[Cranial]

I will update the initial post as soon as I can for step by step setup for those that can't import the preset. But I would suggest uninstalling Handbrake and trashing all preferences (probably located in program files?), then re-install Handbrake, update built in presets, then import.

As has been mentioned by others, the preset will import into Windows. Hope it works for you.

[Cranial]

I take it that its just the quality lowered all the way. This works perfectly with the LQ preset tvshows come out to a really good file size. I think the biggest difference probably came from setting the audio from the surround to mp3... Thanks again, I dont think anyone wants to watch seinfeld in surround sound & HD...... tho now come to think of it .... lol

It is basically just CQ (RF) lowered for this preset. But the advantage of lowering the constant quality is it lowers the bitrate, hence using MP3 is possible.

[Cranial]

Didn't read the whole post but I use to do lot of encodings with HB on Mac; the answer is (from theyr forum): keep encoding at Constant Quality with RF between 58 and 62%. Looks that the best quality/filesize ratio is in that range. It the outputted filesize is too large check the mean bitrate of that file (just open it with a reader that can give you statistics ot the file or try the Get Info into the Finder) and reduce it setting the Average Bit Rat instead of Constant Quality. Much lower is the bitrate much helpful is the Double Pass option.

Keeping RF between 58 - 62% is fine with modern devices. But that isn't always possible on the old xbox. Hence the bitrate capping in advanced settings (and a few other bits and pieces). I'm well aware of what's on the Handbrake wiki and forums. This preset has been made with a lot of reading of the wiki, the mencoder x264 documentation, and from the developers on the forums, all of which I'm very grateful for.

[hardflipman]

Hi, I'm new to all this stuff and I've just started encoding some dvds. my question is though, using these settings for my xbox in my bedroom with 22" telly should be fine. But what will the quality be like when using with my yet to arrive popcorn hour for the living room telly? Does it make sense to encode everything for the lowest common denominator or would i be better off deciding what i want to watch on my bedroom telly and what on the living room?

cheers

[Cranial]

Hi, I'm new to all this stuff and I've just started encoding some dvds. my question is though, using these settings for my xbox in my bedroom with 22" telly should be fine. But what will the quality be like when using with my yet to arrive popcorn hour for the living room telly? Does it make sense to encode everything for the lowest common denominator or would i be better off deciding what i want to watch on my bedroom telly and what on the living room?

cheers

I've no experience with popcorn hour? But the encodes produced here should be pretty close to the quality of the original source material you've encoded from.

It's all down to personal preference really. Don't want to lose any quality? Rip ISO's from your DVD's. Worried about storage space, rip at a lower quality (like the TV one I posted) and use stereo sound.

Want a good quality rip that will work on all of your devices, use the preset I originally posted. You can rip with AC3 or DTS sound so you'll get the full experience on your surround sound system (devices will downmix if you haven't set one up yet ).

Rip a DVD, plug your xbox into your lounge room TV at 720p and see what you think. If you're happy with it, start ripping your collection.

[Geeba]

Only just got round to giving this a try... problem is when I download the plist it save as an XML, no option and handbrake doesnt see it?

[Cranial]

Only just got round to giving this a try... problem is when I download the plist it save as an XML, no option and handbrake doesnt see it?

Check out the wiki page I made:

How to....

I'll update the first post with this, must have been lost in the datacenter crash.

[Geeba]

Much appreciated - finally getting round to ripping the rest of my DVD's before I box them up and move them into the loft.

Out of interest what sort of CPU level are you seeing with the HQ settings?

[Cranial]

Much appreciated - finally getting round to ripping the rest of my DVD's before I box them up and move them into the loft.

Out of interest what sort of CPU level are you seeing with the HQ settings?

Not at home right now but I think it was 50-85% depending on the scene.

[Geeba]

Not at home right now but I think it was 50-85% depending on the scene.

Sounds good - I like to make sure the old Xbox gets a dam good thrashing! - I have to squeeze what I can out of it!

