Set Bitrate or Quality Settings?

[Damundai]

I was just wondering....

I am encoding all my episodes of GoT and I want the true video dimensions. As far as the quality goes, at what point does it become redundant on the bitrate to maintain Blu-Ray (or near Blu-Ray) quality? I currently have it set for 3500kbps but if it needs to be higher, I can do that. Or would I be better off using the "Constant Quality" settings? And if so, at what setting?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Dam

[mduell]

Given the variability of content, across series and even within a single series, you're much better off with a quality based target. For me 3500 kbps is grossly excessive for The Social Network, but inadequate for Saving Private Ryan.

Try the default value (low 20s), try a value slightly lower (perhaps 3 points lower) to see if you can see improvement, try a value slightly higher (perhaps 3 points higher) to see if you can see a loss. Use the highest value you can tolerate, while on average hitting the rough filesize you're looking for.

[Damundai]

Thanks Mduell, I'll give that a shot! I appreciate the help!