x264 quality sample

[crash]

x264 in mkv with AAC-LC is a much better format but there's bound to be one person with that who can't understand why you can't just click it and it work and that you have to download a little thingy for it.

K-Lite Codec Pack or just VLC will play mkv.

And it would be appreciated if you upload your samples to megaupload (only 40 seconds for non-members, 25 seconds for non-premium members), as uploading.com has a dumb 3 minutes wait.

[Frenchy]

hence ivtc for ntsc sources....

I also found a good method, depending on the source to convert PAL Videos from American Telecine Sources (ie. 23.976p > 29.97 using 3:2 pulldown > 25 interlace with fieldblends)

Using the script Restore 24 or mrestore.

I have had some luck but unless the source is lossless or PDTV it probably won't look as good as it should.

This method removes most crap made by fieldblends and converts back to the native 23.976 just a method of IVTC with PAL sources.

[Elmo]

I used uploading.com as after the few minutes wait the download is full speed, i hate rapidshare as you only get around 40KB/s and haven't tried many other hosting sites.

for people who don't really understand anything about codecs i'd get them to install cccp haven't ever tried out k-lite but i'm sure it's quite similar, those codec packs will work on windows. i don't know about codec packs for mac but vlc is on all platforms and ubuntu sorts itself out.

i didn't imagine you'd need to use restore24 for music videos as they're made for t.v so would be at 29.97 frames in america as opposed to duplicating frames that they do from cinema as film runs at 24fps they need to add extra frames to bring it up to the right frame rate and they just speed it up to 25fps for pal.
oh wait sorry now i get what you mean, music videos made for pal 25fps shown at ntsc so there's duplicating and frameblending bringing it to the right frame rate.

i'm really not sure about NTSC sources as i've never done them myself, PAL sources should be no problem at all just use the deinterlacing script that megui recommends when you analyse the source. i'm really not sure about IVTC on NTSC sources as if they're made for t.v surely they'd be shot at the correct t.v frame rate.

i'm not sure if someone could upload an NTSC source that hasn't been deinterlaced so i could check the frames by eye to see what sort of duplication is going on it'd be much appreciated.

PAL sources should be fine, as far as I know Australia is PAL as Europe is. NTSC is in the U.S so that will affect your U.S rippers, i know you have rippers in Europe, Australia and the U.S but i don't know how many where so not sure how much of a problem this will be.

Anyhoo if someone could send me an undeinterlaced NTSC source it'd help

[Elmo]

Oh just wondering what you mean by PDTV just to clarify that thanks =]

[Serch]

blending will never give you good enough results and ivtc should only be used for sources that are in 29.97fps framerate doing 3:2 pulldown from 25fps source will just mess it up.

Elmo at what resolution do you have your desktop set and what kind of graphic card/display are you using? beacuse if you don't see any difference between 1000kbps and 3000kbps then you have to be watching at very low resolution or you just don't notice the blurness and lots of blocks

[Elmo]

My source is PAL, going through the frames in the source there are duplicated frames as there would be in NTSC.

i know frameblending won't give good results and that IVTC has to be used on an NTSC source to get rid of duplicated frames to bring it back to the original 24FPS of film.

I was just wondering if, as they made to go directly to T.V, what frame rate music videos would be recorded at. Logically it would make sense for them to be recorded at 25FPS and extra duplicated frames added for NTSC, as if you sped 24fps music video up to 25fps the audio would have to be sped up too and that would make the song slightly shorter, and going through my source there are definitely no duplicated frames in the source and the audio is the same from the source as from c.d, you would notice a slight pitch shift and the song would be shorter if it was different.
if this was the case that they did record at 25fps using restore24 wouldn't be right as you'd get rid of too many frames, that why i'd like someone to give me an undeinterlaced NTSC source so i can count the duplicate frames.

As for comparing the >3000kbps file and the 1000kbps you can't they're from different sources. The >3000kbps file is a live recording that has been downsized from HD recording and then broadcast as 576i. Looking at my files list at uploading.com no-one has yet downloaded my 1000kbps encode to compare it to my 2200kbps. The source music video uses a lot of blurring and focusing on certain things so it's hard to compare for blurring. if you don't feel like downloading the file just look at the pictures i uploaded so you can compare the frames.

