What do you think of these H264 encoding parameters?

[DrDeceit]

from 1080p source 1920x800, aspect ratio 2.40:1

Encoding settings: cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=5 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=4700 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00 /

Video Stream
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Bit rate : 4 700 Kbps
Maximum Bit rate : 12.5 Mbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 544 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Original display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps

[poisondeathray]

I don't understand your question? In what context ? What are you asking ?

Some of it doesn't make sense, e.g. why would you specify a --vbv-maxrate if you were artificially setting the profile to high@L5.1 . (A maxrate with buffer is usually set to satisfy device requirements, it can only reduce quality otherwise. And if it was intended for a device, setting the profile to high@L5.1 will cause playback problems on almost all devices)

[DrDeceit]

I don't understand your question? In what context ? What are you asking ?

Some of it doesn't make sense, e.g. why would you specify a --vbv-maxrate if you were artificially setting the profile to high@L5.1 . (A maxrate with buffer is usually set to satisfy device requirements, it can only reduce quality otherwise. And if it was intended for a device, setting the profile to high@L5.1 will cause playback problems on almost all devices)

To be honest, I added the vbv_maxrate into my post manually, I thought maybe mediainfo didnt pick it up for some reason >_>
fixed.

I guess I'm just asking how efficient my compression settings are

Its not intended for any devices

[poisondeathray]

I guess I'm just asking how efficient my compression settings are

You have room to use slower settings. But whether or not that translates into something observable is another question. It's measureable with SSIM or PSNR if you use better settings, but does at 0.01 SSIM difference translate into something beneficial / observable at the cost of much slower encoding ?

Look at your encode logs , look at the reference frames and consecutive b-frames used for that source. That's how you can optimize your encodes a bit better. (e.g if you enter 5 and only 3 are used, it's a waste. If there are high percentages at the end of the string you could benefit from more)

Why did you choose 4700kbps ?

[DrDeceit]

I guess I'm just asking how efficient my compression settings are

You have room to use slower settings. But whether or not that translates into something observable is another question. It's measureable with SSIM or PSNR if you use better settings, but does at 0.01 SSIM difference translate into something beneficial / observable at the cost of much slower encoding ?

Look at your encode logs , look at the reference frames and consecutive b-frames used for that source. That's how you can optimize your encodes a bit better. (e.g if you enter 5 and only 3 are used, it's a waste. If there are high percentages at the end of the string you could benefit from more)

Why did you choose 4700kbps ?

The source's encoding settings

Profile: High @L4.1

Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=64 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=5 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=2 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=0 / rc=2pass / mbtree=0 / bitrate=10361 / ratetol=2.0 / qcomp=0.70 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=50000 / vbv_bufsize=50000 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:0.80

[poisondeathray]

The source encoding settings don't mean very much by themselves.

It's the visual characteristics that might cause you to do some preprocessing and filtering before you encode (i.e. you have to look at it and determine what needs to be done given the scenario in which you are encoding for)

[Hoser Rob]

The source encoding settings don't mean very much by themselves.

It's the visual characteristics that might cause you to do some preprocessing and filtering before you encode (i.e. you have to look at it and determine what needs to be done given the scenario in which you are encoding for)

Ah, there's the rub. To me, this is what makes h.264 encoding so complex. It's not just plugging in numbers. You need judgment.

The best thing to do is probably extracting a short snippet and trying different settings. My favorite torture test is smoke or rain or fog, lit up against a dark background.