I'm using Handbrake (on a Linux rig) to rip/encode DVDs, and occasionally BR. I noticed different settings as to the kind of material I'm encoding - like cartoons, movies, etc. What are your recommendations, also with regard to quality settings?
I'm viewing on a 45" TV, distance ~7-10 feet / 2-3m, using XBMC. So far I've been impressed with BR rips ~4-5GB @1080p.
So, what are your suggestions re 1080p, 720p, and regular DVD rips with HB?
P.S.: Computing power/encoding time is not (yet) an obstacle.
At that seating distance, I wouldn't use 720p unless I had plans to use the same video file with a larger TV in the near future, in which case you may want the added file size for 1080p. 720p will save a lot of space and for most movies it won't affect how much you enjoy it, the perceived difference is not much if it is a good encode.
With Blu-Ray rips, I always set the frame rate as constant with "Same as Source" since I will occasionally run into a device that struggles with Variable Frame Rates
I will either set the RF for 18 or I will do a 2-Pass with Turbo selected and a bitrate of 2200-3000 depending on how busy the images are or how much action is in the film. If I chose 1080p instead of 720p, I will run 5500-6500 depending on source material. That usually gets me a 720p file that is 3.5-5GB and a 1080p that is 6-8GB. I use the Advanced Tabs instead of the simple settings on this screen.
My audio selections will depend on my container, although, lately I have been just doing an Audio #1 of 2-channel .aac with DPLII @ 160kbps and also passing through the highest quality track for Audio #2.
Subtitles and chapters are completely up to you and your personal taste. If I feel like I need to burn forced subtitles into the movie, I actually use RipBot264 instead of Handbrake because it just seems to handle different subtitle formatting better.
Advanced Tab
Ref Frames 4 - There are some devices like the Sony PS3 that won't support more than that
B-Frames 3 - I hate b-frames because if you don't give enough bitrate to the movie they seem to cause blocks and splotched in the dark areas/shadows. I would use less if I could, but I never use more.
Adaptive B-Frames - Automatic
Adaptive Direct Mode - Optimal
Motion Est Method - UMH
Subpixel Motion Est - 10
Trellis - Always
And I pretty much leave everything else alone.
With a mid range CPU like an FX6100 or Phenom II 955 x 4, a 2-pass 1080p will take about 14-20 hours. One pass RF at 18 will take about 8-12.
With simple animation, you could be able to drop the bitrate and save file size if you set it to more reference frames. Some people will encode 8-10 reference frames but that just slows your encode to a crawl for an increase of less than 1% in quality. It really is diminishing returns and after about the 3rd it really narrows quickly.