 DXVA HD HQ and x264 (DXVA)Unrestricted High Quality ? First preset is 2x fast.

[easy2Bcheesy]

I've installed MeGUI on Windows 7 and it seems that the Two-Pass Unrestricted Insane profile has been changed significantly. On my i7, previously it would encode 720p at around 1.5fps. Now it encodes at 25fps and the quality level doesn't appear to be anywhere near as good.

Can any one tell me how to get the "old" Insane profile back?

[Anacletus]

I've installed MeGUI on Windows 7 and it seems that the Two-Pass Unrestricted Insane profile has been changed significantly. On my i7, previously it would encode 720p at around 1.5fps. Now it encodes at 25fps and the quality level doesn't appear to be anywhere near as good.

Can any one tell me how to get the "old" Insane profile back?

man just look at the commandline of the insane profile, they are all but "insane" hehe. Its only the crf value that changes between the DXVA profiles, insane gets 18,5 :p

I suggest you to make the necessary modifications into the profile to fit your needs. I also suggest you and others to not use insane settings as they are simply.. useless in terms of final quality but very very time consuming, a command line like this should fit the average encoder imho:

pass1:
x264.exe --profile high --level 4.1 --preset slower--tune film --pass 1 --bitrate BBBB --stats "X:\xxx.stats" --thread-input --deblock
-1:-1 --ref 5 --bframes 3 --keyint 240 --min-keyint 24 --vbv-bufsize 40000 --vbv-maxrate 40000 --b-pyramid normal --no-dct-decimate
--no-fast-pskip --output NUL "X:\yyy.avs"

pass2:
--profile high --level 4.1 --preset slower --tune film --pass 2 --bitrate BBBB --stats "X:\xxx.stats" --thread-input --deblock -1:-1
--ref 5 --bframes 3 --keyint 240 --min-keyint 24 --vbv-bufsize 40000 --vbv-maxrate 40000 --b-pyramid normal --no-dct-decimate
--no-fast-pskip --output "X:\xxx.mkv" "X:\yyy.avs"



cheers
anac

[quantum5uicid3]

He's using the old profiles, the "insane" profile now is just crf 17, not a 2pass.

There have been many changes to x264 since Sharktooth did those profiles and their use is strongly discouraged. The megui profiles as they exist now are more or less simple device presets with crf going from 17-23 in 1.5 increments and a 2 pass for each device. 2pass is only needed now when you need an exact target bitrate.

So on all presets you're encouraged to change the speed to your preference and use the bitrate calculator to find bitrate. Then just save them as you like them.

[easy2Bcheesy]

So, how do I change the new Insane preset to give me the same quality as the old one? I realise that its use may be "discouraged", but the bottom line is that I am encoding 720p on an extremely tight bitrate. The old preset took a long time to encode but the results were worth it. The new preset doesn't give me the quality I need.

I'd be happy to a straight A to B comparison, but right now I can't, since I don't have the old preset any more!

[lucamark]

So, how do I change the new Insane preset to give me the same quality as the old one?

Try with 1pass crf=17 preset= more slower as you can..

[MuLTiTaSK]

@easy2Bcheesy

import my attempt to duplicate it x264_dp_ iNSANE2.xml (bit.ly/8I4E5l)

let me know how the project comes out i just might duplicate all of them to the new switches;)

[easy2Bcheesy]

That is an enormous improvement on the new Insane - many thanks :)

[MuLTiTaSK]

@easy2Bcheesy

your welcome i'am glad you liked it;)
alot has changed with x264 since ST created those older presets the lastest presets are mainly using x264 defaults with specific tweaks for devices rather then quality reason you noticed the quality loss

[carlo_0000]

hello
i update megui today and the profils

but

it that normal that 1 st pass is 2 times slower than before ?

i olways use best quality insane dxva profils

and when i start the queud jobs it take some long time before cpu is used (i see only disk acces)

i olso notice that x264 use more that 1 gigas of the pagefile.sys and slowdown the computer performance

with the old megui the 1st pass starded immediatly (using the cpu)

[QuadraQ]

Just updated megui and got the new profiles (they look good). I've used the AVCHD in the past, and it was a two pass encode. The new one "AVCHD (DVD5/9) - High Quality" seems to be running as a one pass. Are you using some new magic in x264 to accomplish this?

Another question: The unrestricted profiles and the DXVA profiles seem to have been consolidated. Does this mean that I can take advantage of my DXVA compatible system (for greater encoding speed) while still creating an unrestricted x264 MKV?

[nurbs]

Depends on the hardware you have. If you want to be 100% sure it plays you should restrict it to level 4.1 and set the appropriate vbv parameters. As long as you don't manually enter the number of reference frames the --level setting will automatically restrict the number.

[rtjnyoface]

You could use mediainfo on some of the files you used your preferred configuration on and it will at least give you some ideas as to what new preset could be considered the same. Mediainfo will give you a couple of things such as the # of reference frames, the level of subpixel refinement, trellis use, I'm not sure what else ATM.

So, how do I change the new Insane preset to give me the same quality as the old one?

So increase the amount of analysis, reference frames, motion estimation and such.

I'd be happy to a straight A to B comparison, but right now I can't, since I don't have the old preset any more!

You might have to if you aren't able to have a final product similar to what you had prior to the changes.

Hope it helps somewhat. (Ha, put it on placebo ;)).

[Poutnik]

I have found than in my MeGUI "Unrestricted (DXVA)" X264 profiles is everywhere Trellis disabled.
I am confused - either something is wrong either I do not understand it well.

I always thought Trellis does not affect decoding, at least not to corrupt HW compatibilty.
I have also always thought at least Trellis=1 is needed for SubME 6+ for RD optimization.

[ZEXEL]

I've been update to new MegUI version & find all new preset profile also I really happy with that, but could you tell me where is the same/better quality picture profile for "x264: Standalone-HD-DVD" since it gone... cheers...

[ShadowVlican]

hm.. i guess someone should edit the first post of this thread to notify newcomers that the profiles are now obsolete

and perhaps remove them from MeGui altogether

[iko417]

remove them, never used them

[Wikke]

I just updated to new presets in Megui. I have always used Standalone AVCHD presets and I was satisfied with the results. Normal speed for:
720p encoding was first pass 115 FPS and second pass 85 FPS. Needed time for encoding the whole film was 1 hour.
1080p encoding was first pass 55 FPS and second pass 45 FPS. Encoding time for the whole film was 2 hours.

Now with new updated presets the whole encoding is taking much more time to finish the job.

I am now encoding 1080p material with Standalone AVCHD presets and the framerate for first pass is only 15 FPS!!! I guess the second pass will be only 5 FPS.
Are the others facing the same problem, or is there something wrong with my updates?

Is the quality with new presets really so much better that it is taking 3 times more time to finish the job?

[blsbball]

Anyone else notice any downgrade in quality from the older unrestricted const quality insane x264 and the new dxva unrestricted? I feel like the older profile, although it produced a larger file, produced much better results.

[Poutnik]

I have found than in my MeGUI "Unrestricted (DXVA)" X264 profiles is everywhere Trellis disabled.
I am confused - either something is wrong either I do not understand it well.

I always thought Trellis does not affect decoding, at least not to corrupt HW compatibilty.
I have also always thought at least Trellis=1 is needed for SubME 6+ for RD optimization.

Reformulated question - is Trellis safe to use for DXVA ( and evantually HW players ?

[J-Wo]

I'm trying out these presets with MeGUI to convert my DVD rips to MKV for better playback compatibility with my WDTV Live. I want to preserve quality so I'm thinking of using the DXVA-SD-Extra Quality preset. How does this differ from Standalone-PS3-Xbox360? I know the WDTV Live is less restrictive than PS3 or Xbox360, so maybe I should try Unrestricted 2pass Extra Quality? I'm not sure what file size/bitrate I should aim for but will ~2000 kbps (2cd file size) yield good results? Thanks.

[nurbs]

Reformulated question - is Trellis safe to use for DXVA ( and evantually HW players ?

Trellis is purely an analysis option and therefore doesn't influence hardware players.

[Beak]

Hi. I hope one of the devs will confirm or assist the slowdown in encoding speeds. I am crawling now at about 2 frames per second with the X264 Unrestricted 2 pass Extra Quality Preset.

The commandline reads

program --profile high --preset fast --tune film --pass 2 --bitrate 12228 --stats ".stats" --thread-input --b-adapt 2 --ref 3 --rc-lookahead 40 --me umh --direct auto --subme 7 --partitions all --trellis 2 --output "output" "input"

I would prefer to have the speed back as it looked quite good to me before.

