You cannot really make generalizations. Different source material compresses more or less than other material. Stuff that compresses better can have a lower bitrate and still have a similar quality than material that does not compress as well. A lot depends on how much of the frame is static, or at least has predictable motion. Those kinds of things compress well.

The bottom line is trust your eyes viewing your videos. If you wonder if a higher bitrate will result in more quality than you can actually see, then try it. Experience with your typical source material and your chosen encoder+settings will quickly give you an idea of where your threshold/target is.

If file size is not a concern then just go big. For reference Blu-ray is commonly around 25Mbs AVC for 1080 24 fps.

Use CRF encoders and let them do the guesswork for you.

"chasing butterfiies on a beach"...nice metaphore :)

Ok so it's 1080p DNxHD 145 8 bit 4:2:2 source files in 25p from an atomos Shogun flame rendered as AVC.

Right, I guess I'll just have to experiment and see for myself. Size is no issue at all, but for the internet version, the streaming quality / speed might be, that's where I'll stick to the Sony 16mb/s preset for that, which so far looks good.

So I guess I'll need to install the x264 codecs?

Not yet updated for the VP15 Magix AVC encoder but otherwise still relevant: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-how-can-i-improve-the-quality-of-my-avc-h-264-renders--104642/

Thanks Nick, that's really helpful!

 

So I guess I'll need to install the x264 codecs?

To use x264 you have to frameserve.

The only codec subsystems that Vegas supports are Video for Windows which is AVI and Quicktime which is MOV. x264 codecs do exist for Video for Windows but you absolutely do not want to put AVC/H.264 into an AVI file. AFAIK, Nobody has written a Quicktime encoding codec using x264.

Mindmatter, your DNXHD should open perfectly in Handbrake x264 and render just as well as Magix avc 16Mbps, although probably at even a lower bitrate. We're you previously unaware of this option?

Thanks Musicvid, I actually lack some tech knowledge when it comes to codecs and such. I'll try the Vegas to handbrake setup and see what it will bring.

"I'll try the Vegas to handbrake setup and see what it will bring."

Tell me if there are issues. I'm just about to update the infos for the use of Vegas2HandBrake according to the latest versions of HandBrake and Vegas Pro. This probably will be the last time for me to do because I'm just about to switch to a similar workflow which is based on ffmepg command lines instead of HandBrake (or another ffmpeg GUIs).

At least for many of us in the past the use of x264 sorted to be best choice for HD delivery when it is about getting good video quality at low bit rates.

Mindmatter, here is the 2011 tutorial we wrote for Movie Studio users. Of course it is outdated, and you will not want to render 720p as it suggests.

It will get you started, but school has started, and I can't offer much support.

Marco's outstanding script may be a little steep at first.