Hardware encoding quality

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oRBIT2002
Experienced
Posts: 90
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:22 am

Hardware encoding quality

Post by oRBIT2002 »

I've tried the hardware encoders supported by Handbrake (h264/h265). It's very fast but the quality is lower than using the software-encoder. My question is, is this quality a limitation of the hardware itself or can we expect better quality with future versions of Handbrake?
Rendering h.265 at 50fps with my GPU instead of 2-3fps with software is very tempting but not that much if quality suffers.
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s55
HandBrake Team
Posts: 10350
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:05 pm

Re: Hardware encoding quality

Post by s55 »

These encoders (mostly) are fixed function so improvements come from new hardware with each generation.

If your running reasonably recent Intel CPU's for example. (I.e 4th gen or later), it's probably "good enough" for a lot of people.
With regards to quality, throw a bit of bit-rate at it, (or choose a higher quality level) to make up the gap. Yes you do get a larger file. Whether that's really a problem for you is down to your preference.
Deleted User 13735

Re: Hardware encoding quality

Post by Deleted User 13735 »

Unless time is a factor (which it shouldn't be for single copy personal use), there is no reason to use hardware encoders except for 4k x265, and yes, quality is lower than CPU.
Deleted User 11865

Re: Hardware encoding quality

Post by Deleted User 11865 »

musicvid wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:45 pm Unless time is a factor (which it shouldn't be for single copy personal use), there is no reason to use hardware encoders except for 4k x265, and yes, quality is lower than CPU.
They're more environment-friendly though, just FWIW.
Deleted User 13735

Re: Hardware encoding quality

Post by Deleted User 13735 »

Rodeo wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2019 6:49 pm
They're more environment-friendly though, just FWIW.
The best fried egg isn't necessarily the fastest.
:wink:
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