Alice: Hey, Rosy, I’m new to all this video stuff. I want to choose a movie to download, but I keep seeing things like "AV1 VMAF 95." What does that mean?  
Rosy: No problem, Alice! "AV1" is the codec used to compress the video, and "VMAF 95" means the quality is really close to the original—95 out of 100 good.  
Alice: Oh, so it’ll look great?  
Rosy: Exactly! At VMAF 95, most people can’t even tell it’s compressed. But AV1 can be tricky—your PC needs to be powerful enough to play it.  
Alice: How do I know if my PC can handle it?  
Rosy: Do you have a newer processor or a GPU that supports AV1 decoding? If not, it might lag.  
Alice: Hmm, it’s an older laptop. Should I stick to something else?  
Rosy: Maybe try H.264 or H.265 instead. They’re more compatible with older devices, even if they don’t compress as efficiently as AV1.  
Alice: Got it. So, if my PC can handle AV1, go for it because of the quality, but if not, I stick to the classics?  
Rosy: Exactly! Start small and work your way up as you learn more. You’ll be a pro in no time!




____________________________________________________________

Encoding

FFmetrics
10minutes - VMAF 97.46

Handbrake 1.8.2 (2024081000)
Video.svt-av1 10 bit fast decode Preset 5 2-pass vbr 4535 kbps
Audio.512 kbps opus 7.1
____________________________________________________________

File

Audio: Opus 48000Hz 8ch 12288kbps [A: 7.1 opus 512 kbps [eng] (opus, 48000 Hz, 7.1) [default]]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Bulgarian [bul] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Chinese [chi] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Czech [cze] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: English [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: English [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle [S: English [eng] (pgs)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Commentary [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle [S: Commentary [eng] (pgs)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: French [fre] (ass)]
Subtitle [S: French [fre] (pgs)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: German [ger] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Hebrew [heb] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Hungarian [hun] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Italian [ita] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Slovak [slo] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Vietnamese [vie] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Full [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: SDH [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Forced [Off.] - KP [rus] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: Full [Off.] - KP [rus] (ass)]
Subtitle [S: Forced Subtitles (auto)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]

General
Unique ID                      : 19867943854550209187084083287081384264 (0xEF26D42C8A000F9FBFBA1B976B47948)
Complete name                  : Monkey.Man.2024.bluray.hdr.2160p.av1.vmaf97-Rosy.mkv
Format                         : Matroska
Format version                 : Version 4
File size                      : 4.26 GiB
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Overall bit rate               : 5 011 kb/s
Frame rate                     : 23.976 FPS
Movie name                     : Monkey.Man.2024.bluray.hdr.2160p.av1.vmaf97-Rosy
Encoded date                   : 2024-11-14 19:10:58 UTC
Writing application            : mkvmerge v88.0 ('All I Know') 64-bit
Writing library                : libebml v1.4.5 + libmatroska v1.7.1
Cover                          : Yes
Attachments                    : cover.jpg

Video
ID                             : 1
Format                         : AV1
Format/Info                    : AOMedia Video 1
Format profile                 : Main@L5.0
HDR format                     : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                       : V_AV1
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Bit rate                       : 4 536 kb/s
Width                          : 3 840 pixels
Height                         : 2 160 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0 (Type 2)
Bit depth                      : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.023
Stream size                    : 3.85 GiB (91%)
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
Color range                    : Limited
Color primaries                : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics       : PQ
Matrix coefficients            : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primar : Display P3
Mastering display luminance    : min: 0.0010 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2
Maximum Content Light Level    : 736
MaxCLL_Original                : 736 cd/m2
Maximum Frame-Average Light Le : 117
MaxFALL_Original               : 117 cd/m2

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : Opus
Codec ID                       : A_OPUS
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Bit rate                       : 406 kb/s
Channel(s)                     : 8 channels
Channel layout                 : L R C Ls Rs Lb Rb LFE
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 50.000 FPS (960 SPF)
Compression mode               : Lossy
Stream size                    : 353 MiB (8%)
Title                          : 7.1 opus 512 kbps
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
____________________________________________________________

