Movie Quality
July 26th, 2016
The question becomes, is there a way to look at the two files side by side and determine which rip has better sound and video quality without playing each of them and making my own judgement call?
I’m sure a lot of the older rips are .AVI and YIFY rips are packaged differently with MP4 which is better compression but I’ve played a few of these older YIFY rips and the sound is poor. Thanks all
Joe
best codec available is x264 , x265 is also around for a while but not widespread yet. best container is matroska(mkv) so these should be your preferences.
those m720-m1080 movies at the size over 1 gb lacks quality , you can see it clearly when you watch them on bigger screens such as 50+ inch tv.
most important thing for video quality is not resolution but video bitrate , technically you can encode m1080p movie at the size of 100mb but a 480p movie at the size of 1gb would have better quality. optimal sizes for resolutions varies in this ranges cuz of difference in run times of movies.
m720p 2gb-3.5gb
720p 4gb-6gb
m1080p 5gb-8gb
1080p 8gb-16gb
full bd 25gb +++
when it comes to audio , DTS is superior to ac3 but due to compatibility issues many prefer ac3 , again you need to look at bitrate of audio for quality.
i saved the most important thing to last , the source which is the movie is encoded from. you need to look at source for example,
a movie at m720p encoded from full bd source is better than a m1080p encoded from 1080p source. ofc you should assume everything else is same in addition to encoder’s skill.
so as you see those all are interrelated and should be looked as a whole . you can see video , audio bitrates and source on release info of movies. if you dont have a reach to release info , there is a tool called MediaInfo which is bundled with K-Lite codec pack , with it you can right click on any video or audio file too see its properties after adding tool to the explorer context menu.
my priority is like
1- look for codec used , i dont download anything else than x264 unless there is no other option , same goes for container mkv
2- look for source , i always prefer full bd as source
3- video bitrate which is directly related to the size of movie.
wudnt even go near a yify rip meself hate the quality of them
that MediaInfo tool , do not download it from its original site or sourceforge , i read now , it is bundled with adware. k-lite codec pack has a different modified version of it which is simplified. i believe it is modified by doom9 , either look for that version or install k lite codec pack. modified version goes by the name “Media Info Lite”
http://filehippo.com/download_klite_codec_pack/
There is good encoders at WBB with 720p – 1080p Rips also including YIFY release pretty much good video and audio quality on low size.
best codec available is x264 , x265 is also around for a while but not widespread yet. best container is matroska(mkv) so these should be your preferences.
those m720-m1080 movies at the size over 1 gb lacks quality , you can see it clearly when you watch them on bigger screens such as 50+ inch tv.
most important thing for video quality is not resolution but video bitrate , technically you can encode m1080p movie at the size of 100mb but a 480p movie at the size of 1gb would have better quality. optimal sizes for resolutions varies in this ranges cuz of difference in run times of movies.
m720p 2gb-3.5gb
720p 4gb-6gb
m1080p 5gb-8gb
1080p 8gb-16gb
full bd 25gb +++
when it comes to audio , DTS is superior to ac3 but due to compatibility issues many prefer ac3 , again you need to look at bitrate of audio for quality.
i saved the most important thing to last , the source which is the movie is encoded from. you need to look at source for example,
a movie at m720p encoded from full bd source is better than a m1080p encoded from 1080p source. ofc you should assume everything else is same in addition to encoder's skill.
so as you see those all are interrelated and should be looked as a whole . you can see video , audio bitrates and source on release info of movies. if you dont have a reach to release info , there is a tool called MediaInfo which is bundled with K-Lite codec pack , with it you can right click on any video or audio file too see its properties after adding tool to the explorer context menu.
my priority is like
1- look for codec used , i dont download anything else than x264 unless there is no other option , same goes for container mkv
2- look for source , i always prefer full bd as source
3- video bitrate which is directly related to the size of movie.
