Need Encoding Help...

[Tatsujin]

I need some help with encoding... I've been either using in-game video captures or fraps to get videos and then running them through H.264 Encoder as 720p to lower their size. The general purpose is to retain good quality while significantly lowering the file size to a more realistic level. Something 7 minutes long in 720p shouldn't be 500MB.

This is where I am failing. I've tried the above mentioned program and Handbrake (maybe I don't know how to use Handbrake properly) and I've had horrendous results. Handbrake can't even encode for some reason most the time, it just crashes, and it's always horrid quality no matter the settings. The H.264 Encoder is more reliable it seems, but it does crap quality and way higher file sizes than necessary.

All I want to do is upload clips from animes/movies or recordings from games in either 420p or 720p to YouTube at good quality but decent file size.

I know it has to just be me, because I've seen a ton of stuff in 420p that's crystal clear, and 720p too (and good file sizes). It just seems crappy that the stuff I try to do results in a really pixelated blurry mess.

I'm obviously not very good at encoding. So, if you could just tell me what program and its settings to use, I'd really appreciate it... T.T

I use Sony Vegas Pro for everything, MeGUI is for filters only. Here is a screen shot of the video settings I have it under:



My Youtube Channel. These are all the videos I have encoded. The first couple ones (probably 3 or 4) were my first time and then I learned how to change the bit rates which increased the quality of the videos.

Below are quick videos I've encoded from WoW:

http://www.youtube.com/user/otakixus?feature=mhum#p/u/0/zu-1BeNdg2U -- Gears of Warcraft UI (did this video few hours ago)
http://www.youtube.com/user/otakixus?feature=mhum#p/u/17/tlC9OuXAYyI -- Lich King 25 man (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/user/otakixus?feature=mhum#p/u/31/Mfi8KRrX2n0 -- Professor Putricide 10 man (heroic)

If I go below 20 million bps it'll kill the video quality, if I go around 30 million bps that's pretty much the best quality I can achieve. Most of the older videos were done in 1600x900. The newer ones I've encoded them to 1280x720.

I don't crash with Sony Vegas Pro at all but when I am playing a video inside Sony Vegas Pro and I do "Render As" then it crashes (duh!) so just a heads up to stop the video inside SVP and then do Render As to encode.

[Tiffanys]

I have a Core i7, 6GB of RAM, etc... it's a high end gaming rig, it's more than capable of this.

Tatsujin, that pops out a really high quality result, but the file size is beyond massive... like 1.6GB for 7 minutes (wayyyyyyyyy too big), and... for some reason it has no audio? Also, the closest to yours I can get is with 24 bit audio for some reason. I don't even see where you choose the audio bitrate, it's not in the audio tab, just the kbps & hz.

[vuzedome]

Ugh... handbrake.
It does not get any simpler than MeGUI, all the presets are there and available.

[Temuthril]

By the way, those settings you gave me were the worst results yet...
Huge artifacts all over everything, pretty much unwatchable.

That's not a case of bad settings, something gets literally broken during the encoding. Change your program or learn how to use AviSynth.

I'd suggest StaxRip if you need a GUI.

[Tatsujin]

I have a Core i7, 6GB of RAM, etc... it's a high end gaming rig, it's more than capable of this.

Tatsujin, that pops out a really high quality result, but the file size is beyond massive... like 1.6GB for 7 minutes (wayyyyyyyyy too big), and... for some reason it has no audio? Also, the closest to yours I can get is with 24 bit audio for some reason. I don't even see where you choose the audio bitrate, it's not in the audio tab, just the kbps & hz.

For World of Warcraft movies, and for some ODD reason, I have to increase the bps or Bit Rates. If I go any lower than 20 million bps then you'll be able to see some little squares and disorients. Probably because the video is running in 1600 x 900 (thats how I play my game anyways).

Btw, this DOES have audio. Go back up to the picture and look over the small box with all the customization for the video. Below is a tab that says "Audio". I can increase the audio or decrease it. In this case, I've fixed it at 44,100 Hz and 192,000 Bit Rates for the Audio. I did a 320 it was a little choppy for high-end sounds. SVP is, by far, the best video encoder for rendering games from Fraps videos. You don't need to use any filters as well if it's from a game. Unless it's anime and it's not Blu-ray rip, then you'd have to fall back on MeGUI (which I hate to say my computer fucking hates it, it locks up TOO MANY TIMES!).

