Turing GPU cards and 10 bit HEVC

[Atak_Snajpera]

Those first three encodings were a little "broken" I think.

Please, take a look at any of the last three encodings without denoising filtering.

It is frame 2077 so now you can check on your own.

Was there some other filtering in the display chain ?
It is my recent Enhanced x264 encode with pre-denoising and my own sharpening technique.

Loadplugin("C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Delphi_Projects\RipBot264\_Compiled\Tools\AviSynth plugins\mvtools\mvtools2.dll")
super=MSuper(video,pel=2)
fv1=MAnalyse(super,isb=false,delta=1,overlap=4)
bv1=MAnalyse(super,isb=true,delta=1,overlap=4)
fv2=MAnalyse(super,isb=false,delta=2,overlap=4)
bv2=MAnalyse(super,isb=true,delta=2,overlap=4)
video=MDegrain2(video,super,bv1,fv1,bv2,fv2,thSAD=400)

LoadPlugin("C:\Users\Dave\Documents\Delphi_Projects\RipBot264\_Compiled\Tools\AviSynth plugins\Plugins_JPSDR\Plugins_JPSDR.dll")
IntensityMask=ConvertToY8(video).Levels(0,2,255,0,255,coring=false)
EdgeMask=aSobel(IntensityMask,chroma=0,thresh=255,SetAffinity=false).invert.Levels(0,2,255,0,255,coring=false).Blur(1)
SharpMask=Overlay(IntensityMask,EdgeMask,mode="Multiply",opacity=1.0)
SharpenedVideo=Sharpen(video,1)
video=Overlay(video,SharpenedVideo,mask=SharpMask,opacity=1.0)

[NikosD]

It is frame 2077 so now you can check on your own. Ok, but just keep in mind that Turing's HEVC encoder best settings is a work in progress, it's not like x264/x265.

So, let's try to follow the progress and post the best cases of both worlds.

In the next few days or weekend I'm going to post lots of different encoding using latest NVEncC in order to find the best - if there is such thing - encoding parameters for Turing.

[poisondeathray]

Come on... I shouldn't have to say this, but you guys should mention if what you did if it's relevant, and if it's not already obviously clear

Filtering is very relevant

Even if you weren't trying to be purposefully misleading, it's still misleading

The point is to measure the encoder quality (and perhaps speed) , not the effect of x,y,z filters on the encode.

[Atak_Snajpera]

Come on... I shouldn't have to say this, but you guys should mention if what you did if it's relevant, and if it's not already obviously clear

Filtering is very relevant

Even if you weren't trying to be purposefully misleading, it's still misleading

The point is to measure the encoder quality (and perhaps speed) , not the effect of x,y,z filters on the encode.

He can use my script and then we can compare how good is turing in encoding those fine details. x264 veryslow at 4Mbps still has no problems with them. I will soon upload that enhanced version...

https://www.mediafire.com/file/zx3u0y5z84oitnd/x264-veryslow-MDegrain2-EnhanceFineDetails-4Mbps.mkv/file

[NikosD]

I confirmed with rigaya that the VPP filters are not part of NVENC but his accomplishment.

I asked him for quality settings for Turing's HEVC encoder and he suggested this:

-u quality -c hevc --output-depth 10 --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 25 --qp-init 20:23:25 --lookahead 32 --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode each

I tried once both --aq with --aq-temporal on Crowd Run but I think they can't be used together.

Also, for specific average bitrate someone should add a max bitrate and not leave it unconstrained.

I always used --vbr-quality 0 and never used --qp-init.

For --bref-mode I used middle.

So, for anyone with a Turing card he could try the above.

I will, but not today.