Thanks All confusing but know you spent a lot of time explaining Good example, here’s one I’ve added to my download list; haven’t downloaded yet.
https://www..org/viewtopic.php?t=18983283&highlight=
So I don’t know the source however I can see it’s 720p and that’s what I prefer, BUT what I have that I downloaded way way back when has better audio I THINK Here’s why
The one I have is louder then the link above
Another example, different movie I have already downloaded same theory as above sound is louder on the AVI then the MKV but now I’m wondering if the sound is louder on the AVI because it’s older technology? MKV is in stereo? AVI
Bit Rate 448kbps but only 6 Channel
I don’t see video bit rate in properties but do see Total Bit rate which is 3018Kbps
MKV / MP4
Bit Rate 95Kbps but 2 Channel (stereo) Video
Total Bit rate 949Kbps
Hope I’m making better sense as to what I’m looking at? Decreasing the size of the file I’m storing without sacrificing quality as much while at the same time making a decision as to whether I should keep what I have or replace it with MP4/ MKV
volume level is not directly related to the quality of audio but in your case , surely avi has better audio if same codec is used.
avi’s video bitrate is 3018-448 = 2570
mkv’s 949 but you cant directly compare those cuz both their container and codec is different. mkv + mp4 combination is superior to avi+xvid combinaton so in this case smaller size mkv movie can have better visual quality.
actually you dont need that much detail as i explained above. 720p , 1080p and full bd versions are released by scene so they have some standard quality only difference is audio generally.
m720p and m1080p are the things of individuals , good encoders always use x264 codec + mkv container combination for video , audio may change. most good encoder also uses the size range that i told above for their m-720/1080p releases. i only know 2 good individual encoders who has been around for years and still active. one is Adit other is BiRD , both have their own sites. there was also elitecoder , i heard he was still encoding at somewhere.
on the other hand those people with small size movies have different audience such as people with low connection speed and have quota , also uses not much quality monitor or tv to watch them. if you watch those 1gb 1080p movies on a very quality tv with high PPI ratio , you regret the day you download them
resolution means something but not everything , just imagine you are drawing 1920 lines to the X axis and 1080 lines to Y axis on a picture. as a result you will have 2073600 tiny boxes where each are called pixel. you can fill those pixels with 1 kb or 1mb of image , thats where video bitrate comes in and thats why it is more important than resolution. i told all those for the info , they are actually not complicated once you see the bigger picture. also most encoders follows same standard , you wouldnt see an encoder who have 720p movie at 10 gb size. it would be meaningless. so look for container and codec first , then source of encode which is the most important after codec and container choice , then movie size which directly reflects the video and audio bitrate , rest is technical details.
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edit : forgot to tell , those encoders who do small size m720/1080p are also very skilled , it is not easy to provide enough quality on those lower bitrates. they probably provide the best quality which can be given at that size but due to limitations their overall encode quality is worse compared to some others and it is not their fault. there are many parts on the world where people are poor and internet is expensive , those people provide small encodes so everyone can watch some movies. dont get the wrong impression that i m telling bad encoders to those small ones. they may even better than the most , what they do is hard thing.
so look for container and codec first , then source of encode which is the most important after codec and container choice , then movie size which directly reflects the video and audio bitrate , rest is technical details.
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edit : forgot to tell , those encoders who do small size m720/1080p are also very skilled , it is not easy to provide enough quality on those lower bitrates. they probably provide the best quality which can be given at that size but due to limitations their overall encode quality is worse compared to some others and it is not their fault. there are many parts on the world where people are poor and internet is expensive , those people provide small encodes so everyone can watch some movies. dont get the wrong impression that i m telling bad encoders to those small ones. they may even better than the most , what they do is hard thing.
Thanks again
I think I got it and it’s actually worth swapping out the 2.5G AVI’s I’m storing for a 850Meg 720p BluRay MKV’s I look for ShAaNiG first, then YIFY second
For the last two years I wait for ShAaNiG rips to be released if I’m keeping them for my collection.
One last question, the 6 Channel I mentioned earlier Vs the 2 Channel (stereo) Does that mean one is in stereo and the other is not?
6 channel means it has full support for 5+1 audio systems and get full benefit from it. you can use it on 1+1 or 2+1 speakers but the benefits will be less.
2 channel means any speaker than 1+1 standard speakers wont get any benefit from that audio + it may cause some problems if audio settings of system and media player is not tweaked correctly other than 1+1 systems.
benefit means , hearing audio exactly from the side it comes from not quality of audio. quality is related to codec + bitrate + quality of speakers.
there are a few more technical details such as DTS is either 5+1 or 7+1 which have better quality. i just told the basics. if you look for audio quality 1- DTS or AC3 , dts is better
2- Codec and container.