There is definitely quality loss as you go to lower bitrates, but my point is that >3000kbps is just over the top and pointless and that your target bitrate should be much much lower.

as for the my chemical romance rock am ring encode the source quality from there was pretty crap, they mustn't have had decent cameras for mcr.

The Dear God video uses lots of blurring also.

If someone wants to upload a source for me to do sample encodes from it would be much appreciated.

Also an undeinterlaced NTSC source would be nice to check the frames on.

As for watching in low resolution i'm using a 1280x800 res screen on laptop, i can do a check on a 32" HD tv but i know there is quality reduction between 2000kbps and 1000kbps, but my point is with codecs like x264 and Xvid quality reduction at lower bitrates isn't anywhere near as bad as mpeg-1 and it gives quite good quality.

if the tone of this is anyway harsh nevermind it, i'm just in a bit of a hurry =]

[Elmo]

there's best of oxegen 2008 on in a while so i'll record that in highest quality and make a rip from that =]

[crash]

I used uploading.com as after the few minutes wait the download is full speed, i hate rapidshare as you only get around 40KB/s and haven't tried many other hosting sites.

Give megaupload.com a try. Many are able to get high speeds from it. And i've got your 1000kbps Billy Talent, and the MCR Rock Am Ring rip. The Billy Talent one looks decent, while the poor quality MCR rip is caused by the source, as you have mentioned. I'm not so much a video savvy person, so can't give much comments.

[Elmo]

thanks dude =] i'll use megaupload.com for uploads from here on then so you don't have to wait ages =]

the counters on uploading.com must be a little slow, anyhoo if you do compare. compare the 1000kbps Surrender with the 2400kbps Surrender as they're from the exact same source.

i just got loads of live at Oxegen 2008 stuff so should put up a list from that soon so just let me know what stuff you want me to encode and upload and maybe suggest different bitrates so you can compare maybe 1000kbps 1500kbps 1800kbps 2000kbps, i dunno just suggest something so you can compare.

list of stuff from oxegen to request to encode will be up soon, have quite a bit of r.e.m too if you want that i'm not really into r.e.m myself but whatever

LISTS SOON =]

[crash]

thanks dude =] i'll use megaupload.com for uploads from here on then so you don't have to wait ages =]

i just got loads of live at Oxegen 2008 stuff so should put up a list from that soon so just let me know what stuff you want me to encode and upload and maybe suggest different bitrates so you can compare maybe 1000kbps 1500kbps 1800kbps 2000kbps, i dunno just suggest something so you can compare.

Okay. Looking forward to that.

[Elmo]

THE LIST

The Zutons - You Will You Won't (live night time)
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape (live day time)
Editors - Smokers Outside Hospital Doors (live day time)
The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution (live kinda twilighty not sure =P)
Kings Of Leon - On Call (live night time)
Interpol - Mammoth (live night time)
Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (live day time)
R.E.M - Man On The Moon (live night time)
Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby (live day time) Universal =/
The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger (live day time) Universal =/
The Kooks - Shine On (live day time)
a very weird orangina advert which played a few times in the middle which i think everyone should see =]

There's so more R.E.M stuff if you want a list ask me for it as I'm not that bothered with R.E.M

[Elmo]

i'll try and get up early to start encoding this stuff which should be in about 7 to 9 hours depending, i'll pick something i like randomly if there's no requests and will start doing ones that are requested when requested =]

[Elmo]

if you'll be asking for high bitrates or lots of encodes keep in mind my upload speed is about 256kb/s so that might keep me back a bit, but i should be able to work on encodes as i upload so yeah. sleep time now

[crash]

Panic at the disco and kaiser chiefs would be good. About the bitrate, try 1000 or 1500kbps, depending on your source, and we'll see how it goes from there.

[Elmo]

Okay have them done, did them all 1500kbps

Panic At the disco i did one xvid not completely cropping the black bars, then another xvid cropping them, and then an x264 the same with aac audio in .mp4

kaiser chiefs i did one xvid it needed less cropping so black bars all cropped, and an x264 too.

all bitrates are ~1500kbps video in Xvid and x264 and ~192kbps audio in mp3 or aac.

uploading now should be uploaded after a while bandwidth is a bit of a limit at 256kbps

and they're all going to megaupload.com

=]