Encode times

Sounds perfectly normal to me. H.264 takes a lot of processing power to encode.

2 pass is noticeably better quality. I use it exclusively.

TyWahn said:

Ok. Good...
So is selecting 2-pass worth it? I know it's a matter of personal perference, but still curious.

My AppleTv is on the way, actually missed the FedEx guy today, and I have to start encoding my DVDs.. Just want to do it right the first time.

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3 hrs sounds about right on that processor. I'm using a 2.8ghz Extreme iMac and a 90 minute movie generally takes about 60-70 minutes to encode in Handbrake, give or take.

I only use 2-pass on things I REALLY want to look good (Star Wars) or when I use a very low bit rate below 1400 (old TV shows, like MASH). Sometimes I'll take a 30 second sample and try various bitrates and options, and compare side-by-side and see what the lowest bitrate I can use where I'll see the few problems.

I generally use...
1000 for old TV shows (1980's and prior)
1250 for newer TV shows
2000-2200 Good action movies
1800 Normal, everyday movies
1200-1700 Movies I don't care as much about, and older movies

For HD 720p, I'll use VisualHub at Standard, High or Go Nuts, depending on how much I liked the movie/TV show.

My only complaint: I wish VisualHub would convert AC3 to Dolby Pro Logic II, though. That's my only complaint. (Or alternatively, that Handbrake would encode single files, not just DVD's)

ENJOY THE NEW APPLE TV!!!!

Yeah, I use turbo 2-pass whenever I encode using ABR.

For TV shows, I encode using a custom preset @ 1500kbps ABR. Denoise is set at weak. Depending on the source, I may/may not use VFR or deinterlacing.

For movies, I encode using loose anamorphic, weak denoise, VFR and/or deinterlacing (if necessary), and I use CRF set to 64% (instead of ABR).

Using the latest development code (and some uncommitted patches), these settings give me great looking files that are compatible with both my AppleTV and iPhone.

Anyone use the H.264 Elgato encoder? Maybe it's faster!! I use boot camp to run AnyDVD and rip the DVD to HD, then OSX apps to encode.

On topic: See sig for Mac. It takes me about 2.5hrs @ 3k bitrate using Handbrake ATV setting and then just increasing the bitrate to 3k.

bacaramac said:

Anyone use the H.264 Elgato encoder? Maybe it's faster!! I use boot camp to run AnyDVD and rip the DVD to HD, then OSX apps to encode.

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I have H.264 encoder. It's nice for downloaded videos, but just doesn't cut it for DVDs. I'd rather wait a while longer to get the handbrake features such as multiple audio tracks, cropped video, etc. etc.

Encoding speed for me using Handbrake on my MacBook (2Ghz, 3GB Ram) is about 19fps average. This is with 1500kbps bitrate, 2 audio tracks @ 128kbps, and video size of 720 by whatever the matching height is. I don't do anamorphic as I need  TV and iPhone compatible videos. I do 2-pass with the turbo 1st pass setting and that usually zips along at 60fps+.

TyWahn said:

I did this, added 2-pass with turbo 1st, and it took at least 3 HOURS.
This is on a 2GHz Core duo MacBook with 2 GB of RAM

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On my 1 ghz powerbook G4, a single pass encode in handbrake takes between a half a day and a day to convert a single movie. So appreciate the power you have in your core duo.

motulist said:

On my 1 ghz powerbook G4, a single pass encode in handbrake takes between a half a day and a day to convert a single movie. So appreciate the power you have in your core duo.

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Damn...are you able to use it for anything else during that time? Or is it pretty much useless while it's encoding?

DJAKO said:

Damn...are you able to use it for anything else during that time? Or is it pretty much useless while it's encoding?

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I couldn't tell you because at that length of encode time, I only bothered doing it twice.