Can anyone tell me what the arguments used to be for this preset?

Is there anyplace one can download the previous version of Megui and its updates?

[quantum5uicid3]

unfortunately the sharktooth presets are now illogical. just select the unrestricted (dxva) 2-pass preset and put the preset slider on fast. very fast or ultra fast would probably even be transparent at 12228.

[jace112]

I am a bit lost too :-(

Is there somewhere a comprehensive guide for the new presets?

[Chainmax]

Sorry for the crosspost, but I was not able to get bond to move my post here. My question was this:

I really like the way presets are laid out now, even with the amount of them it's easy to navigate through the list and select what you want. However, I do miss the PC-only profiles. I assume that the unrestricted DXVA ones would be the replacement for the live action ones (would that be correct?), but what about the AE-something ones? Could those be included back?

[cmw]

I'm a bit confused about the new presets. I deleted the old ones and forced reupdate so I assume I have the most recent ones. Besides the many device specific presets there are also the Unrestricted/DXVA ones and besides changing the crf, the presets are the same, having the built-in x264 preset set to medium no matter which one I choose. I realise that I can set the slider to another value, but what is the purpose of megui presets then if they don't do that for you based on their purpose? It just doesn't make sense to me so I though I better ask, maybe theres just something wrong with my presets...

Hmm also every device preset has the x264 slider set to medium... is it really supposed to work this way now? You choose a preset and then select an additional preset level? It just seems a bit odd...

[eugenio]

I'm a bit confused about the new presets. I deleted the old ones and forced reupdate so I assume I have the most recent ones. Besides the many device specific presets there are also the Unrestricted/DXVA ones and besides changing the crf, the presets are the same, having the built-in x264 preset set to medium no matter which one I choose. I realise that I can set the slider to another value, but what is the purpose of megui presets then if they don't do that for you based on their purpose? It just doesn't make sense to me so I though I better ask, maybe theres just something wrong with my presets...

Hmm also every device preset has the x264 slider set to medium... is it really supposed to work this way now? You choose a preset and then select an additional preset level? It just seems a bit odd...

I was intrigued by this too, so I take action to discover this misteriuos behavior, heres what I found.
When you want to encode only the video alone, choose ¨enqueue¨, you can choose the preset bar, very fast, ultrafast fast medium slow slower very slow placebo. the same for audio then mux.
When u want to encode both video and audio u choose the ¨encoder settings¨of both then autoencode chossing the container filesize or bitrate,
now u got it or dont.

[FirstBorg]

Hi!

Can you recommend a x264 profile or settings to convert a dvd to mkv?

Im backing up my dvds and created thus far several mkvs, with 2 audiotracks, each an mp3 stream with around 200 mb, and a final size of 1.46 gb, so it leaves around 1 gb for video data, but Im still not happy with the video quality, even with 2 pass. maybe Im doing something wrong.

Any advice? Im always using one click encode, and in there a x264 profile, two pass and thats all the settings I can remember :)

[akby]

i have a question about the presets

if i want to do an encode based on quality, such as crf 21, then shouldnt technically any preset i use give me the same "quality" of a movie. i mean choosing between a "medium" or a "placebo" should give me the same result quality-wise as long as i dont change the crf quantity. or is there something that i'm not getting here?

so my question basically is, do the presets matter in an encode session wherein the bitrate or final size doesnt matter?
also if i choose a higher preset such as placebo, should it reduce the size of my final encode?

just a few queries. hope someone can answer them

[nurbs]

It will give you the same quality in as far as the rate factor can be considered a measure of quality. So it's not constant quality, but the best approximation we currently have. You'll always get the rate factor you requested and slower settings will give you better quality per bitrate, but different options also change the meaning of the rate factor. Slower options don't necessarily mean a smaller final size and faster option, like maybe turning of the psy optimizations, can result in quality loss that is not compensated or in the worst case might be amplified by the change in the resulting filesize.

[akby]

right. i think i get it. thank you

[Takie]

I own a Pioneer BDP-LX71 bluray player and use MeGui to re-encode movies to be AVCHD compliant(DVD5 disk) on my player.

This used to work great but I forgot to save my presets when I recently did a fresh OS install. I now use an adjusted "AVCHD insane" preset but get no picture on my bluray player with these settings:

cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=34 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=2 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=17.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14500 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00 / pulldown=0 / nal_hrd=1

I first taught b_pyramid=1 was causing the problem but this was changed in the above presets and still no picture. Any ideas what could be the problem? I don't want to burn DVD after DVD with different settings to trail and error correct it. Thx

[pelle412]

I own a Pioneer BDP-LX71 bluray player and use MeGui to re-encode movies to be AVCHD compliant(DVD5 disk) on my player.

This used to work great but I forgot to save my presets when I recently did a fresh OS install. I now use an adjusted "AVCHD insane" preset but get no picture on my bluray player with these settings:

cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=34 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=2 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=17.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14500 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00 / pulldown=0 / nal_hrd=1

I first taught b_pyramid=1 was causing the problem but this was changed in the above presets and still no picture. Any ideas what could be the problem? I don't want to burn DVD after DVD with different settings to trail and error correct it. Thx

What's the resolution of your video? Remember it has to be specific such as 1920x1080 or 1280x720 and can't be something in between.

[Takie]

I always make sure that resolution is 1280x720, so that's not the issue

[quantum5uicid3]

x264 version? tsmuxer options? burning with udf 2.5?

[Takie]

Latest x264 version trough Megui development update server (right now rev. 1442). Tsmuxer with "AVCHD disk" output and burned with nero using udf 2.5.

I'm pretty sure it is some x264 preset that's causing the problem. I just don't know which one.

[rapscallion]

@takie...these are the new presets that you should be using for avchd:

heres new preset with bluray and avchd updated for new hrd switch. i added a "max compatibility (Dxva)" with level 4.1 and vbv 40000 too. if it don't work with all cards support avc acceleration plz post.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zeyydehngrm

[FirstBorg]

how is that with the constant quality? the higher the number, the better the quality?

[lucamark]

how is that with the constant quality? the higher the number, the better the quality?

lower CQ for better quality...

[quantum5uicid3]

oops forgot u said that. plz post your command line. i have to think about what's what with the mediainfo stuff. :)

[Takie]

I downloaded and used your presets from a few posts earlier but without results. AVCHD disk is detected but upon play screen stays black. Command line output from the MeGui re-encode:

vfw4x264.exe" --crf 18.5 --thread-input --profile high --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 --sar 1:1

I do have a few working AVCHD disks from before my format. I checked them with Mediainfo but for some reason they don't list the used x264 presets under "encoding settings".

[quantum5uicid3]

this may or may not be true, but i think i read at one point that u must output to ".264" for avchd, so i always did it this way, that's one suggestion. ive tested files from komisar 1442 on a samsung BD-P1590 and no prob here, so i'm confused. do you have easy access to another standalone? it could be some quirk unique to that model? post all the mediainfo for the stream. here's one that i just tested as working.

ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@4.1
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate : 3 893 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 3 982 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.176
Stream size : 3.45 GiB (84%)
Writing library : x264 core 85 r1442kMod 781d300
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=6 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=64 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=6 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=2 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=3982 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=17300 / vbv_bufsize=17000 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=4:1.00 / pulldown=0 / nal_hrd=1

[rapscallion]

@quantum
I notice from the above that there are a number of variances from your latest (and previous) avchd presets.

Without doing a side by side comparison, I see the following, at first glance :

Deblock 1:-1-1 vs 1:0:0
Ref Frames 5 vs 3
Subme 10 vs 7
Trellis 2 vs 1
b_pyramid=1 vs strict
nal_hrd=1 vs vbr
vbv maxrate/bufsize =17300 /1700 vs 14000/14500

I'm sure there are others but just curious about them vs the presets.

[quantum5uicid3]

deblock is a personal proeference thing

you can use higher refs when resolution is lower, the megui included preset was really made for 1080p compatibility.

subme 10 and trellis 2 will both be set if u put preset slider on placebo i believe.

bpyramid=1 is strict and nal_hrd=1 is vbr

the max bitrate of a avchd on a dvd including the audio is 18 Mbps, 14000/14500 is the reported highest possible setting to work on all standalones(from scouring the forum, i think i got it from the multiavchd author, which is a fine prog btw). so using a single 640ac3 track assumes 17300 would be ok.

here's my actual AVCHD DVD5/9 preset for 720p:

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"

now that aq-mode 4 has been commited, it will soon change back to aq-mode 2 though. i think i could set ref higher, but "quality increase is marginal greater than 5" or something like that

[rapscallion]

Thanks for the explanation ! I almost always encode @ 720p.

