____________________________________________________________

Encoding

Handbrake 1.8.2 (2024081000)
Video.svt-av1 10 bit fast decode Preset 5 2-pass vbr 1887 kbps
Audio.2.0 opus 128 kbps

FFmetrics
10 min - VMAF 91.81

Ab-av1
crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --pix-format yuv420p10le --svt fast-decode=1 --svt tune=0 --preset 5 --min-samples 20
crf 32 VMAF 90.71 predicted video stream size 683.87 MiB (3%) taking 76 minutes
crf 19 VMAF 93.93 predicted video stream size 3.31 GiB (14%) taking 2 hours
crf 15 VMAF 95.07 predicted video stream size 6.09 GiB (27%) taking 2 hours*
crf 10 VMAF 96.58 predicted video stream size 14.30 GiB (63%) taking 2 hours
____________________________________________________________

File

Video: AV01 1920x1080 24fps [V: av1 main, yuv420p, 1920x1080 [default]]
Audio: Opus 48000Hz stereo 3072kbps [A: 2.0 opus 128 kbps [eng] (opus, 48000 Hz, stereo) [default]]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: English original [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle: Advanced SubStation Alpha [S: English SDH original [eng] (ass)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Arabic [ara] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Chinese simplified [chi] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Chinese traditional [chi] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Danish [dan] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Dutch [dut] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: English [eng] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Estonian [est] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Finnish [fin] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: French [fre] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: German [ger] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Greek [gre] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Hungarian [hun] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Italian [ita] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Japanese [jpn] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Korean [kor] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Norwegian [nor] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Polish [pol] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Portuguese [por] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Serbian [srp] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Spanish [spa] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: Swedish [swe] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]

General
Unique ID                      : 61060620693738128264047383561837955048 (0x2DEFD908389A61F1A857FDB24CAB47E8)
Complete name                  : Aftersun.2022.bluray.sdr.1080p.av1.1500mb.subs.vmaf91-Rosy.mkv
Format                         : Matroska
Format version                 : Version 4
File size                      : 1.42 GiB
Duration                       : 1 h 46 min
Overall bit rate               : 1 914 kb/s
Frame rate                     : 24.000 FPS
Movie name                     : Aftersun.2022.bluray.sdr.1080p.av1.1500mb.subs.vmaf91-Rosy
Encoded date                   : 2024-12-03 19:16:19 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@L4.0
Codec ID                       : V_AV1
Duration                       : 1 h 41 min
Bit rate                       : 1 887 kb/s
Width                          : 1 920 pixels
Height                         : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 24.000 FPS
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0 (Type 0)
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.038
Stream size                    : 1.34 GiB (94%)
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
Color range                    : Limited
Color primaries                : BT.709
Transfer characteristics       : BT.709
Matrix coefficients            : BT.709

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : Opus
Codec ID                       : A_OPUS
Duration                       : 1 h 41 min
Bit rate                       : 115 kb/s
Channel(s)                     : 2 channels
Channel layout                 : L R
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 50.000 FPS (960 SPF)
Compression mode               : Lossy
Stream size                    : 83.4 MiB (6%)
Title                          : 2.0 opus 128 kbps
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
____________________________________________________________

Source

Aftersun.2022.1080p.BluRay.REMUX.AVC.DTS-HD.MA.5.1-FGT

Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920x1080 24fps [V: English [eng] (h264 high L4.1, yuv420p, 1920x1080)]
Audio: DTS 48000Hz 6ch 6912kbps [A: Surround 5.1 [eng] (dts-hd ma, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), s24) [default]]
Audio: DTS 48000Hz stereo 2304kbps [A: Stereo [eng] (dts-hd ma, 48000 Hz, stereo, s24)]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz stereo 448kbps [A: Stereo [eng] (ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, 448 kb/s)]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz stereo 448kbps [A: Stereo [eng] (ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, 448 kb/s)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: English [eng] (subrip) [default]]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: SDH [eng] (subrip) [hearing impaired]]
Subtitle [S: English [eng] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: SDH [eng] (pgs) [hearing impaired]]
Subtitle [S: German [ger] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Italian [ita] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Spanish [spa] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Turkish [tur] (pgs)]
Subtitle [S: Forced Subtitles (auto)]
Subtitle: UTF-8 [S: No subtitles]

General
Unique ID                      : 4562858805043145006294121630411568744 (0x36EC64ED66490878E820A179D68B668)
Complete name                  : Aftersun.2022.1080p.BluRay.REMUX.AVC.DTS-HD.MA.5.1-FGT.mkv
Format                         : Matroska
Format version                 : Version 4
File size                      : 27.7 GiB
Duration                       : 1 h 41 min
Overall bit rate mode          : Variable
Overall bit rate               : 39.1 Mb/s
Frame rate                     : 24.000 FPS
Movie name                     : Aftersun.2022.1080p.BluRay.REMUX.AVC.DTS-HD.MA.5.1-FGT
Encoded date                   : 2023-03-01 14:33:48 UTC
Writing application            : mkvmerge v74.0.0 ('You Oughta Know') 64-bit
Writing library                : libebml v1.4.4 + libmatroska v1.7.1

