Recommended Handbrake Settings: A Guide to Achieving High-Quality Encodes

As a long-time user of Handbrake, I've had my fair share of experimenting with different settings to achieve optimal encode quality. In this article, I'll be sharing my recommended Handbrake settings for encoding TV shows and movies.

Before diving into the settings, it's essential to understand that diminishing returns apply when increasing the reference frame count. While higher frames can provide better quality, they can also cause hardware and software players to choke. Therefore, finding a balance between quality and file size is crucial.

For my recent encode project, I aimed to create a high-quality TV series at a smaller file size. To achieve this, I used a 2-pass encode with audio mixed down to 160kbps Dolby Surround. The goal was to get an average file size of 250-400mb for each 1-hour episode (approximately 42-44 minutes long).

In my experience, the best way to determine whether your encode is successful is to compare it to a reference point. For this article, I'll be sharing my recommended settings and providing tips on how to adjust them to suit your needs.

Here are my recommended Handbrake settings:

* File size: 250-400mb for each 1-hour episode

* Quality: High-quality encode with a focus on image quality rather than speed

* Audio: Mixed down to 160kbps Dolby Surround

In recent updates, I've noticed that using the Windows HB NVENC encoder on my Quadro RTX 5000 results in larger-than-expected h.265 files with excellent image quality. While this may seem counterintuitive, it's a small price to pay for achieving 200+ fps.

When comparing h.264 and h.265 encodes, I've found that the latter can result in file sizes up to three times larger than the former. However, by adjusting the settings, you can achieve significant quality improvements without sacrificing too much file size.

For those using VTB (Variable Bitrate) encoding, it's essential to experiment with different quality settings to find the sweet spot for your needs. I've found that setting the quality slider to 75 provides excellent image quality, but at a cost of increased file size. On the other hand, default quality settings (CQ of 31) can result in poor image quality.

In conclusion, finding the right balance between quality and file size is crucial when using Handbrake for encoding TV shows and movies. By following my recommended settings and experimenting with different options, you should be able to achieve high-quality encodes that meet your needs. Happy encoding!

Recommended handbrake settings