[NikosD]

Another three encodings of John Carter's movie, this time with no vpp filtering and following some specific quality rules.
(look at the NVEncC switches)


4Mbps - No VPP/ No Enhancements


1) JC_quality_4Mbps

NVEncC64.exe --avhw --vbrhq 4000 --codec h265 --preset quality --profile main10 --output-depth 10 --aq --aq-temporal --colormatrix bt709 --colorprim bt709 --transfer bt709 --crop 0,140,0,140

https://www.mediafire.com/file/t8mrt3heow4eysc/JC_quality_4Mbps.mkv/file


2) JC_const_quality_4Mbps

NVEncC64.exe --avhw --vbrhq 0 --codec h265 --preset quality --profile main10 --output-depth 10 --vbr-quality 26 --aq --aq-temporal --lookahead 32 --colormatrix bt709 --colorprim bt709 --transfer bt709 --crop 0,140,0,140

https://www.mediafire.com/file/qhumc1hpqpw1qjs/JC_const_quality_4Mbps.mkv/file


3) JC_rigaya_quality_4Mbps

NVEncC64.exe --avhw --vbrhq 0 --codec h265 --preset quality --profile main10 --output-depth 10 --vbr-quality 26 --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode each --lookahead 32 --colormatrix bt709 --colorprim bt709 --transfer bt709 --qp-init 20:23:25 --crop 0,140,0,140

https://www.mediafire.com/file/8i9got4w8klpbvn/JC_rigaya_4Mbps.mkv/file


The community is waiting for your feedback!

[NikosD]

GTX 1660 Ti 1080p and 2160p "Park Joy".
ffmpeg -i "park_joy_1080p50.y4m" -f yuv4mpegpipe -strict -1 - | nvencc64 -c hevc --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 31 -u quality --output-depth 10 --lookahead 32 -b 5 --ref 7 --nonrefp --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode middle --mv-precision q-pel -i - -o "park_joy_1080p50_31.mkv"
ffmpeg -i "park_joy_2160p50.y4m" -f yuv4mpegpipe -strict -1 - | nvencc64 -c hevc --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 40.5 -u quality --output-depth 10 --lookahead 32 -b 5 --ref 7 --nonrefp --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode middle --mv-precision q-pel -i - -o "park_joy_2160p50_40.5.mkvTest:
nvencc64 --lossless --output-res 1920x858 --sar 1:1 --vpp-resize spline16 --avhw -i tearsofsteel_4k.mov -o lossless.mp4
nvencc64 -c hevc --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 23.5 -u quality --max-bitrate 100000 --output-depth 10 --lookahead 32 -b 5 --ref 7 --nonrefp --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode middle --mv-precision q-pel --fps 24 --sar 1:1 --log nvenc_hevc_235redoll.txt -i lossless.mp4 -o "nvenc_hevc_23.5redoll.265"
ffmpeg -hwaccel nvdec -i lossless.mp4 -pix_fmt yuv420p -f yuv4mpegpipe - | nvencc64 -c hevc --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 23.5 -u quality --max-bitrate 100000 --output-depth 10 --lookahead 32 -b 5 --ref 7 --nonrefp --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode middle --mv-precision q-pel --fps 24 --sar 1:1 --log nvenc_hevc_235redoll.txt -i - -o "nvenc_hevc_23.5redollff.265"
nvencc64 -c hevc --vbrhq 0 --vbr-quality 23.5 -u quality --max-bitrate 100000 --output-depth 10 --lookahead 32 -b 5 --ref 7 --nonrefp --aq --aq-temporal --bref-mode middle --mv-precision q-pel --output-res 1920x858 --vpp-resize spline16 --fps 24 --sar 1:1 --log nvenc_hevc_235redollres.txt -i tearsofsteel_4k.mov -o "nvenc_hevc_23.5redollres.265"You seem to prefer to alter the default settings of Ref (--ref) and B Frames (-b) from three to seven and five (max) respectfully.

I think for hardware encoding, changing --ref doesn't play a significant role and as for B frames all the tests point that more than three degrade quality.

You could try the same encodings leaving --ref and -b at default values (3)

Also, did you manage to take a look at the new reference settings of SDK v9.1 ?

What is the meaning of L0/L1 parameters and how could someone use them ?

[NikosD]

Using the excellent embedded tool of "Video Comparison" inside StaxRip, I managed to compare frame 2077 of all my 4Mbps encodings (12 in total) posted here.

If we exclude the three encodings using de-noising filters, I think all the others are close.

In order to preserve a little more detail, I would use --vpp-edgelevel and probably I would keep it simple in adding more switches that doesn't seem to change something significantly.

I'll post later my encodings of Park Run 1080p/2160p at 10Mbps.

