CBR/VBR/CQ/modes and best methods for encoding cartoons

[Cheburek]

I'm trying to encode some episodes of X-Men. The source is a pretty crappy: divx. I've created small samples of the cartoons using cbr, cq and 2 pass vbr modes. However, I cannot make up my mind on which one to use. I've read a little on these but I'm still not sure which one to use in my situation. Which one would be the optimal mode for encoding cartoons?

I'm sure many of you are very experienced in encoding anime/cartoons. Which mode would you recommend for encoding cartoons? Are there any other settings which I should look out for? I've set all the bars in Noise Reduction and Sharpen Edge all the way up. This seemed to improve the quality of the output.

Finally, how important are the settings for motion search precision? I know what it does, but how important is it? Should this be set on higher/lower qualities for a specific encoding mode (ie cbr/vbr)?

Thank you for reading all of this!

[kinneera]

First, I have to ask what your target format is - VCD, SVCD, DVD ?

If you are working with the low bitrates of VCD or SVCD, animation becomes much more difficult since certain technical details of MPEG encoding don't lend themselves well to animation.

General tips I can give you:
1. Do not exceed the resolution of the source Divx
2. Try using the CG/Animation quantization matrix (in TMPGEnc), I find that it gives somewhat better results
3. As you have already found, use noise reduction - MPEG does not like hard edges, and noise reduction (essentially a smoother) will make it easier for the encoder to handle them
4. Likewise, do not use edge sharpening (unless it is a negative value)
5. 2-pass should give you the best results

Interestingly, if the animation is not line-art, you may have an easier time. When left to its own devices (CQ mode), TMPGEnc consistently compressed South Park about 30% more than the Simpsons.

[Cheburek]

First, I have to ask what your target format is - VCD, SVCD, DVD ?

If you are working with the low bitrates of VCD or SVCD, animation becomes much more difficult since certain technical details of MPEG encoding don't lend themselves well to animation.

General tips I can give you:
1. Do not exceed the resolution of the source Divx
2. Try using the CG/Animation quantization matrix (in TMPGEnc), I find that it gives somewhat better results
3. As you have already found, use noise reduction - MPEG does not like hard edges, and noise reduction (essentially a smoother) will make it easier for the encoder to handle them
4. Likewise, do not use edge sharpening (unless it is a negative value)
5. 2-pass should give you the best results

Interestingly, if the animation is not line-art, you may have an easier time. When left to its own devices (CQ mode), TMPGEnc consistently compressed South Park about 30% more than the Simpsons.

That was very helpful, thank you.

I'm making a VCD; like you said it I don't want to increase the resolution since the source is 352x240. So I shouldn't use sharpening but use noise reduction, right? Should I increase the bitrate then? What bitrates would you recommend for min/max/avg in my case (2 pass)? Alaso, how far should I go with motion search precision (High/Highest?)

Thanks again

[kinneera]

Yes, use noise reduction and not sharpening.

You can increase the bitrate, if your DVD player accepts non-standard VCDs (XVCD). Otherwise you are constrained to 1150 CBR.

For 2-pass, set the avg as high as possible to fit the length of video you have into the CD, up to a maximum of ~2500Kbps. A bitrate calculator will help you with this. The minimum can be 0 - 300, it's not of great significance as long as you don't set it too high. As mentioned previously, the max should probably be kept under ~2500Kbps, otherwise most players will choke on it.

I recommend High motion search precision - Highest will take a lot longer and probably not net you much improvement with a Divx source.

[Cheburek]

Perfect. Thank you for all your help, kinneera.