Retain the crispy!

[JMEANS]

Ok so I have been ripping blurays for months now using the HIGH PROFILE preset in Handbreak with Constant Quality between 20-24. I am happy with the file size and general quality of my rips. But my only peev is the crispness in the picture. I realize that the end result is only as good as the source but I have noticed that some torrents I download (compared to same movie i have ripped) have a little more detail ?! So my question is this is there a little trick or tweak u can add to my HIGH PROFILE preset to retain some of that crispness and eliminate the slight fuzzy I am seeing?
Any tips or explanation would be great : ) sincerely Jim

 

[roidy]

I like to check 'No DCT-Decimate' to help stop Handbrake destroying subtle grain and detail. Sometimes, depending on the source, I will also set 'Deblocking' to -1,-1 as I also think Handbrake tends to output files that are to "soft" ie blurry.

 

[JMEANS]

'soft' is totally the end result I am getting thanks for the tip I will definitely try it! Are those options / settings in the 'picture settings' drop down ? Thanks so much !!!

 

[mic j]

'soft' is totally the end result I am getting thanks for the tip I will definitely try it! Are those options / settings in the 'picture settings' drop down ? Thanks so much !!!

Would you mind reposting how those worked for you after you try them? And be on the lookout for compression artifacts (moving blockiness particularly on flat surfaces in the movies).

Thanks.

 

[JMEANS]

Sure and actually now that you mention the blockiness I compared my bluray rip of DRIVE to a torrent of DRIVE. The torrent certainly looked sharper, more colorful but a smaller file and did have blockiness in darker scenes. My bluray DRIVE rip overall is consistant quality, soft, not as sharp and colorful and but NO blockiness!

At the end if the day I prefer soft over blockiness

 

[mic j]

Sure and actually now that you mention the blockiness I compared my bluray rip of DRIVE to a torrent of DRIVE. The torrent certainly looked sharper, more colorful but a smaller file and did have blockiness in darker scenes. My bluray DRIVE rip overall is consistant quality, soft, not as sharp and colorful and but NO blockiness!

At the end if the day I prefer soft over blockiness

+100% A few years ago when using HB, I had those compression artifacts in almost everything. The problem is, once you see them...it's all you see! Since that time HB seems to have solved that problem. I am afraid that may be the trade off for sharpness, but will be anxiously awaiting you're results from the suggested settings to increase sharpness.

 

[dynaflash]

I might suggest that comparing a torrent to a bluray source is kind of apple and oranges. A torrent has already been transcoded (typically from a blu ray but really ... who knows ?) and so you are then again recompressing it when running it through HB. The torrent you download also reflects whatever options and settings the original person used when transcoding it from the source so of course ymmv.

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'soft' is totally the end result I am getting thanks for the tip I will definitely try it! Are those options / settings in the 'picture settings' drop down ? Thanks so much !!!

Handbrake actually has two Deblocking filters. The one found in the Advanced Tab actually adjusts the x264 encoder deblock settings. There is also a deblock Filter found in the picture settings. This filter performs deblocking before each frame actually hits the encoder (upon decode).Note that both filters will increase encoding time significantly as they are cpu intensive. I might suggest using short test files if you want to play with it as the results might not always be what you expect.

 

[JMEANS]

Thanks Dynaflash for the info, and I realize about the torrent comparison which was actually my original reason for inquiry. I was asking if anyone could share some of their transcoding tips to retain the crisp result in HB over soft, not so much the blockiness.

Got a great reply to check in the Advanced tab the 'No DCT-Decimate' option (Psychovisual) and I did notice a very small improvement with no blockiness. Still not a huge improvement but its something! Any additional info on reducing the HB softing is welcome! Thanks everyone - Jim