[MPEG Settings]-[Video]

Settings relating to MPEG video.

Here, one sets the characteristics of the MPEG output file. One usually selects the rate mode and bitrate which are most appropriate for the desired movie quality.

-[MPEG Settings]

Stream Type

One can select between MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video as the stream type. Make sure that this is changed first because it can affect the options of other parameters.

Size

One can select the size of the output video. The left side value is the horizontal resolution and the right side value is the vertical resolution.

Normally, the resolution will be 160x120, 320x240, 640x480, or 720x480. 320x240 is the most popular for video on the internet. DVD video is 720x480, and VCD resolution is 352x240.

When selecting the video size, it is suggested that one uses a standard size. If one chooses not to use a standard size, the resolution must be a multiple of 16 or noise may appear at the edges.

Aspect Ratio

One needs to set the aspect ratio to an appropriate setting for the intended use. These values differ for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video which supports more aspect ratios.

MPEG-1 files need to have the appropriate aspect ratio set, which is dependent on whether a computer, a PAL television, or a NTSC television will be used in playback.
MPEG-2 files are more lenient, and do not require a different setting for a different region of television.

Stream Type	Settings	Notes
MPEG-1 Video	1:1 (VGA)	640x480 or 320x240 pixels. This produces a rather "square" movie.
	4:3 525-line (NTSC)	352x240, 704x480, 720x480 resolution movie for NTSC televisions.
	4:3 625-line (PAL)	352x288, 704x576, 720x576 resolution movie for PAL televisions.
	16:9 525-line (NTSC)	352x240, 704x480, 720x480 resolution movie for wide screen NTSC televisions.
	16:9 625-line (PAL)	352x288, 704x576, 720x576 resolution movie for wide screen PAL televisions.
MPEG-2 Video	1:1 (VGA)	640x480 or 320x240 pixels. This produces a rather "square" movie.
	4:3 Display	Use a display scaling of 4:3, regardless of the resolution.
	16:9 Display	Use a display scaling of 16:9, regardless of the resolution.
	2.11:1 Display	Use a display scaling of 2.11:1, regardless of the resolution.

"Frame Rate" pull-down

Select the frame rate for the MPEG output file. The usual frame rates can be selected from the pull-down menu. Usually, one will want a frame rate of 29.97fps.

The "Setting" button allows one to set a non-standard frame rate.



Within the MPEG standard, there exists a capacity to encode at a multiple of a standard frame rates. For example, one can encode a video at 12 fps using 24fps coding queues. Some of these partial frame rates are included in the pull-down menu.

Rate Control Mode

This option selects which type of bitrate to use in the movie. It affects the quality and size of the movie. Each different control mode has its own advantages and disadvantages. Normally, one will want to select CBR, 2-pass VBR, or CQ.

The "Settings" button lets one set the specifics for each mode.

Mode	Function	Use
Constant Bitrate (CBR)	A fixed bitrate for the whole file. - Settings	Movies for the internet.
2-pass Variable Bitrate (VBR)	Search the source file to determine the most appropriate bitrate. - Settings	One of the most commonly used encoding methods, used where quality and size need to be balanced.
Manual Variable Bitrate (MVBR)	Select the minimum and maximum bitrates to use in the file. The actual bitrate settings are in the [GOP Structure] tab's [Force Picture] settings. - Settings	Use to limit the bounds of the bitrates.
Constant Quality Variable Bitrate (CQ_VBR)	This bitrate changes automatically with the stream to deliver a constant quality. It's probably better to use Constant Quality (CQ) than this mode. - Settings	Gives a good quality for very long films.
Constant Quality (CQ)	If a high image quality is a priority, this mode should be used. This gives good quality even in scene with rapid motion. - Settings	As always with high resolutions, the file size can also become large. This is good for short movies of high quality.

Bitrate

For CBR mode, one needs to set the desired bitrate. This is usually set by the "Settings" button to the right of the mode selection pull-down.

VBV Buffer Size

The VBV (Video Buffer Verifier) buffer is the buffer used by the encoder while encoding. It's suggested to let the VBV automatically determine the required size.

If one uses a template, the VBV buffer size which is most appropriate is also loaded. Set the VBV buffer to 0 to have TMPGEnc automatically guess the most appropriate size.

Profile & Level

This setting applies to MPEG-2 steams only.

Set the decode class to use on the file to decode. A higher profile level results in a higher quality of video.
Depending on the selected profile, the YUV format values and the DC bit levels which govern the encoding are changed. For DVD's or good quality MPEG-2, use the [Main Profile & Main Level (MP@ML)] setting.

Video Format

Select the video format for the output. NTSC is usually used.

Setting	Use
Component	Component video
PAL	Europe and Asia, less Japan.
NTSC	Japan and North American video format.
SEAM	Russian Television
MAC	EU television format.
Unspecified	Unspecified

Encode Mode

Select the output mode for the movie, such as interlaced or non-interlaced.

Setting	Function
Non-Interlace	Output a non-interlaced MPEG movie.
Interlace	Output an interlaced MPEG movie.
Playback 3:2 Pull-Down	Output the information needed to replay the file at 23.976 or 24fps with 3:2 pull-down. This function causes a file to become a 29.97fps or 30fps interlaced output.
Inverse 3:2 Pull-Down	Encode a 29.976fps or 30fps movie using inverse 3:2 pull-down. This gives better quality than "interlace" mode for things like anime.

YUV Format

The YCbCr color mask. Usually, this is set to 4:2:0.

DC Component

Set the DC component depth. The higher the value, the smoother the movie.

This is usually set to 8-bit; however, the component precision may be different depending on the profile.

Motion Search Precision

Set how to search the movie so that the most appropriate bitrate can be found. A higher bitrate is required for scenes with much motion, and this sets how TMPGEnc will search for these motion intensive scenes if variable bitrates are to be used.

The following motion search type are supported.

Search Type	Speed	Quality	Remarks
Lowest Precision	Fastest	Lowest	Used by the impatient.
Low Precision	Fast	Low
Normal Precision	Normal	Normal	A well balanced function for speed and quality.
High Precision	Slow	High	An intensive motion search which takes a long time.
High Precision	Slowest	Highest	An intensive motion search that produces excellent results at the cost of time.
Motion Prediction	Fast	Situational dependent.	Depending on the movie, this can produce good results.

"OK" Button

Close the window and save the new settings.

"Cancel" Button

Close the window and discard any changes.