Hi, I just realized I've not been posting in the most appropriate section, sorry about that. (Windows Support instead of General)
I have another question now. I'm a little bit unclear about the reference frames and b-frames settings. I think I have a basic understanding of what the two are, but I'm confused about how the two settings (in my mind) seem to possibly conflict with each other.
For example, suppose I set the encoding for just 1 reference frame. I can still set b-frames to some ridiculous value like 16. Or, according to the "--tune animation" preset (part of x264's standard settings not directly available in HandBrake), I can have the default number of reference frames but with 2 additional b-frames, for a total of 3 reference frames and 5 b-frames.
In my mind, this creates a conflict: with pyramidal b-frames, aren't b-frames often used as another type of reference frame? Or does the reference frame limit intelligently limit the number of b-frames used in this way?
One more thing while I'm asking questions: can you guess any kind of timeframe when VBR audio might be added to a Windows nightly?
Sorry for asking so many questions; I realize "just use the defaults, stupid" would probably yield almost identical results that anyone should be happy with.