3- Audio bitrate
Not really looking for better Audio as long as I can turn the volume up on the sound system but I didn’t want to delete the .AVI’s I have and go through the hassle of reorganizing my collection if what I have is better then the .MKV
I thank you again
that volume level is different thing than the audio quality which i also recently faced by buying very quality 1+1 speakers at 150$ and comparing it with 20$ cheap speakers while they their volume turned on at the same level of %10. less quality one was barking like little dog while you can hear quality one barely. but the quality of the audio output was far better on the expensive one.
actually i m not good at audio as much as i m good at video , so someone with better knowledge can give you better insight about it. i would also replace 2.5 avi movies with 800mb. actually encoders doesnt give too much importance to audio cuz demand on video quality is far more. you can turn on the volume on speakers if you want it loud , thats the perspective of most people at these days.
that volume level is different thing than the audio quality which i also recently faced by buying very quality 1+1 speakers at 150$ and comparing it with 20$ cheap speakers while they their volume turned on at the same level of %10. less quality one was barking like little dog while you can hear quality one barely. but the quality of the audio output was far better on the expensive one.
actually i m not good at audio as much as i m good at video , so someone with better knowledge can give you better insight about it. i would also replace 2.5 avi movies with 800mb. actually encoders doesnt give too much importance to audio cuz demand on video quality is far more. you can turn on the volume on speakers if you want it loud , thats the perspective of most people at these days.
That first sentence is probably the best thing you’ve told me so far; YES I was trying to compare both at the same volume level and thats where I was coming up with one had a lower sound then the other thinking the one with the lower sound was less quality. Add the last paragraph to that and it tells me I’m pretty much thinking along the right path, taking the time to go through my massive collection and doing this with threads I see as I come across then and replace.
This time, as I replace I’m also adding notes in my excel sheet where I have everything laid out in the comments as to who the coder was. As I do rename the files
I feel more confident now replacing them then I was a few hours ago, Thanks again
i m certain about that first sentence after personally experiencing it but unfortunately i dont have enough knowledge about it for giving you details like video.
audio is complicated thing which depends on many factors , cables, speakers , other hardware , codec, media player, windows audio settings , audio driver control panel and it goes. video on the other hand is far more simple. i forgot to tell , if you use pc for watching movies , sound card also effects audio quality. a mid range one would be more than enough for you , dont go for high end ones which are for professional audio work.
i also had those 2.5gb avi movies , they were gem which are hard to find long years ago. also 1.4 gb versions were available either as single or two parts. they were far better compared to standard 700-800 mb avi movies but time has changed , i also personally compared those 2.5 avi with 800mb mkv in terms of video quality , mkv is generally better and have more lively colors. even if they are equal or avi is slightly better , it would be a good decision to drop sizes of movies in a huge collection by 1-1.5gb per movie.
Yes, I am playing off my 50 inch TV, streaming the movie from the laptop to the WD media player.
So yes, thats where the sound difference was not off the sound card.
When you reduce volume in digital audio you reduce the number of bits of the track. Every 6dB you reduce the number of bits by one, this means that every bit less you will lose quality and there will be more artifacts in the signal, like noise etc. etc.
If you start with 24bit audio and you reduce voulme by 48dB, you will have a quality equivalent to 16bit audio. Reducing volume is done, in software or in hardware in a digital way, by reducing this component and it’s equivalent in reducing quality. Try downloading a very low quality audio and turn down the volume, you will experience a terrible audio quality drop.
Cheaper headphones, for example, have very bad noise reduction capabilities, and if you turn the volume down, they will start sounding terribly bad. While expensive equipment has better noise reduction and can minimize the loss of quality, but it will still be present for how decreasing volume works in the first place.
i personally saw movies with high volume level but low quality and opposite which have low volume level but delivers clear and quality sound when you turn on speakers more . according to what you said , what i said is impossible. which leaves us 1 choice , source of the audio which the movie is encoded , was different in those 2 movies.
i tweaked and made some experiment on that 16bit 24bit 48 bit thing on audio control panel a few years ago but volume level was always same. if i get you right , by keeping all volume level options stable , for example windows %100 and speaker %20 ; 24 bit audio should be louder than 16 bit audio but they just delivered the same level of volume , 24 bit one was just better to listen like it was more clear.
the quality i mentioned , is based on my personal opinion about what i hear so it may not be totally reliable , especially by considering one of my ears is almost totally deaf lol