[sniarn]

I'm about to do some encoding using megui and I want to maximize compatibility with various devices. I'm currently playing the files using a Popcorn Hour, but that may change in the future and I don't want to risk having to reencode all my files. So which preset group should I pick from? AVCHD or Blu-ray? What is the difference between the two?

[forum king]

guys i have noticed that in the newer build with the slider options, i am having too much confusion , so much so that i have stopped encoding for now..
i have posted my queries at no of places but haven't been able to get any satisfactory answer ( which a person with limited knowledge and info like me can understand )..
i would like to ask something here as well coz i feel this is the most appropriate section.

1.. which profile/ profiles are good for low bitrate (i have a quad core with 8GB ram ) encodes, this is kinna passion of mine to compress my dvd collection to the smallest , and also try same things on a few of HD stuff.

2.. if we see in breakup then what should be good value/s for following
subme :
trellis:
b frames :
ref frames:
b adept :
deblocking :
MV prediction
trellis:
ME range:
Partitions:
(please suggest all these not withstanding the quality of SOURCE at all - just a single factor i want to be detrimental and that is the bit rate )

i used to use unrestricted 2 pass HQ till about 4 months back as back then the updates were unstable and lots of issues were there but recently i have updated my megui totally , but am totally lost with the new profiles. and encodes are coming so blocky and crappy when i am using the slider to slow settings.

[nurbs]

The slider controls almost all the options you listed. Slower slider settings will give you higher quality at a give bitrate, but will take more time to encode. The slider settings were selected in a way that the settings that give the most quality gain for the least speed loss are applied first when you move it to the right, and the settings that give most speed gain for the least quality loss when you move it to the left.
There is also the tuning dropdown menu were you can choose a source type like "film" or "animation". This will influence deblocking and some other settings.
You can look at the options applied for the different slider presets and tuning by typing "x264 --fullhelp" in a CLI window when you are in the directory where x264 is.

I don't use the presets that come with megui, but IIRC they all use the normal speed and only use different CRF values. The CRF lets you choose an output quality, but you won't know the resulting bitrate. The preset slider and tunings mentioned above will change the bitrate you get at a certain CRF, because they change the meaning of CRF. What you should do is two things.
First you do a couple of encodes with the preset slider in different positions to determine what speed you are comfortable with. Then you do encodes with different CRF values, but the same preset slider setting to see what output quality is acceptable for you. You can then encode all your files with these settings and you won't be wasting bitrate on less complex files and more complex files will automatically get the bitrate you need.

The above is a bit oversimplified, but should give you at least an idea.

[disklib]

Thanks for that suggestion nurbs. It's very helpful.

I'm one of the users who got stranded when the various updates broke the functionality of Sharktooth's presets. While I always appreciated the work he and others did, I never realized how dependent I was on them until last Sept(?). A few weeks ago I finally just jumped in and started doing tests to see what I could figure out. Your suggestion helped confirm I'm on the right path.

You mentioned you don't use the MeGUI presets, but can you comment on this observation? It seems that I need to decrease the CRF rate by 1 to get similar results to what I was getting 6 months ago.

Specifically, these are the old settings (based on Sharktooth's old "Unrestricted HQ preset):

program --profile high --crf 17.0 --ref 5 --b-adapt 2 --b-pyramid --deblock -1:-1 --subme 6 --trellis 2 --partitions all --me umh --thread-input --output "output" "input"

The new settings that seem comparable in output are this:

program --profile high --preset slower --tune film --crf 16.0 --thread-input --ref 3 --output "output" "input"

Is this a matter of the x264 CRF reference point changing over the last 6 months? Or is this based on something else that I'm not yet understanding?

[Dark Shikari]

program --profile high --preset slower --tune film --crf 16.0 --thread-input --ref 3 --output "output" "input" --profile high, --thread-input, and --ref 3 are redundant.Is this a matter of the x264 CRF reference point changing over the last 6 months? Or is this based on something else that I'm not yet understanding?No, nothing has changed. --crf 17 is still --crf 17.

[disklib]

Thanks Dark Shikari. Your reply made me realize that my settings were based on tweaks to one of the new MeGUI presets. My goal is to become independent of them so I don't find myself "stranded" again as you and the other developers continue your work.

Based on that, can you answer these 2 questions please:

1 - In MeGUI's "x264 configuration dialog", is the "scratchpad" preset the equivalent of x264's default settings? In other words, is it a neutral point for me to start adjusting the CRF, Tunings and Presets slider from?

2 - Regarding the "--profile high" command being redundant, is it rec to leave the "AVC Profiles" pull-down set to "Autoguess"?

[nurbs]

1)
The defaults will look like
program --output "output" "input"
possibly with a --thread-input because IIRC megui always puts that in the command line.
2)
Yes.

[disklib]

Thanks nurbs. I guess I'll have to manually get to that as the "scratchpad" preset currently looks like this:

program --b-pyramid none --vbv-maxrate 31250 --output "output" "input"

Regarding "vbv-maxrate" - Is that setting ignored if "vbv-bufsize" is set to "0"?

[Shevek]

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]

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]

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]

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

Thanks

[Underground78]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

.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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

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

I would say so.

[lintran]

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]

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.

[TwoToad]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[lintran]

"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]

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]

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]

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.

[Shevek]

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]

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]

@ 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]

Many thanks for both responses LigH.

[TwoToad]

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?

[hopstiii]

Hi

What settings are best for supreme smooth playback (on c2d e4500) for higher bitrate encodings like 5MB/sec (720p, 1080p).

I usually encode 3000 kbit/s but now i need higher for one short RAW clip.

[smok3]

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.

Any links/references to confirm that statement? (From my experience with the brother of DVXA, that is VDPAU anything goes)

[meshaun]

I use Megui but I get some audio encoding error all the time.
so I switched to Handbrake, any idea of how to use the above presets in Handbrake? I tried to import, but says unsupported format.
or even to see the Option Strings so that I can manually input those?

[Zathor]

Sorry, I cannot help you with handbrake. You can see the MeGUI command line at the bottom of the profile window

I use Megui but I get some audio encoding error all the time. Please post the log file or more information about this problem.

[meshaun]

I would like to use Handbrake, instead of Megui as it's easy and all.
Is it possible to find the options used in a profile so that I can manually input into the Handbrakes option strings box?

[lintran]

I have 8 Core CPU, when using Megui to encode, the total CPU used is only 20-30%, is there anyway to use 100% of 8 core? I heard about avisynth and x264 bit but seem these are unstable :(
Thanks so much.

[ramsmart]

now a days i see many movies in 400mb that to high quality 720p brrips

i want to know what settings they use and which persists they use to achieve 720p brrip in just 400mb

[ramsmart]

where HQ slow i updated many times but i did not get this HQ slow plez somebody tell me how to download HQSLOW

[LigH]

You don't need that anymore. Use x264 speed preset "slow" and chose a quality factor small enough to provide high quality for your taste (~20 or less, probably). Save it as your new "HQ slow" if you really need any profile.

[ramsmart]

may be there is any update version of HQ slow

[NoX1911]

If i choose the 'x264: standalone: ps3/xbox360' profile and move the preset slider (medium->slow) or set a tuning option several switches vanish from the config line. Should i better leave it untouched or is it not important?

[LigH]

Different speed presets include different options as defaults. Read about it in "x264 --fullhelp".

Additional options which become default after switching the speed preset are optimized out of the command line by MeGUI.

[NoX1911]

Thx. I have dropped the presets and will try built-in target strategy settings instead.

[vale25]

As newbie in x264 conversions I would kindly ask you to help me finding the best profile suited to my avi files. I tested the recommended "Unrestricted 2pass HQ" with V85.

In attachment is the comparison between the raw avi file (created by merging several .mov files of the camera, no compression, only join) and the result obtained with the aforementioned "Unrestricted 2pass HQ"

I "guess" that it is somehow ever-engineered, at least watching that I start with a Baseline@L5.0 and end-up with a High@L5.0. Another doubt is related to the selected bitrate, from 33.8 down to 12 Mbps (but this was my selection, and may be wrong!)

To hope in receiving a good answer I must define my priorities, which were:

- To not degrade the quality of the image when seen on a normal full HD home TV (32-40 inches)

- To decrease if possible the size (from a 16 GB/h perhaps to less than 8 GB/s, recordable on a dual DVD).

