WMV to MP4

[amsgh]

I just joined this community and hope my question is acceptable since it is quite "noob" like.

I have a .wmv video file that is 1280x720 and causes windows media player to abort after excessive memory usage. I converted like 5 minutes of it to .mp4(x264) and it played nicely.

The file is 1.55gb when i converted the whole thing to mp4(x264) it went to 809mb, using Any Video Converted app. Does this sound like im losing quality or is it because mp4 has better compression ratio?

Do you guys know what is the the best mp4 video codec to output the file to preserve quality if the above is an issue. If i should use a different codec or format please let me know what the best would be to preserve quality?

Also what would the right bitrate setting be for the codecs? My options are (xvid, mpeg4, x264) Bitrate 768? or 4000? (these seem to be default).
Encode Pass directions too?

[Cornucopia]

Of course you're losing quality: you're re-encoding lossily. But you are also using a more efficient codec, so it may not be too noticeable/objectionable.

MPEG4 is both a codec and a container, depending on what you're referring to. The file format "*.MP4" is the container. It can contain different kinds of codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4-Part2 (SP or ASP), H264/AVC, H265/HEVC. Possibly more (though not much more - it's not meant to be a "universal" container). Note that Xvid & DivX are forms of MPEG-Part2 SP & ASP.

Bitrate settings depend on your filesize constraints (remember, filesize = bitrate * runningtime) and your codec choice, and your material complexity, and your quality concerns. There is NO simple, rule-of-thumb answer.
But one way to look at it is that if your less efficient WMV file used 1.5GB and looked OK, a more efficient AVC-in-MP4 file should be able to use less with more or less equivalent quality (given a certain amount of loss due to lossy generational entropy & math rounding). 5 minutes making a 1.5Gb (bits?) file = ~5Mbps. There are plenty of 720p AVC-in-MP4 files that look decent at such bitrates (and slightly lower).

Of the MPEG family of codecs,
H265/HEVC is the most efficient,
H264/AVC is next,
MPEG4-Part 2 ASP is next
MPEG4-Part 2 SP is next
MPEG2 is next
MPEG1 is last

All these will vary somewhat depending upon profiles & levels chosen. Note that the higher the efficiency and the higher the profile/level, the more burden it puts on your computer (and loss of speed), so even if you wanted to, you might not be able yet to utilize H265/HEVC, for example, as it could be too burdensome for your system.

As far as Passes, etc. If you are not worried about exact bitrates or exact filesizes and more worried about quality levels, use a CQ/CFR type of encoding, it happens to be 1passVBR (not to be confused with bitrate-constrained 1passVBR), but works to optimize around a target quality. If you have filesize/capacity or bitrate constraints (storage on disc, or streaming when not fully broadband, etc.) your recommended setting would be a 2PassVBR type of encoding.

Scott

[amsgh]

Of course you're losing quality: you're re-encoding lossily. But you are also using a more efficient codec, so it may not be too noticeable/objectionable.

MPEG4 is both a codec and a container, depending on what you're referring to. The file format "*.MP4" is the container. It can contain different kinds of codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4-Part2 (SP or ASP), H264/AVC, H265/HEVC. Possibly more (though not much more - it's not meant to be a "universal" container). Note that Xvid & DivX are forms of MPEG-Part2 SP & ASP.

Bitrate settings depend on your filesize constraints (remember, filesize = bitrate * runningtime) and your codec choice, and your material complexity, and your quality concerns. There is NO simple, rule-of-thumb answer.
But one way to look at it is that if your less efficient WMV file used 1.5GB and looked OK, a more efficient AVC-in-MP4 file should be able to use less with more or less equivalent quality (given a certain amount of loss due to lossy generational entropy & math rounding). 5 minutes making a 1.5Gb (bits?) file = ~5Mbps. There are plenty of 720p AVC-in-MP4 files that look decent at such bitrates (and slightly lower).

Of the MPEG family of codecs,
H265/HEVC is the most efficient,
H264/AVC is next,
MPEG4-Part 2 ASP is next
MPEG4-Part 2 SP is next
MPEG2 is next
MPEG1 is last

All these will vary somewhat depending upon profiles & levels chosen. Note that the higher the efficiency and the higher the profile/level, the more burden it puts on your computer (and loss of speed), so even if you wanted to, you might not be able yet to utilize H265/HEVC, for example, as it could be too burdensome for your system.

As far as Passes, etc. If you are not worried about exact bitrates or exact filesizes and more worried about quality levels, use a CQ/CFR type of encoding, it happens to be 1passVBR (not to be confused with bitrate-constrained 1passVBR), but works to optimize around a target quality. If you have filesize/capacity or bitrate constraints (storage on disc, or streaming when not fully broadband, etc.) your recommended setting would be a 2PassVBR type of encoding.

Scott

Taking what you said i used AVCHD(.mt2s) as the encode setting at 1280x720 res. With 4000 bitrate(seems to be default and rule of thumb on google!) although like you said its way more complicated than that for my knowledge. I am unsure if my app/encoder is cbr or vbr based so i went with the 2 pass anyway. Is there a different container for h265 (*.xxx)?

I have no concern for file size and use a i5 processor at 1.9ghz and 8gb RAM. Application is 32bit.

[Cornucopia]

H265 is used in MP4, MKV and probably MXF and MPEG2-TS containers. Maybe others will accept its inclusion (AVI & MOV included) but it isn't recommended.

What's the encoding app? Most encoders these days support VBR in one form or another.

Scott

[amsgh]

H265 is used in MP4, MKV and probably MXF and MPEG2-TS containers. Maybe others will accept its inclusion (AVI & MOV included) but it isn't recommended.

What's the encoding app? Most encoders these days support VBR in one form or another.

Scott

Any Video Converter Free

[Cornucopia]

which is a frontend to ffmpeg and/or mencoder and should include using x264 as the AVC/H264 encoder. x264 is capable of standard, bitrate-constrained VBR and CQ/CFR-type VBR. But that may not be fully accessible from the Any Video Converter frontend (don't know as I don't use that app).

Which is why so many of us here use apps like Handbrake, Hybrid, MeGUI, etc. - more options. If you know what you're doing, that's better; not so much if you DON'T fully know what you're doing.

Scott