New to all this...compression?

[silverlode]

I have been messing around with various encode settings in Mediafork 0.8.0b1 on a MacBook. I've read here that people think a bitrate of 2500 kbps, 2-pass should be high quality. I've read people say they can't tell the difference from the DVD.

I've tried 3000 kbps, 2-pass and also constant qualities from 75 to 90. When I watch my test file (Star Wars II, chapter 20 - 22) on my MacBook or via the DVI out to my 4:3 HDTV, I see compression. What bugs me is when there is a flat surface, or sky gradient and the transition between hues is not smooth, but blocky. That probably sounds incredilby stupid. Ah well.

Is there any way to encode a DVD at high quality and keep the file size sane? Or should I just expect these compression artifacts?

Thanks.

[silverlode]

BTW I'm doing h.264 Main, framerate same as source.

[baggss]

Is there any way to encode a DVD at high quality and keep the file size sane?

Thanks.

In short, no. You simply have to decide on a "What is good enough" threshold for yourself.

[silverlode]

I guess that makes sense if you are ripping for iPod, PSP, laptop on the go, etc. Also I can see certain attractions for time shifting and convenience.

Hmm..I guess I'll have to try watching an entire movie with some of my settings and see if I can deal.

Thanks.

[Leo]

Yeah, it sucks, the bitrate flys up when you want it to look near-perfect. I don't think it helps that there are already artefacts from the original DVD encoding.

A MacBook is a laptop right? Sometimes compression artefacts look a lot worse on laptop screens; have you tried using video out to a good TV? On mine, dark areas look a bit crap even at really high settings. Also on mine artefacts look a lot worse with video overlay on (it seems to boost the contrast).

With these quality settings you're using, are you using CRF (rather than the default CQP)? It's much higher quality for size, especially in stationary areas.

I'm considering just keeping DVDs ripped uncompressed on my external hard drive; 500GB SATA hard drive is only £90 (90GBP), about $170 US, less than $2 per movie!
To me at the moment it's not worth the effort if it ends up more than half the size.
I may rip them at lower quality for laptop use, and a lot I rip additionally for iPod viewing anyway.

Also, keeping the original DVDs means you can always encode them to whatever format you would like to in the future.

[Mucx]

I would agree that compression artefacts show up on a laptop screen and then the same encode one a TV can look fine. It also depends on the size of your screen as well...smaller the screen less likely you will see any artefacts if they exist.

If you want a perfect 1:1 back-up then using MacTheRipper is the best option for you. (though this isnt iTunes/iPod/AppleTV compatible)

Mucx

[thx_for_nuthin]

Are you using the anamorphic setting? If so, I think there is a bug in how handbrake does anamorphic because no matter how high of a setting I use there are still blocks in the movie. If I don't use anamorphic the blocks go away even on low settings (2000 kbps)

[jbrjake]

I think there is a bug in how handbrake does anamorphic because no matter how high of a setting I use there are still blocks in the movie.

A bug? That's just plain wrong. You're seeing blocks because it's a higher resolution image that requires a higher bitrate and because you're not scaling down content so the mpeg-2 artifacts in the source are more obvious.