Best video quality transcoder

[LaserBait]

What is the best visual quality transcoder setting in GB-PVR?

[zaprat]

thats easy - no transcoder.

This is very big topic can you be more specific with the question.

In asking this question you need to consider;
container format (most use avi however it comes with limitations)
encoder format - x264, xvid, etc;
processor load encoding and decoding?
bitrate or quality
encoding time
hardware or software encoder
platform (is it to be used on other platforms such as dvd players, ipod, etc...)
input file formats - dvr-ms or mpg or ts (some encoders/builds have problems with some formats)
scaling? hd to sd
croping?
aspect ratio?
file search?

[LaserBait]

Ahhh, yes!

Currently, I record analog cable only, off of a pair of PVR150's. I am not planning to move the recordings off of the PVR (like to a media player). I am mainly looking to reduce my drives consumption, but I have had iffy results with some of the transcoding. For example: the WMA1200 stuttered a and randomly froze. The Divx looked too blocky on fast moving images.

My CPU is an Athlon XP2400. Standard def 36" Toshiba TV is what I watch it on.

[LaserBait]

I guess I should ask if any of you transcode. If you do, what profile/format do you use, and how do you like it?

[sub]

The vast majority of people just leave their recordings in the format they originally recorded them in. I think very few people transcode their recordings.

All the transcodes are going reduce the quality. From memory the xvid one did the best job of those there by default. You can edit the config.xml to bump up the bitrate (and size) of the various transcodes if you need.

[Fyvve]

I've used the xvid profile in the past and been pretty happy with it in general. My only complaint is that it seems to almost be encoded at a lower frame per second. I dont know if it was my imagination or not. It didnt bother me too much. I have a very similar setup too.

[gEd]

I guess I should ask if any of you transcode. If you do, what profile/format do you use, and how do you like it?

LaserBait: like me you have an old AMD XP chip. Converting video was always the biggest weakness of these chips as they lack the SSE3(?) instructions of the Pentium 4 family.

They take so long to convert video that it is barely worth the trouble. A 2 hour movie could easily take more than 4 hours to convert, depending on the encoding method used.

[Deusxmachina]

For around 30% more compression than xvid, use h.264 for video and your choice of AAC or mp3 for audio. AAC is better at low bitrates, but you might want mp3 for a little more compatibility. It's only the difference of, say, 128kbps vs. 112 or maybe 96. It's possible there might be problems playing back h.264 even with low res on an older machine, and it will certainly take a longer time to encode it. You would probably have to use a plugin or something like Stattik's encoding script to use h.264.

Otherwise, I'd just use xvid. I don't think I changed the newer default settings in config.xml, but if I did, the main thing the line should have in it is -qscale 7 instead of a bitrate in that spot. qscale is Constant Quality, and while slower than a constant bitrate, it's oodles better. I like the 7 setting for overall quality vs. size. Drop it to 6 or even 5 for more quality, but the filesize might then start getting a little big and defeat the whole purpose of transcoding. 8 is still good but can start getting too blocky for me for not much size loss. Make a one-minute test clip and play around with it.

You can also change the audio bitrate in there. I think standard setting is 128. Mine's at 160, just cuz 128 can be a little hollow sometimes. There isn't a whole lot to gain going over 160 unless you have good ears and speakers. 192 is CD quality for most people.

Short version: I wouldn't bother using anything other than h.264 or xvid unless it's for something specific like an ipod or whatever, and xvid is already built-in.

[ilovejedd]

iPod uses h.264 and Xvid (simple profile)...

x264 offers much better quality than Xvid at lower bitrates. However, if you've got a slow computer, might as well just stick to Xvid and use higher bitrates.

I encode stuff, but mostly, I do it for playback on other devices (DVP5960, PSP, iPod/iPhone, etc). Try just cutting out commercials. You'll probably find a third of the recording size freed up.

[LaserBait]

Thanks everyone!

I tried doing a couple of transcodes, and BOY was that a painful exercise! I think it'll just be easier to replace my 200GB drives with 500's if I really need more space.