Which configs and which codec for the best video quality

Started by jennykaram, May 25, 2022, 07:24:00 PM

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jennykaram

Hi,

I use filters. So I will need a target video format. I don't care about the target file format or codec. The only criteria I need is that the video should work with VLC's latest current version :)

I want the best video quality. So which codec should I choose and which configurations I should choose from "configuration" menu of "video output".

Thank you

Blues

Too broad question, cannot be answered as it is asked.
You have to choose whether to use lossless encoding or compromise file size vs. quality.
That said, human eye is very forgiving, while aiming for best quality can be understood it may not be feasible after factoring in everything else.
With any encoder the main factor is the bitrate, lower the bitrate more fine details are lost in encoding. This is something you have to read up on, if you haven't already.
Modern codecs require enormous processing power, you may find your chosen encoder does only 2-6 FPS, depending on your CPU and content processed. This means long, very long encoding times.
I gave up on software encoding myself because of this and resorted to nVidia hardware encoder. It does around 200 FPS with same material my i7 did only 2-3 FPS (HEVC). Again, this is a tradeoff, affordable hardware encoders allegedly have slightly lower quality output compared to software encoding.
I'd say you have to decide how big files you can afford, this is not only a matter of storage but also a matter of network speed in case your source is not in the same device which is doing the playback. Then you need to decide how much time you are willing to allocate for encoding. Even a state of art desktop computer will work for hours, possibly overnight to encode an hour long HD video. Add your filters which can put also very high load on your CPU and it may take days.
I suggest doing some testing and find out what is satisfactory for you. Of course, if you have some video clips which are only a few minutes long then most of what I wrote does not apply.