Animation encoding questions

[robo731]

I'm pretty new to x264 and I'm trying to encode an animated source. This is a modified version of some settings which were recommended to me. I know that it's safe to go with the presets and to not look too much into things, but I was wondering about a few settings. Here's the settings I'm using:

"D:\Encoding\x264-10b-r2345-f0c1c53.exe" --profile high10 --level 3.1 --crf 18 --thread-input --preset veryslow --tune animation --deblock -2:-2 --subme 10 --bframes 8 --ref 13 --no-dct-decimate --no-mbtree --aq-mode 2 -o "D:\Encoding\video.h264" "D:\Encoding\video.avs" 2> "D:\Encoding\log.txt"
@pause

These are the ones from the settings which were recommended to me that I'm wondering about:

--psy-rd 0.60:0 --qpmin 10 --qpmax 38 --no-dct-decimate --no-mbtree --aq-mode 2

I read that using the tresllis is psy-rd is not recommended for anime and that it's only enabled when the value is above one. So is it completely useless in this scenario?
Next is the qpmin and qpmax. What ranges will these vary in if they are left unset? Is it worth it to set these values?
Then there's no-dct-decimate. I read that "I definitely wouldn't use it on anime/cartoons..." (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1153279#post1153279) I'm not sure if the person was trying to say that using dct-decimate was a good idea or if using no-dct-decimate would be a good idea.
For no-mbtree, I'm not sure as to whether it should be set or not, I saw some conflicting view points on it. Can anyone recommend whether I should use it for this or not?
Is 2-pass worth it?
Lastly, I figured it would be a good idea to use aq-mode 2 since animated sources tend to have many static backgrounds.


Are there any settings that you think I should tweak/not tweak? Thanks in advance.

[Blue_MiSfit]

Just use presets unless you have a very good reason not to.

qpmin and qpmax especially should never bet set IMO.

mbtree is almost always a good thing.

2 pass is worth it if you don't mind spending 2x the time encoding, and need to hit a specific bitrate. If you need a specific bitrate, but need to rush, then do 1 pass abr. If you just need to rush but have some flexibility with the final bitrate, then use crf.

aq-mode 2 isn't used by default because it helps some content and hurts others. Give it a try and see

tl;dr use presets unless you want to spend a LOT of time testing different settings.

[robo731]

Ok, thanks.