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Old 4th January 2019, 21:35   #10  |  Link
Boulder
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Finland
Posts: 5,718
This is what I've set as my base settings. I feed 16-bit data from Vapoursynth with vspipe, hence the "--dither" call.

Code:
SDR 1080p: --dither --profile main10 --min-keyint 5 --keyint 480 --splitrd-skip --colorprim "bt709" --transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709" --preset veryslow --rc-lookahead 60 --deblock -2:-2 --no-strong-intra-smoothing
--cbqpoffs -3 --crqpoffs -3 --subme 3 --merange 44 --no-sao --rect --amp --qcomp 0.7 --rd-refine --aq-mode 1 --aq-strength 1.0 --ipratio 1.38 --pbratio 1.28 --ctu 32 --max-tu-size 8 --qg-size 16
--tu-inter-depth 3 --tu-intra-depth 3 --limit-tu 3 --limit-refs 3 --max-merge 2 --ref 5 --bframes 8 --crf 19

SDR 720p: --dither --profile main10 --min-keyint 5 --keyint 480 --splitrd-skip --colorprim "bt709" --transfer "bt709" --colormatrix "bt709" --preset veryslow --rc-lookahead 60 --deblock -2:-2 --no-strong-intra-smoothing
--cbqpoffs -3 --crqpoffs -3 --subme 3 --merange 38 --no-sao --no-rect --qcomp 0.7 --rd-refine --aq-mode 1 --aq-strength 1.0 --ipratio 1.38 --pbratio 1.28 --ctu 16 --max-tu-size 8 --qg-size 16
--tu-inter-depth 2 --tu-intra-depth 2 --limit-tu 3 --limit-refs 3 --max-merge 2 --ref 5 --bframes 8 --crf 18
For HDR (1080p since I don't encode in 4K), I'd use the same 1080p settings but CRF needs to be much lower, probably 14 to begin with. Of course, those HDR-specific parameters need to be in as well.

My testing method is simply changing one parameter at a time and testing still frames by comparing them at sections where the encoded one is distorted from the original. I check the result in motion when I've done all the comparisons and reached the basic script.

One surprise was that in 1080p I needed to add --amp to avoid slight blocking on the edge of one character's lower lip, --rect was not enough. In 720p, it's not needed but it's probably due to the details being smaller and also CTU being smaller.

I mainly use CRF for testing as I don't have a clear bitrate limit. I use what is needed to make it look good enough for me, a 65" 4K TV with a viewing distance of about 3,5 metres. By testing things on my computer display at close range, I can be sure that the result will be almost if not entirely transparent on the TV.
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