Video/Quality settings

HandBrake for Windows support
Forum rules
An Activity Log is required for support requests. Please read How-to get an activity log? for details on how and why this should be provided.
Post Reply
Alloneword
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:19 am

Video/Quality settings

Post by Alloneword »

I am using v1.1.2 64 bit on Win 7 U x64

I'm trying to get the balance between half decent quality and not taking forever and a day to enocde, normally this is how i have my settings

https://i.postimg.cc/tRcyVFDP/Handbrake.jpg

for me i find 2550kbps is enough for most of what i do, but it does take a while as i have it set to "Slower" would it be best to move that up to a faster setting or should i alter something else?

All1
rollin_eng
Veteran User
Posts: 4840
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 11:06 pm

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by rollin_eng »

Could you please post your HB logs, instructions can be found here:

https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/hel ... y-log.html
Alloneword
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:19 am

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by Alloneword »

Didn't think i needed to given it's not a problem issue and just general info but anyway here is my log from last encode, hope i've done this bit right as it's first time i have used pastebin

https://pastebin.com/NyKrcb37

All1
User avatar
JohnAStebbins
HandBrake Team
Posts: 5712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by JohnAStebbins »

Why are you using average bitrate rather than constant quality encoding? Constant quality encoding will be faster since it doesn't require an extra pass and will result in more consistent quality from one encode to the next. Different source material can require vastly different bitrates to get equivalent quality. Some source material will look just fine with *less* than 2550kbps, and some will look like utter garbage at that bitrate.

Once you have settled on an RF factor that gets the quality you find acceptable, you can tweak the speed simply by changing encoder presets. If you want to keep the bitrate under some maximum value regardless of how bad it makes the video look, you can use VBV settings for that.
Alloneword
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:19 am

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by Alloneword »

JohnAStebbins wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:16 pm Why are you using average bitrate rather than constant quality encoding? Constant quality encoding will be faster since it doesn't require an extra pass and will result in more consistent quality from one encode to the next. Different source material can require vastly different bitrates to get equivalent quality. Some source material will look just fine with *less* than 2550kbps, and some will look like utter garbage at that bitrate.

Once you have settled on an RF factor that gets the quality you find acceptable, you can tweak the speed simply by changing encoder presets. If you want to keep the bitrate under some maximum value regardless of how bad it makes the video look, you can use VBV settings for that.
To be honest i don't know what are the best settings, i have tried and seen so many different answers I have so many types of films to encode, some are animations some are live films do I have to have a different setting for each type of film?

In another words how is the best way to work out what is right for me or general users?

All1
User avatar
JohnAStebbins
HandBrake Team
Posts: 5712
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:21 pm

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by JohnAStebbins »

IMO, it's best to use constant quality encoding. Animation requires much much lower bitrate to produce good quality than grainy action flicks on film. Constant quality encoding will automatically adjust the bitrate lower for animation and higher for other more difficult sources. Depending on the ratio of simple and complex sources that you have, you may find that your average disk space usage reduces.

Also, you can use the same quality setting for different resolutions. If you were to stay with average bitrate encoding, you would have to adjust the bitrate for SD vs HD vs UHD video.

Choose a short sample video and run some experiments. First try encoder presets till you find something that is as slow as you are willing to tolerate. Then start experimenting with quality. Start with an RF value around 22. Encode a sample and check quality and file size. Adjust the RF up if the file size is too large and down if the quality is not good enough. Repeat until you have output you would be happy with. Then use that same RF and encoder preset on everything.
Deleted User 13735

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by Deleted User 13735 »

The best settings are the defaults. Trust them, don't change them.
Woodstock
Veteran User
Posts: 4614
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 6:39 am

Re: Video/Quality settings

Post by Woodstock »

The worst enemy of a new user is a Google search for "best settings handbrake". The advice you will find is usually old (applies to versions that are 3 or more years out of date), inaccurate, or tailored for what the poster thought "everyone" does, when it actually was a fairly niche-level use. The settings for getting YouTube to accept your 120 frames-per-second, high-resolution game play involve some specific tweaks that are bad for converting a 1080p BD rip into reasonable size file for your Network Attached Server running Plex.
Post Reply