Same settings for first and second pass?

[Spotpuff]

Ok, this is a totally noob question, but here goes anyways.

When doing encodes and using GMC, QPEL, AQ, and trellis, I've been checking them only on the second pass.

On both passes I have the same B-Frame settings (packed, closed GOV) checked.

I'm wondering if I should be checking GMC, QPEL etc. in the first pass as well, or am I doing the right thing by leaving them only checked in the 2nd pass.

Also, should B-Frames be enabled in the 1st AND 2nd pass? Or just the 2nd pass?

Also when people talk about fixed quantizers (Q=2 etc.), do they mean in advanced options -> QUantization the min AND max quantization is set to "2" for all frame types, thus resulting in a quantizer of 2 for every frame? Or do I have this wrong? Is there another way to do this?

[Koepi]

Welcome on board, SpottPuff.

Please make sure to read and understand the forum rules.

Your questions is answered in the FAQ, the search for "settings passes" in the xvid forum will show many threads where exactly this issue has been talked to death.

Thank you for your valuable time.

Regards
Koepi

[Spotpuff]

Originally posted by Koepi
Welcome on board, SpottPuff.

Please make sure to read and understand the forum rules.

Your questions is answered in the FAQ, the search for "settings passes" in the xvid forum will show many threads where exactly this issue has been talked to death.

Thank you for your valuable time.

Regards
Koepi

Koepi,

I'm not sure if your last sentence is meant as a sarcastic insult or perhaps if something was just lost in translation.

I have read the FAQ. Nowhere does it specifically mention whether or not settings should be the same on first and second passes.

I also read the Doom9 Gordian Knot XVID walkthrough, and that doesn't specifically mention it either.

I read Crusty's FAQ, and that doesn't specifically mention an answer to my question either.

I did a search for "use same settings for first and second pass" as well as "second pass settings" and "second settings" and read pages and pages of unrelated threads. Many thread titles are not descriptive enough to discern their content, and few overtly seemed to be related to my question. The few that did, and some that didn't, I read.

It's great to point people to the FAQ, but unfortunately, many answers (QPEL, etc.) are labelled as "out of date" and as such how are people like me who are not hands-on with development supposed to know if what was discussed still applies? The best FAQ I've seen is Crusty's, and even that is slightly out of date in terms of the XviD interface.

I have been lurking here for a while and reading, and yes, spending my time to try to figure out answers on my own. I wouldn't have posted if I didn't think someone, somewhere, could just post a quick, simple answer. "Yes, put your first and second pass settings the same if you're using those options." Or maybe "No, if you are enabling those settings on second pass, you don't need to enable B frames, GMC, QPEL, Trellis, or AQ on the first pass."

I guess it's much more productive to point people who have already spent a lot of time reading up on the issues and google searching to the outdated FAQ.

Maybe I missed it in the volumes of other data, but I still don't know the answers to my questions. Like I said, I read the FAQ, and crusty's FAQ and lots of other things, and I couldn't find a simple, straightforward answer on whether or not my settings for the first and second pass should be the same or if it's ok to disable some settings on the first pass if you're enabling them on the second one.

Part of the confusion is that GK uses 2 settings files for each encode. When you are configuring the encoder outside of GK, checking QPEL, GMC, etc. affects the settings and is NOT reset when you switch to second pass. This is what I find so confusing.

This post may seem somewhat hostile, and it is. To have read all the FAQs and been using XVID for a while now and have this question nagging me, and coming to the forum where there are a lot of knowledgable people and having the guy whose binary compile I use to encode tell me to read something I've already read to answer a simple question which was not answered in said material that I was pointed to is terribly, utterly insulting to the amount of time I've spent on my own trying to find an answer to this question.

I am using
GK 0.30alpha
XviD 1.01 bug fix release

[Koepi]

don't feel insulted if your search didn't bring up the results you expected. you might haven't refined your search well enough. this issue has been talked to death, _REALLY_.

Usually, use all the same settings in both passes.

Using "fast first pass" (a search term which will lead to your searched answer as well) will take care of the speed by disabling for the first pass: gmc, qpel, trellis.

Well, I gave you more hints which you can use for your further research, I don't want to repeat myself over and over and over and over and over and over and over (sorry, got stuck in a loop) again.

I'm glad that you understand that point that we don't want all the stuff to be repeated every 8 weeks just because someone feels insulted because the free service he demands to receive didn't give the result he expected.

Regards
Koepi

[Sharktooth]

Uhm, koepi seems to be in a bad mood today...
However he's right. Search function is your friend.
Back to your questions.
Usually you should use the same settings in both passes for the best result.
For what concerns the fixed quantizer thing, it refers to a 1 pass encoding with "Target quantizer" instead of "Target bitrate".

[malkion]

Use same settings for 1st and 2nd pass, including B-Frames.

For fixed Q encodes, IMHO, no need for 2 pass encoding.

[Spotpuff]

Thanks for the replies.

My questions have been answered. I didn't know if XviD was "smart" enough to disable the advanced settings (QPEL, GMC) on the first pass, and apparently it is.

Thanks.