The file is progressive: xavc s. My problem is getting Handbrake to recognize the Frameserve output (per Marco's workflow) so I can re-encode.

I followed the install instructions to the letter and the only issue I'm running into is that Handbrake isn't starting automatically to render the timeline sent to it. I have to manually click on the start button to get it to render. It does shut down automatically and takes me back to VP13. Pretty amazing to watch the video render faster than real time on my system. If I can get this one issue resolved it actually brings me closer to moving back to Vegas Pro since Handbrake appears to render a better quality mp4 over anything else I've used. And since I deliver MP4's to the production houses I work with for final edits this saves me time - and as we all know, time is money.

@Cliff Etzel

I don't think Handbrake can start automatically unless the script would also define the output file which it doesn't. Also be careful with the latest HB 10 version, it has some bugs; stick with 9.9.

Thanks OldSmoke and Marco! OldSmoke, you indirectly answered my question, which was originally answered by the sound of crickets. I was using HB10 and could not get this to work. HB9.9 works with the AX100's xavc s files which makes Marco's workflow a no brainer. ... what to do with all this new-found time, lol!

@OldSmoke, I can't seem to find the previous version you mentioned on the Handbrake site - any links?

**Edit - Oops - never mind - I found it**

While it even should be possible to automate the encoding process of HandBrake I think in most cases the user would either first want to select a desired preset or even want to tweak the settings.
The intention was to gain a process which is close to the internal Vegas render process where there even is one more process (you first have to select your renderer, then select a preset, then tweak the settings, then start the process).

I just got it going and ... oh my is this cool! I really didn't understand the steps as I was doing them, but somehow it worked! Yes, this will save me all sorts of time, and I will do pretty much all my renders this way from now on.

I kind of like that it stops on Handbrake to let you make the settings and start the actual Handbrake render. I do a lot of very short commercials and I use extremely high quality settings for them.

I can't imagine any other video editor getting direct renders of anywhere near this quality. From now on, I feel comfortable when people ask why I am using Vegas instead of PP, FCP or Avid, telling them that one reason is that I get a noticeable amount better quality. I love being honestly able to say that!

Hi all - works perfectly on my system running Pro 11. Many thanks for your hard work and generosity sharing. I have a few questions, mainly because this is way over my head, but I'd appreciate the education!

Firstly I shoot AVCHD 1080 50p, I usually render out to Sony AVC mp4 at max quality (bit rate 25,999,360). I have been very pleased with the results, but as with everyone am keen to squeeze every bit of PQ from the renders, hence me setting up this handbrake script, which before, although I was aware of the handbrake method, felt I wasn't sure what I was doing so never did it.

I have done a couple of test renders, one with my old faithful Sony AVC mp4 template and one with this handbrake method. A couple of observations from my 1:14 edit.

Vegas Sony AVC
render time: 1:52
file size 240mb
bit rate 25.2mbs
CPU avg use: 60%

Handbrake
render time: 1:19
file size 140mb
bit rate 15.9mbs
CPU avg use: 93%

Now it is clear to see Handbrake renders faster and is a smaller file size. Does Handbrake utilise GPU as my Vegas does, which I assume is the reason for the lower CPU usage as it is shifting some work onto the GPU? Or is Vegas still using GPU to frameserve Handbrake?

Some have mentioned an obvious increase in PQ. I must say I feel they are both very similar and I couldn't tell an awful lot of difference. That's not a bad thing as Handbrake renders faster and considerably smaller for the "same" end product. How can I squeeze this extra PQ out as the fast render speeds and smaller file size are not my number 1 priority? Is is a Handbrake setting tweak? What would that be?

Thoughts appreciated

I usually render out to Sony AVC mp4 at max quality (bit rate 25,999,360)

Maybe you can share with us what your are doing with the Sony AVC file at that bit rate? If it is for BluRay, then I think you are missing the point of rendering to Handbrake. Handbrake is mostly used for delivery to the Internet where low bitrate at best quality is the goal.

Look at the Quality slider on the Handbrake Video tab.

