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x264 [2014/08/17 15:30]
beandog
x264 [2023/04/09 19:56] (current)
beandog
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-====== x264 ======+====== x264 / AVC ======
  
   * [[Handbrake]]   * [[Handbrake]]
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   * [[http://​dev.beandog.org/​x264_preset_reference.html|x264 preset reference]]   * [[http://​dev.beandog.org/​x264_preset_reference.html|x264 preset reference]]
   * [[http://​www.x264bluray.com/​|Authoring a professional Blu-ray Disc with x264]]   * [[http://​www.x264bluray.com/​|Authoring a professional Blu-ray Disc with x264]]
-  * [[http://​mewiki.project357.com/​wiki/​X264_Settings|x264 Settings]] 
   * [[http://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​H.264/​MPEG-4_AVC|Wikipedia:​ H264]]   * [[http://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​H.264/​MPEG-4_AVC|Wikipedia:​ H264]]
-  * [[http://​www.streaminglearningcenter.com/​articles/​understanding-h264-encoding-parameters---profiles-and-levels.html|Understanding H.264 Encoding Parameters - Profiles and Levels]] 
   * [[http://​mmmash.blogspot.com/​2013/​03/​x264-motion-estimation-method-comparison.html|X264 - Motion Estimation Method- Comparison]] - I like this one. :)   * [[http://​mmmash.blogspot.com/​2013/​03/​x264-motion-estimation-method-comparison.html|X264 - Motion Estimation Method- Comparison]] - I like this one. :)
   * [[http://​birds-are-nice.me/​publications/​extremex264_5.shtml|Extreme x264 encoding]]   * [[http://​birds-are-nice.me/​publications/​extremex264_5.shtml|Extreme x264 encoding]]
 +  * [[https://​en.wikibooks.org/​wiki/​MeGUI/​x264_Settings|MeGUI/​x264 Settings]] - the best place to get a description of each setting
  
-=== h264 levels ===+When encoding, if you want to cover all your bases, there are two H.264 settings to use, and two x264 encoding arguments to pass:
  
-DVDs max out at high 3.1.  ​You don't need 3.2 on DVDs because that is the first level that accepts 720p.+  * H.264 profile: high 
 +  * H.264 level: 4.
 +  * x264 preset: medium 
 +  * x264 CRF: 23
  
-Blu-ray at high 4.1.  You can go higher if you want, it's your preference. :)+Optionally, you can set the x264 tuning as well. Best choices are film, animation, and grain. 
 + 
 +Don't change any other settings than those. If you do, you're going down the rabbit hole. 
 + 
 +=== H.264 levels === 
 + 
 +DVDs max out at high 3.1. You don't need 3.2 on DVDs because that is the first level that accepts 720p. 
 + 
 +Blu-ray at high 4.1. You can go higher if you want, it's your preference. :) 
 + 
 +The levels (baseline, main, high) are used to determine which hardware you want to target, and influences what quality you can expect and what encoding features will be used. Blu-ray uses high profile.
  
 === h264 levels: comparison === === h264 levels: comparison ===
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 === mtune === === mtune ===
  
-Keep it simple (for DVDs): use ''​film''​ or ''​animation''​. ​ For **old** movies or sources that have artifacts already, use ''​grain''​ or you risk making it even worse.+Keep it simple (for DVDs): use ''​film''​ or ''​animation''​. For **old** movies or sources that have artifacts already, use ''​grain''​ or you risk making it even worse.
  
-=== Choosing ​preset ===+=== Choosing ​an x264 preset === 
 + 
 +The presets are added to x264 encoder by developers to help you determine what filesize you want. 
 + 
 +From [[https://​trac.ffmpeg.org/​wiki/​Encode/​H.264|ffmpeg'​s H264 guide]]: "A preset is a collection of options that will provide a certain encoding speed to compression ratio. A slower preset will provide better compression (compression is quality per filesize). This means that, for example, if you target a certain file size or constant bit rate, you will achieve better quality with a slower preset. Similarly, for constant quality encoding, you will simply save bitrate by choosing a slower preset. The general guideline is to use the slowest preset that you have patience for."
  
 Short answer: just use medium, and tweak settings somewhere else. Short answer: just use medium, and tweak settings somewhere else.
  
-Choose ​the preset that you can stand waiting ​for. :)+=== CRF === 
 + 
 +Changing ​the CRF level will determine the level of video quality ​for your encodesThe default is 23. If you think it's not good enough quality, bump it down by one or two, until you find what you like. 
 + 
 +"The range of the quantizer scale is 0-51where 0 is lossless, 23 is default, and 51 is worst possible. A lower value is a higher quality and a subjectively sane range is 18-28. Consider 18 to be visually lossless or nearly so: it should look the same or nearly the same as the input but it isn't technically lossless. The range is exponential,​ so increasing the CRF value +6 is roughly half the bitrate while -6 is roughly twice the bitrate. General usage is to choose the highest CRF value that still provides an acceptable quality. If the output looks good, then try a higher value and if it looks bad then choose a lower value"
  
 === Two-pass encoding === === Two-pass encoding ===
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   * [[http://​x264dev.multimedia.cx/​archives/​102|Encoding animation]] - good read for overview of challenges.   * [[http://​x264dev.multimedia.cx/​archives/​102|Encoding animation]] - good read for overview of challenges.
  
-"All of this combines to make animation at first glance deceptively easy–but in reality quite difficult–to encode." ​ So true!+"All of this combines to make animation at first glance deceptively easy–but in reality quite difficult–to encode."​ So true!
  
 His tests on x264 His tests on x264

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