MP4 compression

[Cralis]

Hi guys,

I have recorded a video and my camera saves .TOD files. I used ffmpeg to convert the video to MPEG2 format, which seemed to keep the high definition quality. I then edited the video in Sony Movie Studio. I then saved it as an AVI. 24 minutes came to 151Gig

I am now trying to use ffmpeg to convert my video to MP4. I'd like to keep the high quality, but reduce the files size.. as much as possible before I lose quality.



As you can see, this isn't working too well. Picture is all pixelated...

Here is a screen from the original:



There's slight pixilation there, but when you watch it (or at least, when I do), it's very very acceptable.

These are the settings I tried...



Could someone maybe guide me on how I can keep the quality (to acceptable standards for home shot video), and yet not have a 151Gb file? Maybe someone can see an obvious issue with the selections I have used? I guessed at 3000 bitrate...

Just to add some more - the files get played mainly on a Sony PS3.. so I need to ensure that the format works on there.

[guns1inger]

You got 151 GB because you didn't select a codec and therefore produced an uncompressed video.

If these still images came directly from video footage then the first issue you have is resolution. In both cases the resolution includes an odd number. Video encodes best when working with even numbers, with mod 16 usually being preferred, although not mandatory for all codecs.

For MP4 you have two choices. Which is best depends on a number of factors, but playback device should be high on the list. If your preferred device is the PS3 then I would suggest you encode using H264, and if possible, use an application that uses X264 for encoding. I believe it is superior to ffmpeg for that purpose. It is possible, with good source, to encode up to 720p with good results at around 3000 kbps, although this would be around the lowest you would want to go for all but talking head videos. I would also try to reduce the number of times you re-encode, and if you must do intermediate encoding, either work with mpeg-2 at 25mbps, or use a lossless codec.

[Cralis]

Thanks for that!
I've managed to convert the massive 151Gb file into a 2Gb MPEG2-PS with ACC (??) audio, and that does play on the PS3. But what I'll do now is try again with the H264 as you mentioned. 720p... So, I need to select that somehow?

The AVANTI front end for ffmpeg doesn't have the option for H264, as I think you were saying. Maybe it's available via the command line? If not, any idea which tool I can use to try get this result?

The screen shot I sent was a close up selection of a frame.. My video is the 1440 size, and 16:9.

[guns1inger]

You could look at MeGUI or Xvid4PSP (5.0.36 is my preferred version). You should also look at the output options for Vegas, as I suspect you can output MP4 directly. Vegas Pro ship swith both a limited MainConcept implementation, and a Sony AVC encoder. I suspect Movie Studio doesn't have quite the same output options, but you should check them out any way.

If you choose to keep the full 1080 video, you should probably go for a bitrate closer to 5000 kbps.

[Cralis]

Thanks for the help!

I got handbrake, ran my 151gb file through it, brought it to 720, and the file is 280Meg, and looking fine on the PS3. Thanks very much for the help.

Looks like Movie Studio can do MP4, but I would not know which to chose here:



Could you help with a choice to achieve the same result?

[guns1inger]

From that list you would use AVCHD 1440 x 11080 PAL, but I don't know how much freedom you have to configure the settings inside that template.