Thanks again

[nhouseman]

I've been going nutz the last week. I put A LOT of effort into perfecting my handbrake 0.9.3 encoding settings (I even made a couple of spreadsheets to help me choose the optimal average bitrate). I like using two-pass, but I will try these settings out.

Just a few quick questions/statements:

• I use the linux prebuilt 64 bit deb package and (k)ubuntu 9.10 64-bit
  

• I can't select using pyramidal b-frames in the gui nor by adding it into the manual settings box
  

• What does the psychovisualzation do in terms of xbox playback (I know it keeps complexity and what not, but does it require more power to decode?)
  

• Does the adaptive b-frame option affect xbox playback very much or at all?
  

• Does anyone seem to have excessive audio video sync problems? mine tend to (for the most part) be fixed by re-muxing the mkv. Could this be because I use 2-pass encoding?
  

• The mp4 extension won't show up (even after disable the use m4v in the preferences)
  

Also, Thank you for your preset , I have been searching for a way to cap the max bitrate and buffer! That alone may make my settings usable again, and then I can share them. My settings sacrifice encoding time for quality and file size/ size predictability.

I will definitly try your settings though. Thanks again!

[Cranial]

I've been going nutz the last week. I put A LOT of effort into perfecting my handbrake 0.9.3 encoding settings (I even made a couple of spreadsheets to help me choose the optimal average bitrate). I like using two-pass, but I will try these settings out.

Just a few quick questions/statements:

• I use the linux prebuilt 64 bit deb package and (k)ubuntu 9.10 64-bit
  

• I can't select using pyramidal b-frames in the gui nor by adding it into the manual settings box
  

I haven't used Handbrake on Linux as yet (more details in a sec)

• What does the psychovisualzation do in terms of xbox playback (I know it keeps complexity and what not, but does it require more power to decode?)
  

• Does the adaptive b-frame option affect xbox playback very much or at all?
  

Everything in my settings are there for a reason, but I'd have to look back into it to see why.... (if you're not constantly working on it it's a lot to retain)

• Does anyone seem to have excessive audio video sync problems? mine tend to (for the most part) be fixed by re-muxing the mkv. Could this be because I use 2-pass encoding?
  

I've only seen audio sync problems on a couple of encodes made from very old/cheap DVD's. But yes, 2-pass could be the problem. Also, I think a couple of revisions of xbmc may have been giving me problems.

• The mp4 extension won't show up (even after disable the use m4v in the preferences)
  

With my settings you should be using mkv container. But I believe you can just manually change m4v to mp4? I'm sure someone will confirm or deny that.

Also, Thank you for your preset , I have been searching for a way to cap the max bitrate and buffer! That alone may make my settings usable again, and then I can share them. My settings sacrifice encoding time for quality and file size/ size predictability.

I will definitly try your settings though. Thanks again!

File size predictability is not really what you want to aim for. Different video's have very different encoding requirements. Animation / Action / Drama / Old Grainy Films will vary a lot on the compression / quality ratio you can achieve.

Now, I've noticed that some people are having issues using my presets on different platforms. I've personally noticed a couple of weird things happen when importing it to a Windows platform.

So, when I get time I shall be setting up this preset manually on Windows and Linux and then posting those presets here and to the Wiki page (even though this is kind of for Mac OS X )

[kreach]

• The mp4 extension won't show up (even after disable the use m4v in the preferences)
  

Using, ac3 causes the extension to be m4v. According to http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/Preferences#general, you can change your preferences to prevent this.

[san29]

Thanks a lot Cranial,

After reading this thread and your wiki, I started using Handbrake and your pre-set. I've used it a lot in the last week and I'm very happy with the results.

Thanks again

[superjew1492]

the settings are working really well so far, i just am curious about the importance of turning anamorphic off always instead of occasionally using the defaulted strict setting. what is the reason for this...if say, i want to get the highest resolution file coming out of this encoding...and am rocking a 1080P set.

thanks