x264 TV Encoding

Before you say anything I don't care if it's spelled x264 or h.264, so save it!
You've seen this format popping up more and more recently. The m-HD encodings like amazing for the smaller resolution and size, and the tv episodes still look good even when reduced down to 100-200mb. So then you get an idea in your head and you like the idea of getting in on the action.

Well there are some things you need to know first:

1. People are still getting used to this format and many are more than willing to download a 350mb avi episode that they know will be fine than a 100-200mb mkv episode that they aren't completely sold on.
2. There are not a lot of guides. Very few, in fact, for episode encoding. I'll give you a few in this guide down the page.
3. Very few people who know how to use this format will tell you how to do it. They'll help you a bit but they probably won't hold your hand. They live by a code of annoying silence.
4. Encoding in mkv can take a while and a lot of system resources. For a full episode, depending on your hardware and settings it can take between an hour to two hours.

I have also asked around, searching for tips, but more than willing to go through trial and error to find what works best for me, but few would offer any. After months of trial and error I still haven't gotten them just right enough and I know that they could be better with some help. I can probably give you some good starting advice though.

Now let's get to the actual guide, shall we?

Encoding
If it asks you to download something at any point during this guide then do it!

Download The Software & Install
http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/download

Start Staxrip
The Staxrip icon should be on your desktop. When you click it you will see this, without the marks of course:

1) Double clicking this area will bring up a menu asking you which video you want to encode.
2) Double clicking this area after the source file is loaded will allow you to save the file in a different location.
3) These are resizing options and other features. I'll get more indepth later.
4) This one is kind of obvious.
5) This will allow you to configure the encode. I'll get more indepth about that later.
6) After you load the video the audio will appear here. You can edit its bitrate which will be explained more later.
7) Pretty self explanatory. No need to worry about it in my guide really.
8) Once you edit your codec configuration more options will be added to this area. That will be better explained later.

For this example I will be using a Japanese tv show episode. By double clicking in the source box it will bring up this menu:


As a tip you might want to put the video in its own file.
For this guide you will only need to use Single Or Merge. After you click that then you need to select the episode you want to encode. After you select it there will be a brief pause it will open up a window:


This should take a few minutes depending on the length of the video. The reason why I told you to put it in its own folder is because this process extracts everything and makes a little mess. After that is finished it should look like this:


Setting It Up
It doesn't need to be done in this order but it's how I do it:

1) In the Filters area I right click on Noise and select low. Then I right click on Resize and click very sharp. Regular sharp can do the trick as well.
2) In the Audio area I click on AAC 50-90kbps and click on Edit. It should bring up this window:

The only thing you need to worry about is Bitrate. Set that somewhere between 40-50 then click Ok. I usually set it on 40.
3) I then click on Codec Configuration which looks like this:

In the Mode drop down menu select three pass and click Ok. This takes longer but usually looks better. If you don't want the added time then select Two Pass.
4) This will open up two boxes called Size and Video Bitrate. With Rapidshare's 200mb limit that is the best size to put it at but you can go lower if you want. The lower you go the lower your bitrate and quality will drop though. If you tried to do the same thing with AVI you would end up with a blocky mess of a video.
5) This is abolutely optional but it's usually a good idea to click Run Compressibility Check after you set the size you want. This can take up to 10 minutes to complete but it will automatically adjust your resolution according to your size and bitrate which will make it look better. Again, this is optional if you don't want to take the extra time.
6) After that you are all done. Click the Next button a few times and when the menu pops up walk away. Encoding takes time, sometimes a lot of time, depending on your hardware. For me a tv episode will take an hour to finish on a Two Pass and two hours to finish on a Three Pass. Either way, I'm sure you don't want to wait around so go play a console or see what the big deal is about that fresh air and sunlight people keep talking about.

Ending Notes
After the encode is done CHECK ON IT before you upload it. Sometimes you might get some sound problems but it happens rarely. Check Taurgis's guide to learn how to fix it.

Please note that I'm in no way a master at this. I've learned what I could through trial and error and some guides over the last four or five months. I have no doubt that someone else who has been doing this longer has much better ways to do it. Getting that someone to tell you those better ways is the tricky part.

The cold hard facts is that there are a lot of people who encode for the attention they get. They don't want to lose that attention to someone else, namely you, by giving you advice. Not everyone is that way but more are than aren't. If you want to perfect it, or think you can do better, then I think that's great.

Just don't be greedy and keep it a secret if you do find a way to improve. So many people who use this format say it is the format of the future for videos, but at the same time not many are willing to teach people how to use the format properly. It's kind of pathetic.

I hope this guide helped you at least a little and didn't get too confusing or bog you down with too many screenshots. I'll be making another guide soon using a different piece of software. Thanks for reading!