Source

Video: HVC1 3840x2160 23.976fps [V: English [eng] (hevc main 10 L5.1, yuv420p10le, 3840x2160)]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch 448kbps [A: Dub [Mosfilm-Master] - KP [rus] (ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), 448 kb/s) [default]]
Audio: DD+ 48000Hz 6ch 448kbps [A: Dub [Mosfilm-Master] - KP [rus] (eac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), 448 kb/s)]
Audio: TrueHD 48000Hz 8ch 9216kbps [A: Original [eng] (truehd atmos, 48000 Hz, 7.1, s24)]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch 448kbps [A: English [eng] (ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), 448 kb/s)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Forced [Off.] - KP [rus] (subrip)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Full [Off.] - KP [rus] (subrip)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Full [eng] (subrip)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: SDH [eng] (subrip)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]

General
Unique ID                      : 332990425387108459607219553295506068091 (0xFA839F8669B1A21BA8D76BF20EE3D27B)
Complete name                  : Monkey.Man.2024.BDREMUX.2160p.HDR.seleZen.mkv
Format                         : Matroska
Format version                 : Version 4
File size                      : 51.7 GiB
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Overall bit rate mode          : Variable
Overall bit rate               : 60.9 Mb/s
Frame rate                     : 23.976 FPS
Movie name                     : Monkey Man 2024 from seleZen
Encoded date                   : 2024-06-20 11:17:39 UTC
Writing application            : mkvmerge v85.0 ('Shame For You') 64-bit
Writing library                : libebml v1.4.5 + libmatroska v1.7.1

Video
ID                             : 1
ID in the original source medi : 4113 (0x1011)
Format                         : HEVC
Format/Info                    : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                 : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                     : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                       : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Bit rate                       : 56.7 Mb/s
Width                          : 3 840 pixels
Height                         : 2 160 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0 (Type 2)
Bit depth                      : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.285
Stream size                    : 48.2 GiB (93%)
Language                       : English
Default                        : No
Forced                         : No
Color range                    : Limited
Color primaries                : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics       : PQ
Matrix coefficients            : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primar : Display P3
Mastering display luminance    : min: 0.0010 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2
Maximum Content Light Level    : 736 cd/m2
Maximum Frame-Average Light Le : 117 cd/m2
Original source medium         : Blu-ray

Audio #1
ID                             : 2
Format                         : AC-3
Format/Info                    : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                       : A_AC3
Duration                       : 2 h 1 min
Bit rate mode                  : Constant
Bit rate                       : 448 kb/s
Channel(s)                     : 6 channels
Channel layout                 : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode               : Lossy
Stream size                    : 390 MiB (1%)
Title                          : Dub [Mosfilm-Master] - KP
Language                       : Russian
Service kind                   : Complete Main
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
Dialog Normalization           : -31 dB
cmixlev                        : -3.0 dB
surmixlev                      : -6 dB
dialnorm_Average               : -31 dB
dialnorm_Minimum               : -31 dB
dialnorm_Maximum               : -31 dB
____________________________________________________________

Ab-av1

Sample encode     → sample-encode -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --crf 20  
Source resolution → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 98
1080p Downscale   → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:1080"
720p Downscale    → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:720"  
____________________________________________________________

Tools

Ab-av1
FFBitrateViewer
FFmpeg
FFmetrics
Freefilesync
Handbrake
Jackett
Mediainfo
Mkvtoolknix
Qbittorent
Scenerulez
Shutterencoder
VVV-virtualvolumeview
Xnconvert
Xnview mp
____________________________________________________________

References

1. Dolby, 2023. What are Dolby Vision profiles and levels? [Online]
2. Ozer, J., 2017. Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video. Doceo Publishing.
3. Sayood, K., 2017. Introduction to Data Compression. 5th Edition.
4. Ozer, J., 2021. What is CBR, VBR, CRF, Capped-CRF? Rate Control Modes Explained.
5. Rassool, Reza. VMAF Reproducibility: Validating a Perceptual Practical Video Quality Metric.
6. Kah, A. e al. Fundamental relationships between subjective quality, user acceptance, and the VMAF metric for a quality-based bit rate ladder design for over-the-top video streaming services.
7. Boldrin, M. 2008. Against Intellectual Monopoly.