Quote:
Originally Posted by Starks
I may not be the best encoder out there, but I know when its time to embrace the future.
I want to dump Xvid (and possibly VirtualDubMod) and learn how to use x264 and MeGUI.
So, what kinds of barebone settings should I be running in MeGUI for anime?
Also, what filesize should I aim for if I have 1024x576 raw?
Finally, are x264 bitrate calculators any good?
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The HQ-insane profile is a good place to start, tweak settings downward until you get a speed/quality ratio you can deal with. Trellis 2 slows things down a LOT, as does reference frames 16... You should probably lower that down to around 8 unless you have a super fast computer.
Filesize is, as usual dependant on the source. Note the logs that x264 reports after the encodes, and look at the average I-frame, P-frame, and B-frame quants. x264 uses a different logarithmic quant scale than xvid, see
http://www.fansubbers.org/index.php/KB/Quanttable
In short, for "excellent" quality I'd shoot for I-frames with quants somewhere in 12-18 range, and B-frames with quants somewhere in the 18-24 range.
You can do a quick "turbo" pass for the 1st pass and look at the average quants at the bitrate you chose, and then assume a non-turbo pass would lower the quants by about 3 or 4 to get a good guesstimate at how low a bitrate you can use.
As a start, I'd say for a 1024x576 raw (assuming you are releasing it at that resolution), hmm...
YPC5 is 1280x720 at 1300 Kb/s
HM was 1280x720 at 1100 Kb/s
PCMH is 640x480 at 690 Kb/s
Okay, then I'd say a bitrate of around 1000 Kb/s would be a good starting point. Probably you can go lower than that.