Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding at DVinfo.net

Geoffrey Cox · May 8th, 2015, 09:50 AM

Hi,
I'm sure this sort of question has been asked before but I have a specific remit and 'problem' and have no experience with blu-ray:

I need to upload a file of my film for a festival (it has been accepted). They will prepare / burn it to blu-ray so just need the file. The original file is ProRes codec and is 31GB so no way I can upload that so I need to compress it. The original file is 45 minutes long, 1080i 25fps (actually1440x1080 displayed as 1920x1080).

They say H.264 .mp4 is fine but I have little other info and have no idea how the film will be projected. I have Compressor 4.1 and also the Adobe suit CS6 (though am only familiar with Premier).

Can anyone tell me the best compression settings? I'd like to keep the audio as 24bit 48KHz PCM if possible and for ease of upload keep it embedded in the film. Also should I leave it interlaced? Is .mp4 automatic with H.264 (I get confused by codecs and file formats)?

Thanks.

Andrew Smith · May 8th, 2015, 08:22 PM

Everybody wants "the best." What's wrong with second best these days???

Andrew

Geoffrey Cox · May 9th, 2015, 01:48 AM

Tell me your second best advice then

Jack Zhang · May 9th, 2015, 02:59 AM

Use Adobe Encore if you want to retain 24bit PCM audio.

Most likely, 25mbps would be good enough for 1440x1080 video encoding in "AVC" for Blu-ray. If you specify the project to be interlaced, it will retain that throughout. I'd highly recommend "VBR" 2-pass to maximize quality.

.mp4 doesn't commonly support interlaced H.264 video with PCM audio. .m2ts supports it more, and that's what Encore is most likely going to output.

You can ask around on a how to for Adobe Encore as you will get much better results from that if you're outputting to Blu-ray.

Geoffrey Cox · May 9th, 2015, 09:55 AM

Thanks Jack will give it a go

Pete Cofrancesco · May 17th, 2015, 08:01 AM

You're taking about two outputs: bluray and upload for the web they aren't always compatible. Bluray is very particular on how it's encoded while video uploaded for the web not so much since it will be reencoded by the site so it more about making it small enough to upload while retaining as much quality as possible. For both I recommend exporting 30 second excerpt to test. You don't want to spend 5 hrs encoding to have to start over again.

Deinterlacing can make things too soft.

May 8th, 2015, 09:50 AM	#1
Geoffrey Cox Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Huddersfield, UK Posts: 469	Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding Hi, I'm sure this sort of question has been asked before but I have a specific remit and 'problem' and have no experience with blu-ray: I need to upload a file of my film for a festival (it has been accepted). They will prepare / burn it to blu-ray so just need the file. The original file is ProRes codec and is 31GB so no way I can upload that so I need to compress it. The original file is 45 minutes long, 1080i 25fps (actually1440x1080 displayed as 1920x1080). They say H.264 .mp4 is fine but I have little other info and have no idea how the film will be projected. I have Compressor 4.1 and also the Adobe suit CS6 (though am only familiar with Premier). Can anyone tell me the best compression settings? I'd like to keep the audio as 24bit 48KHz PCM if possible and for ease of upload keep it embedded in the film. Also should I leave it interlaced? Is .mp4 automatic with H.264 (I get confused by codecs and file formats)? Thanks.

May 8th, 2015, 08:22 PM	#2
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,066	Re: Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding Everybody wants "the best." What's wrong with second best these days??? Andrew

May 9th, 2015, 01:48 AM	#3
Geoffrey Cox Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Huddersfield, UK Posts: 469	Re: Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding Tell me your second best advice then

May 9th, 2015, 02:59 AM	#4
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding Use Adobe Encore if you want to retain 24bit PCM audio. Most likely, 25mbps would be good enough for 1440x1080 video encoding in "AVC" for Blu-ray. If you specify the project to be interlaced, it will retain that throughout. I'd highly recommend "VBR" 2-pass to maximize quality. .mp4 doesn't commonly support interlaced H.264 video with PCM audio. .m2ts supports it more, and that's what Encore is most likely going to output. You can ask around on a how to for Adobe Encore as you will get much better results from that if you're outputting to Blu-ray.

May 9th, 2015, 09:55 AM	#5
Geoffrey Cox Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Huddersfield, UK Posts: 469	Re: Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding Thanks Jack will give it a go

May 17th, 2015, 08:01 AM	#6
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 3,005	Re: Best H.264 file compression settings for eventual blu-ray encoding You're taking about two outputs: bluray and upload for the web they aren't always compatible. Bluray is very particular on how it's encoded while video uploaded for the web not so much since it will be reencoded by the site so it more about making it small enough to upload while retaining as much quality as possible. For both I recommend exporting 30 second excerpt to test. You don't want to spend 5 hrs encoding to have to start over again. Deinterlacing can make things too soft.