I've been using Intel's Quick Sync Video encoder on Vegas Pro 17 for a while and I've saw the option to change your encoding quality. I wanted to know from 1-7 which is worst quality to best quality.
Simplest way is to render a short clip with each and see which version is larger
Simplest way is to render a short clip with each and see which version is larger
I’ve tried that but the sizes of the files were the exact same.
I expect that the constant bit rate had an effect on that. I believe that you either want Constant Quality or Constant Bit Rate but not both
I matched your render template and ran Wayne Waag's Vegas Render Quality tool on each rendered file at Encode Quality 1 and Encode Quality 7 with the following results:
General Complete name : C:\Render\Medium Complexity EC1.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 2 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46
General Complete name : C:\Medium Complexity EC7.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38
Executive Summary:
Encoding at Constant Bit Rate possibly minimizes potential benefits to be gained from changes in Encode Quality. If such things interest you, I would encourage you to download and use the free Vegas Render Quality application:
https://tools4vegas.com/render-quality/
You now have a hook and line. You provide the bait.
Thank you for telling kanile-s what time it is. I was an engineer, you know.
@john_dennis And I was a sparks once upon a time in the west. In that time I met, dealt with, a lot of engineers, some of whom would also take a thousand chars to tell the time of day, on a good day.
Indeed, CBR isn’t helping to differentiate.
@kanile-s If you care to check out the link to the render quality codec comparisons (tables) in my profile you will see that QSV isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to high quality encoding, even at it’s best quality setting of 7.
I matched your render template and ran Wayne Waag's Vegas Render Quality tool on each rendered file at Encode Quality 1 and Encode Quality 7 with the following results:
General Complete name : C:\Render\Medium Complexity EC1.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 2 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46General Complete name : C:\Medium Complexity EC7.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38Executive Summary:
Encoding at Constant Bit Rate possibly minimizes potential benefits to be gained from changes in Encode Quality. If such things interest you, I would encourage you to download and use the free Vegas Render Quality application:
https://tools4vegas.com/render-quality/
You now have a hook and line. You provide the bait.
I matched your render template and ran Wayne Waag's Vegas Render Quality tool on each rendered file at Encode Quality 1 and Encode Quality 7 with the following results:
General Complete name : C:\Render\Medium Complexity EC1.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 2 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:27:46General Complete name : C:\Medium Complexity EC7.mp4 Format : MPEG-4 Format profile : Base Media Codec ID : isom (isom/avc1) File size : 71.9 MiB Duration : 29 s 997 ms Overall bit rate mode : Variable Overall bit rate : 20.1 Mb/s Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L4 Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=25 Codec ID : avc1 Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding Duration : 29 s 997 ms Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.322 Stream size : 71.2 MiB (99%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Codec configuration box : avcC Audio ID : 2 Format : AAC LC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID : mp4a-40-2 Duration : 29 s 931 ms Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 186 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel layout : L R Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 679 KiB (1%) Language : English Encoded date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38 Tagged date : UTC 2020-09-11 16:28:38Executive Summary:
Encoding at Constant Bit Rate possibly minimizes potential benefits to be gained from changes in Encode Quality. If such things interest you, I would encourage you to download and use the free Vegas Render Quality application:
https://tools4vegas.com/render-quality/
You now have a hook and line. You provide the bait.
Thanks for the info. I will make use of that tool sometime today. I’m new to Vegas Pro and is highly familiar with video codecs and rendering techniques but I’m still learning. Vegas pro has codecs that I’ve never saw before so once again, thank you.
@john_dennis And I was a sparks once upon a time in the west. In that time I met, dealt with, a lot of engineers, some of whom would also take a thousand chars to tell the time of day, on a good day.
Indeed, CBR isn’t helping to differentiate.
@kanile-s If you care to check out the link to the render quality codec comparisons (tables) in my profile you will see that QSV isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to high quality encoding, even at it’s best quality setting of 7.
Thank you, I’ve definitely learned a lot from reading the posts on your page.
The encoder quality slider, in the past, has been a nothingburger, because it only affects the lookahead factor for motion estimation, something the human eye can rarely see as a making a difference with long-gop encoders. Based on @john_dennis results, I have to assume the same is true today with QSV.
I added in an extra QSV sample. So the table now has two QSV examples, with QSV render quality values set to 7 and also set to the lowest, 1.
Table positions are item numbers 21 and 24.
FWIW the GOP doesn't change whether using 1 or 7 ...
IBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPI ... Quality setting of 7
IBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPBBPI ... Quality setting of 1
The average bit rate decreased slightly with a slight improvement in quality at a cost of greater variability,
That is entirely consistent with increasing the lookahead in x264 by manipulating vbv- bufsize. Note that the average bitrate is a match.
Suggests that the real usefulness of the quality slider in Vegas is being able wrangle streaming bandwidths for internet delivery; thus maintaining good quality while keeping peak bitrates reigned in, the net effect being to facilitate smooth playback and avoid server bottlenecks.