Help Me with MeGUI x264 Encoding Settings

[EdsonMarques]

Help Me: guys i downloaded a show blu-ray, and i wanna put in my Tablet. Then i got MeGUI, bitrate 1000kbps is perfect but when i put in 500kbps is horrible. what i should do? cuz in this website http://www.minishares.org/ the tv shows have 500kbs bitrate and resolution is perfect (42min in 150mb mkv).

for exemple: this mediainfo is from Tv Show REVENGE

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 43mn 29s
Nominal bit rate : 435 Kbps
Width : 848 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.045
Writing library : x264 core 130 r2273 b3065e6
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.10 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=435 / 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
Default : Yes
Forced : No

the resolution is perfect, then i created the same encoding settings to my BD Show and when i queue 500kbps the resolution is terrible.
i don't understand, please help me.

[Baldrick]

Reconvert from the blu-ray source instead.

[EdsonMarques]

i'm sorry i didn't read the rules, now i did
and the show BD is not ripped, it's untouched and it's a archive files (BDMV), size 28,4 GB, 2hours 1080p.
i did a test MeGUI 1000kbps = 900mb and 500kbps = 450mb.
as i said before 1000kbps perfect, 500kbps terrible.
and what do u mean? "Reconvert from the blu-ray source"
Baldrick

[KyleMadrid]

I think he means that you should buy the Blu-Ray, rather than download it illegally...

[Selur]

+ normally the 'magic' in getting good quality low bit rate encodes is normally not in the encoding settings but more in the filtering.
(Denoise, DeGrain, Deblocking, Deringing,...)

[hello_hello]

The resolution of the TV show is 848x480. Bluray is 1920x1080 (maybe less if you remove any black bars when encoding). At what resolution are you encoding the Bluray? You probably need to reduce the resolution (resize down).

You probably should be using the quality based encoding method anyway, rather than selecting a bitrate, unless you really, really need to stick to a particular file size. Using the quality method, the bitrate will vary for each video according to how hard it is to compress, but the quality will be the same each time. By experimenting with different resolutions and quality settings you can probably come up with a resolution and quality setting which gives you an "average" file size around the one you're after.. while still giving you a quality you're happy with.

[EdsonMarques]

+ normally the 'magic' in getting good quality low bit rate encodes is normally not in the encoding settings but more in the filtering.
(Denoise, DeGrain, Deblocking, Deringing,...)

where i found this denoise-degrain-deblocking-deringing
is it on AVS Script Creator?
please help me

[Selur]

The are different filter categories. Which filter with which setting, should be used always depends on
a. the content you want to compress
b. you personal preference / measure for quality
-> Sorry, but this is nothing that can be simply told in a few sentences. To do this properly some experience with Avisynth is needed.

In MeGui you would need to manually edit the avisynth script in the AVS Script Creator,...

For most users it's easier to simply use a higher bit rate and be happy.

Cu Selur

[hello_hello]

+ normally the 'magic' in getting good quality low bit rate encodes is normally not in the encoding settings but more in the filtering.
(Denoise, DeGrain, Deblocking, Deringing,...)

where i found this denoise-degrain-deblocking-deringing
is it on AVS Script Creator?
please help me

MeGUI only has a few denoise filters "built in". They're under the Script Creator's Filters tab. If you choose the "medium noise" filter MeGUI uses FluxSmooth, which is a good general purpose noise filter.
Keep in mind most filtering tends to be a compromise between removing what you don't want (noise) and removing what you do want (ie fine picture detail). They'll generally make the video easier to compress but personally I only use filtering if it's really required (for very noisy video etc) otherwise I just use the same CRF value I always use and let the bitrate be whatever it needs to be.

[Lathe]

Hi,

Since my inquiry would have exactly the same heading...


Just one thing; I'm new to using MeGUI, but I think I do understand the settings to the degree I need to, EXCEPT one thing... I keep loading in a Blu-ray MKV mux that I kinda screwed up before and I simply want to re-encode it to make it Blu-ray compatible; also, this would give me a chance to play around with some of the visual tweaks and settings to see how it looks.