OldSmoke - I use my AVC files at 1080 50p and at that bit rate on my PS3 to play on my TV - If I were to burn bluray I'd render to 1080 50i. The PS3 plays the 50p excellently

John - I shall experiment with the slider

In that case you wont see much difference if you use Handbrake at a similar bit rate as you use for Sony AVC. Handbrake shines when it comes to encoding at low bit rates, 7k and below. Anything higher then 10-12k is hard to distinguish from other encoders.

On a side note: If you like 50p try to render to 1280x720 50p; you will be surprised how good it looks and it is a BD compliant format.

I found one of the most obvious quality difference one could achieve when rendering to AVC is if your footage or your product's final look contains grain. With both of the Vegas internal AVC encoders it is almost impossible to keep the grain even with very high bitrates. On the other side it is very easy to keep the grain within a HandBrake encoding even with low bitrates.

Close to that comes AVC encoding of sharp details of high frequency. Even high bitrates of the Vegas Pro AVC encoders don't output results of a quality like HandBrake or similar x264 encoders does with lower bitrates.

Premiere, FinalCut, Edius and others internal AVC encoders work similar as the Vegas Pro ones, none of them come close to x264 encoders like HandBrake. The only professional one I'm aware of which should be capabable of outputting an even better quality is TeleStream's Episode.

I usually use the MPEG-2 encoder for all my BD deliveries. I always found the AVC encoders in Vegas a bit too "soft" and the MC AVC falls apart a lower bit rates. Luckily some here in this forum convinced me to use HB.

Handbrake has a reputation for being able to squeeze higher quality out of a lower bitrate. Yes that is true, but I also feel that it has a much higher quality at higher bitrates as well. No I can't see the difference when I look at it, but I can see the difference in Youtube or Vimeo when I upload a high bitrate Handbrake encoded video and their encoders re-encode it again. At higher higher bitrates (via a constant quality setting of 10), I may have well have uploaded uncompressed (quality-wise). The Vimeo or Youtube re-encode just looks marvelous! Of course you would never upload uncompressed to Vimeo or Youtube because the files would be too large.

The higher quality of a high bitrate (low constant quality number) Handbrake encode is there, it's just that it isn't obvious until you use it as a source for a re-encode.

Right now I am using the older 9.9.1 version of Handbrake because there was an earlier post saying that the latest version didn't work properly with the script. Is this still the case? I imagine that at some point Handbrake will have an update that fixes this and maybe it has already happened. Does the latest version of Handbrake work or should I stick with 9.9.1?

Loving this workflow!

OK, I have a new sort of silly issue: I was animating a map graphic and in the process set loop in and out points so that I could control shift D preview that section. Now that a loop is defined, the script just wants to render that looped section. If I was doing a regular render, I could just uncheck the box that asks me if I want to render the looped region, but with the script there is no such opportunity. Is there any way around this other than just making a loop region out of the whole project?

Edit: Just defining a zero duration loop fixes this.

Or select the whole timeline, I would think.
I ran into this once when I still had the patience to work with scripts.

Thanks for the info and clearing up. I shall certainly be playing more with this. Although I said render time and file size were not my primary concern and it seems that the Handbrake method shines at lower bit rates for upload purposes, it stands to reason that at the same bit rates and file sizes as Sony AVC a little extra quality must be squeezed out. Whether this is totally obvious or not, you might as well do it.

Also thanks for the blu ray 720 50p tip. 50p is the way forward in my opinion.

Beware of the sound and the FrameServer bug which will introduce an error at the last second of the sound. This is why the script solution relies on you set a loop-region with one more second as your project length is, while within the script routine the last second of the output will be deleted again.

If you don't set a loop-region or just set the loop-region to span the project length you will finally lose the last second of your project.

It's a big pity that Handbrake doesn't render to mpeg-2. My HD rendered out for DVD looks crap. That's always the biggest headache for me. Probably doesn't help I'm spoiled by the HD footage.

@pillspurypie

It's a big pity that Handbrake doesn't render to mpeg-2.

It DOES using the latest version 10.0. Using the video tab, select the video codecs drop-down and you will see MPEG-2. It will render into an mp4 container, but the resulting video is MPEG-2 according to MediaInfo. Just tried it. It also has an option to render using Quicksync which is way faster for AVC encoding.

wwaag