[Atak_Snajpera]

Last frame...

x264-veryslow-4Mbps.mkv
https://i.imgsafe.org/5c/5c404285ef.png

JC_rigaya_4Mbps.mkv
https://i.imgsafe.org/5c/5c40bb8ff6.png

NVEnc still blurs dark areas like a boss ;)

[NikosD]

Last frame...

x264-veryslow-4Mbps.mkv
https://i.imgsafe.org/5c/5c404285ef.png

JC_rigaya_4Mbps.mkv
https://i.imgsafe.org/5c/5c40bb8ff6.png

NVEnc still blurs dark areas like a boss ;)But you keep comparing NVEnc HEVC with x264 and not x265, while you have said that x264 is the king of "dirtiness" with too much grain.

Maybe it's time to post NVEnc HEVC vs x265 comparison frames, although I kind of disagree comparing still images as we actually watch a video and not still frames, while decoding the file.

Anyway here they are my Park Joy encodings at 1080p and 2160p


Park Joy 10Mbps:


1080p (~160fps, CPU ~20%)
NVEncC64.exe --vbrhq 10000 --codec h265 --preset quality --profile main10 --output-depth 10 --max-bitrate 30000 --aq --aq-temporal --vpp-edgelevel

https://www.mediafire.com/file/1jy7nn8bz3d3d2u/park_joy_10Mbps.mkv/file



2160p (~75fps, CPU ~22%)
NVEncC64.exe --vbrhq 10000 --codec h265 --preset quality --profile main10 --output-depth 10 --max-bitrate 30000 --aq --aq-temporal --vpp-edgelevel

https://www.mediafire.com/file/t5qdzttrfit1tia/park_joy_2160p_10Mbps.mkv/file


Guys, do you have any better x265 encodings of Park Joy at 10Mbps ?

[Atak_Snajpera]

But you keep comparing NVEnc HEVC with x264 and not x265, while you have said that x264 is the king of "dirtiness" with too much grain.

Maybe it's time to post NVEnc HEVC vs x265 comparison frames, although I kind of disagree comparing still images as we actually watch a video and not still frames, while decoding the file.
It is not my fault that older compression technology is better than new one. Besides I do notice that blurriness in dark areas while watching. For my eyes it looks (artificially) too smooth.

[Atak_Snajpera]

Guys, do you have any better x265 encodings of Park Joy at 10Mbps ?
Even x265 medium is better than NVENC (Frame 125)

NVenc
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f7ea6a728.png

x265 medium
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f80fbaaef.png

x265 veryslow
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5fe574aa0d.png

x264 veryslow
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f7f098893.png

[NikosD]

Even x265 medium is better than NVENC (Frame 125)

NVenc

x265 medium

x265 veryslow

x264 veryslow Can you post the whole videos of those frames ?

Also, is it 1080p or 2160p ?

And from what video did you take NVEnc frame ?

Thanks.

[Atak_Snajpera]

And from what video did you take NVEnc frame ?
https://www.mediafire.com/file/1jy7nn8bz3d3d2u/park_joy_10Mbps.mkv/file

Can you post the whole videos of those frames ?
Why can't you just do that on your own pc? It is just 500 frames...

[NikosD]

Why can't you just do that on your own pc? It is just 500 frames... No problem, I would like to see my speed on x264/x265, but I have no idea regarding the x264/x265 switches.

Can you post the command line of x264/x265 encodings that produced those frames ?

thanks!

[Atak_Snajpera]

Nothing special, just preset medium/veryslow

[NikosD]

OK, here we are:


Park Joy 10Mbps


Core i3 9100F (4C/4T) - All core turbo 4.0 GHz

x264 v2969 - Preset = very slow
x264.exe --pass 1 --bitrate 10000 --preset veryslow --output-depth 10 --demuxer y4m --frames 500
1st pass ~32 fps
2nd pass ~ 4 fps

Total encoding time = 133,78s
Avg FPS = 3,7 fps

https://www.mediafire.com/file/lr8ht15jvp42a6n/park_joy_1080p_x264_veryslow_10Mbps.mkv/file


x265 3.2+5-gfbe9fef31 - Preset = medium
x265.exe --pass 1 --bitrate 10000 --output-depth 10 --frames 500 --y4mx265.exe --pass 2 --bitrate 10000 --output-depth 10 --frames 500 --y4m
1st pass ~16fps
2nd pass ~19fps

Total encoding time = 58,09s
Avg FPS = 8,6 fps

https://www.mediafire.com/file/ff0bxwoparnhlkk/park_joy_1080p_x265_medium_10Mbps.mkv/file


x265 3.2+5-gfbe9fef31 - Preset = very slow

It started at 0,6 fps, so I left it because I had to go to work...

