____________________________________________________________
Encoding
Handbrake 1.9.0 (2024120100)
Video.svt-av1 10 bit fast decode Preset 5 2-pass vbr 1522 kbps
Audio.2.0 opus 128 kbps
FFmetrics - 10 min
PSNR 46.3301
SSIM 0.9887
VMAF 96.7045
____________________________________________________________
File
Video: AV01 1920x1080 23.976fps [V: av1 main, yuv420p10le, 1920x1080 [default]]
Audio: Opus 48000Hz stereo 3072kbps [A: 2.0 opus 128 kbps [eng] (opus, 48000 Hz, stereo) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Arabic [ara] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Chinese simplified [chi] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Chinese traditional [chi] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Croatian [hrv] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Dutch [dut] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Dutch [dut] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: English [eng] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: French [fre] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: German [ger] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Hebrew [heb] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Hungarian [hun] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Indonesian [ind] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Italian [ita] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Japanese [jpn] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Korean [kor] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Malay [may] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Spanish [spa] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Portuguese Brazil [por] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Romanian [rum] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Russian [rus] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Swedish [swe] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Turkish [tur] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Vietnamese [vie] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]
General
Unique ID : 182711834688237353625295783302392903838 (0x897504F4E877B458F153DEC46062F89E)
Complete name : Shang.Chi.And.The.Legend.Of.The.Ten.Rings.2021.bluray.sdr.1080p.av1.subs.1600mb.vmaf96-Rosy
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4
File size : 1.52 GiB
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Overall bit rate : 1 645 kb/s
Frame rate : 23.976 FPS
Movie name : Shang.Chi.And.The.Legend.Of.The.Ten.Rings.2021.bluray.sdr.1080p.av1.subs.1600mb-vmaf96
Encoded date : 2024-12-06 23:47:45 UTC
Writing application : mkvmerge v88.0 ('All I Know') 64-bit
Writing library : libebml v1.4.5 + libmatroska v1.7.1
Cover : Yes
Attachments : cover.jpg
Video
ID : 1
Format : AV1
Format/Info : AOMedia Video 1
Format profile : [email protected]
Codec ID : V_AV1
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Bit rate : 1 522 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 (Type 0)
Bit depth : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.031
Stream size : 1.41 GiB (93%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Audio
ID : 2
Format : Opus
Codec ID : A_OPUS
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Bit rate : 118 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 50.000 FPS (960 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 112 MiB (7%)
Title : 2.0 opus 128 kbps
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No
____________________________________________________________
Source
Shang.Chi.and.the.Legend.of.the.Ten.Rings.2021.1080p.BluRay.REMUX.AVC.DTS-HD.MA.7.1-EVO
Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920x1080 23.976fps [V: h264 high L4.1, yuv420p, 1920x1080 [default]]
Audio: DTS 48000Hz 6ch 1536kbps [A: English [eng] (dts, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), 1536 kb/s)]
Audio: DTS 48000Hz 8ch 9216kbps [A: English [eng] (dts-hd ma, 48000 Hz, 7.1, s24) [default]]
Subtitle [S: English (SDH) [eng] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: English (FORCED) [eng] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Danish [dan] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Dutch [dut] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Finnish [fin] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: French [fre] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: German [ger] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Norwegian [nor] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Swedish [swe] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Forced Subtitles (auto)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]
General
Unique ID : 315606730538967108117366275375288490370 (0xED6FA532595928A0D564530A053F1982)
Complete name : Shang.Chi.and.the.Legend.of.the.Ten.Rings.2021.1080p.BluRay.REMUX.AVC.DTS-HD.MA.7.1-EVO.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4
File size : 33.7 GiB
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 36.4 Mb/s
Frame rate : 23.976 FPS
Movie name : EVO
Encoded date : 2021-11-09 19:03:36 UTC
Writing application : mkvmerge v49.0.0 ('Sick Of Losing Soulmates') 64-bit