Note that I will remove the raw files and keep only these mkv results for future usage (such as making a movie with some editor)

I thank you in advance for the time spending with me

[Shevek]

I just had to do a re-format of my PC and have now reinstalled MeGUI.

The updater is not listing any x264 profiles any more, am I missing something?

TIA

[hello_hello]

Shevek, I'm pretty sure the target device option is intended to replace the old profiles, which is why they're not included any more. You'll find it under the x264 encoder configuration dialogue. Once you've selected a target device, along with any other encoder options, you can save the settings as a new preset.

[Shevek]

Shevek, I'm pretty sure the target device option is intended to replace the old profiles, which is why they're not included any more. You'll find it under the x264 encoder configuration dialogue. Once you've selected a target device, along with any other encoder options, you can save the settings as a new preset.

Ah - I didn't spot that option! Many thanks...

[Ookamichi]

I appreciate the hard work! and darn you ntfs for deleting your files lol honestly :) Okay now on to my question. i been using your old presets for a few years now there great! i mostly encode for my PSP so i was wondering if the new PSP profile is any better then the old one?

[Graal_CPM]

Right after MeGUI last automated update, I have notices that MP3 encoding was broken. Whatever the preset, a 32Kbps encoding was produced.

Checking xml profile files, I see that the line <AbrBitrate>0</AbrBitrate> stands at the end of each MP3 profile.

Replacing 0 by the desired bitrate (112, 128, etc) has solved the issue. I am still a bit puzzled by this and have planned to backup my presets before accepting the next update.

:) BTW, I have been playing around with encoding for quite some times now and MeGUI is by far the best software I have ever used. Open, multi-format, loaded with functionnalities, flexible in so many ways, and, and... with full automation!! Thank you to all contributors for this amazing work.

[Zathor]

i mostly encode for my PSP so i was wondering if the new PSP profile is any better then the old one?

There should be no changes in the final output when using the PSP device setting - they have just been moved from external profiles to internal ones. But as for every change problems may occur and as I do not have a PSP I cannot test if the files can still be played on a PSP.

Right after MeGUI last automated update, I have notices that MP3 encoding was broken. Whatever the preset, a 32Kbps encoding was produced. Checking xml profile files, I see that the line <AbrBitrate>0</AbrBitrate> stands at the end of each MP3 profile.
I will check that. Thanks for the hint. I do not use the MP3 output myself.

[Betsy25]

Is there *anyone* in this world who knows what would be the best quality settings possible for PS3 ?

Nowhere on the official playstation pages could I find anything related to which x264 settings the PS3 supports....

So, to sum it up, is the current PS3 profile in MeGUI the best setting (quality wise) to use for it, or are some settings included which increase encoding speed at the cost of final quality ?

[sake42]

I want to ask which is better
x264 DXVA HD extra quality ?
or
x264 DXVA HD HQ ?
thank you

[LigH]

@ sake42:

Your question makes no sense. "Better" is "the result which appears to have less annoying loss". That's completely subjective. Try both, check both - and decide for yourself.

[tebasuna51]

Now don't exist official external 'Encoder settings', was replaced by internal settings selected with 'Target Playback Device' in Configuration Dialog.

The custom external 'Encoder settings' are allowed, but we can't know the parameters in your custom settings 'x264 DXVA HD extra quality' and 'x264 DXVA HD HQ'.
I have a set of external 'Encoder settings' but none with these names.

To know the differences you can copy the parameters in bottom window of Configuration Dialog when you select these 'Encoder settings'.
For instance, I have 2 DXVA external settings:

x264: DXVA-Standard Def.
program --level 3.1 --crf 20 --vbv-bufsize 14000 --vbv-maxrate 17500

x264: DXVA-High Def.
program --level 4.1 --crf 20 --vbv-bufsize 50000 --vbv-maxrate 50000

But, if I select DXVA in 'Target Playback Device', I have only:
program --level 4.1 --crf 20

Then, please, put the parameters of your external 'Encoder settings' to see the differences.

[LigH]

In addition to ^: The speed "preset" and the content "tuning" (and some day also the playback "device"...) options alter the default settings inside the x264 encoder. MeGUI optimizes the command line to omit options which are equal to current defaults.

Additional options in your "outdated" encoder profiles would change the behaviour in relation to previous default values based on preset and tuning; an option which may increase the efficiency in relation to one preset+tuning, may decrease the efficiency in relation to another preset+tuning, make or break compatibility to target playback devices. No chance to rate them generally, regardless of presets or tunings.

[ramsmart]

now a days i see many movies in 400mb that to Bluray quality 720p brrips

i want to know what settings they use and which persists they use to achieve 720p brrip in just 400mb

[LigH]

Oh, really? Show me links to such 400 MB 720p movies. Or at least full MediaInfo reports. Let's discuss their quality together.

[Zathor]

now a days i see many movies in 400mb that to Bluray quality 720p brrips

i want to know what settings they use and which persists they use to achieve 720p brrip in just 400mb

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=161037
Please continue the discussion there.

[Groucho2004]

i want to know what settings they use and which persists they use to achieve 720p brrip in just 400mb

You're posting in the wrong place. I'm sure there are places where these scene "gurus" hang out and discuss this stuff.

[vrpatilisl]

hi
what is exact difference between unrestricted HQ AND EXTRA quality.
Thanxs

[LigH]

"Unrestricted" means that there are no compatibility restrictions considered, so the result may play only on PCs with sufficiently complete decoder software, but playback on consumer players is not certain.

The difference between a "High" and "Extra" quality template is mostly placebo: More efforts to find redundancies and similarities in the video, taking more time to calculate, but hardly giving noticably better quality at the same filesize, and making hardware player compatibility even less certain.

If you want to know the exact differences, load both XML files of these templates in a tool which highlights source code differences (e.g. windiff, Beyond Compare, etc.).

But I doubt it is worth the efforts. Templates in general are a concept ready for deprecation for the x264 encoder — because the trinity of speed "preset", content "tuning", and playback "device" options is sufficient in most cases. Less experienced users may not know all the advanced parameters good enough to take responsibility for their own changes; more experienced users may have contributed to the device option instead.

[ACrowley]

Ive a question abou the x264 BluRay 1080p 24p Profile

Why is weight=0 ? Is it incompatible with x264 and BluRay encoding?
I mean Mainconcept Reference 2.2 can use for the Bluray Profiles and my Standalone Players plays those encodes without any Problem ?

I bet its to avoid Problems with some SA Players right ?

Thank you

[rapscallion]

Where are you seeing that it's zero. This from that profile :

<CustomEncoderOptions>--level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud
--nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2 --vbv-bufsize 30000
--vbv-maxrate 40000 --weightp 1 --colorprim "bt709"
--transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709"</CustomEncoderOptions>

[vrpatilisl]

hi
I encoded small video clip with 1pass hq and extra quality preset but i get more bitrate in Hq than extra quality. Is it okay. I thought extra quality>HQ.

[LigH]

How can you believe that bitrate would be trivially equal to quality? An assembly worker who finishes simply more products than another is not better if half of them are culls.

Profiles may be designed to take more or less efforts (and encoding time) for finding and removing "redundancies". But the bitrate depends on both the efficiency (ratio between necessary information and unnecessary redundancy) and the quality loss (amount of necessary information missing to recreate the original data). A more efficient encoding profile can reduce the "waste" by redundancies (with the cost of a longer encoding time) and keep enough relevant data. A less efficient profile has redundancies and needs to reduce the overall bitrate - so it loses relevant data too.

[Groucho2004]

tell me the best profile or settings in megui for anime SD 360p

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
I suppose this also applies to some extent to megui profiles and settings.

Also, have a look at forum rule #12.

[tonyymmao]

so will there any more updates or will this be the newest version

[Galgofa]

Any advice or ready preset for Camcorder DV encoding, pls share your experience as i have no much knowledge about encoding and always in doubts about quality limit :)

[LigH]

Do you want to encode from DV or to DV?

I doubt that creating DV video would be preferable using MeGUI. Any VfW AVI editor (like VirtualDub) and an installed DV VfW codec would be sufficient. But DV has its limits, and the codec shall know them. Regarding audio multiplexing, either DV Type 1 or 2 may be required.

But if you want to convert from DV to e.g. MP4 with AVC, then I see no reason to be concerned about any details, except that NTSC DV uses 4:1:1 chroma subsampling, that might use some filtering before encoding.

[Galgofa]

I would like to create compressed film from DV file which is much larger for storage on hd, thus wandering if there additional filters or tricks maybe to make home video looks betters (like for anime presets) ?