[NikosD]

Testing frame 125 of Park Joy and looking at x265 Medium, I see no joy.

Please, take a look at the clothes of men and women, it makes me sick, it's disgusting.

x264 Very Slow is better than x265 Medium, but NVEnc is better than both especially x265 medium


Park Joy 10Mbps 1080p
Frame 125 (still image test)


x265 medium:
https://i.postimg.cc/pTLXxZz5/125-park-joy-1080p-x265-medium-10-Mbps.png

x264 very slow:
https://i.postimg.cc/zXsBWTZ4/125-park-joy-1080p-x264-veryslow-10-Mbps.png

NVEnc quality:
https://i.postimg.cc/MT3ZGQmP/125-park-joy-NVEnc-Quality-10-Mbps.png

[Boulder]

To me it looks like x265 has SAO enabled which is a no-no if you don't want it to smooth everything. Also, are they all the same frame type? It's pointless comparing a P-frame to a B-frame when you look at single frames.

[excellentswordfight]

To me it looks like x265 has SAO enabled which is a no-no if you don't want it to smooth everything. Also, are they all the same frame type? It's pointless comparing a P-frame to a B-frame when you look at single frames.
At this bitrate/compression I dont think turning off sao will do much good, and x265 medium has already more detail than nvenc in these samples anyway. I think the reason why NikosD finds nvenc superior is cause it is smoother, not the other way arround (he thinks the the clothes looks better, and they are more smudged together). x265 medium is overall much sharper, this is very clear when jumping between them, but since the bitrate is not sufficiant this also makes the people seem more cluttered.

I also had a look at the new JC samples without any filters, and it looks much better (if it was the old filters that was the issue or the new settings I'm not sure though). JC_const_quality_4Mbps looks absolutely fine now and do not suffer at all as much from inconsistent frame quality.

[Boulder]

At this bitrate/compression I dont think turning off sao will do much good, and x265 medium has already more detail than nvenc in these samples anyway. I think the reason why NikosD finds nvenc superior is cause it is smoother, not the other way arround (he thinks the the clothes looks better, and they are more smudged together). x265 medium is overall much sharper, this is very clear when jumping between them, but since the bitrate is not sufficiant this also makes the people seem more cluttered.

I also had a look at the new JC samples without any filters, and it looks much better (if it was the old filters that was the issue or the new settings I'm not sure though). JC_const_quality_4Mbps looks absolutely fine now and do not suffer at all as much from inconsistent frame quality.
Gah, I had the images in a wrong order in the tabs so I was looking at NVEnc thinking it's x265 and vice versa. That's why I thought x265 looked so smoothed out.

[NikosD]

I think the reason why NikosD finds nvenc superior is cause it is smoother, not the other way arround (he thinks the the clothes looks better, and they are more smudged together)That's why I thought x265 looked so smoothed out. Guys, are you telling me that the clothes of x265 medium are detailed and sharp and not messed up with the background of grass and trees and leafs ?
Because I just see blocks of pixels mixed with the background instead of clothes.

[Boulder]

They are more detailed than in the NVEnc one. I don't care if it's fake detail or real because when you watch the video from the normal viewing distance, you cannot tell which one it is. NVEnc is just oversmoothed to my taste. If you look at the leaves in the trees, they are quite smudged compared to x265. The same goes for the tree bark, it's almost unicoloured in NVEnc so all the detail in the shadows is lost.

[Atak_Snajpera]

x264 Very Slow is better than x265 Medium, but NVEnc is better than both especially x265 medium
I like how you ignored blurry leaves,tress and dark area in center. x264 is still a king. Period.

https://i.imgsafe.org/88/885662d543.png

x264 veryslow
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f7f098893.png

[NikosD]

I like how you ignored blurry leaves,tress and dark area in center. x264 is still a king. Period This is a little embarrassing for x265.
And are you comparing x265 medium with x264 very slow ?
It's not fair.
I didn't have the time and patience to encode x265 very slow at 0,6fps, so I don't have the frame to compare.
Anyway, I prefer NVEnc, you prefer x264 and all the others prefer x265 because obviously they own a Ryzen 3900X and leave their machines encoding for weeks...

