Handbrake 0.94 MKV to M4V encoding

[Scarpad]

The Handbrake folks pretty much recommend 1 pass CRF Conversions of pretty much everything now. Using the Apple Universal or TV Preset ( I convert for an ATV) at the standard CRF Value of 60.88% does produce a nice looking file, but the bitrate always seem to be 2500 or less when checked in media info. I notice most 1080 to 720p conversion have the bitrate about 4000+ and are 2 pass. I've tried using average bitrate of 4000 and a 2 pass turbo 1st pass option and the encodes wind up larger and do seem a bit more detailed to me. Am I just wasting bits ? Should I just let HB do it CRF Conversion ?

[txporter]

It isn't really Handbrake doing the encoding, but x264. The developers (of x264) have put a lot of effort into CRF (single pass quality) encoding. Generally, you will not visually see any difference between 2-pass encodes and CRF based encodings (of the same bitrate). The main difference being that CRF based encodings can adjust bitrates to match a desired quality setting while 2-pass fixed bitrate encodes will always attempt to give you the bitrate you ask for. Movies or shows that have a lot more grain in the video will need a higher bitrate to preserve all of that detail for example.

Are you attempting to convert HD shows? Are you outputting them to HD or SD? Is space a concern for you? Are you trying to get the files to all be similar sizes? Those are the types of questions that need to be answered in order to better answer your question.

[Scarpad]

It isn't really Handbrake doing the encoding, but x264. The developers (of x264) have put a lot of effort into CRF (single pass quality) encoding. Generally, you will not visually see any difference between 2-pass encodes and CRF based encodings (of the same bitrate). The main difference being that CRF based encodings can adjust bitrates to match a desired quality setting while 2-pass fixed bitrate encodes will always attempt to give you the bitrate you ask for. Movies or shows that have a lot more grain in the video will need a higher bitrate to preserve all of that detail for example.

Are you attempting to convert HD shows? Are you outputting them to HD or SD? Is space a concern for you? Are you trying to get the files to all be similar sizes? Those are the types of questions that need to be answered in order to better answer your question.

Yes I'm converting 1080p tv shows from a blu ray source to 720p to have them play on an Apple TV.

[txporter]

If you are see a difference visually, then I wouldn't say that you are wasting bitrate. You can also just increase your percentage (lower your CRF) to find something that visually looks good to you. The reason that folks at Handbrake (and the x264 developers as well) recommend using CRF based encodes is that if the nature of the source material changes fairly radically, then the encoder is allowed whatever bitrate it needs. The usual recommendation is to find a small clip of your favorite show to use as your guinea pig and encode to various CRF settings to find the one that looks the best for you. Then use that for all of your encoding.

Also, although I haven't made any blu-ray encodes, 4k sounds a little on the low side for 720p material so that may be why you can notice a difference.

[Scarpad]

The Handbrake RF 20 at 60.88 usually produces a file that is at about 2500 bitrate from a blu ray rip. I'm going to try boosting that on my next encode to 65%. I know that at least with DVD Encodes there is a point of diminishing returns which is about 65% where you're just bloating the filesize without any benefit, not sure where that cieling is with Blu ray encodes.

[whatshisname]

2500 does sound a little low for HD contents.

Do what I do. Encode only 1 chapter of the same movie (a 4 minute or so clip)with different settings. Keep changing the settings until you find that it no longer makes that much of a difference. I like to use average bitrate instead of the RF though. I name my clips test 1500kbps, test 2000kbps, test 3000kbps, etc. Play them all one after another. See if you can tell the difference.

Oops, I just noticed the title. If you are using a MKV then just use the preview button. It will make a 15 to 60 sample clip for you. You will have to rename the clip as each subsequent clip you make will overwrite the previous.