Quality keeps going down with each new queue job

[frustrated dude 11]

Description of problem or question:
I'm in the process of converting all my BluRays to digital so I can watch them via Plex. Each time I add job to queue, the subsequent jobs keep degrading in quality. In my honest opinion, this is some type of code espionage (make the experience bad for the user so they give up and quit).

Example: I have 2 movies that came in a double feature pack.
Both rip their raw files at:
Movie 1) 20GB
Movie 2) 19GB

When I quit handbrake (1.2.1), and reopen the application and begin ripping movie 1, it will end up w/ a 15.5mbps 1080p stream coming in at 11GB.
Movie 2, queued behind it with the EXACT same settings, exactly the same, will only end up encoding at ~7mbps 1080p stream with the file size at 6.1GB. It lost almost 1/2 the file size.


Steps to reproduce the problem (If Applicable):

described above


HandBrake version (e.g., 1.0.0):
1.2.1



Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Windows 10 Creators Update):
Ubuntu 18.04.3



HandBrake Activity Log ***required*** (see How-to get an activity log)

https://pastebin.com/57DzLjz5

[s55]

Put the tinfoil hat away ...


Taking the Contact one as an example, you don't appear to have ever completed an encode for it:

First Run: [12:38:38] sync: got 993 frames, 215326 expected
Second Run: [12:46:00] sync: got 6757 frames, 215326 expected
Third Run: Appears to have been killed mid-encode.

Then you moved onto a different file.


There is a lot of noise in that log file. Can you clear, start a fresh instance and run exactly two encodes in the queue with the same source/settings.

While your at it, make sure you have the latest version installed (1.3.0) and your using either our PPA or Flatpack builds (and not the ubuntu repo builds)

[Woodstock]

It looks like it's having trouble doing the VC-1 decoding, but it isn't showing any errors.

[frustrated dude 11]

Thanks, just installed 1.3.0 via flatpak and have the same video queued up to encode twice with only the output name being the difference.

Will update with a new activity log when it's done, probably later tonight. Appreciate it. (tin foil hat not coming off yet).

What's the best platform for handbrake? My box doesn't have to be Ubuntu 18 LTS

[s55]

As long as your using an official build, ubuntu is fine.

[frustrated dude 11]

Guess this is coming down to my ignorance. On 1.3.0 got the same quality / same output when doing multiple runs on the same source, same settings.

For some reason, certain movies, like Contact, I have to jack the RF all the way down to 17 to get the desired MBPS. So instead of being able to use the same settings to rip all my BluRays, I'm going to have to see the output first (was doing RF 20 on everything), then adjust the RF down if it's too crappy.

(pasting activity log since forum says that's a requirement to post, lol)
Test 1 - https://pastebin.com/2jRNfZY9
Test 2 - https://pastebin.com/LXWDK3X0

[mduell]

Constant quality uses the minimum number of bits to hit the quality target, not going for a bitrate target. If you want a specific bitrate for some dumb reason, use that as your target.