What setting's to use ?

[xbox360]

Hi what setting's in x264 10bit to use to get the same quality as xvid 1.5mb/ps 2 pass ? also will the file size of the x264 video be smaller than xvid 1.5mb/ps 2 pass ?

[J_Darnley]

If you encode at 1.5M, of course it won't be smaller. And 10-bit no longer changes anything, use the same crf as you would with 8-bit.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Hi what setting's in x264 10bit to use to get the same quality as xvid 1.5mb/ps 2 pass ?

This is impossible to answer for any kind of content/resolution/framerate. Also Xvid and x264 produce different kind of artifacts, so "same quality" is ambiguous.

I recommend to use x264 with CRF mode (and the suitable "--tune"). For example start with CRF=18, then successively increase the CRF by 1, until the quality drops below the desired level.

This way you'll know the maximum possible CRF value that still gives the desired quality. With that CRF value you'll also know the required bitrate...

also will the file size of the x264 video be smaller than xvid 1.5mb/ps 2 pass ?

Of course with a specific average bitrate the file size will always be identical (for a video of the same duration), no matter what encoder or video format you use ;)

However with x264 you should be able to get away with a lower average bitrate for the same/similar level of quality, compared to Xvid.

[Amateur]

I recommend to use x264 with CRF mode (and the suitable "--tune"). For example start with CRF=18, then successively increase the CRF by 1, until the quality drops below the desired level.

This way you'll know the maximum possible CRF value that still gives the desired quality. With that CRF value you'll also know the required bitrate...



Of course with a specific average bitrate the file size will always be identical (for a video of the same duration), no matter what encoder or video format you use ;)

However with x264 you should be able to get away with a lower average bitrate for the same/similar level of quality, compared to Xvid.

i have some questions to tag along to this.

i JUST stumbled across constant quantizer and constant quality and feel like a jackass for encoding using automated 2-pass up until now.

the description in megui leads me to believe that constant quality is the same picture but smaller bitrate than constant quantizer but so far my inital tests seem to be the opposite (still encoding different sections as i type to compare). am i understanding this right that if both are set to 19, constant quality should be a smaller file but both pictures should look nearly identical?

also, what tweaks can be made to help further the performance. currently i have:
weighted prediction for b-frames checked
number of b-frames = 16
b-frame bias = 0
adaptive b-frames = 2-optimal
number of reference frames = 10
number of extra i-frames = 40
adaptive i-frame decision is checked

should any of these have a higher or lower number to improve quality at a lower bitrate? are there any other settings in megui that i should change?

thanks for any help

[AMED]

Keep it simple,

x264.exe --preset veryslow --crf 19.0 --tune film --output "OUTPUT" "INPUT"

[nm]

the description in megui leads me to believe that constant quality is the same picture but smaller bitrate than constant quantizer but so far my inital tests seem to be the opposite (still encoding different sections as i type to compare). am i understanding this right that if both are set to 19, constant quality should be a smaller file but both pictures should look nearly identical?

No. Neither the quality nor the bitrate will be equal over a group of videos. But CRF (constant quality) has better quality/bitrate ratio, so that's what you should use.

also, what tweaks can be made to help further the performance. currently i have:
[...]
number of b-frames = 16

If you want a sane speed/quality balance, this is overkill. I'd stick to 3..6 with b-adapt 2.

number of reference frames = 10

That's probably also overkill for everything but anime. x264 --preset slower sets 8 references.

But doesn't MeGUI provide speed presets so that you don't need to tune individual parameters that you know nothing about?
If you really need to squeeze the last bit of compression, you could use --preset veryslow settings. But don't go to placebo.

[aegisofrime]

But what would be the point of encoding with 10-bit though? I thought there still isn't a decoder for that?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

But what would be the point of encoding with 10-bit though? I thought there still isn't a decoder for that?

There is. MainConcept for example. It's just that libavcodec (and thus 99,9% of all OpenSource playback solutions) doesn't support 10-Bit H.264 yet ;)

(I think if you want to have fun with 10-Bit at the moment and not pay for a commercial decoder, you can try the JM reference software)

[Amateur]

If you want a sane speed/quality balance, this is overkill. I'd stick to 3..6 with b-adapt 2.



That's probably also overkill for everything but anime. x264 --preset slower sets 8 references.

But doesn't MeGUI provide speed presets so that you don't need to tune individual parameters that you know nothing about?
If you really need to squeeze the last bit of compression, you could use --preset veryslow settings. But don't go to placebo.
well i usually do my encoding overnight so speed isn't as much of a concern as quality is. i would rather have a spectacular looking output now and have it take longer than an output that is good for now but i might want to eventually go back and redo.

just to get an idea though, should i be getting between 2-3 fps when using a combination of filters like pixiedust, fft3dfilter, limitedsharpenfaster, saa, and sometimes edeen thrown in there? or am i really hurting my speed more than i know?

[nm]

well i usually do my encoding overnight so speed isn't as much of a concern as quality is. i would rather have a spectacular looking output now and have it take longer than an output that is good for now but i might want to eventually go back and redo.

The quality difference between slower, veryslow and placebo presets is quite insignificant. One or two percents more bitrate will easily overcome it.

just to get an idea though, should i be getting between 2-3 fps when using a combination of filters like pixiedust, fft3dfilter, limitedsharpenfaster, saa, and sometimes edeen thrown in there? or am i really hurting my speed more than i know?

That's impossible to estimate without the exact script and knowing the resolution of the video and your CPU model.

[Amateur]

what about some of the advanced settings in megui? particularly, trellis, psy-trellis, psy-rd strength, etc. if i'm encoding cartoons only at the moment and using constant quality, how should i adjust these for some beneficial quality?

[Blue_MiSfit]

short answer? don't ;)

--tune animation is there to help you in these cases. Otherwise, use --tune film.

You'll probably shoot yourself in the foot by messing with all the RD settings without full understanding of what they do. I don't even adjust them ;)

Also, it sounds like you may be overfiltering. Try some encodes with little or no filtering.

Derek