[HMJ]

Could you please do a preset for the new Retina Display iPad?

[LigH]

That won't have any relation to the used display. Only to the limits of the decoder (processor and software) used.

[HMJ]

That won't have any relation to the used display. Only to the limits of the decoder (processor and software) used.

Actually it has everything to do with the "used display". Because the display has 4x the number of pixels as that of the iPad 2, and the GPU is only 2x faster, there is a performance hit even on supported formats, and especially on non-standard formats like mkv, in even the best current players that support other formats. There are many complaints about this at various forums. In any case, we do not have any presets for even the iPad 1, so there is a definite need for an iPad preset in general, and an iPad 3 preset specifically, because of the performance issues. Will Sharktooth please respond.

[LigH]

Well, of course ... it will depend on the relation between CPU speed and display resolution.

But not depend too much on the display technology ... that's what I meant.

So I would guess that a set of options with limited complexity will support a "fast decode" behaviour (check the similarly named tuning). But it will limit the quality per bitrate as well.

Eventually, only practice will show. But that would require owning a "New iPad" — which has, in contrast to the monetary, no big productive value for me; I have no use for tablets...

[HMJ]

Well, of course ... it will depend on the relation between CPU speed and display resolution.

But not depend too much on the display technology ... that's what I meant.

Hmmmm. Well I don't see any way to separate the display technology from the resolution really. The resolution is a function of the technology.

So I would guess that a set of options with limited complexity will support a "fast decode" behaviour (check the similarly named tuning). But it will limit the quality per bitrate as well.

Maybe but I am looking for a detailed preset like the other ones.

Eventually, only practice will show. But that would require owning a "New iPad" — which has, in contrast to the monetary, no big productive value for me; I have no use for tablets...

That's what I said until the new iPad came out. That changed everything. The new display is so fantastic that I find it difficult to go back to anything less, including this 24" monitor. It really raises the bar on all display technology. Go and try one. I think you might just change your opinion. ;)

BTW, are you Sharktooth?

[LigH]

BTW, are you Sharktooth?

Who are you to deny my human right of expressing my opinion? :rolleyes: — Have a cookie. :cool:
__

May it have a pixel density beyond 300 dpi, but after all, the Retina Display is a TFT LCD display like many others, not a miracle.

If you know whether it uses TN, IPS, AFFS, VA, or whichever specific matrix technology, may have an impact on the response times of the display cells, so to some degree it may have a slight impact on the display performance. But I doubt it will be remarkable, because:

The video is decoded to the RAM, not to the display. Displaying the video RAM should hardly delay writing it with the next frame content. If the video RAM is updated while the displaying is in progress, an effect called "tearing" happens.

[Twitch29]

I'm currently using the Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ preset with CRF 18 and am very happy with the results. Around 15 min encode time and can't spot visual differences unless comparing static frames. I stopped storing movies on optical media years ago so targeting file size makes no sense to me. I would however like guaranteed Xbox360 compatibility. Is this possible with 1 pass, and how would I go about it? The advanced settings are a mystery to me, can I just select 360 profile and change encoding mode to targeting quality? Any chance of a profile specifically for this. I'm sure it would be extremely popular.

And a big thank you for all the hard work you put into this!!!

[hello_hello]

Actually it has everything to do with the "used display". Because the display has 4x the number of pixels as that of the iPad 2, and the GPU is only 2x faster, there is a performance hit even on supported formats, and especially on non-standard formats like mkv, in even the best current players that support other formats. There are many complaints about this at various forums. In any case, we do not have any presets for even the iPad 1, so there is a definite need for an iPad preset in general, and an iPad 3 preset specifically, because of the performance issues.

Isn't the old system of presets long dead and gone? They're no longer installed when you install MeGUI and according to the file dates the presets linked to in the first post of this thread are 3 years old. If you're using the old presets they're probably outdated and should be deleted, and the first post in this thread probably should be updated to indicate the old preset system is dead.

If you open MeGUI's x264 configuration and select the ipad as the target playback device (maybe reset x264 to defaults first), I'd be thinking that qualifies as a preset for the ipad1. Mind you the only thing it seems to enforce is an AVC Level of 3.1 while everything else is x264 defaults. Now according to the specs for the ipad3, it supports:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
"H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"

So as long as you're using High Profile Level 4.1 then, according to Apple at least, you should be fine. You're officially restricted to stereo AAC audio which is a little "sad", but I'd hope the video specs are at least accurate because for a new device in the ipad price range to require the use of specific encoder restrictions in order for it to play video would be fairly mental. Stereo audio, assuming the specs are accurate, is embarrassing enough. ;)

Ipad3 MPEG-4 specs:
"MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"

No HD MPEG-4 support at all? Not even 720 pixel wide standard definition?

Anyway... you mentioned MKV and using third party software players. I'd be willing to offer a theory.....
Because the ipad3 only seems to support hardware decoding in the usual Apple formats (m4v, mp4 and mov), when playing other file types such as mkv with a third party player you may be restricted to CPU, rather than hardware decoding, in which case you may have to experiment to see what the CPU can cope with. I could be wrong, I've never owned an iDevice, but maybe even third party players can only use hardware decoding for officially supported formats, hence the difficulty with MKV video at times? It may depend on the player you're using.
As an example (Android-land), when I play video using my smartphone, the third party player I have installed will use both hardware decoding for audio and video, but if hardware decoding isn't supported for a particular type of video or audio it'll switch to software decoding for either just the audio, or for both. What an ipad player can and can't do I don't know, but maybe if the audio isn't supported by the hardware decoder it's forced to use software decoding for both audio and video.... it may depend on how clever the third party player you're using is..... I've no idea how things work in ipad-land so I'm just theorizing.

The question is, I guess, if you encode video using High Profile level 4.1 and stereo AAC audio and stick it in an Apple approved container as per the specs will it play correctly? If so, then that's all you should need to do. To create an appropriate preset using MeGUI you just need to open the x264 configuration, load the defaults, select DXVA as the target playback device (which will change the AVC level to 4.1), set your desired quality, speed preset and tuning, and save the setup as your own ipad3 preset.

[hello_hello]

I'm currently using the Unrestricted 1pass Const. Quality HQ preset with CRF 18 and am very happy with the results. Around 15 min encode time and can't spot visual differences unless comparing static frames. I stopped storing movies on optical media years ago so targeting file size makes no sense to me. I would however like guaranteed Xbox360 compatibility. Is this possible with 1 pass, and how would I go about it? The advanced settings are a mystery to me, can I just select 360 profile and change encoding mode to targeting quality? Any chance of a profile specifically for this. I'm sure it would be extremely popular.

And a big thank you for all the hard work you put into this!!!

Well as I deleted all those old presets a long time ago.....

Open the x264 configuration dialog. Reset it back to the default settings. Select the Xbox 360 as your target playback device. Change the CRF value (quality) to 18 (specify a tuning and change the speed preset if you like), save the setup as a new Xbox 360 preset and you're done.

PS The old preset you were using seems to be the equivalent of using Tuning "film", while I'm pretty sure the advanced settings would be basically the same as using Xbox 360 as the target playback device while setting the x264 speed preset to "slower" (it'll also add the required Xbox VBR settings).

[Zathor]

Isn't the old system of presets long dead and gone? They're no longer installed when you install MeGUI and according to the file dates the presets linked to in the first post of this thread are 3 years old. If you're using the old presets they're probably outdated and should be deleted, and the first post in this thread probably should be updated to indicate the old preset system is dead.
Agreed. But only Sharktooth or a moderator can change the text or add at least a warning.

[HMJ]

Isn't the old system of presets long dead and gone? They're no longer installed when you
install MeGUI and according to the file dates the presets linked to in the first post of this thread are 3 years old. If
you're using the old presets they're probably outdated and should be deleted, and the first post in this thread probably
should be updated to indicate the old preset system is dead.

If you open MeGUI's x264 configuration and select the ipad as the target playback device (maybe reset x264 to defaults
first), I'd be thinking that qualifies as a preset for the ipad1. Mind you the only thing it seems to enforce is an AVC
Level of 3.1 while everything else is x264 defaults.

Since this is my first time using it, I don't know if the presets were ever installed automatically, but the existence
of a file to download and then manually install implies otherwise. In any case they show up in the dropdown when you do
install them. They may be almost 4 years old but they are fairly detailed compared to the presets in the built-in
configuration device dropdown. e.g., iPod 5.5G device:

program --profile baseline --level 3 --pass 2 --bitrate 1000 --stats ".stats" --ref 1 --weightp 2 --qpmin 16
--qpmax 51 --vbv-bufsize 1500 --vbv-maxrate 1500 --merange 12 --me umh --direct none --subme 5 --trellis 0 --output
"output" "input"

That's the type of preset that I think would be valuable for the new iPad.

