Well, I guess we can pretty much say that 16 reference frames is about 12 too many.
Trust me.
General
Complete name : Movies/Minority Report (2002).mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 1.69 GiB
Duration : 2 h 19 min
Overall bit rate : 1 741 kb/s
Movie name : Minority Report (2002)
Writing application : Lavf58.41.100
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.2
Format settings : CABAC / 16 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 16 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 2 h 19 min
Bit rate : 1 352 kb/s
Width : 704 pixels
Height : 416 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Original display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.185
Stream size : 1.32 GiB (78%)
Writing library : x264 core 159 r2991 1771b55
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=8 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=1500 / vbv_bufsize=3000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Codec configuration box : avcC
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name : Dolby Digital
Codec ID : ac-3
Duration : 2 h 19 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 383 MiB (22%)
Language : English
Service kind : Complete Main
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
I suggest you use Handbrake - with these settings:
At least your SD encodes will actually be 480p (DVD Guide under HD Guide) - and Handbrake these days is so bulletproof it probably wouldn’t have let you make the fatal mistake you did on your own.
Yes, I knock hundreds of HD Shows down to 480p, in a short time and they look great considering they’re coming in at .5G an hour, have full 480p (not 400) and Direct Play smoothly on everything in the Plexiverse.
Remember - Crap in, Crap out.
Don’t start with crap and you won’t end up with it.
I start with 1080s - they make a decent 480 - with a little guidance. <—and 4 reference frames.
BTW:
I can do that same file in 1080 with 2650Kbps in about 2Gig.
It would look tons better than what you’re making - guaranteed.
I just made a 720 at 1050Kbps - those are about .6G per hour.