Video
ID                             : 1
ID in the original source medi : 4113 (0x1011)
Format                         : AVC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                 : High@L4.1
Format settings                : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC         : Yes
Format settings, Reference fra : 4 frames
Format settings, Slice count   : 4 slices per frame
Codec ID                       : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                       : 1 h 41 min
Bit rate mode                  : Constant
Bit rate                       : 32.5 Mb/s
Nominal bit rate               : 35.0 Mb/s
Width                          : 1 920 pixels
Height                         : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 24.000 FPS
Standard                       : Component
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Scan type                      : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.653
Stream size                    : 23.1 GiB (83%)
Writing library                : x264 core 155
Encoding settings              : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=1 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=34 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / minigop=1 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=2 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=1 / weightp=1 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=24 / rc=cbr / mbtree=1 / bitrate=35000 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=3 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=35000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / nal_hrd=cbr / filler=1 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                       : English
Default                        : No
Forced                         : No
Color range                    : Limited
Color primaries                : BT.709
Transfer characteristics       : BT.709
Matrix coefficients            : BT.709
Original source medium         : Blu-ray

Audio #1
ID                             : 2
ID in the original source medi : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                         : DTS XLL
Format/Info                    : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                       : A_DTS
Duration                       : 1 h 41 min
Bit rate mode                  : Variable
Bit rate                       : 3 543 kb/s
Channel(s)                     : 6 channels
Channel layout                 : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                      : 24 bits
Compression mode               : Lossless
Stream size                    : 2.51 GiB (9%)
Title                          : Surround 5.1
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No
Original source medium         : Blu-ray
____________________________________________________________

Tools

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

===================== AV1 guide v17 ========================

1) TLDR ez recipe

Handbrake
svt-av1 10 bit
Preset 5-7
crf 25
fast-decode
____________________________________________________________

2) Encoding by vmaf

Step 1 - Check VMAF with Ab-av1

 1.1 AV1
   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"  
   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  

 1.2 x265
   Source resolution → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 98
   1080p Downscale   → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:1080"
   720p Downscale    → crf-search -i "c:\file.mkv" --encoder libx265 --pix-format yuv420p10le --preset medium --min-samples 20 --enc x265-params=fastdecode=1 --min-vmaf 96 --vfilter "scale=-1:720"

Step 2 - HandBrake

Summary:
- Container: MKV

Dimensions:
- Cropping: None
- Anamorphic: None
- Borders: None

Video:
- Encoder: AV1 (10-bit SVT)
- Framerate: Same as source
- Preset: 5
- Fast Decode: ✓
- Encoder Profile: Main
- Encoder Level: Auto
- Quality: CRF determined from "ab-av1"(1), or crf 15-20-25

Audio:
- DTS to Opus Conversion:
 - DTS 7.1 → Opus @ 512 kbps
 - DTS 5.1 → Opus @ 384 kbps
 - DTS 2.0 → Opus @ 128 kbps
*When passtrough? lossy codec(opus,aac, ac3, eac3,wma) 768-128 kbps

Step 3 - Subtitles

- Original → passtrough
- Subtitle Translator
- Whisper OpenAI
- Opensubtitles
- Subtitlecat
*If size is an issue don`t use pgs, prefer ass/srt.
____________________________________________________________

3) Encoding by vbr preset 5-7

Step 1 - recommended sizes:

av1 1080p 30min   high quality       - 400mb
av1 1080p 60min   high quality       - 800mb
av1 1080p 120min+ high quality       - 1500mb
av1 1080p super high quality         - 4000mb

av1 2160p 120min+ medium quality     - 4gb
av1 2160p 120min+ super high quality - 8gb-12gb

Step 2 - recommended bitrate:

1080p medium quality     - 1000kbps
1080p high quality       - 1500kbps
1080p high quality       - 2000kbps
1080p super high quality - 4000kbps

2160p high quality       - 4000kbps
2160p super high quality - 8000-12000 kbps
____________________________________________________________

3) Observations

AV1 presets have a significant impact on both bitrate and quality. For instance, moving from preset 5 to preset 2 can boost VMAF scores by 2-4 points. This behavior differs notably from x265, where higher-quality presets typically increase file size. In AV1, file size often remains unchanged or even decreases as quality improves with lower presets.

A good example is Netflix AV1 rips, which achieve decent quality at 1080p with astonishingly low bitrates of 500-700 kbps. This is likely due to the use of extremely low presets (2, 1, or 0), which require substantial computational power but yield remarkable results.

This demonstrates that bitrate alone is not a reliable indicator of quality. Similarly, relying solely on VMAF scores or subjective visual assessment can be misleading. A balanced approach that combines multiple evaluation methods is essential, particularly when faced with unusual cases, such as low VMAF scores despite high bitrates.
____________________________________________________________

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.