Now I load the MKV file which has an HD resolution of 1980x 800 (and YES, I chopped off the black bars, which I likely will NOT do in the future) BUT, when I place all the settings just the way I THINK they should be (Level 4.1, High profile, slow, blu-ray compatible, CRF=n, etc.) I can SEE all the settings in the Avisynth editor and they all look just fine. BUT... when the encode actually starts, it ALWAYS resizes the dang file and shrinks it down to SD! I cannot for the life of me figure out why; I haven't told it to do so and I even opened up the video properties and manually set the AR to 1980x800. As the file is encoding, I right-click on it and open it with MedioInfo and the bloody thing shows an AR of like 720x4xx.


Does anyone know why it is automatically resizing it when I've NOT told it to do so. Otherwise it seems to be running well.


Thank you kindly for any help!

[_Al_]

"One click Encoder" within Megui has that set up as a default, ..., press Config button in that window and change it to "Keep input resolution" and you can save it as a new preset right away,.., it is kind of a tiny trap to have set it that way as a default, but anyway, it is quite a challenge to create working avisynth script automatically for everybody

[Lathe]

"One click Encoder" within Megui has that set up as a default, ..., press Config button in that window and change it to "Keep input resolution" and you can save it as a new preset right away,.., it is kind of a tiny trap to have set it that way as a default, but anyway, it is quite a challenge to create working avisynth script automatically for everybody

Ah, yes, I did find that after all; I was HOPING that choosing 'Keep input resolution' would do it.

Sure, I understand that even having such a nice easy interface it GREAT for newbies like me I appreciate you pointing that out. I'm running a new encode right now and I'm hoping that it goes okay.

Oh hey, since I've got you, something else that I've also done to do the same thing is use BDRB, set it to force encode using a set CRF (that's of course after using TSMuxer to put the MKV file into a BDMV format) That works really well, but it appears to take longer (I do have it set at 'High Quality' also)

Being that you are likely conversant with both of these programs and primarily with the x264 codec itself, what would your thoughts be as to which program to use to do this? Again, primarily what I am doing is taking an MKV file that I've screwed up making from a Blu-ray and then re-encoding it to make it Blu-ray compliant and also to become more familiar with the x264 settings. Now I KNOW that BDRB for SURE makes the resulting file (m2ts) fully Blu-ray compliant, but it's not as easy adding any additional code to it to tweak it if I want to experiment with the x264 settings a little. Whereas, I'm THINKING that with MeGui it would be a lot easier to set it firstly to be Blu-ray compliant and then tweak the advanced avisynth settings (you know, like play around with the Psy settings, etc.)


Any thoughts...?


Thanks so much!!!

[hello_hello]

I know you've said you want a Bluray compatible encode but just in case..... if you're using an MKV container rather than creating an actual Bluray video disc there's no need for any Bluray compatibility settings. High Profile, Level 4.1 is all you need. I've not met an MKV capable Bluray player which won't play them.

Here's my x264 encoder tweaking theory.... don't bother. The general rule of thumb is pick a CRF value which gives you the quality you're happy with and then use the slowest speed preset you can stand (along with an appropriate tuning). I generally use Medium or Slow myself, but it probably doesn't make much difference to the quality (it'll probably effect the encoding speed and file size more).
When it comes to tweaking x264 settings.... in my opinion the only reason for doing so might be to encode a section of "difficult" video which doesn't encode well, or maybe to reduce any colour banding etc, and no doubt you could tweak setting "x" and it'll encode a problem section better, but if it encodes better then the bitrate has increased as a result, and as it turns out, lowering the CRF value a little increases the quality and bitrate too. You could no doubt tweak setting "a" for this encode, then tweak setting "b" for the next one..... but life's too short if you ask me.

[_Al_]

Megui has tons of settings so after you change some value somewhere you have to remember to change it back otherwise you can get not making sense results.

