Very Poor & Blocky h.264 Output

[Aaron407]

I've been fighting with Videostudio's h.264 encoder for some time and through multiple versions. The output that I get with it is quite poor with heavy macroblocking, seemingly regardless of the output bitrate. Encoding to wmv or hevc works better in terms of this quality issue, but I can't tweak the settings as much as I need to with wmv (e.g., can't have 60 fps with wmv and can't set audio bitrate/sampling rate), and my system isn't properly compatible with hevc for playback. I can't understand why the output is so bad with mp4, and, in the 2022 version, I can literally set the bitrate at 650 Mbps (not a typo...) and it still puts out blocky video. I'm not using proxy files, which I know can cause issues as well. It also doesn't matter whether or not I use hardware acceleration, nor whether I use main or high profiles.

I can link to some sample outputs, but does anyone know why it can't perform well for h.264, even at high bitrates? The WMV output seems to be very high bitrate and is worlds ahead of the h.264 output. I know it's not an inherent issue with h.264 mp4 as I've used it successfully with many other programs, and I haven't managed to find a way to apply a different driver than the Ulead one.

Is there just a fundamental problem with the Ulead MPEG-4 vio Driver? I was hoping that the 2022 version had fixed this, but I'm regretting my decision to upgrade.

[tletter]

I've been fighting with Videostudio's h.264 encoder for some time and through multiple versions. The output that I get with it is quite poor with heavy macroblocking,

FWIW, I use VideoStudio's H.264 High Profile Video encoder frequently and don't have the issue being reported. However, if difficulties are encountered, sometimes turning off Smart Render, and Hardware encode acceleration helps, as does allowing VS to match the properties of the first video clip.

I can literally set the bitrate at 650 Mbp

100Mbps is tops in my experience, so how is this done, and what produces video clips at such a extraordinary frame rate?

tletter
https://www.youtube.com/user/tletter

[Ken Berry]

It might also be useful to know what the original video format is and what it comes from. Is it mp4 from a phone? Many phones use mp4 as their standard format, and it is not h.264 mp4. So if from a phone you could look at its properties in VS (right click a clip in the timeline) to see what its says about the format. If mp4 but not h.264, you should be able to insert such a clip first in a project, then later after editing, when you get to Share, choose "Same as first clip". Or as tletter has said, when you insert a clip first in the project you should get a message asking if you want to Project Settings to match those of the clip if you have Preferences > General set to pose that question. Then later, in Share, you can choose "Same as Project Properties".

While getting the clip Properties, and especially if the video comes from a phone, check to see if the video is using a standard frame rate (e.g. 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 or 60 fps). If using a variable frame rate, which a lot of smartphones do these days, VS usually has difficulties. It might then be better to convert the video using an external converter to an mp4 which uses one of these standard frame rates but otherwise similar properties to the original. Then insert the new mp4 in VS for further editing.

Or is your video from a GoPro Hero? That films using either h.264 but can also be set to film in HEVC h.265. Both produce video which is also called mp4. But if the latter (H.265), you need to have the HEVC Extension from Microsoft installed. It costs next to nothing. We recently had someone who had his Hero set to film in HEVC but didn't realize it, and he didn't have that extension installed . And he had VS set to use h.264. He also poor output. But it got better when he either filmed in h.264 or used h.265 with the proper HEVC Extension installed.

But that's about all I can think of for the moment. I have been using both the standard mp4 in high def and also h.264 (and h.265) mp4 for a long time now in successive versions of VS and like tletter don't have the type of problem you describe.

[Aaron407]

I've been fighting with Videostudio's h.264 encoder for some time and through multiple versions. The output that I get with it is quite poor with heavy macroblocking,

FWIW, I use VideoStudio's H.264 High Profile Video encoder frequently and don't have the issue being reported. However, if difficulties are encountered, sometimes turning off Smart Render, and Hardware encode acceleration helps, as does allowing VS to match the properties of the first video clip.