The file sizes are huge, I can shrink them down but at the cost of video quality. Audio doesn't seem to be affected. Try it out. There is SVP version 10 out there. I have the portable and it sucks probably because it's portable. I use 9.

[Temuthril]

SVP is, by far, the best video encoder for rendering games from Fraps videos.

Looks like it uses MainConcept though, which seems to be inferior to x264.

http://compression.ru/video/codec_comparison/h264_2010/
http://mirror05.x264.nl/Dark/website/compare.html

[Tatsujin]

SVP is, by far, the best video encoder for rendering games from Fraps videos.

Looks like it uses MainConcept though, which seems to be inferior to x264.

http://compression.ru/video/codec_comparison/h264_2010/
http://mirror05.x264.nl/Dark/website/compare.html

Yup. That's the problem with it. It does have other features to encode the video to but as far as I can tell the .mp4 is the best one I can use. I can't find a good video encoder like SVP for my Warcraft movies. The reason why I use it is because of it's other awesome features, for example you can cut/edit/add tracks easily by drag and drop or mouse highlights. None of the "put numbers here, ok test it now" bullshit -- it's all on your screen to do visually. The bad thing about it (which I'm still learning) is what you just mentioned and trying to add special effects in it's Trimmer box or whatever. They could have made it a bit easier on us. OH, another thing I find to be annoying is telling it not to use so much resources so I can do other things while I'm on the computer.

If there is a video encoder that's just like SVP with x264, then I'd happily test it out and see how it is. If it's numbers, laggy and choppy shit then no thanks.

[Temuthril]

OH, another thing I find to be annoying is telling it not to use so much resources so I can do other things while I'm on the computer.

http://www.computerhope.com/starthlp.htm

Start it with the /LOW parameter. Then it only uses free CPU cycles. For example if you're encoding a video and playing a game simultaneously, the encoder will only use those CPU cycles that every other program does not need.

[Tatsujin]

OH, another thing I find to be annoying is telling it not to use so much resources so I can do other things while I'm on the computer.

http://www.computerhope.com/starthlp.htm

Start it with the /LOW parameter. Then it only uses free CPU cycles. For example if you're encoding a video and playing a game simultaneously, the encoder will only use those CPU cycles that every other program does not need.

Thanks. I read it. I don't understand how it works. Never done something like that before (I make a notepad and put /low and ... put it in the SVP folder? ...)

So after a quick google of "can you encode x264 in sony vegas pro?" I came to this website:

http://wn.com/sony_vegas_pro_9_+_megui_x264_tutorial__how_to_encode_insane_720p_1080p_hd_videos_for_youtube!!

Using Sony Vegas Pro for AVI and then Audio formats, then you take those two and put them in MeGUI and encode them to whatever you desire. That's pretty sweet. I'm encoding the AVI format first and my computer is running very smoothly (maybe because I didn't encode the Audio with it? ...). Anyways, I wish SVP had x264. Any idea why they still don't have it in there?

Edit -- testing something out, I think I find the solution. Highest quality at minimum size file, right? I'll get back once I finish testing this.

Okay so here's the picture with 3:49 minutes, I've done about 220 MB at 8,000,000 bps:



All you need is Sony Vegas Pro 10 and follow this tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXa849N9J9s

He chooses the Internet option to render the file, thou' there is a Blu-ray save as well. I did everything as he mentioned it since I use my rendered videos for Youtube. I'll upload what I made and post the results soon.

Edit 2 -- Here's the video following the above tutorial.

[Temuthril]

http://www.computerhope.com/starthlp.htm
Start it with the /LOW parameter. Then it only uses free CPU cycles. For example if you're encoding a video and playing a game simultaneously, the encoder will only use those CPU cycles that every other program does not need.

Thanks. I read it. I don't understand how it works. Never done something like that before (I make a notepad and put /low and ... put it in the SVP folder? ...)

It's a command line command. Either run cmd.exe and type start /low programname.exe or type it in notepad and save as .bat file.