DV tape best settings?

[gurabli]

Hi,

I have about 20+ DV tapes that I no longer use, but they have important family shots on them.
I have all of the content transferred to HDD in avi files. I would like to make a h264 encode of these avi files that I can store, backup and watch later.

I have latest Handbrake installed. I was doing lots of encoding a decade ago using GordianKnot, but those were DVDs to 1 or 2 CD size. Good old times...

Anyway, could you please help me to get the optimal settings for the mkv files for the above mentioned purpose in Handbrake?

According to VLC, my avi files are:
DV Video (dvsd)
720x576 25fps
Planar 4:2:0 YUV
Audio araw, Stereo, 48000, 16 bit
And interlaced.

Activity log: https://pastebin.com/HsVCU9Rr

I'm not sure if I should go with H264 or maybe switch to HEVC (h265)?

The aim is to find a best set of options in order to preserve as much detail as possible and to keep everything in a modern codec. Output file size is second importance, but don't want to keep overly large for no obvious benefit. After all, these are SD contents.

Not sure about
- Quality? RR 19? Or Avg Bitrate 2-pass?
- Optimise video
- Filters, especially deinterlacing

Your help is very much appreciated!

I have now something like this:

[Deleted User 13735]

Fast 576 p25 preset was made for you. No changes needed, and x265 is not suggested for standard definition source.

[gurabli]

Fast 576 p25 preset was made for you. No changes needed, and x265 is not suggested for standard definition source.

Thanks!
Looking at the preset you recommend, I have several questions.

Can I change the container to mkv?
Deinterlace is Off in this preset. I guess I should set it to Default. And use Decomb, but which Preset? EEDI2?
Denoise to NLMeans, with Light preset?
Unsharp mask with Light?
Encode level to 5.1?
Encoder preset to Slower or Very Slow? I don't mind the speed, but rather the quality.

Thanks!

[Deleted User 11865]

All 576p presets have Comb Detection and Decomb enabled, so they will deinterlace when required. A light denoise might be a good idea given the source, but I wouldn't recommend additional filters generally (but maybe on a case by case basis). Level 5.1 makes little sense for standard definition video, the possible compression efficiency gains are negligible.

Since you don't mind long encodes, you should probably use HQ 576p25 Surround as your base preset, and if you feel like it, move the x264 preset slider to veryslow.

[Deleted User 13735]

As I said, you don't need to change a thing. The expert developers have taken all of those things into consideration when they thoughtfully wrote the presets just for you and others who have PAL25 DV material.

Try it as-is, please cancel the urge to second-guess, and post back if you don't get the results you are expecting. Since you are starting with SD tape source, encoding at a slower / higher accuracy preset likely won't look much different, but it can't hurt anything, either.