Dec 18, 2019, 01:10 am
(This post was last modified: Dec 23, 2019, 20:06 pm by Fant0men. Edited 3 times in total.)
So, I've written a bash script that encodes BluRays to HEVC with just one simple command. The point was to automate the ripping process for myself, but I realized this script should be shared with others. I have my own "release group", which consists of me only. I upload movie rips under the "LiNUX" tag, and you can find my rips by searching for "hevc linux" on for example torrentz2.eu. My first 3 rips are smaller in size, because I used a lower bitrate (2500 kbps), before settling on 5000 kbps, which I consider more ideal.
Any rip I've made since "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has the correct quality settings.
In my opinion, my rips are very good quality, and the only downside is that they take very long to encode. This is why I want others to join me, use the same script as me and upload under the "LiNUX" tag. By using the script, we make sure that the quality is consistent, and the file size always predictable. So people who download our rips will always know what they're getting.
I will keep making improvements to my script, and I upload a copy of the current version with all my torrents.
My script: https://pastebin.com/BNCbZCN7
My manifesto: https://pastebin.com/bKXtYmRC
Reasons for the chosen HandBrake settings:
* 5000 kbps video bitrate:
My goal was to have very good video quality while still keeping the file size relatively small. I started out with 2500 kbps, since that's the bitrate RARBG uses for their 1080p rips. In the end, I decided that was a bit too low, and I chose to double the bitrate to get closer to the BluRay source quality.
* 'slow' x265 encoder preset
To most people, the 'slow' preset is overkill. But here's my reasoning behind choosing it... I don't care if it's overkill. I want to squeeze every last bit to get the maximum quality possible, even if it ends up taking A LOT longer to encode. I could've gone even higher, using the 'placebo' preset, which would've rendered the encoding time so extremely long that it would just be impossible for me to finish a single rip. The 'slow' preset is what my system was able to handle without making the encoding process take more than about a week, which is still very long. I have a very cheap CPU, with only 2 cores and no hyperthreading. If the 'slow' preset works for me, it will definitely work for people with a better system than me.
* 10-bits per pixel (for x265)
10-bit color depth should ALWAYS be used when encoding HEVC (x265), because it saves bandwidth and results in higher quality per bitrate. Even if the source is only 8-bit, like regular BluRays are, 10-bit encoding should be used for the reasons stated. Regular BluRays are encoded in H264, not H265 (HEVC). There's a new disc format called "Ultra HD Blu-ray" ("4K Ultra HD"), which is encoded in H265, with 4K resolution. Unless the source of an encode is this new format, it's in 8-bit color depth.
"... encoding pictures using 10-bit processing always saves bandwidth compared to 8-bit processing, whatever the source pixel bit depth."
http://x264.nl/x264/10bit_02-ateme-why_d...dwidth.pdf
* DTS audio
I chose the DTS audio format, because the core DTS track can easily be extracted from DTS-HDMA without having to do any actual transcoding, keeping the audio quality at a maximum while still saving some space compared with DTS-HDMA. I chose not to compress the audio using AAC or Ogg Vorbis, because it's already compressed, and it's not the audio using up most of the bitrate in a movie rip anyway. It's usually the video taking up most of the space, and any attempt to save space should be done by lowering the video bitrate.
* Not using encoder specific settings
HandBrake's and x265's default settings are good for most cases. That's why they're the default. Bitrate and encoder preset have a much bigger impact than fiddling around with specific encoder settings. And the point of the script in the first place is automation, so changing the settings for specific movies is also not the goal here. Although, I've included specific encoder tunings for film grain and animation in the script.
* 2-pass instead of "Constant Quality"
Using a constant quality rate factor doesn't generate a predictable file size, and I want people to know what to expect when they download my rips. Both modes of encoding generate a variable video bitrate, where more bits are allocated where needed, and less where not needed. A variable bitrate is of course superior to a constant bitrate.
* 1080p resolution
This is just my preference. I think 720p is too low resolution, so I'm not even going to bother with it or release any 720p rips. 4K resolution I consider overkill for most people. From what I can see, most people (incl. me) still want 1080p, and that's partly due to many people using older devices to play their movies, or perhaps older screens that aren't 4K. Using a resolution higher than 1080p would also automatically require a higher bitrate to store all that extra detail. My rips are usually around 5GB in size, and even that's more than some people can handle. Not everyone has a good connection or enough HDD space.