Writing library : libebml v1.4.0 + libmatroska v1.6.1
Video
ID : 11
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference fra : 4 frames
Format settings, Slice count : 4 slices per frame
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 30.1 Mb/s
Maximum bit rate : 34.9 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.605
Stream size : 27.8 GiB (83%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Audio #1
ID : 1
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2 h 12 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 509 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 1.39 GiB (4%)
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No
____________________________________________________________
Tools
Ab-av1
FFBitrateViewer
FFmpeg
FFmetrics
Freefilesync
Handbrake
Jackett
Mediainfo
Mkvtoolknix
Qbittorent
Scenerulez
Shutterencoder
VVV-virtualvolumeview
Xnconvert
Xnview mp
===================== AV1 guide v20 ========================
1) TLDR ez recipe
Handbrake
svt-av1 10 bit
Preset 5-7
crf 25
fast-decode
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2) Encoding by crf
stv-av1 10 bit crf 25 - high quality
stv-av1 10 bit crf 20 - very high quality
stv-av1 10 bit crf 15 - super high quality
stv-av1 10 bit crf 10 - max quality (usually from here file gets bigger than original)
____________________________________________________________
3) Encoding by crf + vmaf
Step 1 - Check VMAF with Ab-av1
1.1 AV1
Source resolution → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 98
1080p Downscale → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:1080"
720p Downscale → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:720"
Sample encode → sample-encode -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --crf 20
1.2 x265
Source resolution → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 98
1080p Downscale → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:1080"
720p Downscale → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:720"
Step 2 - HandBrake
Summary:
- Container: MKV
Dimensions:
- Cropping: None
- Anamorphic: None
- Borders: None
Video:
- Encoder: AV1 (10-bit SVT)
- Framerate: Same as source
- Preset: 5
- Fast Decode: ✓
- Encoder Profile: Main
- Encoder Level: Auto
- Quality: CRF determined from "ab-av1"(1), or crf 15-20-25
Audio:
- DTS to Opus Conversion:
- DTS 7.1 → Opus @ 512 kbps
- DTS 5.1 → Opus @ 384 kbps
- DTS 2.0 → Opus @ 128 kbps
*When passtrough? lossy codec(opus,aac, ac3, eac3,wma) 768-128 kbps
Step 3 - Subtitles
- Original → passtrough
- Subtitle Translator
- Whisper OpenAI
- Opensubtitles
- Subtitlecat
*If size is an issue don`t use pgs, prefer ass/srt.
____________________________________________________________
4) Encoding by vbr preset 5-7
Step 1 - recommended sizes:
av1 1080p 30min high quality - 400mb
av1 1080p 60min high quality - 800mb
av1 1080p 120min+ high quality - 1600mb
av1 1080p super high quality - 4000mb - 4600mb
av1 2160p 120min+ medium quality - 4000mb - 4600mb
av1 2160p 120min+ high quality - 6000 - 8400mb
av1 2160p 120min+ super high quality - 12000 - 16000mb
Step 2 - recommended bitrate:
1080p medium quality - 1000 kbps
1080p high quality - 1500 kbps
1080p very high quality - 2000 kbps
1080p super high quality - 4000 kbps
2160p medium quality - 3000 - 4500kbps
2160p high quality - 4500 - 6000 kbps
2160p super high quality - 12000 - 16000 kbps
____________________________________________________________
5) Observations
AV1 presets have a significant impact on both bitrate and quality. For instance, moving from preset 5 to preset 2 can boost VMAF scores by 2-4 points. This behavior differs notably from x265, where higher-quality presets typically increase file size. In AV1, file size often remains unchanged or even decreases as quality improves with lower presets.
A good example is Netflix AV1 rips, which achieve decent quality at 1080p with astonishingly low bitrates of 500-700 kbps. This is likely due to the use of extremely low presets (2, 1, or 0), which require substantial computational power but yield remarkable results.
This demonstrates that bitrate alone is not a reliable indicator of quality. Similarly, relying solely on VMAF scores or subjective visual assessment can be misleading. A balanced approach that combines multiple evaluation methods is essential, particularly when faced with unusual cases, such as low VMAF scores despite high bitrates.
____________________________________________________________
References
1. Dolby, 2023. What are Dolby Vision profiles and levels? [Online]
2. Ozer, J., 2017. Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video. Doceo Publishing.
3. Sayood, K., 2017. Introduction to Data Compression. 5th Edition.
4. Ozer, J., 2021. What is CBR, VBR, CRF, Capped-CRF? Rate Control Modes Explained.
5. Rassool, Reza. VMAF Reproducibility: Validating a Perceptual Practical Video Quality Metric.
6. Kah, A. e al. Fundamental relationships between subjective quality, user acceptance, and the VMAF metric for a quality-based bit rate ladder design for over-the-top video streaming services.
7. Boldrin, M. 2008. Against Intellectual Monopoly.
