AV1 -- destroys the texture of the grass

[rgr]

I'm surprised at how terrible AV1 is at preserving grass texture. H265 performs better, but not brilliantly. But I expected an improvement, not a deterioration.

https://www.diffchecker.com/image-compare/ak6jxBiD/
https://www.diffchecker.com/image-compare/POaxSnzn/

[ctsdh0]

just 2 words about av1 ( which i am big fan ) based on over 10k movies transcoded : it is smoothing and destroying details - either you'll have to boost "it" and use some sharpening, or you can't compare it to x264 or even h265. If i can afford to go min 2.5-3mbps ( 1080p ) i'll alway go x264 (film/grain), slowest. Any lower bitrates than 2mbps for x264 converting from bluray will produce visible artefacts/macroblocks ( sharpness / details will be still much better than in AV1 ).
Lately with SVT-AV1 4.01 HDR Patman mode, using HDR and preset 4 ms-ssim or 5 grain quality/details are much better - but seriously - if I had achoice, and could use 2.8+ mbps i will be using x264 ( max 1080p ). All based on SVT-AV1, AOMenc, and rAV1e -but realistically - who can afford to encode 3-5fps with rav1e.
av1 is destroying details by smoothing footage.

[Sharc]

I'm surprised at how terrible AV1 is at preserving grass texture. H265 performs better, but not brilliantly. But I expected an improvement, not a deterioration.

Comparing for the same encoding bitrate (filesize)?

[rgr]

I'm surprised at how terrible AV1 is at preserving grass texture. H265 performs better, but not brilliantly. But I expected an improvement, not a deterioration.

Comparing for the same encoding bitrate (filesize)?

Yes.

6.03.2026 12:20 13*777*441 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (av1).mp4
26.03.2026 12:20 8*765*734 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (av1-30-tune0).mp4
26.03.2026 12:20 8*723*020 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (av1-grain16).mp4
26.03.2026 12:20 6*910*498 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (av1aom-30).mp4
26.03.2026 12:20 4*958*747 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (x265-22).mp4
26.03.2026 12:20 85*201*482 2023_03_12 12_30 (zapis meczu) - NEW (x265-lossless).mp4

Even (av1) with CRF 23, although 2.5x larger than H265, is worse.

Edit: Oh, in this test H265/CRF22 came out even smaller than (AV1/CRF30)
But I still have to repeat it because I messed up one thing.

[rgr]

just 2 words about av1 ( which i am big fan ) based on over 10k movies transcoded : it is smoothing and destroying details - either you'll have to boost "it" and use some sharpening, or you can't compare it to x264 or even h265. If i can afford to go min 2.5-3mbps ( 1080p ) i'll alway go x264 (film/grain), slowest. Any lower bitrates than 2mbps for x264 converting from bluray will produce visible artefacts/macroblocks ( sharpness / details will be still much better than in AV1 ).
Lately with SVT-AV1 4.01 HDR Patman mode, using HDR and preset 4 ms-ssim or 5 grain quality/details are much better - but seriously - if I had achoice, and could use 2.8+ mbps i will be using x264 ( max 1080p ). All based on SVT-AV1, AOMenc, and rAV1e -but realistically - who can afford to encode 3-5fps with rav1e.
av1 is destroying details by smoothing footage.

I've already tried sharpening, I even made a mask for the grass, I slightly reduced the noise (the source is very grainy), I even used the archaic UnsharpMask with radius 20 to deepen the textures, but it doesn't help much.

[abolibibelot]

just 2 words about av1 ( which i am big fan )

I am Not Sure, but did you mean that you are not a big fan of AV1? Cuz everything else you wrote seems to imply that you don't like it that much.

If the future looks like Soylent Green, the AV1 smoothed out grass texture will be a good enough approximation of what grass used to be{*}. (And remember, they didn't change the recipe like they said they were going to, IT'S STILL PEEEOPLLLLLE!)
And if it's good enough for you, it's Godunov for me.

{*} That song, one of the very first songs with an ecological theme, was first released in 1970, nearly 3 years before Soylent Green.