Target filesize gone? svn 4375 Anyway to add it w/ command

[mas5acre]

I rarely do target file size encodes, but I like to sometimes encode to devices that don't like 64bit files or mkv container, like ps3 or xbox 360. Hence my question, anyway to limit total finished file size so it does not become over 4gb.

[Deleted User 13735]

That was a "feature" that the developers decided to eliminate for good reasons.

However, the math needed to achieve your goal is pretty simple:

Time (seconds) x Total Average Bitrate (Mbps) x .125 = File Size (MB)
Be sure to include your audio bitrate in your "Total Average Bitrate."

[mas5acre]

my maths a little rusty so if my total average video bitrate is say 2500kbps and my audio is 160kbps aac then my total average bitrate is 2660. Correct?

[Deleted User 13735]

Yes, and 2660 Kbps = 2.597 Mbps
Google calculator is your friend.

[blumi]

How do I get the bitrate of a DVD for example?
Does handbrake show me this or do I have to use another tool?

[Smithcraft]

You could use MediaInfo, but of course that's just an average bit rate right...

SC

[blumi]

Are there any good values of average bitrate to make a mkv from a dvd movie or series?

[jamiemlaw]

This might sound obvious, but only use average bitrate if you are trying to target an average bitrate. If you're trying to target a specific quality (which I guess you are) use the quality slider. 20 is a good level to have it at, but you can drop it to 19 or 18 if you want higher quality.

[blumi]

Thanks that sounds good for movies and I will use the quality slider there.
I had some big differences in file size with the tv series stargate. There I got a filesize from 600MB to 1100MB for a 45 minute episode. There I want to use the average bitrate to get the same filesize cause I think 1100MB is too big.

[s55]

There I got a filesize from 600MB to 1100MB for a 45 minute episode.

That's normal. Some episodes are more complex than others, and thus require more bitrate to achieve the same quality level. Using CQ for episodes is good if you want to have consistent quality across all episodes.

[kendaron]

I have to say I am hugely disappointed that this feature is gone. I record a lot of digital tv and those series I like I burn to DVD. I like knowing precisely how many I can fit on a DVD.. so there is no 'left over' space wasted etc. Having to manually figure this out everytime is painful. If indeed this feature is gone forever it looks like I will not be moving from the current version. And that is sad.

[blumi]

What to do when I want to have nearly same file size of the episodes?

Use average bitrate or are there other settings for this?

[Tree Dude]

I have to say I am hugely disappointed that this feature is gone. I record a lot of digital tv and those series I like I burn to DVD. I like knowing precisely how many I can fit on a DVD.. so there is no 'left over' space wasted etc. Having to manually figure this out everytime is painful. If indeed this feature is gone forever it looks like I will not be moving from the current version. And that is sad.

The reason it was removed is because it often resulted in bitrate drops close to the end of the file to meet the size constraint. Honestly I would just pick a constant bitrate that you are happy with and then you will always know your file size. For instance I usually do my SD sitcoms with a constant video bitrate of 768 (audio at 128), so a 24min show comes out around 170MB (I have also found that a CQ of 22 yields files around the same size a lot of the time and it a little higher quality).

[Deleted User 11865]

I have to say I am hugely disappointed that this feature is gone. I record a lot of digital tv and those series I like I burn to DVD. I like knowing precisely how many I can fit on a DVD.. so there is no 'left over' space wasted etc. Having to manually figure this out everytime is painful. If indeed this feature is gone forever it looks like I will not be moving from the current version. And that is sad.

The reason it was removed is because it often resulted in bitrate drops close to the end of the file to meet the size constraint.

No. I don't know where you got that idea. Target file size worked the same as average bitrate, only HandBrake calculated the average bitrate target to meet the requested file size (before the encode begins).

The reason it was removed is because it had some bugs, because it was a pain to maintain and because it was somewhat incompatible with some planned features (e.g. quality-based VBR audio).

[Tree Dude]

I have to say I am hugely disappointed that this feature is gone. I record a lot of digital tv and those series I like I burn to DVD. I like knowing precisely how many I can fit on a DVD.. so there is no 'left over' space wasted etc. Having to manually figure this out everytime is painful. If indeed this feature is gone forever it looks like I will not be moving from the current version. And that is sad.

The reason it was removed is because it often resulted in bitrate drops close to the end of the file to meet the size constraint.

No. I don't know where you got that idea. Target file size worked the same as average bitrate, only HandBrake calculated the average bitrate target to meet the requested file size (before the encode begins).