Sample (Episode 1: The Widow's Son in the Windshield):
http://www.mediafire.com/?0tbnj02gy2x
Or
http://rapidshare.com/files/123902426/bones1.mkv

m-HD Encoding Guide

Ok then, let's get down to the stuff you need to know first. This is slightly different then my first guide so pay attention:

1. m-HD encoding is the hot new thing right now. Unlike tv episode encodes, m-HD encodes are very popular!
2. Even less than before, don't count on getting much help at all. The people who do these encodes are really proud of the attention they get. They will not sacrifice that attention to help you out. That doesn't apply to everyone, but go ahead and try to get some good help from one of the m-HD encoders. Chances are they won't offer much. hdtv-fan is excluded from this.
3. I am offering this guide to people in the simplest form because I don't believe information that benefits people should be kept within a small group of people. I learned this stuff myself for months so you won't have to go through the same problems I did.
4. As I mentioned before, I am in no way a master at this. There are very likely a lot of things I am doing wrong that could be done better. If you see what is being done wrong then please inform me. You'll be the only person who has given me advice on m-HD encoding, except for hdtv-fan, so far.
5. m-HD encoding can take a hell of a lot of time. Encoding HD movies takes a lot longer than encoding tv shows, due to the extra length and resolution size. There is an exception with HD tv shows, which I encode personally.
6. Encoding m-HD movies is all about speed. The person who gets it out first is going to get the most comments and views even if your version looks better. It sucks but that's how it is.

MEGui m-HD Encoding

Download The Software & Install
http://sourceforge.net/projects/megui

Setting Up MeGUI
Before we begin, you must start MeGUI and update everything when it asks. When a menu pops up asking you to click through a long list then do it. Restart when it prompts. Now we can begin.
1) Everything may look a bit confusing at first but don't worry, I'll walk you through it.
2) Click on File at the upper left corner then press Open and browse to the folder that contains the HD video you want to encode. For testing purposes I recommend you use a trailer from GameTrailers or something for practice. If you don't see your video then click the box next to the file name and select All Files to reveal the video. Double click to open it up.
3) It might take a few seconds to load but when it does it will bring up the AviSynth Script Creator and the video. You can close the video for now but keep the creator open. If you have any experience with encoding videos the creator should look familiar.
4) Click on the Input DAR box and select 16:9. If Auto Crop is currently checked then uncheck it.
5) If Suggest Resolution is checked then uncheck it and make sure Resize is checked.
6) The resolution really depends upon whether or not you want your encode to be anamorphic, which not only increases detail but gets rid of those useless black bars above and below the video. hdtv-fan gave an explanation on how to do this. Simply put, if your resolution is one size, you change the resolution to the other size:

1280x528 = 720x352
1280x544 = 720x(~)362
1280x688 = 720x(~)458

7) The easiest way to determine the resolution is to take a screenshot of the video or check its information. All this can be done through most media players. Once you determine the size click on the Filters bar.
8) You can analyze the video but that will take a while. Change the Source Type to Progressive, the Resize Filter to Spline36, and the Noise Filter to Minimal. Damn that's a lot of blue.
9) For this one you will need asharp and awarpsharp. These are the plugins I use. You can find them here: http://avisynth.org/warpenterprises/

10) If you had read one of the guides like I had strongly suggested, you would know what AviSynth is. Extract the plugins to the AviSynth plugin folder.
11) Click the three dots at the bottom right corner and select both of the dll. Click the save button and save it somewhere besides the original location if it's already in mkv format or just rename it. You might overwrite stuff later if you're not careful and not only be forced to redownload the entire movie but also encode everything else as well.
12) Now that's your back at the main page things will look even more confusing. Beside File Format select MKV
13) I've already done this part for you as well. Beside Encoder Settings you need to select the proper one, but there is a large selection. In most cases 2-Pass HQ will do the job, but I've prepared one for you:
http://www.mediafire.com/?kt5gtnu5emo

14) To iimport this click on File and Import Presets and select the rar you just downloaded. Look through that menu again, you'll know which one is mine. I made this preset using a couple of guides. It is in no way perfect and there are probably some things that could be changed but so far it has worked out just fine for me:

15) Read 10h30's guide above to get a good idea of what you should do with the audio. Do you see why I tell you to read them? Saves me loads of time. I can't offer you much advice about the audio since my choices usually change with each video. Just check out 10h30's guide.
16) The next part is extremely simple. Click on Auto Encode at the bottom right side of the screen. Then beside Container select MKV again and adjust the size you want. The lower it is the lower the bitrate and the worse your video will look. I usually try to keep it between a Bitrate of 1500-1800.
17) After you sort that out click Queue and it will take you back to the main menu. From there select the Queue tab at the top and you will notice everything is ready to go. Click start to begin. If it asks you to create a worker or something say yes.
18) Give yourself a pat on the back. You're pretty much done. The encode will take some time so you should probably go off and do something. This is nowhere near as hard as it looks and it becomes effortless after your first couple of times. On Vista I noticed that MeGUI will present some sound problems. That shouldn't be a problem if you read the guide I mentioned before.

And this is my guide. Anyone should be able to follow it easily. For the last time, I'm not a master at this. Don't mock me if I did something wrong or pointless I'll just insult you. I hope this guide helped a lot of you and it wasn't difficult to follow. Everything that I mentioned is what I do to encode my m-HD tv episodes, anime, and movies. If you want to see more example then search for my m-HD encodes in the tv section.

Thanks for reading!