To encode BD compliant file with TsMuxer, using Megui to encode, there is idea to encode raw streams to feed it TsMuxer with, not using mp4 container. Set RAWAVC for video on the main page. Then:

- tuning film
-target playback device BluRay
- VBV Buffer Size a VBV max bitrate to 30000 I guess
-Maximum GOP Size 24
-Force SAR 1:1
-colorprimaries, transfer, colormatrix , alll choose BT709

then go with defaults for the rest, I do not encode movies, so I do not know what the secrets are to encode them, I'd say right filtering then watching it carefully and fixing it using zones if necessary (scenes with banding, action scenes, or other problematic scenes), to not waste bitrate for already good looking parts, I don't know.

For camcorder videos I just use defaults myself, setting just use some safe CRF value and to get 1pass encoding, then buffers, tune film, ref. frames (x264 then uses that +1)

[Lathe]

Hey doubleHELLO & Al!

I sure appreciate your comments; HH, I have seen your comments on NUMEROUS boards discussing this codec, so I put a lot of stock in your recommendation That IS good to know, then like you say, maybe I shouldn't worry so much about it. Also, that is frigg'n GOLDEN what you said about MKV files; I did NOT know that. I had just @SSumed that the specifications for the MKV file would have to be the same; good to know! Thanks!


And AL, thank you kindly for your suggestions too; that makes a lot of practical sense.


Cheers!

[hello_hello]

There's two different Bluray players in this house and two different TVs with built in media players and they're all perfectly happy with High Profile, Level 4.1 in MKV/MP4. One problem with Bluray compatibility settings is they don't allow the encoder to compress the video quite as much. They probably won't effect the quality as such, but for a given CRF value the file size will probably be larger using Bluray compatibility than without it.

And for Bluray compataibilty you're supposed to stick to official Bluray resolutions and aspect ratios, which might mean adding black bars to the video when it's encoded. I don't think MeGUI/x264 forces you to, but you'll probably see a warning in MeGUI's log file if you don't use an official Bluray resolution and the Bluray compatibility option is enabled. When the desired output is MKV/MP4 though, you can crop the black bars (if you re-encode) and resize to whatever dimensions you like. Cropping the black bars (or not) is possibly more personal preference than anything else, but most people do unless they're creating a Bluray compliant encode.

[Lathe]

There's two different Bluray players in this house and two different TVs with built in media players and they're all perfectly happy with High Profile, Level 4.1 in MKV/MP4. One problem with Bluray compatibility settings is they don't allow the encoder to compress the video quite as much. They probably won't effect the quality as such, but for a given CRF value the file size will probably be larger using Bluray compatibility than without it.

And for Bluray compataibilty you're supposed to stick to official Bluray resolutions and aspect ratios, which might mean adding black bars to the video when it's encoded. I don't think MeGUI/x264 forces you to, but you'll probably see a warning in MeGUI's log file if you don't use an official Bluray resolution and the Bluray compatibility option is enabled. When the desired output is MKV/MP4 though, you can crop the black bars (if you re-encode) and resize to whatever dimensions you like. Cropping the black bars (or not) is possibly more personal preference than anything else, but most people do unless they're creating a Bluray compliant encode.

Excellent, thank you! Yes, I am aware of the AR differences; for example, if I happen to 'have' an MKV file that is in 16x9 or 1.85, then I can get away using TSMuxer and placing it in a BDMV format and my OPPO will display it properly. I can kind of 'cheat' a little with 2.35, but it doesn't QUITE look right BUT, if the MKV is originally in say a 2.40 or other AR, then I HAVE to keep it in the MKV format and just play it that way.