Now according to the specs for the ipad3, it supports:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
"H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz,
stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"

Yeah, I know, but not enough detail. There are certain parameters that still need to be tweaked I imagine.

So as long as you're using High Profile Level 4.1 then, according to Apple at least, you should be fine. You're
officially restricted to stereo AAC audio which is a little "sad", but I'd hope the video specs are at least accurate
because for a new device in the ipad price range to require the use of specific encoder restrictions in order for it to
play video would be fairly mental. Stereo audio, assuming the specs are accurate, is embarrassing enough. ;)

Well any device is going to have restrictions so that's not surprising. I agree that limiting GPU support for such a
small range of containers and codecs is ridiculous, but what about the company is not ridiculous? It is what it is so
the best tack is to optimize encodings for the restrictions. The incredible resolution of the display makes it all
worthwhile. I suggest you go and check it out.

Ipad3 MPEG-4 specs:
"MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160
Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats"

No HD MPEG-4 support at all? Not even 720 pixel wide standard definition?

I really don't care about MPEG-4, just h.264.

Anyway... you mentioned MKV and using third party software players. I'd be willing to offer a theory.....
Because the ipad3 only seems to support hardware decoding in the usual Apple formats (m4v, mp4 and mov), when playing
other file types such as mkv with a third party player you may be restricted to CPU, rather than hardware decoding, in
which case you may have to experiment to see what the CPU can cope with. I could be wrong, I've never owned an iDevice,
but maybe even third party players can only use hardware decoding for officially supported formats, hence the difficulty
with MKV video at times? It may depend on the player you're using.

I think the player uses a combination of CPU and GPU when playing unsupported formats so that is the bottleneck. I was
hoping that sharktooth might have some experience with this problem and offer his expertise at choosing parameter
settings.

The question is, I guess, if you encode video using High Profile level 4.1 and stereo AAC audio and stick it in
an Apple approved container as per the specs will it play correctly? If so, then that's all you should need to do. To
create an appropriate preset using MeGUI you just need to open the x264 configuration, load the defaults, select DXVA as
the target playback device (which will change the AVC level to 4.1), set your desired quality, speed preset and tuning,
and save the setup as your own ipad3 preset.

Absolutely. If I transmux an mkv into an mp4 container, re-encoding the audio to 160kbps AAC, if necessary, it usually
plays much better than the original because then it is completely GPU accelerated. But I want to avoid that if I come
across an already encoded mkv, and I still would like to know the best settings for transcoding say, a BD, to mp4.
That's all.

[hello_hello]

Since this is my first time using it, I don't know if the presets were ever installed automatically, but the existence
of a file to download and then manually install implies otherwise.

True. Which is why I said if they're no longer maintained or required, the original post probably should be updated to indicate it. Zathor (who maintains MeGUI) seems to agree with me.

In any case they show up in the dropdown when you do
install them. They may be almost 4 years old but they are fairly detailed compared to the presets in the built-in
configuration device dropdown. e.g., iPod 5.5G device:

program --profile baseline --level 3 --pass 2 --bitrate 1000 --stats ".stats" --ref 1 --weightp 2 --qpmin 16
--qpmax 51 --vbv-bufsize 1500 --vbv-maxrate 1500 --merange 12 --me umh --direct none --subme 5 --trellis 0 --output
"output" "input"

That's the type of preset that I think would be valuable for the new iPad.

I don't think it's necessary. The ipad is officially capable of playing anything covered by using High Profile level 4.1. There's no other bitrate restrictions mentioned in the specs.
To be honest, I'd be kind of surprised if any further restrictions are needed as hardware decoders in most devices are pretty good these days. Even the hardware decoder in my Motorola Razr seems capable of playing anything the video card in my PC can decode.

Yeah, I know, but not enough detail. There are certain parameters that still need to be tweaked I imagine.

The only other things which I'd imagine might need to be tweaked would be bitrate or VBR settings, but unlike the ipod, Apple don't list any bitrate limitations in the ipad3 specs.

Well any device is going to have restrictions so that's not surprising. I agree that limiting GPU support for such a
small range of containers and codecs is ridiculous, but what about the company is not ridiculous? It is what it is so
the best tack is to optimize encodings for the restrictions.

Agreed, which seems to involve using High Profile level 4.1 when encoding and MP4.

I really don't care about MPEG-4, just h.264.

Yeah, the CPU should be able to decode it anyway.

Absolutely. If I transmux an mkv into an mp4 container, re-encoding the audio to 160kbps AAC, if necessary, it usually
plays much better than the original because then it is completely GPU accelerated. But I want to avoid that if I come
across an already encoded mkv, and I still would like to know the best settings for transcoding say, a BD, to mp4.
That's all.

That doesn't quite make sense to me. All the presets in the world aren't going to make an already encoded mkv you might come across play smoothly, but you should be able to determine if it's High Profile level 4.1 and remux it into an MP4 container if that's what's required to get it to play correctly, and according to the specs High Profile level 4.1 and MP4/M4V is all that's required when encoding. For MKVs you come across, a third party player which can use hardware decoding for MKVs (which I'd hope is possible) would be the only other solution, but even then, I'd imagine the encoder specs wouldn't be any different.
If video plays correctly using High Profile level 4.1 and MP4, isn't that what you wanted in a preset? If you encode using High Profile level 4.1 and stereo AAC audio and stick it in an MP4 does it play correctly, or just better as you described? If it's the latter and it's still not playing perfectly smoothly, then I guess that's a different story.

[300watt]

I'm new to MeGUI, but what I would like to do is to convert a bunch of old videos in WMV2 to h264 in order to save space. I don't wanna lose any quality however, so I need a lossless-profile. I see there is one, but why does it only do 1 pass?

Processing time is not an issue for me.

[Atak_Snajpera]

I'm new to MeGUI, but what I would like to do is to convert a bunch of old videos in WMV2 to h264 in order to save space. I don't wanna lose any quality however, so I need a lossless-profile. I see there is one, but why does it only do 1 pass?

Processing time is not an issue for me.

lossless h.264 will be ALWAYS larger than your original wmv files.

[LigH]

I really don't care about MPEG-4, just h.264.

:o H.264 is the kernel of MPEG-4 Part 10 (Advanced Video Coding). :p

You probably only don't care about MPEG-4 Part 2 ([Advanced] Simple Profile, as implemented in e.g. DivX or Xvid).

Well - it's not primarily your fault. Manual authors have no clue about tech and specs, usually.

[tebasuna51]

Agreed. But only Sharktooth or a moderator can change the text or add at least a warning.
Warning added. Please say me if is correct/enough.

[300watt]

lossless h.264 will be ALWAYS larger than your original wmv files.

oh ok. I guess I don't need a technically lossless profile, but rather one that will reduce the size, while not losing any quality. Basically, if I take a screenshot of any one frame in the h264 it should be just as good a picture as when taken in the wmv2 original.

I'm assuming this should be possible while getting a smaller file size due to h264 having more advanced compression technology?

[LigH]

one that will reduce the size, while not losing any quality.

Technically impossible. Each lossy compression will discard a certain amount of information. But you may not notice it – then you may call it "transparent quality".

In general, always the same rules apply:

If the target size matters, use 2-pass encoding.
If it doesn't, use 1-pass quality-based encoding with your personal CRF value.


The bitrate or the CRF value are always the most important constraint. The choice of preset, tuning, or hardware device compatibility, are secondary options. Do not try to substitute bitrate by compression efforts, the result is not guaranteed to satisfy.

[300watt]

So what you're saying then is that the lossless compression algorithms of wmv2 are as good as the ones in h264 and that h264 is only better at lossy compression?

[Atak_Snajpera]

Remember going from one lossy format to another lossy format will always decrease quality unless source has very high bitrate like BD.
For example. Compressing strongly compressed JPEG to JPEG-XR also does not make sense.

[LigH]

In general, lossless compression algorithms differ only slightly. They have a typical compression ratio, compared to an uncompressed video, of less than 1:5 (even if compared to RGB; video compression is usually based on YV12 though, which already uses only half the size due to chroma subsampling, so it's more exactly "quasi-lossless").

I have no idea if WMV3 / VC-1 has a lossless mode at all.

