Choosing an x264 Preset

Jan Ozer October 14, 2019 Codecs, Encoding, FFmpeg, Metrics Leave a comment 1,866 Views

All codecs and encoding tools have a configuration option that controls the quality/encoding time tradeoff. With x264 (and x265) the preset controls that tradeoff.

When choosing a preset you should consider 3 criteria:

  • Overall quality – the overall quality produced by that preset
  • Low frame quality – the quality of the lowest frame produced by that preset, which indicates the potential for transient quality issues
  • Encoding time – this determines the throughput and cost of your encodings

This presentation goes through that analysis for choosing an x264 preset. It’s excerpted from my upcoming pre-conference session at Streaming Media West entitled Introduction to ABR Technologies.

Click Choosing an x264 Preset to download the presentation.

About Jan Ozer

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I help companies train new technical hires in streaming media-related positions; I also help companies optimize their codec selections and encoding stacks and evaluate new encoders and codecs. I am a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine, writing about codecs and encoding tools. I have written multiple authoritative books on video encoding, including Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video (https://amzn.to/3kV6R1j) and Learn to Produce Video with FFmpeg: In Thirty Minutes or Less (https://amzn.to/3ZJih7e). I have multiple courses relating to streaming media production, all available at https://bit.ly/slc_courses. I currently work as www.netint.com as a Senior Director in Marketing.

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