Set target size

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eon_hasan
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 01, 2012 11:07 am

Set target size

Post by eon_hasan »

Is it possible to return the feature "Set target size". It was very useful. I don't know why developers removed this feature.
jamiemlaw
Veteran User
Posts: 536
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:52 pm

Re: Set target size

Post by jamiemlaw »

Because it was buggy, increasingly difficult to maintain, and was being greatly misused by people who should have been using one of the other two options instead.
Timbre
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:23 am

Re: Set target size

Post by Timbre »

I understand the objections to Set Target Size. But the fact remains, it's a function that people actually need. When your users are circulating the last version that had it as if it were valuable contraband, and they are, there's something wrong. I'm adding my vote to Please find a way to restore this functionality, even if it's something as simple as incorporating a calculator into the bitrate window. It doesn't have to work the same way as the old function, that's not the point. The average bitrate is an example of the computer laughing at the user as they try to figure out the size they want.
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JohnAStebbins
HandBrake Team
Posts: 5712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: Set target size

Post by JohnAStebbins »

Timbre wrote:When your users are circulating the last version that had it as if it were valuable contraband, and they are, there's something wrong.
They are welcome to do so. They are even welcome to fork the code and add the capability back themselves. Though many *many* of them are using target file size for all the wrong reasons and shouldn't be using it in the first place.
I'm adding my vote to Please find a way to restore this functionality, even if it's something as simple as incorporating a calculator into the bitrate window. It doesn't have to work the same way as the old function, that's not the point.
I'm not in favor of this. I doubt any of the other developers are either. It would just be misunderstood and misused.

All the previous arguments still stand, the primary one being that this code was a PITA to maintain. It takes time away from all the other cool things we could do with HandBrake. Several of the features we've added lately would have required additional special case code to handle target file size that both complicates the code and complicates the user interface. For certain combinations of settings, the target file size would have to be disabled. This leads to all kinds of confusion... (user: "Why is target file size option disabled?", developer: "*Shrug* could be a dozen reasons, show me an activity log", user: "But it worked 5 minutes ago", developer: "Show me a log.", user: "What's an activity log?" ...) Given that the development team for HandBrake is very small and we all have lives outside of HandBrake, we don't have time for this BS. Focusing our efforts and cutting fat is of upmost importance.
jamiemlaw
Veteran User
Posts: 536
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Re: Set target size

Post by jamiemlaw »

Timbre wrote:...it's a function that people actually need.
I think there has been one guy in the history of HandBrake since target file size was dropped who actually needed it. He was looking to attach a video to an email, but attachments could not exceed 10MB. And he knew that the video would be heavily compressed but wanted to squeeze out every last drop of quality he could.

That's legit.

I think that literally (and I use that word correctly) everyone else's reason was no that using the feature had become habitual, and they were too stubborn to switch to a better alternative.

What's your use case for this feature?
VideoWolf
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 3:36 pm

Re: Set target size

Post by VideoWolf »

jamiemlaw wrote:
Timbre wrote:...it's a function that people actually need.
I think that literally (and I use that word correctly) everyone else's reason was no that using the feature had become habitual, and they were too stubborn to switch to a better alternative.

What's your use case for this feature?
My reasons for using this feature were simple. Since I already own the movies, I don't need the movie encode to be perfect. & making sure movies did not kill my hard drive space was more important. So I used the feature to make sure movies did not break the 4gig mark unless they were over 2hrs long. But now that "Target File Size" has been removed, I'm pretty much forced to continue using the older version of Handbrake that had it. I'll use the current version when I find a movie that has PCM Audio. Nothing makes older handbrake act more retarded than PCM Audio! or Bluray Subtitles... old Handbrake just hates those!
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JohnAStebbins
HandBrake Team
Posts: 5712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: Set target size

Post by JohnAStebbins »

VideoWolf wrote:My reasons for using this feature were simple. Since I already own the movies, I don't need the movie encode to be perfect. & making sure movies did not kill my hard drive space was more important. So I used the feature to make sure movies did not break the 4gig mark unless they were over 2hrs long. But now that "Target File Size" has been removed, I'm pretty much forced to continue using the older version of Handbrake that had it. I'll use the current version when I find a movie that has PCM Audio. Nothing makes older handbrake act more retarded than PCM Audio! or Bluray Subtitles... old Handbrake just hates those!
Your "reason" is yet another example of why target file size shouldn't be used. Using target file size guarantees that your file will be 4GB even when it could have been encoded in 1GB with transparent quality. So in many cases (like animation and very clean film), you are wasting space. Picking an appropriate quality setting will result in better quality and better disk usage. If you want to put an absolute cap on things to prevent ballooning due to noisy content, use vbv settings.
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