Shrinking Large Upscaled Video

[taigi]

I upscaled a video by 400% using some comercial upscaler, and the resulting file is much larger than expected (see MediaInfo below). The bitrate is also significantly higher. I'm looking for advice on how to reduce the file size without sacrificing too much quality.

Upscaled from DV source, first used QTGMC, some dehalo.

What adjustments should I make to the reference frames?
Are there any techniques (using VirtualDub2 or other tools) to normalize the overblown results?

MediaInfo:

General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 26.8 GiB
Duration : 25 min 32 s
Overall bit rate : 150 Mb/s
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Writing application : Lavf58.20.100

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Constrained Baseline@L5.2
Format settings : 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, Reference frames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=12
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 25 min 32 s
Bit rate : 150 Mb/s
Width : 2 880 pixels
Height : 2 304 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 5:4
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.453
Stream size : 26.8 GiB (100%)
Writing library : x264 core 157 r2970 5493be8
Encoding settings : cabac=0 / ref=1 / deblock=0:0:0 / analyse=0:0 / me=dia / subme=0 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=4 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=0 / keyint=12 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=0 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=0
Color range : Limited
Matrix coefficients : BT.470 System B/G
Codec configuration box : avcC

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Bernix]

Encoding settings : cabac=0 / ref=1 / deblock=0:0:0 / analyse=0:0 / me=dia / subme=0 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=4 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=0 / keyint=12 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=0 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=0

Hi, would use some slower profile say slow, cabac 1 will help as well as adding some b-frames and longer keyframes say 250. It should be all in profiles.

[Bernix]

I forgot to say, you can do this in Avidemux. If it will handle such resolution. But it is very easy to work with that program.

[taigi]

Should I use "ref=4:bframes=3:keyint=250:keyint_min=25: subme=8:me=hex:trellis=2:crf=22:aq=1:rc_lookahead= 50'?

[jagabo]

Try using the presets. I posted a table that shows settings used by each preset:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/395184-Need-help-downloading-this-vimeo-with-youtu...dl#post2567538

Be careful not to use setting that aren't supported by your playback devices. I didn't check all the setting you used but it looks like the UltraFast preset. That's meant for cases where you need realtime encoding, like video capture. It's not good for someone who wants to compress video for watching. Try something like the Medium or Slow presets. Those are good compromises between speed, quality, and compatibility.

[Alwyn]

You'll also need to "reshape" your video: SD DV is 1.333:1 (4:3), not 1.25:1 (5:4) which is what your upscaled file currently is (2880:2304). Appropriate frame sizes for DV are 768x576, 720x540, 1440x1080.

[Bernix]

I mixed up profiles and presets...

[rgr]

I upscaled a video by 400% using some comercial upscaler, and the resulting file is much larger than expected (see MediaInfo below).

And did you first correct the color range from 16-255 to 16-235? Secondly, I don't see the point in increasing the resolution like that. Maybe someday there will be tools that will give a better image, but they are not there at the moment (i.e. there are, but they come with various artifacts and distortions). Thirdly, if you do, correct the PAR to 1:1 and choose e.g. 2880x2160. This file will be big -- and you set the CRF to 20 anyway. You can give it e.g. 23 -- it will shrink a bit.

[taigi]

@rgr The metadata says "Color range: Limited", which typically means the video is in the 16-235 range?

[jagabo]

@rgr The metadata says "Color range: Limited", which typically means the video is in the 16-235 range?

No. It means the player should play the video as if black is at 16 and white is at 235. It's up to you to be sure the levels in the video are correct before encoding. If your video has whites at 255 everything from 235 to 255 will be crushed at the same brightness during playback.

[rgr]

@rgr The metadata says "Color range: Limited", which typically means the video is in the 16-235 range?

Usually it is. But for DV the real range is always 16-255 (16-254).