Encoding Tutorial using MeGUI

[lake1988]

Encoding m720p from 1080p/720p encodes

You can follow this tutorial to encode movies of different resolutions also.

MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE STARTING

meGUI -

http://sourceforge.net/projects/megui/

AviSynth -

http://sourceforge.net/projects/avisynth2/files/AviSynth%202.5/

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Or Higher -

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=19

Nero AAC Codec -

http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php

K-Lite Codec Pack -

http://www.codecguide.com/download_mega.htm

This tutorial will guide you through some very basic steps to encode 1080p/720p movies into m-720p. There will be other articles which will discuss about advance x264 settings / tweaks, filters, etc. For those who starts encoding, it is recommended that you start doing some basic stuffs first, then do some experiments yourself. Practice makes perfect, and this is no exception.


Step 0: Preparation

1. Decide which movie you want to encode

You can encode from your Blu-ray discs, 1080p / 720p scene, or non-scene releases.

If you have Blu-ray discs, use AnyDVD or some software at your discretion to convert it to MKV file.
If you download 1080/720p encodes, please favor 1080p over 720p. However, if you have limited internet bandwidth, you can use 720p non-scene releases (with average bit-rates around 6000-8000 kbps). You'll learn how to use some filters and x264 tweaked settings to improve sharpness. But at this moment, let's just keep things simple.
Examine the source. Use mediainfo and take note the following stats: how many GB, video bit-rates, Scan-type: Progressive?, resolution / Aspect Ratio (AR), audio codec, how many channels, subtitle (Y/N)? Play the source to see if any problem occurs during playback.

The example encode used in this tutorial is: Solaris (2002) 1080p HDTV.x264-SiSL.

2. Prepare your computer


You need to dedicate your computer for hours to a whole day just for encoding. If you have one computer / laptop and use it daily for work/school, i suggest you think twice about it.
Make sure you have proper cooling system as well.


Step 1: Create AVS script

Open MeGUI, choose Tools - AVS Script Creator

Next, click on "..." to choose the source encode. It will open a preview screen of your source. If you make any change (crop/resize/filter), it'll show you the preview of your final screen would be.

Tick the option Clever anamorphic encoding. It will ensure your encode resolution at mod16 (both wide & height is divisible by 16). The reason is some of filters only work with mod16. Then, after resize, i usually untick it. Somehow (i'm not 100% sure), i feel that this option slows down my encode. I need others to verify it, please.


If you have black bars at top & bottom of the source encode, you need to crop them. There is a waste of bit-rates (thus size) to keep them in your encode. Tick Crop, and click Auto crop. You need to check if Auto crop did the job properly by increasing/decreasing dimension pixels.

If you use 720p, there is no need to resize the video, unless it's not mod16 compliance. If your source is 1080p, you need to resize it to 720p. Tick Resize.

You can do a simple math calculation. My source is 1920x816. The default width of 720p encode is 1280. Calculate: 1280 * 816 / 1920 = 544
Or you can tick Suggest Resolution (mod16) and skip the calculation part

Then, click on Filter tab


If your source is an animation, tick on Source is Anime. Otherwise, leave it un-ticked. Click on Analyze for MeGUI to analyze your source type. It may take up to 30min to analyze the source. Some of us usually skip this step, choose Progressive (if source is Bluray) to save time. It is not advised to do so.

Do not use Subtitle function here unless you want hard-sub your movie. You can always mux as many subtitles as you want into MKV container. We'll do that part later.

Then, click on Script tab.

Here, you can apply your filters, i.e. sharpen. We'll discuss about filters in another article. But if you choose a good source, keep it as close to source as possible.

Type

ConvertToYV12()

at the end of the script. It will improve your encode and make everything smoother.

If you first would like to do a sample encode enter the following code at the bottom of the text box: trim(xxxx,yyyy) # xxxx is the starting frame and yyyy is the ending frame so for 500 frames you will type
trim(4736,5236)

Note: our encode has 23.976 FPS

Click on Save

Step 2: Select profile to encode video


Now you've created AVS Script. MeGUI will automatically load the preview window and your AVS Script. Close the preview window. Then, click on Config at Encoder Settings.

In this tutorial, we'll keep thing as simple as possible. We'll discuss about advance x264 settings in another article. We'll leave Advance Settings un-ticked this time.

At the bottom of the window, Click on New. Name your profile at your discretion. You'll do a lot of experiments later. Thus, a conventional naming system would be useful.

Choose Automatic 2 pass. Tick Turbo. Choose High Profile as AVC Profile. AVC Level you can choose 4.1. But i'd like to leave it Autoguess.

Select number of threads you want to use to encode, i.e. the number of your physical CPU. Most of us have dual core CPU, we'll enter 2. Or just leave it 0. MeGUI will determine it for you.

Select Presets to Slow. It depends on how powerful your computer (CPU & graphic cards), you can go as slow as you can bear.


Click OK.

Step 3: Select profile to encode audio


After you set up the profile to encode the video. Now, let's do the same for audio part. On the main window, choose option Aften AC3 - DVD - Good in Audio section. Then click Config.

You can choose options as the figure. Keep original channels. Unit3d standard for audio is AC3 384 kbps (approx. 300M for 2 hrs movie). You can increase / decrease it at your discretion.

Step 4: Encoding


Click OK. Now we're ready to send this encode job to queue. Click Auto Encode on the main window.

Choose container MKV. Rename the output file at your choice. Select No target size (use profile settings).

Note: You can set those settings default at menu Option[s/B].

Tick Add additional contents (audios, subs, chapters) if you want to add additional subtitle (SRT files), audio (commentary or another language track), or chapters.

Then click Queue. Then, Click on the Queue tab, you'll see your jobs in queue there. Click Start to begin your encoding process.

Now, just sit back and relax. You'll have your beautiful encode after roughly 12 hours or so.

References

1. Table of resolution

1080p Resolutions

AR / Resolution
1.333:1 = 1400 x 1080
1.666:1 = 1800 x 1080
1.777:1 = 19201080
1.839:1 = 1920 x 1044
1.846:1 = 1920 x 1040
1.853:1 = 1920 x 1036
2.341:1 = 192o x 820
2.352:1 = 1920 x 816 < this is my source resolution
2.364:1 = 1920 x 812
2.376:1 = 1920 x 808
2.388:1 = 1920 x 804
2.400:1 = 1920 x 800
2.412:1 = 1920 x 796

720p Resolutions:

AR / Resolution
1.333:1 = 960 x 720
1.666:1 = 1200 x 720
1.777:1 = 1280 x 720
1.839:1 = 1280 x 696
1.849:1 = 1280 x 692
1.860:1 = 1280 x 688
2.335:1 = 1280 x 548
2.352:1 = 1280 x 544 < this is what my 720p resolution will be
2.370:1 = 1280 x 540
2.388:1 = 1280 x 536
2.406:1 = 1280 x 532
2.424:1 = 1280 x 528

 

[LifeB4Death]

Thanks but shame its been leeched from somewhere else.

 

[lake1988]

It is not leeched..I've done encoding using megui..it's the best encoding tool...

 

[LifeB4Death]

It is not leeched..I've done encoding using megui..it's the best encoding tool...

I know meGUI is a great encoding tool Im just saying the tutorial has been copied and pasted from somewhere elsewith source of the tutorial on the images blurred out, but thanks never the less.