Modern lossy algorithms can have compression ratios close to 1:1000 and still offer transparent quality, depending on the material. One key dependency is the efficiency of B-frame motion prediction. The better the similarity between several sequent frames can be used to reduce redundancies, the more efficient the compression can be without losing too much original quality. But the harder (more time consuming) it is to compress and to play back. Blu-ray video has to limit the compression efficiency due to limited hardware buffer sizes, related to the wish to be able to quickly seek and scan through the video.

[300watt]

So if the efficiency of lossy compression comes from the majority of the frames only containing info regarding the changes from a previous frame, couldn't you have something that's visually-lossless then if all the pixels you see on the screen are as good as the source, while still discarding unnecessary static picture information?

I guess I should just try the unrestricted presets for my purposes. Anyone that could recommend one to try if I don't wanna lose any quality and having a long processing time is no problem for me?

[LigH]

Well, as already mentioned: If you spend enough bitrate, you'll get so little differences that you won't notice them. How little they have to be to become "transparent" for you depends on your personal experience. Some are satisfied with an amount of artefacts ("WOAH! Top quality!!1!"), another viewer would get annoyed about ("Eye cancer")... You will possibly have to do your own tests to decide. x264, fortunately, has a very convenient feature to discover your personal annoyance threshold: the CRF value, which describes the acceptable amount of difference between input and output video. The encoder will use as much bitrate as necessary to ensure a degree of similarity.

Create a series of copies with CRF values between about 18 and 24 (fractional numbers are allowed, but integers may be sufficient for the test) of a few different short high-quality videos (preferably not web trailers, they will already contain compression artefacts, so getting good material may be the most complicated part about it; downloading and processing the PNG image sets of the Blender movies is possible, but quite complex and time consuming). Many average viewers will probably be satisfied with the quality of CRF values around 21-22. CRF 15 may already be taken as "archival grade".

But the smaller the CRF is, the more bitrate will be spent, the bigger the file gets. Possibly even bigger than the original, if that was already compressed. And already compressed original videos will probably already contain compression artefacts (usually blocking and edge ringing). And encoding such artefacts even further requires even more bitrate because they are unnatural details.

If you insist in a specific target bitrate and output file size, using 2-pass encoding, x264 will calculate the required CRF value after the 1st-pass analysis, and apply it during the 2nd-pass encoding.

Apart from the bitrate (target average bitrate for 2-pass, or resulting bitrate via CRF in 1-pass), the other encoder options do not primarily increase the amount of kept quality (only indirectly in a 2-pass encoding, via the more efficient compression). The (speed) "Preset" controls the efforts to find similarities to use to increase efficiency. The (content) "Tuning" mainly controls features to make quality loss less obvious. And the "Target Playback Device" option limits the efficiency to maintain compatibility with decoders which have limited features, compared to an all-purpose PC with GHz CPU and GB RAM to run a more or less complete decoder software.

Use the trinity of (speed) "Preset", (content) "Tuning", and "Target Playback Device" compatibility. x264 has a very elaborately tuned and tested set of options which will give you nearly optimal results for most cases. A slower preset than "Slower" is probably not necessary, you won't get much more efficient compression despite wasting a lot more time. Find your personal CRF threshold. Select the hardware compatibility matching your player. And from here, save your personal "Encoder settings / presets" with a few probable tunings. If you insist in a maximum file size, switch to 2-pass encoding. Done.

Change the advanced options only if you know their meaning at least as good as the x264 developers.

[Zathor]

Warning added. Please say me if is correct/enough.
Thank you very much!

[300watt]

Alright thanks for the info. I tried using the unrestricted-insane preset, going all the way down to CRF 13 where the result ended up bigger than the source and still some quality was lost (like the fine texture fidelity of surfaces, h264 just smudges it out). I guess I'm better of just using the original wmv2, remuxing it into a new container. Some of the files have wrong aspect ratios and sound desync, but that should all be fixable through the container format.

I also compared the "Unrestricted-Insane" and "slower" presets at the same CRF 15, and it seems like insane took longer and produced a better quality.

Is content-tuning worth experimenting with (for regular live-action movies) or what is it about??

[LigH]

Tunings can help in certain situations, like preserving more details (grain) or, the opposite, smoothing low-detail parts more (animation), by tweaking the in-loop deblock filter, among other options.

Presets with names like "insane" or "placebo" got this name for a certain reason. If you have to use these to achieve "satisfying" results, you did something generally wrong.

[tonyymmao]

i just have 1 question, i can see that u can set the bit rate in the encoder settings, so why can u set the bit rate again after u press auto encode

[Betsy25]

i just have 1 question, i can see that u can set the bit rate in the encoder settings, so why can u set the bit rate again after u press auto encode

You have to press "Auto Encode" *after* you have your encoding settings set.
Auto Encode means something like "All is ready, let's do it !" :)

[LigH]

http://th250.photobucket.com/albums/gg262/Dutchygamer/Random%20Forum%20Pics/th_picard.jpg

[Shevek]

http://th250.photobucket.com/albums/gg262/Dutchygamer/Random%20Forum%20Pics/th_picard.jpg

I wish this board had a Kudos button - you'd get 10 points from me for that :D:D

[hello_hello]

i just have 1 question, i can see that u can set the bit rate in the encoder settings, so why can u set the bit rate again after u press auto encode

So you don't have to set up multiple encoder presets with different bitrates?

I never encode using set bitrates or file sizes but MeGUI has two queue buttons which let you add individual video-only or audio-only encoding jobs to the job queue. In the former case I imagine it'd use the bitrate you specified when setting up the encoder. When using the auto encode button, you're usually encoding video and audio (or adding existing audio to your video encode) so the auto encode method lets you specify a new bitrate or final file size for each auto encode job.

[Dal]

Ok, after coming back here to read, I finally understand why there hasn't been any updates to the presets for a long time :)
But I would claim the old presets still works pretty good, though.

But all I have seen in here lately is talk about the x264 codecs and presets...

What about the Xvid presets? Are they outdated too?
I still use the Xvid: 2pass HQ (No Qpel) on a daily basis, and things seems to work fine to me.

I think presets for different encoders is a great thing, because it allows the not so technically strong among you (including me) to do excellent work without having to understand the ocean of options in there.

Thanks.

[kalehrl]

What about the Xvid presets? Are they outdated too?
Personally, I don't use Xvid presets because I created mine which better suit my understanding of Xvid options.
This is for 2-pass:
program -i "input" -pass2 ".stats" -bitrate 842 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -lumimasking -bvhq -o "output"
Bitrate of course varies from encode to encode.
This is for CQ:
program -i "input" -single -cq 3.3 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -lumimasking -bvhq -o "output"

[Dal]

Personally, I don't use Xvid presets because I created mine which better suit my understanding of Xvid options.
This is for 2-pass:
program -i "input" -pass2 ".stats" -bitrate 842 -turbo -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -lumimasking -bvhq -o "output"
Bitrate of course varies from encode to encode.
This is for CQ:
program -i "input" -single -cq 3.3 -max_key_interval 250 -nopacked -lumimasking -bvhq -o "output"
Thank you, I will try this.

But about the x264 settings:
Should I still have two different settings? One for SD (AVC Level 3.1) and one for HD (AVC Level 4.1)
If I just choose playback device = DXVA, MeGUI chooses (and encodes in) 4.1 automatically, no matter what the source material is.

[kalehrl]

No need for that because x264 takes care of that automatically if you use built in preset.
I just choose 'slow' and 'targeting quality' or 'targeting size' and HD encodes are always 4.1 and SD 3.1.
I don't choose playback device = DXVA so don't know about that.

[hello_hello]

kalehrl,
My understanding is a given level might impose different restrictions according to the resolution. Might I inquire as to the reason for using 3.1 for SD and 4.1 for HD? I'm just curious.


But about the x264 settings:
Should I still have two different settings? One for SD (AVC Level 3.1) and one for HD (AVC Level 4.1)
If I just choose playback device = DXVA, MeGUI chooses (and encodes in) 4.1 automatically, no matter what the source material is.

DXVA just changes the level to 4.1. That's it.
Are you aiming for playback using a particular device? Most portable players will specify the level they support, but these days High Profile, Level 4.1 is pretty standard. I encode everything that way regardless of the resolution. I've not had problems playing my encodes using my TV's built in media player, either of the Bluray players in this house, using the PCs video card to decode.... even my Android phone plays High Profile, level 4.1, 1080p without a problem. As should the iphone 4s (I've not used one).

If you're using a (possibly) older device for playback which only supports a lower AVC level then change it accordingly, or use the Target Playback Device option, but you'd still probably use the same level regardless of resolution. I'm not sure I understand the logic behind changing it for SD or HD.

