DVD to h264 in very small size

[loninappleton]

There is a place that shows content of very small size for things like tv capture and DVD though these may be step down conversions from earlier encodes.

I'm going to show a sample which is:

480x264 and a file size of 133mb for about 50 mins of content. This, to me, is tiny. But I don't know how it is accomplished. I have asked elsewhere, but the answers seem to be either coy or have little interest to give the details to a noob. That happens.

MeGUI is the tool used for this from the hints I've been able to follow.

I don't know if these are encodes for such things as hand held devices which will play back on standard computer equipment as well or what. That's why I gave a sample file spec as a clue. Included is the fact that the source mentions 10 bit encoding. My only playback device is a standard home media environment for computer viewing with such players as VLC.

Is there a guide to do this specific task with free tools?

A step by step procedure with no shorthand is preferred.

[sanlyn]

480x264 and a file size of 133mb for about 50 mins of content.

Then it's not DVD.

https://www.videohelp.com/dvd#tech

[Baldrick]

I guess loniappleton means converting from dvd sources to small size video.


Lower the bitrate to get smaller size. Easiest with something like VidCoder. Or try the one click solution in megui.

[sanlyn]

Probably be better to use something like Spline36Resize to get a 1.8888:1 video down to that size, then encode with MeGUI. I have no idea what bitrate to use. There are free calculators that can help with that. Deinterlace first, then discard odd fields to get a smaller file.

I'd have no idea what the O.P. means by "there is a place" that displays these videos.

[loninappleton]

I guess loniappleton means converting from dvd sources to small size video.


Lower the bitrate to get smaller size. Easiest with something like VidCoder. Or try the one click solution in megui.

My other thread going shows preparation of the DVD using DVD Shrink in reauthor mode with some settings provided by hello_hello here at VH. This gives a VOB set which I would normally run through AutoGordian Knot to get AVI content.

lynsam is correct in that regard.

Also I have the guide from Baldrick which preps with DVDShrink or Rip It For me and then process that with Handbrake-- it is a Handbreak guide.

What I need then is either Handbreak or MeGui settings. A 'formula' working with a VOB set would be difficult. What would be a sample bitrate then and what are the steps? Can the sample given be used for practice-- that 480x 264 setting?


I have not used search previously because I didn't know how to frame the keywords-- didn't know how to look it up. But others must have wanted to know this previously.

'Going to review the three part MeGUI guide this afternoon.

[loninappleton]

I'm having a bit of confusion with 'guide tracks' for Me GUI. It's all starting to look the same at the wiki. There's a certain point at which all the cross referencing while trying to helpful just adds confusion.

On one of these 'tracks' I've got the preparation part for DVDDecrypter for working with MeGUI. And I've installed the cccp codec pack. Not totally conviced that things marked with a cickle are clean I'm running a Comodo sweep followed by Malwarebytes.

My goal is still that small file size.

A question relating to this is the MeGUI how to for programming for the Ipod.
Is it just smaller settings or differnet codecs or what?

I'm not far along in that but MeGUI for Ipod requires a separate tutorial according to the wiki.

[hello_hello]

When you select x264 in the dropdown box next to Encoder Settings in the video section (x264: *scratchpad*) click on the Config buttom next to it. It might pay to start by loading the default x264 settings. You'll see a dropdown box for selecting a target playback device. Select the one which matches your ipod model. There's iphones and ipods bunched together if they all require the same settings. Selecting the correct target playback device will ensure the encode stays within the required AVC Profile and Level. I think the exception to that is resolution. You can encode using any resolution you like, but if you want to keep the file size to a minimum it'd be best to resize the video to the same width as the device's screen resolution. You'd do the cropping and resizing etc when setting up the encode.

The above is just to explain how to configure the x264 encoder. How far have you got when it actually comes to opening the vob files and indexing them and using the script creator etc?

[loninappleton]

For this first appraoch to the MeGUI I have taken some content which is not very new and done the setup that MeGUI requires in DVDDecrypter. I've processed the DVD main portion with DVDDecrypter and have those pieces.

Today I spent some time printing out MeGui manual info. The two tracks mentioned above is my gaffe. I had a portion of a guide from Afterdawn which I now made hard copy of at the library. I need to look at directions in guides in hard copy and do not have a printer. It's easier to spend a a couple dollars there.


Mentioning Ipod was only if somehow that technique accomplishes the goal of small size which is still viewable on a computer screen. I'm seeing more of these small encode jobs: some absolutely tiny. And there's the 10 bit encoding technique described only as 'something we do that no one else does' and such terms but which is still just a phrase to me that means little but makes me curious as to whether it is the new way to do things.

[enim]

@loninappleton
In general, iPOD screen resolution is 1136x640px, it can support MP4 HD videos 720p@30FPS max.
I am not pretty sure about iPOD can support 10bit, but very sure about 8 bit.

