0

I am trying to save my collection of DVDs to my Mac to have in the TV app. I am using libx264 to encode from mpeg2video to h264. I want to maintain as much quality as possible and file size is not a big concern. I have tried a CRF of 0 but QuickTime doesn't like the yuv444 pixel mode so I don't think TV will either. Does a CRF of 1 have any noticeable difference over a CRF of 5 or something.

TheCoderPro
  • 1
  • 3
  • 2
    If size is not a big concern then keeping the native format video would avoid [generation loss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_loss). Most things can still play DVD MPEG2 video, and there are programs such as [MakeMKV](https://www.makemkv.com/) that can rip DVDs including all audio and subtitles without transcoding. – Mokubai Jan 13 '22 at 21:27
  • @Mokubai I am using MakeMKV but I need it in .MP4 format, I am aware of generation loss, that's why I am wondering if CRF 1 has any less generation loss than CRF 5/10/whatever else. – TheCoderPro Jan 13 '22 at 22:21
  • 1
    Anything lower than CRF 16 is overkill for SD NTSC/PAL material. – Gyan Jan 14 '22 at 04:46
  • 1
    @TheCoderPro I avoid any loss by only using transcoding when absolutely necessary and at the very last moment, as in during playback. [Plex](https://www.plex.tv) is a media server capable of maintaining native format files, and trancoding as and when needed by clients. It is capable of transcoding MPEG2 to MP4 on the fly, all you need is a server and a client capable of talking to it. Plex clients are available on most platforms including iOS, FireTV, Android, PC and Mac. I don't care about loss because the only time there is loss is during playback, the pristine quality files are still there. – Mokubai Jan 15 '22 at 20:29

0 Answers0