[kalehrl]

Might I inquire as to the reason for using 3.1 for SD and 4.1 for HD?
I'm not setting the levels manually.
x264 does it for me according to the resolution.
So far, all my SD encodes were 3.1 and HD 4.1.

[BlockABoots]

Can anyone tell me the command line for the 'HD-DVD' and 'HD-DVD Fast' so that it works with the newer releases of x264?? As that preset gives really good quality and fast encoding times for Youtube 1080p uploads. Im not sure what needs to be changed from the old command line...

HD-DVD
program --level 4.1 --pass 2 --bitrate 8000 --stats ".stats" --deblock -1:-1 --keyint 14 --min-keyint 2 --bframes 2 --b-adapt 2 --qpmin 10 --qpmax 51 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --vbv-bufsize 14475 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --me umh --direct auto --subme 6 --trellis 2 --nal-hrd vbr --mvrange 511 --output "output" "input"

HD-DVD Fast
program --level 4.1 --pass 2 --bitrate 8000 --stats ".stats" --deblock -1:-1 --keyint 14 --min-keyint 2 --bframes 2 --ref 2 --qpmin 10 --qpmax 51 --ipratio 1.1 --pbratio 1.1 --vbv-bufsize 14475 --vbv-maxrate 24000 --qcomp 0.5 --merange 12 --direct auto --subme 4 --trellis 0 --nal-hrd vbr --mvrange 511 --output "output" "input"

Also is there a Youtube preset that gives the best video quality and fast encoding times for 720p and 1080p uploads??, i think the above HD-DVD presets are really good for youtube

[StainlessS]

@BlockABoots

Use of the word 'best', invites bottom smacking on D9.

[Atak_Snajpera]

some people forget that youtube ALWAYS reencode your video files so it does not matter what settings you use. just use default settings with low crf value (16 or lower)

[BlockABoots]

some people forget that youtube ALWAYS reencode your video files so it does not matter what settings you use. just use default settings with low crf value (16 or lower)

Yeah i understand that but i though the better you can get the quality before uploading to YT the better the TY vid would look?

Hang on, i thought the higher the CRF value the lower the quality???

[Atak_Snajpera]

what does 'lower value' mean in english then?

[Shevek]

Hang on, i thought the higher the CRF value the lower the quality???

what does 'lower value' mean in english then?

Lower CRF results in higher quality encode

i.e. CRF 16 will be better quality than CRF 23

If you hover over the Quality box in the config window you will see a tooltip with a very good explanation.

Unfortunately you cannot copy/paste from a tooltip otheriwse I'd repeat it here.

[LigH]

But you can easily quote from megui\Data\ContextHelp.xml:

Constant Ratefactor

Encode in Quality Based Variable Bit Rate mode, regardless of bit rate.

CRF targets a certain 'quality'. The idea is for crf n to give the same perceptual quality as qp n,
just in a smaller space. It is not extremely exact, but reasonably close (and will average out to be
accurate over a large number of videos). The arbitrary unit of measure for crf values is the "ratefactor".
CRF achieves this by reducing the quality of 'less important' frames. In this context, 'less important' means
frames in complex or high-motion scenes, where quality is either more expensive (in terms of bits)
or less visible, will have their quantizer increased. The bits saved in frames like these are redistributed
to frames where they will be more effective. CRF will take less time than a 2pass bitrate encode,
because the 'first pass' from a 2pass encode was skipped. On the other hand, it's impossible to predict
the bitrate a CRF encode will come out to (without actually performing the encode or a portion of it).
It's up to you to decide which rate-control mode is better for your circumstances.

Default: 23

Recommended:
The range 18-26 is probably where you will want to look at. If you need absolutely perfect quality
you could go down to 16, but it's probably not worth it. Around 19-21.5 is where a rip will look very good.
Higher resolution encoding can generally get away with higher crf values.

[TheProfosist]

For some reason the link sems to be dead for me. I know the archive is outdated for settings for x264 but i would still like it if possible.

EDIT: never mind the mirror worked

[Zathor]

Avoid using those profiles in MeGUI. A lot of the settings have changed and they will not be migrated anymore to the correct settings.

[greatdanton]

no more update for Megui?

[LigH]

Read the last reply by Zathor above your post again.

Use the basic "Preset" and "Tuning" options if you know less about the relations between the advanced x264 options that the developers of x264. ;)

[greatdanton]

Read the last reply by Zathor above your post again.

Use the basic "Preset" and "Tuning" options if you know less about the relations between the advanced x264 options that the developers of x264. ;)

ok thanks but I can't find the advanced x264 options in this forum other than the officanl website of the x264 (http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings#subme)

[LigH]

Understanding some of the advanced options in x264 may require having read and understood the MPEG4 Part 1, 2, and 10 specifications, as well as general video analysis and compression techniques. Most of that is technical stuff too heavy for the average user. Therefore, the x264 developers spent a lot of efforts into balancing the relations between presets and tunings to be useful in most cases. And in general you can trust the rule: Nothing is better than "enough" bitrate.

[greatdanton]

Understanding some of the advanced options in x264 may require having read and understood the MPEG4 Part 1, 2, and 10 specifications, as well as general video analysis and compression techniques. Most of that is technical stuff too heavy for the average user. Therefore, the x264 developers spent a lot of efforts into balancing the relations between presets and tunings to be useful in most cases. And in general you can trust the rule: Nothing is better than "enough" bitrate.

ok thanks for reply
Do you mean that is enough for average user to encode in settings such as presets and tunings, high bitrate?

[LigH]

Yes. The x264 developers put severe efforts into condensing the complex relations between the many detail options to so few convenient and intuitive meta-options that average users can most probably get acceptable-to-great results with

target bitrate or "quality level" (CRF value)
(speed) preset
(content) tuning
maybe a few device compatibility options, if required (to be turned into a "device" meta-option some day; MeGUI already does that in its dialog...)

[Xor]

Hi thanks for presets.

Please i'am a newbye how to install presets in megui? I tryed to copy in related folder "c:\MeGUI_2356_x86\allprofiles\x264\" but not work. Installed preset not appear.

Thanks

[LigH]

Do not try to use obsolete presets which are not supported by the current MeGUI version anymore.

[rapscallion]

Well, in case he wants to (I still use the 720p/1080p presets and they work fine)

>File>Import Presets....then select the Zip file presets.

[Zathor]

And as an additional information:
Every setting which has changed internally in the last years will not be applied at all when importing these old presets. So you will definitively end with something between the original preset and the recent MeGUI default values as a lot has been changed internally over those years.

[rapscallion]

I didn't realize that !

So, in the "Input" screen what do you enter in the Encoder Settings dialog box (where the presets are/were displayed)?

If I delete all the x264 preset options/profiles, then x264: "Scratchpad" remains. Is that what it should be?

[Zathor]

It is up to you. But I would not import those old presets and instead create a few new ones depending on what you need / encode for.

I have created a few presets for my encodings like several Bluray presets and also a few WDTV ones. All of my presets have crf (~18) & very slow setting & no/film tuning. At the end you can say I change only settings on the first page and do not bother with the other settings.

[rapscallion]

The only one I've been using for a long time is the x264:Blu-ray 1080p/720p. On build #2487

First page (show advanced settings) I select "Automated 2 pass", "Target Playback Device: Bluray", "Tuning": Film
"Bitrate": whatever I get in the bitrate calculator for the particular BD I'm re-encoding (I usually reduce a full BD-50 down to BD-25, film only) And, like you, "Preset": slow

If I select "scratchpad", and apply the same setting as above, the command line is virtually identical.

BTW, I wouldn't know the first thing on creating a preset. I don't see any option in any of the "Advanced Settings" for selecting CRF 18. But, then again, I'm using VBR so Constant Rate Factor wouldn't apply, I believe?

Edit: I have been happy with the results and always seem to get a result almost identical/transparent to the original BD.

Custom Command line on the Misc page:
--level 4.1 --bframes 3 --ref 4 --slices 4 --aud
-nal-hrd vbr --b-pyramid strict --keyint 24 --min-keyint 2
-vbv-bufsize 30000 --vbv-maxrate 40000 --weightp 0
-colorprim "bt709" --transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709"

Main page settings:

http://forum.doom9.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14115&d=1395519563

[ramsmart]

how to get megui x265 presets ??????

[LigH]

Just as collectibles ... or for a specific purpose (e.g. being compatible to specific playback devices)?

[ramsmart]

Just as collectibles ... or for a specific purpose (e.g. being compatible to specific playback devices)?

Just as collectibles