For DVD to mp4 conversion for iPOD...
For Display Aspect 16:9 square pixel 640 x 360 without black bars.
For Display Aspect 4;3 square pixel 640 x 480 without black bars.
Encoding @ 23.976FPS.
Above settings will give you small size.

Some one here will help you with proper tool and step-wise-guide.

[jagabo]

My goal is still that small file size.

 file size = bitrate * running time

So if you want a small file use a low bitrate.

[hello_hello]

There's a version of MeGUI capable of 10 bit encoding currently under development but it's only at the testing stage.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1640346#post1640346
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1640445#post1640445

I can't say I've bothered with it myself as 10 bit encoding isn't something I'm particularly interested in due to the almost complete lack of playback support outside the PC. Plus the 10 bit modifications are only a couple of days old. It would appear though, sooner or later the standard version of MeGUI will become 10 bit capable.
My guess is if 10bit becomes widely supported by playback devices it won't happen until h265 becomes mainstream and I'm not sure if it necessarily follows that'll automatically include 10 bit h264 support too.

If MeGUI is currently being used by others for 10 bit encoding I'd imagine it'd take a bit of work setting it up and using the appropriate scripts with the appropriate plugins, as Avisynth doesn't natively support 10 bit. http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/High_bit-depth_Support_with_Avisynth, so it wouldn't be as simple as replacing the x264 encoder with a 10 bit version.

As I know almost nothing about 10 bit encoding here's a question for someone......
I understand the principle of using a higher bitdepth if you're encoding 10 bit video or processing video before encoding etc, but what if you're simply re-encoding 8 bit video "as-is"? No resizing or any filtering. Does using 10 bit encoding still offer an advantage when it comes to reducing banding etc?

PS After looking at the doom9 posts more closely it appears the patches involve replacing the MeGUI exe with one capable of allowing you to choose between 8 and 10 bit encoding and muxing, and adding a 10 bit version of the encoder, so while I assume it lets you re-encode 8 bit video using the 10 bit encoder there's no native support yet for opening or processing 10 bit source video. Would that be correct? Which also I guess takes me back to the question above.

[jagabo]

I can't say I've bothered with it myself as 10 bit encoding isn't something I'm particularly interested in due to the almost complete (lack) of playback support outside the PC.

Same here.

My guess is if 10bit becomes widely supported by playback devices it won't happen until h265 becomes mainstream

Probably.

and I'm not sure if it necessarily follows that'll automatically include 10 bit h264 support too.

Agreed.

If MeGUI is currently being used by others for 10 bit encoding I'd imagine it'd take a bit of work setting it up and using the appropriate scripts with the appropriate plugins, as Avisynth doesn't natively support 10 bit. http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/High_bit-depth_Support_with_Avisynth, so it wouldn't be as simple as replacing the x264 encoder with a 10 bit version.

As I know almost nothing about 10 bit encoding here's a question for someone......
I understand the principle of using a higher bitdepth if you're encoding 10 bit video or processing video before encoding etc, but what if you're simply re-encoding 8 bit video "as-is"? No resizing or any filtering. Does using 10 bit encoding still offer an advantage when it comes to reducing banding etc?

10 bit filtering, though desireable, isn't required to benefit from 10 bit encoding. Take for example a block that is 100 at one corner and 101 at the next. With 8 bit deblocking you will get an abrupt change from 100 to 101 somewhere within that block. With 10 bit encoding the 8 bit data is first converted to 10 bit. So 100 becomes 400 and 101 becomes 404. You now have 4 intermediate values between 400 and 404 for smoother gradients. People are getting less posterization artifacts (especially in dark areas) with 10 bit x264 compared to 8 bit x264.

[hello_hello]

Ahh.... now I get it. Thanks for the info.

[loninappleton]

Ahh.... now I get it. Thanks for the info.

I'm glad somebody does. Maybe it was just promotional talk for the site that had been posting some small files. If MeGUI has to be patched in some exotic way, I'd best stick to simple encodes and programs.

The MeGUI chapters from guides I have will get sorted today.

As to "bitrate" from above. Can I use the small bitrate technique in Handbrake? Will it give decent results? I will go to my DVDDecrypted VOB set and try that in a bit.

[hello_hello]

The site your refer to may indeed use MeGUI. It sounds like they could have simply replaced the x264 encoder which comes with MeGUI with a 10 bit version. I'd probably wait until the official, 10 bit capable MeGUI is out. It sounds like it mightn't be far away. In the mean time, you can still get your head around using it.

Regarding file size: It shouldn't matter which encoder GUI you use if you crop and resize the same way and use the same filtering each time. They all encode with the same encoder so the result should be the same.

Personally, I don't quite see the need to squish video down to a small size any more. Okay, in the old days when you needed to fit a movie on a CD I could see the logic, but these days hard drive space is dirt cheap, so why not go for quality instead? Or at least some sort of quality/file size balance rather than concentrating on file size. If you're encoding for a portable device it might be a different story, but if it's being stored/viewed using a PC etc, I'd prefer quality myself.