@Boulder
While playing video, NVEnc is even better than x264 and x265 compared to still images.

[Atak_Snajpera]

This is a little embarrassing for x265.
And are you comparing x265 medium with x264 very slow ?
It's not fair.
I didn't have the time and patience to encode x265 very slow at 0,6fps, so I don't have the frame to compare.
Anyway, I prefer NVEnc, you prefer x264 and all the others prefer x265 because obviously they own a Ryzen 3900X and leave their machines encoding for weeks...

@Boulder
While playing video, NVEnc is even better than x264 and x265 compared to still images.

I took NVenc frame not x265! Start thinking for god sake!

Furthermore, You are exaggerating like always regarding encoding speed. Anything above x265 medium is basically a placebo.
x265 veryslow
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5fe574aa0d.png

x265 medium
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f80fbaaef.png

[NikosD]

I took NVenc frame not x265! Start thinking for god sake! You quoted my phrase comparing all of them, not in couples.
It is you, that you have to start thinking some time because you are still comparing apples with oranges.
You have to decide which is better after all and put them in order.
You jump from NVenc to x264 very slow and NVEnc to x265 medium.
We are talking about Turing's HEVC encoder and you always refer to x264, forgetting about x265.
Your comparisons are a mess!
Furthermore, You are exaggerating like always regarding encoding speed. Anything above x265 medium is basically a placebo. I'm the only one posting encoding speeds, how on earth could I exaggerate regarding speed ?

My Core i3 9100F using 4C/4T at 4.0 GHz achieved 3,7fps using x264 2pass very slow and 8,6fps using 2pass x265 medium.
x265 very slow was 0,6fps for the first pass.

On the other hand Turing's encoder at max quality achieves 160 fps.

So, Turing's HEVC is 43 times faster than x264 very slow, almost 20 times faster than x265 medium and 270 (!) times faster than 1st pass of x265 very slow.
I don't dare to compare it with total time of x265 very slow.

Can you take a calculator in your hands please and stop making wrong assumptions ?

Thanks!

P.S
If everything above x265 medium is placebo, then we shouldn't being talking about x265.
It's a dead project for sure.

[Tadanobu]

I really appreciate you guys giving your opinion and posting test encodes, screenshots and such, but you're kind of going round in circles.

If you want my two cents, x264 is still better than anything else when it comes to transparency and fine details. NVenc has improved a lot and is giving very satisfying results with fast encoding speeds. If you want to best possible quality, use x264. If you're ready to lose a small amount of visual information to save a lot of time and CPU work, use NVenc. If you are most interested in compression, then try x265.

Each and every codec has pros and cons, just use what's better for your specific needs and expectations.

Also, could somebody please include SVT HEVC in these comparisons ? I haven't been able to test it myself and wonder how good it is.

[stax76]

I'm retired form encoding... but still follow some threads like this to be able to maintain staxrip. I didn't even know nvenc or hardware encoders before Nikos suggested integrating it in staxrip and helped me to shape the integration. What people maybe miss is UHD and HD is a complete different story, I would guess that nvenc shines more with UHD content than it does with HD content. About SVT, probably it's not ready because I could not get SVT-AV1 working, piping input is undocumented and does not support y4m.

[Sharc]

FWIW a similar discussion is going on here for AVC
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/394581-Encoding-test-some-AVC-encoders

[poisondeathray]

Also, could somebody please include SVT HEVC in these comparisons ? I haven't been able to test it myself and wonder how good it is.


SVT-HEVC Encodes for Parkjoy 50p 10Mb/s

Parkjoy is an AQ sensitive clip ; If you enable or tweak AQ it will move bitrate into some of those areas that look bad Atak is referring to, at the expense of edges (or vice versa). You can try it with x264/x264 with varying AQ strengths.