Interestingly, for the last couple of hours I have been comparing the MediaInfo stats of 2 different encodes. First, one that originally froze up my OPPO player, so I re-encoded with BDRB and then remuxed the m2ts back to MKV. And the 2nd one, let's just say for comparison sake, a random 'found' MKV file that played perfectly on my OPPO, which they normally do. I THOUGHT that by re-encoding the offending MKV file through BDRB, it would somehow 'Magically fix' the parameters that were encoded wrong (originally freezing up my OPPO) Since BDRB DOES actually have to re-encode the file, and the actual true Blu-ray encodes from it are bloody ALWAYS fine, I assumed that after re-encoding the offending MKV file, it would come out just fine also, but it didn't. It DID play, but pixelated horribly. Here are the results from the BDRB re-encode then remuxed using MKVMerge back to MKV:


cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / 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=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=16.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=35000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.10 / aq=1:1.00


Now, here is the 'random found' MKV that plays perfectly fine. Notice that it is NOT BR-compatible as you had mentioned and also has other variables different from what BR-compat would normally require, BUT it DOES play beautifully:


cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00


Soooo, I'm poring over this and reading extensively trying to understand 'Why'... (BTW, some of those threads you are on are mind-blowingly technical! MOST impressive! ) So far, I cannot discern any of the 1st set of encodes that would in and of themselves actually CAUSE the player to pixelate. Could it be perhaps that I am simple re-encoding a BAD encode and that running it through BDRB just doesn't fix whatever is wrong with it?

Oh, I meant to mention too that both the original 'offending MKV file' and the BDRB re-encoded version played perfectly fine with VLC on my PC.

Anyway, sorry to elaborate so much, but I have REALLY learned a LOT!


Thanks!!!

[hello_hello]

Excellent, thank you! Yes, I am aware of the AR differences; for example, if I happen to 'have' an MKV file that is in 16x9 or 1.85, then I can get away using TSMuxer and placing it in a BDMV format and my OPPO will display it properly.

16:9 is 1.77, not 1.85 Don't believe anything MediaInfo says regarding aspect ratios. It does a lot of rounding. If you open the video with MPC-HC and use the File/Properties menu it'll display the exact aspect ratio/resolution under the Details tab. If it only displays the resolution, then the aspect ratio is the same. ie 1920/800=2.40

I've never created a Bluray compliant video disc in my life so I can't help much there, and likewise I've never used BDRB so I don't know anything about it. Maybe someone else might have an idea what mught be causing the pixelation problem.

The only real suggestion I can come up with at the moment is to try using MeGUI to re-encode the problem MKV again. I've virtually never used it's OneClick encoder, but try the File/Open menu instead. Once MeGUI has offered to index the file and extract the audio and you've added the indexing job to the queue and run it, the AVS Script Creator will open with a video preview. As I prefer to adjust things like cropping and resizing manually, that's the way I go about it, but the main reason I suggest trying it that way is if the video in the preview looks fine (not pixelated) then there's no reason why the encoded version shouldn't look fine too. If it looks pixelated in the preview then there's some sort of problem decoding the original video. Admittedly it doesn't sound like a decoding problem though, given the encode plays fine on the PC but not on the standalone player.

BDRB uses (I'm pretty sure) TSMuxer for a lot of the work, and the developer has started updating it again, but as a result the newer versions have apparently been a little buggy, so my only other guess is that maybe it could be a TSMuxer issue. I don't know what the chances are of that being a good guess, but if you re-encode with MeGUI you can output directly to MKV.

In case you didn't know, if you're only wanting to convert your Bluray video to MKVs, you can do the whole lot with MeGUI. You'll need something like AnyDVD running in the background decrypting the disc, but then you can rip it using MeGUI's HD Streams Extractor (under the Tools menu). It'll let you choose which streams to extract and it can also convert the audio to another format during the process if you tell it to. It'll rip the video to an MKV and the audio and subtitles etc to individual files. From there if you don't want to re-encode anything you can just mux them into a single MKV with MKVMergeGUI and you're done. If you want to reduce the file size you can of course re-encode the video and/or audio before muxing them into a new MKV. I re-encode the video (more often than not resizing to 720p) while mostly keeping the original audio rather than re-encoding it, but it's all personal preference.

[Lathe]

Thank you VERY much HH; I sure appreciate you taking the time to give me your thoughts and impressions. That really does help!

I will give this a go then. (BTW, I was just giving examples about the AR; I KNOW that 16x9 and 1.85 are different. Those 2 DO happen to play properly on my OPPO within a Blu-ray format, that's all )


Cheers!