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Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 5:50 pm
by Hanbrakeur
Hello everybody,

Did you find x265 AMD VCE encoding better quality than x265 CPU encoding ?

We know that GPU support usually trades speed for quality but is the quality so low that we would get better quality with a 100% software x264 encoding than a hardware x265 encoding, for a 1080p video ?

Thanks for any reply.

Cédric.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 5:53 pm
by Hanbrakeur
(with the same bitrate and standard settings)

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:11 pm
by JohnAStebbins
Any hardware encoder used with it's best quality settings currently results in lower quality than the equivalent software encoder using it's best quality settings. If you slide the quality setting down on the software encoder to it's fastest, lowest quality setting it may be lower quality than some hardware encoders, but not always. AMD VCE is not particularly high quality even at it's best.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:13 pm
by JohnAStebbins
This article may be helpful. It goes into more depth on performance trade-offs. https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/tec ... mance.html

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:21 am
by mduell
AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x265 at the same bitrate.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:41 am
by Hanbrakeur
mduell wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:21 amAMD VCE H.265 is worse than x265 at the same bitrate.
Thanks everybody for the replies but I made a mistake in my post. I wanted to compare AMD VCE x265 to software x264 at the same bitrate.

So, is AMD VCE x265 better or worse than software x264 at the same bitrate ? Thanks and sorry again for the typo.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:39 pm
by Deleted User 11865
x265 is not a video format (neither is x264), they're software encoders that produce HEVC and H.264 video, respectively.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:40 pm
by Deleted User 11865
mduell wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:21 am AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x265 at the same bitrate.
He's asking for a comparison of VCE HEVC vs. x264 H.264, however.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:47 pm
by Hanbrakeur
Rodeo wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:40 pm
mduell wrote: Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:21 am AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x265 at the same bitrate.
He's asking for a comparison of VCE HEVC vs. x264 H.264, however.
exactly

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:38 pm
by Deleted User 13735
Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?
No.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:41 pm
by Hanbrakeur
musicvid wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 6:38 pm
Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?
No.
:shock:

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:35 am
by mduell
AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x264 at the same bitrate.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:35 am
by Hodrakir
mduell wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:35 am AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x264 at the same bitrate.
I don't agree with your opinion.
Is it based on your experience? Or just theoretical knowledge?
Because my experience says otherwise...

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:55 am
by Hodrakir

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:08 am
by Hanbrakeur
Hodrakir wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:35 am
mduell wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:35 amAMD VCE H.265 is worse than x264 at the same bitrate.
I don't agree with your opinion.
Is it based on your experience? Or just theoretical knowledge?
Because my experience says otherwise...
On mine too. On my computer, AMD VCE H265 (Quality Preset) looks better than software x264 (Medium Preset) at 2000Kbs 1080p, but maybe it's not a case at higher resolution ? I posted this thread to know everyone's experience since I keep reading bad comments about hardware H265.

Thanks everybody for your inputs.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:40 pm
by nhyone
Really trying to encode 1080p at 2 Mbps or even 400 kbps?

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:49 pm
by Hanbrakeur
nhyone wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:40 pmReally trying to encode 1080p at 2 Mbps or even 400 kbps?
H265 at 1080p 2000Kbs is better than you could imagine. Just try it. Sorry for going off-topic.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:31 pm
by Deleted User 11865
Some H.264 encoders (e.g. x264) can produce great-looking 1080p videos at 1,500 Kbps, depending on the source. But it really depends on the source.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:54 pm
by Deleted User 13735
Rodeo wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:31 pm Some H.264 encoders (e.g. x264) can produce great-looking 1080p videos at 1,500 Kbps, depending on the source. But it really depends on the source.
A talking head against a stationary backdrop will look fine at 1500 Kbps. A slideshow with no motion or fades will default to around 250 Kbps, its maximum quality. x264 cpu is top of its class.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:30 pm
by rollin_eng
Hodrakir wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:35 am
mduell wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:35 am AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x264 at the same bitrate.
I don't agree with your opinion.
Is it based on your experience? Or just theoretical knowledge?
Because my experience says otherwise...
Can you post your logs?

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:31 pm
by rollin_eng
Hanbrakeur wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:49 pm
nhyone wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:40 pmReally trying to encode 1080p at 2 Mbps or even 400 kbps?
H265 at 1080p 2000Kbs is better than you could imagine. Just try it. Sorry for going off-topic.
Can you post your logs?

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:31 pm
by mduell
Hodrakir wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:35 am
mduell wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:35 am AMD VCE H.265 is worse than x264 at the same bitrate.
I don't agree with your opinion.
Is it based on your experience? Or just theoretical knowledge?
Because my experience says otherwise...
Experience both with encoding and what settings people typically choose. You can pick particularly contrived settings that make it not true, but the general trend holds.
Screenshots without an encoding log for the full settings is literally worthless, and generally misleading.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:02 am
by BradleyS
H.265 is generally more capable than H.264 in two scenarios: low bit rate encodes, and >1080p (4K) resolution encodes.

For high quality 1080p encodes at medium to higher bit rates, x264 generally produces a result equal to x265 and exceeding hardware encoders.

So it really depends on what you're doing. You're both right.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:04 am
by Hodrakir
BradleyS wrote: Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:02 am H.265 is generally more capable than H.264 in two scenarios: low bit rate encodes, and >1080p (4K) resolution encodes.
...
I completely agree with you. But let's not forget another key factor: the size of the resulting file is 2 to 4 times smaller.

Re: Is x265 AMD VCE GPU encoding really better quality than x264 CPU for a 1080p video ?

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:08 am
by BradleyS
In the two scenarios I mentioned, H.265 can produce the same quality with fewer bits, or higher quality at the same bit rate, however you want to look at it. In the low bit rate scenario, it often can produce higher quality with fewer bits.