*
If anyone wants to have a good conversation about video encoding, Linux or anything about computers, just join my IRC channel: #LiNUX-RG on EFNet.
If you want to see the quality of my rips, just download one of them. Any rip after "A Christmas Carol" uses the correct settings.
https://thepiratebay.org/user/Fant0men
Any rip I've made since "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" has the correct quality settings.
In my opinion, my rips are very good quality, and the only downside is that they take very long to encode. This is why I want others to join me, use the same script as me and upload under the "LiNUX" tag. By using the script, we make sure that the quality is consistent, and the file size always predictable. So people who download our rips will always know what they're getting.
I will keep making improvements to my script, and I upload a copy of the current version with all my torrents.
My script: https://pastebin.com/BNCbZCN7
My manifesto: https://pastebin.com/bKXtYmRC
Reasons for the chosen HandBrake settings:
* 5000 kbps video bitrate:
My goal was to have very good video quality while still keeping the file size relatively small. I started out with 2500 kbps, since that's the bitrate RARBG uses for their 1080p rips. In the end, I decided that was a bit too low, and I chose to double the bitrate to get closer to the BluRay source quality.
* 'slow' x265 encoder preset
To most people, the 'slow' preset is overkill. But here's my reasoning behind choosing it... I don't care if it's overkill. I want to squeeze every last bit to get the maximum quality possible, even if it ends up taking A LOT longer to encode. I could've gone even higher, using the 'placebo' preset, which would've rendered the encoding time so extremely long that it would just be impossible for me to finish a single rip. The 'slow' preset is what my system was able to handle without making the encoding process take more than about a week, which is still very long. I have a very cheap CPU, with only 2 cores and no hyperthreading. If the 'slow' preset works for me, it will definitely work for people with a better system than me.
* 10-bits per pixel (for x265)
10-bit color depth should ALWAYS be used when encoding HEVC (x265), because it saves bandwidth and results in higher quality per bitrate. Even if the source is only 8-bit, like regular BluRays are, 10-bit encoding should be used for the reasons stated. Regular BluRays are encoded in H264, not H265 (HEVC). There's a new disc format called "Ultra HD Blu-ray" ("4K Ultra HD"), which is encoded in H265, with 4K resolution. Unless the source of an encode is this new format, it's in 8-bit color depth.
"... encoding pictures using 10-bit processing always saves bandwidth compared to 8-bit processing, whatever the source pixel bit depth."
http://x264.nl/x264/10bit_02-ateme-why_d...dwidth.pdf
* DTS audio
I chose the DTS audio format, because the core DTS track can easily be extracted from DTS-HDMA without having to do any actual transcoding, keeping the audio quality at a maximum while still saving some space compared with DTS-HDMA. I chose not to compress the audio using AAC or Ogg Vorbis, because it's already compressed, and it's not the audio using up most of the bitrate in a movie rip anyway. It's usually the video taking up most of the space, and any attempt to save space should be done by lowering the video bitrate.
* Not using encoder specific settings
HandBrake's and x265's default settings are good for most cases. That's why they're the default. Bitrate and encoder preset have a much bigger impact than fiddling around with specific encoder settings. And the point of the script in the first place is automation, so changing the settings for specific movies is also not the goal here. Although, I've included specific encoder tunings for film grain and animation in the script.
* 2-pass instead of "Constant Quality"
Using a constant quality rate factor doesn't generate a predictable file size, and I want people to know what to expect when they download my rips. Both modes of encoding generate a variable video bitrate, where more bits are allocated where needed, and less where not needed. A variable bitrate is of course superior to a constant bitrate.
* 1080p resolution
This is just my preference. I think 720p is too low resolution, so I'm not even going to bother with it or release any 720p rips. 4K resolution I consider overkill for most people. From what I can see, most people (incl. me) still want 1080p, and that's partly due to many people using older devices to play their movies, or perhaps older screens that aren't 4K. Using a resolution higher than 1080p would also automatically require a higher bitrate to store all that extra detail. My rips are usually around 5GB in size, and even that's more than some people can handle. Not everyone has a good connection or enough HDD space.
*
If anyone wants to have a good conversation about video encoding, Linux or anything about computers, just join my IRC channel: #LiNUX-RG on EFNet.
If you want to see the quality of my rips, just download one of them. Any rip after "A Christmas Carol" uses the correct settings.
https://thepiratebay.org/user/Fant0men
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