Encoding Bluray with x264: P2 - x264 Config

Configuring x264 settings is a balance between encode quality, patience, and computer performance.

 Note: if you installed the 10 bit x264, there is no Hi10P AVC Profile in the dialogue. Use instead the High Profile. We use Const. Quality also referred to Constant Rate Factor (CRF). This is a single pass encode and there is no need to calculate bitrate, which makes simplifies the process significantly. Lower values for values will yeild larger but higher quality encodes, with 0 being lossless. Higher values will yeild smaller but lower quality encodes.

Tuning  is optimized for Animation.

Set the target playback device to default. Setting it to something else will limit our encoding options.

For further information you can also visit this comprehensive reference page. I will provide recommendations here as well. The following is what we recommend, expect to experiment with the settings for a couple of hours and see what setting offer the best performance at reasonable FPS.

The screen shots you see here show what settings I use. Remember, with these presets, it takes 24+ to encode a 2 hour 1080p film.

CRF maintains a relatively constant quality by reducing the quality of less important frames (ie. high motion frames that consume bitrate but are less visible) and increasing the quality of more effective frames. Higher Nb of frames for Lookahead will increase quality consistency, averaging out the quality more accurately and increasing overall appearance of the encode.  

Motion estimation makes high-complex motion appear smooth.  Higher M.E. ranges and subpixel refinement affect quality much more than algorithms. Hex and multi-hex should be sufficient for all practical applications. If you are doing a slice-of-life with not that much action, you can use hex. Exhaustive algorithms not longer estimate, but now predict motion, completely bogging down performance.

Once we are satisfied, we can save our configuration in *scratchpad* by clicking Update, or create another profile by clicking New.

When we return to the MeGUI window, click Queue.