Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

General questions or discussion about HandBrake, Video and/or audio transcoding, trends etc.
Post Reply
arcuser
Bright Spark User
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:55 am

Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by arcuser »

So I have been stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 (Windows 7 x64) for over a year because I have wanted to use FDK-AAC.

I do not feel comfortable compiling my own from nightly, so if I wanted to use FDK-AAC I had to stick to this version.


However recently, I have been running some more test encodes and wondering if I should just switch to AC-3 for audio.
The filesize difference seems to be negligible as does the audio quality based on my settings.

For comparison, I am making:

x264 SD encodes and I have been encoding
FDK-AAC at 192kbps or AC-3 at 224kbps or 256kbps
either from an existing BD or DVD AC-3 or DTS source.

It seems difficult to tell the difference in these 2 audios (FDK-AAC 192kbps and AC-3 224/256kbps) although that may be down to the details in the particular original audio in question. For example, music tracks do not seem to compress so well - they are not as clear as the original (obviously because some of the frequencies must have been removed or compressed to achieve the lesser bitrate).

I can obviously tell the difference in the encoded audio and the original source - but the original source is many times the size, since this is SD my aim is to keep filesize down.

Moreso though - I can't tell if the differences are down to a poor AC-3 encoder or it's just that the quality will deteriorate anyway when going to a bitrate such as 224/256kbps AC-3.



My main questions though:

Have there been any major advancements in AC-3 audio or FDK-AAC in Handbrake since version 0.10.3 until now that would actually merit upgrading?

Have there been any substantial improvements for SD encoding (either two-pass or CRF) using x264 since 0.10.3?


I can read the changelogs for the various versions, but this doesn't give me any indicator of real user experiences or issues, which is why I am asking.


If I am to install the latest version of Handbrake, how can I run both 0.10.3 and the latest side by side? I do not want it to overwrite 0.10.3 as I still may need FDK-AAC sometime(s).
mduell
Veteran User
Posts: 8195
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 8:54 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by mduell »

FDK was dropped after 0.10.3 for political reasons, the only AAC encoder option on Windows/Linux is the crap one.
arcuser
Bright Spark User
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:55 am

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by arcuser »

mduell wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:18 pm FDK was dropped after 0.10.3 for political reasons, the only AAC encoder option on Windows/Linux is the crap one.
I am aware of this, but since I am looking to (possibly) abandoning FDK-AAC in favor of AC-3, I am wondering if it is really worth my while upgrading to the latest version?

Particularly as my main encoding is SD quality and limited amounts of smaller 720p HD.

Have there really been any improvements in these areas in the Handbrake versions since 0.10.3 to merit an upgrade?
Deleted User 13735

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by Deleted User 13735 »

AAC with avc/mp4 is universally supported across media players and devices.
AC3 is not. For instance, iPhone and Android have no or limited playback support.
User avatar
s55
HandBrake Team
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by s55 »

Unless your using h.265 or particularly want a feature, then there won't be a huge difference in the encodes.
arcuser
Bright Spark User
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:55 am

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by arcuser »

arcuser wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:48 am
1.
Have there been any major advancements in AC-3 audio in Handbrake since version 0.10.3 until now that would actually merit upgrading?

2.
Have there been any substantial improvements for SD encoding or even HD (either two-pass or RF) using x264 since 0.10.3?

3.
If I am to install the latest version of Handbrake, how can I run both 0.10.3 and the latest side by side? I do not want it to overwrite 0.10.3 as I still may need FDK-AAC sometime(s).
Thanks for the answers...

Any ideas on the main overall questions above?


Btw, regarding FDK-AAC other software(s) have an option to import your own fdkaac.exe - is this not possible for a future release of Handbrake rather than having to go through the compilation process?
User avatar
s55
HandBrake Team
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by s55 »

No, no and not supported.

Finally, nope. We can't use fdk.


wow, that was a hole lot of negativity :(
rollin_eng
Veteran User
Posts: 4847
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 11:06 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by rollin_eng »

Can you not run a nightly along side a release version?
User avatar
s55
HandBrake Team
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by s55 »

Nightly, yes. But release version to release version no.
rollin_eng
Veteran User
Posts: 4847
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 11:06 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by rollin_eng »

Ok, so a work around might be to keep 0.10.3 and a recent nightly.
arcuser
Bright Spark User
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:55 am

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by arcuser »

s55 wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:39 pm Nightly, yes. But release version to release version no.
rollin_eng wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:54 pm Ok, so a work around might be to keep 0.10.3 and a recent nightly.
Had some problems trying to do this before, although it was sometime back in the 0.9.x versions.

The two versions just would not co-exist and they kept crashing each other for one reason or another.

Is there a particular way the nightly should be installed or settings that should be applied to ensure both run happily side by side?
Deleted User 13735

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by Deleted User 13735 »

Try changing the default install directory name.
It "used" to work.
rollin_eng
Veteran User
Posts: 4847
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 11:06 pm

Re: Stuck on Handbrake 0.10.3 - differences between this and 1.0.3?

Post by rollin_eng »

The nightly now defaults to a separate directory.
Post Reply