Can i leave denoising on for every encode?

[YaBoyShredderson]

My goals when encoding are to to have an file that is (practically) indistinguishable from the source, with a quality buffer, should my viewing conditions change (larger tv, closer seating) while reducing file size.

Im not looking for files that are like a 10th of the original, but do want to reduce them as much as a can, while retaining quality. I dont care too much for noise or grain either way, except when excessive, but i read an explanation of the old denoiser handbrake used, and they said a low level temporal denoising can help to reduce size a bit, while leaving the image esentially untouched.

Nlmeans being superior to the old one, can i leave it on all the time? Using maybe ultralight with the film tune or something? Or should i only ever consider this if the source is visibly and excessively noisy, causing bloated files? I dont know anything about how to use the custom options or anything like that, but if theres something i can type in there that would do what im asking, that would be better than i preset, that would he appreciated.

Thanks.

[Woodstock]

You could set up a preset that uses NLmeans and make it your default. It will slow your encodes, of course, vs. not using a noise filter.

Using a noise filter will help reduce the size of the file (usually!), but it goes against your "(practically) indistinguishable from the source" goal.

[mduell]

If you intentionally want to change the image by reducing noise/grain, then it's OK to leave on all the time.

[Deleted User 13735]

NLMeans is great, but a light denoise is effective for general work, and decidedly faster.

[YaBoyShredderson]

You could set up a preset that uses NLmeans and make it your default. It will slow your encodes, of course, vs. not using a noise filter.

Using a noise filter will help reduce the size of the file (usually!), but it goes against your "(practically) indistinguishable from the source" goal.

When i say practically indistiguishable, i mean the details, and a lack of compression artifacts, but i dont care for noise/grain either way. If filtering out noise reduces the filesize without affecting detail to a noticable amount, its worth it to me.

[Woodstock]

That's the sticky point, though - One person's "detail" is another program's "noise to be smoothed out". The smaller file size comes from reducing the detail to be compressed.

Personally, I have the noise filters disabled, unless I have a specific reason to activate one of them.

[YaBoyShredderson]

That's the sticky point, though - One person's "detail" is another program's "noise to be smoothed out". The smaller file size comes from reducing the detail to be compressed.

Personally, I have the noise filters disabled, unless I have a specific reason to activate one of them.

So it sounds like the best thing is just do what i do now and only denoise if the files is difficult to compress. Thanks.