I've even dragged my 78 year old mother out of the dark ages. I bought a USB hard drive dock, stuck on old 500GB drive in it and connected it to the USB port on her Bluray player. Every so often I delete the stuff she's watched and top it up again for her.

[jagabo]

I highly recommend you avoid 10 bit encoding unless you only intend to play your videos a computer with CPU decoding. Almost nothing else will play 10 bit h.264. The small increase in image quality isn't worth the large loss of compatibility. And with your desire for super low bitrates, obviously quality isn't your main concert.

[loninappleton]

About your grandmother. Full disclosure: I'm nearly 66. Largest HD I have here is 320
and I pick up one on occassion from ebay auctions.

There's a trove of stuff at archive.org which is part of the Internet Library at Ibiblio. They have downloads and torrents of non copyright encumbered old films and other media. The Archive released over a million pieces and I've already found a few worth getting. Other major project is works by Shakespeare on media.

Since the issue of 10 bit is apparently just vaporware for now, I'll continue to practice with Handbrake and MeGUI. I nearly have two manuals sorted for MeGUI but I'm still not using the program itself.

There seems to be an overly number of individual routines to do one piece of, say, movie length. But I have another job in mind which has 27 half hour segments. If they are black and white will MeGUI or Handbrake permit batch processing of a small size without trying to put two pounds in a one pound sack?

If all those steps are in MeGUI, what's with the one button encode?

[hello_hello]

About your grandmother. Full disclosure: I'm nearly 66. Largest HD I have here is 320
and I pick up one on occassion from ebay auctions.

I'm nearly 50 so I guess I'm officially old too.

There seems to be an overly number of individual routines to do one piece of, say, movie length. But I have another job in mind which has 27 half hour segments. If they are black and white will MeGUI or Handbrake permit batch processing of a small size without trying to put two pounds in a one pound sack?

Handbrake is probably easier to use than MeGUI for batch encoding, although I've not used it for that myself, and it's no doubt easier to use all round. On the negative side it's nowhere near as versatile.

If all those steps are in MeGUI, what's with the one button encode?

From a user perspective, MeGUI greatest strength is also it's weakness. There's generally multiple ways to achieve the same thing which can make using to learn it harder. The mains ways to add encoding jobs to the queue:

Individually: Using the Queue buttons in the video and audio sections. They'll add encoding jobs to the queue using the current encoder settings for each (for example you can set up the x264 encoder, add a video encoding job to the queue, change encoder settings, add another encoding job, and when the jobs are run each will be encoded using the appropriate encoder settings).
When you add encoding jobs "manually" that way, MeGUI just outputs the encoded video and/or audio. It's up to you to mux them together as a single file etc, although the required muxers are all under the Tools menu.
99% of the time I manually set up an encode after the source has been indexed and the audio extracted, I use the script creator to set up the encode, add the video encoding job using the Queue button in the video section, and when it's done I use the MKV muxer to add the extracted audio to a final MKV file.

AutoEncode: It takes the script loaded in the video section and any audio in the audio section, adds them to the Queue as individual encoding jobs, then automatically muxes them into a final output file. When the AutoEncode window opens there's also an option to add existing audio streams and subtitle files etc.
AutoEncode also lets you choose whether to use the existing video encoder settings or specify a file size etc. If you do specify a file size, it takes any audio you've included into account and calculates the correct video bitrate to give you the correct file size. If you're wanting to encode to a particular size, AutoEncode is the easiest way to do it.
Generally I leave the x264 encoder set to do CRF encoding. If I want a particular file size I use AutoEncode and specify that file size in the AutoEncode window. Once you've specified a file size there, MeGUI will automatically switch to 2 pass encoding and calculate the bitrate for you. No need to configure the x264 encoder individually for each encode. Just specify the desired size when you use AutoEncode to add the encoding jobs to the Queue.

OneClick: I've barely used, it, but it's MeGUI's method for "opening a file and encoding". It'll automatically crop and resize etc and it'll also batch encode. Unfortunately though, you can't preview the video before encoding, and I refer to manually crop and resize each encode myself so I tend to set up each encode individually instead. OneClick will also let you select an output file size as AutoEncode does.
The OneClick encoder itself is fairly configurable.... whether it auto crops and resizes and how it resizes, whether it uses an AVIsynth template, which video/audio encoder presets it uses, whether it calculates file size or does single pass encoding etc, etc.... and when you've configured all that, the whole OneClick setup can be saved as a OneClick preset.
I guess that's where the real power of OneClick lies.... once you've created presets you can select one, open a bunch of files and they'll be encoded according to the chosen preset, but like most of MeGUI, even the OneClick encoder is quite configurable so it might take a little time learning to use it.