Bluray to .avi video bitrate issue

[Mildragon]

I tried to convert a bluray disc to .avi 720p and I face video bitrate issues. On two-pass mode, I selected average video bitrate 3800 kbps in 1280X720 resolution (source resolution: 1920X1080 at 36 Mbps video) but the output ended to be roughly at 3100 kbps video bitrate.

I tried 2 times with Virtualdubmod (via Directshowsource). Both times I had the same results (regarding video bitrate).

Could someone enlighten me to do sth in order to achieve bigger video bitrate? Should I experiment with the max and min quantizers (I used h.263, I don't want to use a custom quantizer)??? Or sth else???

[LoRd_MuldeR]

You don't even mention which Video Compressor you are using.

Well, you mention "h.263", but you did not tell us which Codec you use to compress to h.263. is it ffdshow-tryouts? If so, is your version the latest ???

Also why h.263? Why not something more efficient, like H.264/AVC (x264), or at least something commonly used, such as Xvid?

[Mildragon]

You don't even mention which Video Compressor you are using.

Well, you mention "h.263", but you did not tell us which Codec you use to compress to h.263. is it ffdshow-tryouts? If so, is your version the latest ???

Also why h.263? Why not something more efficient, like H.264/AVC (x264), or at least something commonly used, such as Xvid?

I mentioned in my post that it is about .avi 720p.
The codec used was Xvid 1.3.2

I don't prefer .mkv/H264 simply becaue I use embedded stylisised .ass.subs and media players have problems recognising this kind of subtitle.
Well, I could burn the subs even in an H.264/.mkv container... but that's not my problem. My problem is the small video bitrate output using Xvid....

[LoRd_MuldeR]

I mentioned in my post that it is about .avi 720p.
The codec used was Xvid 1.3.2

What you say is contradictory. Xvid is an MPEG-4 Part 2 (ASP) encoder. That is not H.263.

(Although, as far as I know, the MPEG-4 Part 2 format evolved from H.263)

I don't prefer .mkv/H264 simply becaue I use embedded stylisised .ass.subs and media players have problems recognising this kind of subtitle.
Well, I could burn the subs even in an H.264/.mkv container... but that's not my problem. My problem is the small video bitrate output using Xvid....

If you run both passes with the exactly same target bitrate and if the input for both passes is 100% identical, but the video still comes out at the wrong average bitrate, then this would indicate some bug in Xvid's 2-Pass rate-control. Have you tried with the Xvid command-line encoder (xvid_encraw) rather than the Xvid VFW Codec? You may use a GUI like MeGUI, if you don't like to run from the console...

(It could also happen that the encoder simply is "saturated" and therefore won't encode at an even higher bitrate. But I highly doubt this can happen at 3800 kbps for 720p input ^^)

[Mildragon]

Let's assume that I want to run Xvid_encraw from the console without using a GUI. How can I do this? Could you refer me to a guide?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Download it from here:
http://www.xvidvideo.ru/component/docman/doc_download/6748-xvid-codec-132-x86-mtk-a-divx-profiles-without-installer.html

Unzip to the folder of your choice. Then run these commands from the console:
xvid_encraw.exe -i "C:\Some Folder\Input.avs" -bitrate 666 -pass1 "C:\Some Folder\stats.txt" -avi "C:\Some Folder\out-pass1.avi"
xvid_encraw.exe -i "C:\Some Folder\Input.avs" -bitrate 666 -pass2 "C:\Some Folder\stats.txt" -avi "C:\Some Folder\out-pass2.avi"

[hello_hello]

Is it possible you're just selecting too high a bitrate? One which would in theory provide a greater quality than Xvid's 100%?

The way I understand it, if you ran a single pass Q2.0 encode using the same Xvid settings, the final bitrate/file size would be as good as it gets. If you choose a higher bitrate for a 2 pass encode it'll be undersized. While 3800kbps doesn't sound too overly enthusiastic for a 1280x720 encode, maybe you could run a single pass encode to see what sort of bitrate you end up with.

[Mildragon]

@ LoRd_MuldeR:

I didn't understand a thing about these commands. how do you input video filters or resizers e.t.c.? Do I have to make an .avs script of my own first?

Though I am willing to learn, I don't want to waste your time. Isn't there a guide for newbies like me in order to learn more?

@hello_hello:

O.K. I'II try it.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

@ LoRd_MuldeR:

I didn't understand a thing about these commands. how do you input video filters or resizers e.t.c.? Do I have to make an .avs script of my own first?

Though I am willing to learn, I don't want to waste your time. Isn't there a guide for newbies like me in order to learn more?

The commands in my previous posts are examples. That's how you would enter the commands in the console.

But if you want to run from the console manually, rather than using a GUI front-end (e.g. MeGUI), then you will have to put together an Avisynth script.

Creating an Avisynth script that loads a source video and applies a few simple filters (such as Resize) isn't rocket science ;)

If you haven't used Avisynth before, I would suggest to start with the Avisynth tutorial here:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Main_Page#New_to_AviSynth_-_start_here

Note that you can always open your Avisynth script in VirtualDub in order to check its output. If everything is okay, you can start the encode with xvid_encraw.

Also note that the FFmpegSource2 (http://code.google.com/p/ffmpegsource/) (FFMS2) plug-in is extremely helpful to load all kinds of source videos into your script. Don't miss it!

[tebasuna51]

... Should I experiment with the max and min quantizers (I used h.263, I don't want to use a custom quantizer)???

Try with min quantizers to 1

[Mildragon]

@hello_hello:

In single pass mode: Video bitrate Input: 3830 kbps / Video bitrate Output: 3740 kbps


@tebasuna51

On the xvid setup page I used the default quantizers, so min was set to 1 and max to 31.

[tebasuna51]

@hello_hello:

In single pass mode: Video bitrate Input: 3830 kbps / Video bitrate Output: 3740 kbps
The test sugested by hello_hello is
single pass mode: Target Quantizer: 2.0

On the xvid setup page I used the default quantizers, so min was set to 1 and max to 31.
Then you can't obtain more bitrate changing this.

You can try also Quantization type: MPEG instead H.263
is also, more or less, standard matrix and recommended for high bitrates.

@LoRd_MuldeR
When Mildragon say H.263 mean the Quantization matrix to use, where you can select between: H.263, MPEG or Custom