SVT-HEVC has one adjustment, but not for 1080


ImproveSharpness -sharp
This is a visual quality knob that allows the use of adaptive quantization within the picture and enables visual quality algorithms that improve the sharpness of the background. This feature is only available for 4k and 8k resolutions
0 = OFF, 1 = ON


=> Note earlier SVT-HEVC builds had PSNR, VMAF, Visual tuning, but they removed the -tune for builds in the last few months. I suspect they will make a comeback



These were all done at -encMode 2 (quality from 0-11, 0 is best), 1pass VBR (they don't have 2 pass yet).
SvtHevcEncApp.exe from 20191017

1) Default intra period and lookahead (turns out to be gopsize 49, LAD 48)

"SvtHevcEncApp.exe" -i "yuv420p10le.yuv" -w 1920 -h 1080 -n 500 -bit-depth 10 -color-format 1 -intra-period -2 -rc 1 -profile 2 -fps-num 50 -fps-denom 1 -encMode 2 -tbr 10000000 -b SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intraauto_ladauto.hevc

https://www.mediafire.com/file/isnzxy5idk5h9ba/1_SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intraauto_ladauto.mkv/file

2) (1) + SAO off

"SvtHevcEncApp.exe" -i "yuv420p10le.yuv" -w 1920 -h 1080 -n 500 -bit-depth 10 -color-format 1 -intra-period -2 -rc 1 -profile 2 -fps-num 50 -fps-denom 1 -encMode 2 -tbr 10000000 -sao 0 -b SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intraauto_ladauto_sao0.hevc

https://www.mediafire.com/file/qr6ablm8uoyx8ly/2_SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intraauto_ladauto_sao0.mkv/file

3) intra-period 250, LAD 250

"SvtHevcEncApp.exe" -i "yuv420p10le.yuv" -w 1920 -h 1080 -n 500 -bit-depth 10 -color-format 1 -intra-period 250 -rc 1 -profile 2 -fps-num 50 -fps-denom 1 -encMode 2 -tbr 10000000 -lad 250 -b SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intra250_lad250.hevc

https://www.mediafire.com/file/wz0xvy259al2x35/3_SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intra250_lad250.mkv/file

4) (3) + SAO off

"SvtHevcEncApp.exe" -i "yuv420p10le.yuv" -w 1920 -h 1080 -n 500 -bit-depth 10 -color-format 1 -intra-period 250 -rc 1 -profile 2 -fps-num 50 -fps-denom 1 -encMode 2 -tbr 10000000 -lad 250 -sao 0 -b SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intraauto_ladauto_sao0.hevc

https://www.mediafire.com/file/5h7em575cddsuvp/4_SVT-HEVC_20191017_enc2_rc1_10Mbps_intra250_lad250_sao0.mkv/file

[RanmaCanada]

I would love to use SVT, but AFAIK there is no working GUI. I know it is being considered to be added to staxrip, but until then, I am sick and tired of command lines. It's also no where near as tunable as x265 is, yet.

[poisondeathray]

I would love to use SVT, but AFAIK there is no working GUI. I know it is being considered to be added to staxrip, but until then, I am sick and tired of command lines. It's also no where near as tunable as x265 is, yet.

Push for it ;

The more GUI support, the more users, the more encodes being done, the more feedback for developers and the more improvements.

There were Y4M pipe issues in the last few months for SVT-HEVC - but I think they got those issues fixed. Selur was involved in that on the issue tracker, so I'm guessing he will probably add it to hybrid. Working Y4M pipe is almost mandatory for most GUI's .

[stax76]

y4m helps, what it missed is including the frame count.

[K.i.N.G]

Anything above x265 medium is basically a placebo.
x265 veryslow
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5fe574aa0d.png

x265 medium
https://i.imgsafe.org/5f/5f80fbaaef.png

I find myself agreeing with you most of the time when reading posts of you on this forum dude... there are some clear differences between x265's medium and veryslow presets... veryslow retains noticeably more details and overal shapes

[Blue_MiSfit]

Yep, and it lets you push bitrate reasonably lower while keeping same quality.

For most people anywhere from faster to slow is all that's useful. For scaled VOD delivery to keep CDN costs down it's worth it to use slower/veryslow and drop bitrates by a bit.

[ReinerSchweinlin]

I would love to use SVT, but AFAIK there is no working GUI. I know it is being considered to be added to staxrip, but until then, I am sick and tired of command lines. It's also no where near as tunable as x265 is, yet.
I recently started playing around with hybrid - it has SVT included. Didn´t use it so far though, so no experience yet to share with it...