Best encoding software for 4k videos ?...

[aliitp]

I have been using xMedia Recode for years now, but just recently am finding it unable to encode some 2160p videos with both HDR and HEVC in them *i guess thats the codec used* with MKV Container... I would normally encode using constant quality and leave that value = 14 but the results sux terribly I think xmedia recode is unable to keep up with my requirements and that is recoding 4k videos, the reason am doing this of course is because some files are huge (40 GB+) encoded @ 50 Mbps and id like to recode to lower yet stunning 4k quality to be able to play it on some of my devices, was told here that even 2-pass encoding cant give good results, any help or advise how to encode 4k videos to real good results as i like high quality results and cant stand crappy video quality

thanks,

[_Al_]

2pass would give you excellent quality, same as CRF (constant quality 1pass), except you never know what bitrate to set using 2pass, so that is why we use CRF. Especially home users not restricted to anything, only wanting certain quality.

For 4k you can use Quality values a bit higher (lower bitrates) otherwise as you can see, bitrates can skyrocket. You do the math how many more pixels there is as oppose to HD resolution.

Its same old, same old as working HD, you select quality that is good for you and you get bitrate. If it is too large, that is not xMedia Recode fault. There is one difference though. Encoding 4k, you should pay more attention to max bitrates, to not let them go too wild. So restrict buffers to 60000 - 70000 or something. It is your choice what number you come up with. Restricted maximum bitrates (not drastically) are usually not noticeable at all, because at those bitrates things look good anyway. And if using sharp footage's you unnecessarily drive your encoder to go wild with bitrates. You can experiment to not restrict buffers , then watch bitrates on some samples, restrict it , then watch it again, make some decision.

[sophisticles]

I have been using xMedia Recode for years now, but just recently am finding it unable to encode some 2160p videos with both HDR and HEVC in them *i guess thats the codec used* with MKV Container... I would normally encode using constant quality and leave that value = 14 but the results sux terribly I think xmedia recode is unable to keep up with my requirements and that is recoding 4k videos, the reason am doing this of course is because some files are huge (40 GB+) encoded @ 50 Mbps and id like to recode to lower yet stunning 4k quality to be able to play it on some of my devices, was told here that even 2-pass encoding cant give good results, any help or advise how to encode 4k videos to real good results as i like high quality results and cant stand crappy video quality

thanks,

The funny thing is that for nearly 20 year people keep asking the same question without stopping to think of the implications.


You want to take a 40+ GB file, encoded at 50 Mbps and transcode it to a "lower yet stunning 4k quality" but you don't stop and ask yourself if this was possible why wouldn't the content creators have done it in the first place?


It used to be "I want to take a DVD and reencode it to VCD or SVCD and keep the same quality", then it became "I want to take a DVD, resize it, using DivX or whatever and keep the same quality", then it became "I want to take a BD-Rip and re-encode it to a smaller size while keeping the same quality" and now you want to take a presumably commercial UHD and re-encode it to a lower but stunning quality.


Here's my answer...

[davexnet]

I re-encoded a sample clip from the latest Mamma Mia movie, UHD/HDR.
Clip about 60 seconds, reduced it to 720p and kept the HDR. 270mb > 9mb,
Looks good upscaled on my LG tv
This is an extreme example, but the point is, it should be easy to do, i used Vidcoder, HEVC 10 bit,
profile main 10

[Selur]

You want to take a 40+ GB file, encoded at 50 Mbps and transcode it to a "lower yet stunning 4k quality" but you don't stop and ask yourself if this was possible why wouldn't the content creators have done it in the first place?

For DVD and Blu-ray, the most common answer should be:
The creator was restricted in the settings and format choices he could make due to limitations of the standard he has to please.
DVD is only MPEG-1&MPEG-2, Blu-ray is only 8bit MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1, so when ignoring that reencoding is normally lossy archiving better compressibility by using advanced features of the format or using a more advanced format should be achievable.
There also is the factor that often not during DVD and Blu-Ray production not the best available encoders are used, due to 'the encoder we have does what it has to do, client hasn't complained so far'.

Looks good upscaled on ...

to be fair, is a totally different thing than "while keeping the same quality"

[aliitp]

I have been using xMedia Recode for years now, but just recently am finding it unable to encode some 2160p videos with both HDR and HEVC in them *i guess thats the codec used* with MKV Container... I would normally encode using constant quality and leave that value = 14 but the results sux terribly I think xmedia recode is unable to keep up with my requirements and that is recoding 4k videos, the reason am doing this of course is because some files are huge (40 GB+) encoded @ 50 Mbps and id like to recode to lower yet stunning 4k quality to be able to play it on some of my devices, was told here that even 2-pass encoding cant give good results, any help or advise how to encode 4k videos to real good results as i like high quality results and cant stand crappy video quality

thanks,

The funny thing is that for nearly 20 year people keep asking the same question without stopping to think of the implications.


You want to take a 40+ GB file, encoded at 50 Mbps and transcode it to a "lower yet stunning 4k quality" but you don't stop and ask yourself if this was possible why wouldn't the content creators have done it in the first place?


It used to be "I want to take a DVD and reencode it to VCD or SVCD and keep the same quality", then it became "I want to take a DVD, resize it, using DivX or whatever and keep the same quality", then it became "I want to take a BD-Rip and re-encode it to a smaller size while keeping the same quality" and now you want to take a presumably commercial UHD and re-encode it to a lower but stunning quality.


Here's my answer...

I wasn't throwing a joke at you so excuse me if i got no sense of humor there !...

I got plenty of videos I managed to re-code them (or whatever that word is) from massive 4k and possibly the same bitrate (50 Mbps or so~) to something way smaller (12 GBs) the quality was pretty stunning on my samsung 8-series OLED TV, AMOF i didnt even recall i encoded them at just 1080p !! i found that out just latter on, maybe got something to do with the Upscaling thing in the TV + I re-coded the video with plenty of bitrate (just 1080p not 4k coz at that time xmedia didnt allow me to !!) so in short am asking for a magic trick, i know pretty damn straight i encoded videos before on less bitrate, heck even on 1080p, yet the results turned stunning, i just want to do it again re-coding 4k > 4k this time (which doesnt seem to work with xmedia) with less bitrate coz 50Mbps bitrate is exaggerated to me !...

[aliitp]

I re-encoded a sample clip from the latest Mamma Mia movie, UHD/HDR.
Clip about 60 seconds, reduced it to 720p and kept the HDR. 270mb > 9mb,
Looks good upscaled on my LG tv
This is an extreme example, but the point is, it should be easy to do, i used Vidcoder, HEVC 10 bit,
profile main 10

will give Vidcoder a shot, thanks, can it re-code 4k > 4k ?...

and what is the right quality to pick for 4k is it as low as 5 or higher and how to find out coz these seem to me like arbitrary values ?!?...

[aliitp]

I re-encoded a sample clip from the latest Mamma Mia movie, UHD/HDR.
Clip about 60 seconds, reduced it to 720p and kept the HDR. 270mb > 9mb,
Looks good upscaled on my LG tv
This is an extreme example, but the point is, it should be easy to do, i used Vidcoder, HEVC 10 bit,
profile main 10

Thanks for recommending to me VidCoder, it does the job absolutely fine, also the app is easy to use, the only thing i find missing is CBR, but i think it is more than capable encoding 4k better than XMedia !..