The reason it was removed is because it had some bugs, because it was a pain to maintain and because it was somewhat incompatible with some planned features (e.g. quality-based VBR audio).

I swear I remember that being mentioned in a thread a while back. My bad.

[Sendai]

The reason it was removed is because it had some bugs, because it was a pain to maintain and because it was somewhat incompatible with some planned features (e.g. quality-based VBR audio).

[Deleted User 11865]

The reason it was removed is because it had some bugs, because it was a pain to maintain and because it was somewhat incompatible with some planned features (e.g. quality-based VBR audio).

Which is available in the CLI and Linux GUI nightlies, BTW. It's not exposed in the MacGUI yet (IDK whether it's exposed in the Windows GUI nightlies).

[estimablesir]

Seriously? Hmm... being able to easily control resulting file size, especially when I'm backing up my collection is a huge deal. For me, this application has been rendered useless. I'm sorry, but it sucks when a feature in one of your favorite applications disappears making it no longer the perfect solution it once was for me. It's surprising because this would be the first frontend I've ever seen that now lacks a bitrate calculation feature (which it previously had, even if it was imperfect). I mean...controlling the output file size is a basic feature. Hopefully something incredible is planned that would justify removing what is just rudimentary, but important functionality. Very disappointing guys.

[jamiemlaw]

Aiming for a specific file size is a terrible metric for movie compression. It's like saying that all your books must be exactly 100 pages long, because that way they'll all be the same thickness and you'll know how many you can fit on a book shelf.

[GregiBoy]

I totally agree with you Jamie. Filesize is a VERY poor metric to base your encoding on.

I cannot understand the fetish people have with filesize with the prices of storage now. eg. here in Oz, 1Tb external < 100 bux and media players are around the same.

[Deleted User 13735]

The logic being a mystery, there are still some people who think backing up their movies to 700MB CD-ROM discs is the cool thing to do . . .

[rollin_eng]

Can handbrake please bring back the 'Convert to Betamax' option too.

[jamiemlaw]

Let's be constructive here. There's no denying that there has been some outrage at the lack of a target file size option. I'm going to list a bunch of reasons that people have been using this option, and what the suggested workarounds are:

1. Ensuring that a file does not exceed 4GB
   Sounds reasonable, but let us not forget that target file size will also bump files that would ordinarily be smaller than 4GB up to that limit. That's pointless, and counter-productive. 4GB is a very large size, and is very hard to reach if you are encoding SD video. Hardware capable of playing HD video should also support 64 bit. If they don't that's their problem and you'd be better off taking it up with the manufacturer, because that way you're asking them to take a step forward, rather than asking HandBrake to take a step backward.
   
   If you cap the bitrate to 5Mbps using the vbv-maxrate and vbv-bufsize advanced settings (this is pretty high, and would also work for 720p output), you can be certain that as long as your movie is shorter than 1 hour 45 minutes that it'll be under 4GB.
2. Fitting a single movie onto a 700MB CD (or similar)
   If this is your primary method for backing up your movies, then you are simply wrong. Go away. Get a bigger storage device. For people for whom this situation presents itself once in a blue moon (often as a one-off) then using average bitrate should not be any sort of hassle.
3. Fitting several episodes onto a CD (or similar)
   See above. In addition, the technically best solution is to get the total running time of your episodes, calculate the bitrate from that, and set that as your average bitrate for each episode. That way, if an episode is slightly longer than the others, it will have fractionally more kilobytes allocated to it (and vice versa for shorter episodes), meaning better perceived average quality.
4. Habit / OCD
   That's totally your problem, not HandBrake's. You can't live in the previous decade forever. Yes, it means you'll have a split between your old episodes that are all the same size, and a new batch of episodes that are all different sizes but have the same quality. You will need to live with this. No matter what, you will need to switch your methods sooner or later, and the fact that HandBrake has removed one of your options makes it the perfect time to get updated. It sounds scary, but there will come a time where H.264 will no longer be the best codec around, and when support gets dropped for it in 10 years or whenever, people will be clamouring for its return. No. Get with the times. Your old movies won't break or anything. It's not like the newer, better movies are going to corrupt your old ones if you switch.

[rollin_eng]

If target file size is so important to you just create an excel spreadsheet with musicvid's formula:

Time (seconds) x Total Average Bitrate (Mbps) x .125 = File Size (MB)
Be sure to include your audio bitrate in your "Total Average Bitrate."

Or google video bitrate calculator.

But rather than do this tiny amount of work people declare handbrake to be 'useless'.

I dont get it.

[s55]

0.9.5 will continue to work fine for those who want this functionality. End of discussion...