HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@High)

jriker1 · 25th March 2023, 18:37

When I look at existing blue-ray material i see values like the below in mediainfo:

76.0 Mb/s, 3840*2160 (16:9), at 24.000 FPS, HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@High), HDR10

When I look at the same material after encoding with ffmpeg to HEVC "again" I get:

English, 10.5 Mb/s, 3840*2160 (16:9), at 24.000 FPS, HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@Main), HDR10

What is the last @High/@Main value at the end and how do you encode to match the source?

FranceBB · 25th March 2023, 20:21

You're using the main tier, you need to turn on the high tier, in your case, in x265 it would be:

Code:

--level 5.1 --profile main10 --high-tier

but since you seem to prefer to use ffmpeg for whatever reason, that would be...

Code:

ffmpeg -i "whatever.mxf" -c:v libx265 -x265-params level=5.1:profile=main10:tier=high -c:a copy -y "/home/FranceBB/Share Windows Linux/temp/test.mkv"

and indeed in mediainfo it will say:

Code:

Format profile : Main10@L5.1@High

2 remarks:

1) Please note that while x265 will encode to 10bit any source if you specify Main10 (like an 8bit source or a 12bit source or indeed a 10bit source), libx265 inside ffmpeg won't and will only encode it as Main10 IF the input is also 10bit, so although in your case your source is indeed 10bit planar, if it wasn't, you would have to convert it yourself within ffmpeg first before calling libx265. I'm saying this so that you don't find any surprises in the future.

2) Please note that x265 ain't stupid, which means that it's not using the high tier 'cause it recognizes that you don't need the high tier.
You see, whoever encoded the original file was using much higher specs in terms of bitrate and actually needed the high tier, however your bitrate is much lower and you would be fine with the main tier. Please note that although there's no issue in specifying the high tier even if your encode doesn't need to, you will (potentially) be limiting the number of devices capable of playing back your content. This is because a device will read the tier required to play it and it may as well bail out if all it can read is the main tier, while in theory it could have read your content just fine as it didn't need to be high tier capable (although, let's be honest, the overwhelming majority of devices capable of decoding H.265 are high tier capable).

You see what I'm trying to say here?

Same goes for the level.

Time to have dinner now.

Cheers,
Frank

25th March 2023, 18:37	#1 \| Link
jriker1 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 485	HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@High) When I look at existing blue-ray material i see values like the below in mediainfo: 76.0 Mb/s, 38402160 (16:9), at 24.000 FPS, HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@High), HDR10 When I look at the same material after encoding with ffmpeg to HEVC "again" I get: English, 10.5 Mb/s, 38402160 (16:9), at 24.000 FPS, HEVC (Main 10@L5.1@Main), HDR10 What is the last @High/@Main value at the end and how do you encode to match the source?

25th March 2023, 20:21	#2 \| Link
FranceBB Broadcast Encoder Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, UK Posts: 2,905	You're using the main tier, you need to turn on the high tier, in your case, in x265 it would be: Code: --level 5.1 --profile main10 --high-tier but since you seem to prefer to use ffmpeg for whatever reason, that would be... Code: ffmpeg -i "whatever.mxf" -c:v libx265 -x265-params level=5.1:profile=main10:tier=high -c:a copy -y "/home/FranceBB/Share Windows Linux/temp/test.mkv" and indeed in mediainfo it will say: Code: Format profile : Main10@L5.1@High 2 remarks: 1) Please note that while x265 will encode to 10bit any source if you specify Main10 (like an 8bit source or a 12bit source or indeed a 10bit source), libx265 inside ffmpeg won't and will only encode it as Main10 IF the input is also 10bit, so although in your case your source is indeed 10bit planar, if it wasn't, you would have to convert it yourself within ffmpeg first before calling libx265. I'm saying this so that you don't find any surprises in the future. 2) Please note that x265 ain't stupid, which means that it's not using the high tier 'cause it recognizes that you don't need the high tier. You see, whoever encoded the original file was using much higher specs in terms of bitrate and actually needed the high tier, however your bitrate is much lower and you would be fine with the main tier. Please note that although there's no issue in specifying the high tier even if your encode doesn't need to, you will (potentially) be limiting the number of devices capable of playing back your content. This is because a device will read the tier required to play it and it may as well bail out if all it can read is the main tier, while in theory it could have read your content just fine as it didn't need to be high tier capable (although, let's be honest, the overwhelming majority of devices capable of decoding H.265 are high tier capable). You see what I'm trying to say here? Same goes for the level. Time to have dinner now. Cheers, Frank __________________ LUT Collection FFAStrans Videotek - AAA - SafeColorLimiter Last edited by FranceBB; 25th March 2023 at 20:28.