I can literally set the bitrate at 650 Mbp

100Mbps is tops in my experience, so how is this done, and what produces video clips at such a extraordinary frame rate?

tletter
https://www.youtube.com/user/tletter

In past versions, it would generally limit the bitrate to a much lower figure as a function of codec, framerate, and resolution. h.264 high profile for 1080p60 now allows up to 650,000 kbps for some reason, which you'd swear is an order of magnitude higher than it should be.

Here's an allowable configuration for example where it's set to 650,000 kbps for the video bitrate: https://drive.google.com/file/d/118h7TW ... XX7K6_yaYq

Here are some examples of the comparative output issue. If you take a look at detail in the shadow, as well as the sky, you'll see that there's heavy macroblocking in the h.264 example, but it looks good with wmv and hevc. Even with the absolute highest bitrate setting for h.264, the blocking is still there.

*Make sure you download the files rather than view through google's built-in viewer.

h.264: https://drive.google.com/file/d/115Yeei ... EMR8U0V25m
wmv: https://drive.google.com/file/d/114BSEq ... v9-RtGlz_L
hevc: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1141yYb ... DaRxWEpxOu

(Hopefully the google drive links work.)

[Aaron407]

It might also be useful to know what the original video format is and what it comes from. Is it mp4 from a phone? Many phones use mp4 as their standard format, and it is not h.264 mp4. So if from a phone you could look at its properties in VS (right click a clip in the timeline) to see what its says about the format. If mp4 but not h.264, you should be able to insert such a clip first in a project, then later after editing, when you get to Share, choose "Same as first clip". Or as tletter has said, when you insert a clip first in the project you should get a message asking if you want to Project Settings to match those of the clip if you have Preferences > General set to pose that question. Then later, in Share, you can choose "Same as Project Properties".

While getting the clip Properties, and especially if the video comes from a phone, check to see if the video is using a standard frame rate (e.g. 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 or 60 fps). If using a variable frame rate, which a lot of smartphones do these days, VS usually has difficulties. It might then be better to convert the video using an external converter to an mp4 which uses one of these standard frame rates but otherwise similar properties to the original. Then insert the new mp4 in VS for further editing.

Or is your video from a GoPro Hero? That films using either h.264 but can also be set to film in HEVC h.265. Both produce video which is also called mp4. But if the latter (H.265), you need to have the HEVC Extension from Microsoft installed. It costs next to nothing. We recently had someone who had his Hero set to film in HEVC but didn't realize it, and he didn't have that extension installed . And he had VS set to use h.264. He also poor output. But it got better when he either filmed in h.264 or used h.265 with the proper HEVC Extension installed.

But that's about all I can think of for the moment. I have been using both the standard mp4 in high def and also h.264 (and h.265) mp4 for a long time now in successive versions of VS and like tletter don't have the type of problem you describe.

The original video format is also h.264 high profile, but a higher resolution (4k). In the example I posted above, it came from a phone, and I was trying to create with a mix of resolutions (which means some re-encoding). However, I have had the same issue with matched resolution h.264 mp4s sourced from a DJI drone, an older GoPro Hero 4 Session, as well as AVCHD from a handheld camcorder. It doesn't seem to matter much what the input is, the h.264 output is subpar, and it gets worse when any color correction is applied. The example in the links was a file that shows 60 fps in its properties, but I've had the issue with 30 and 60 fps sources.

As for HEVC, I have the extension installed, but my computer is getting a bit long in the tooth and doesn't seem to want to play it back smoothly. For the few frames I can see, though, the blocking doesn't seem to be present.

Any additional thoughts? I'm all ears as I'd really love to get a solid, well-compatible output.

[Aaron407]

Just a follow-up to this post. I worked with their support over the course of a few months and tried a few things, but I think my ticket has died on the table. I got the standard emails for awhile stating that they're working on the issue and will get back to me, but even those have stopped. I think I'm just going to have to find a different video editor.

[lata]

Hi Aaron
somehow I missed your previous post on 27th Sept containing the download video files

I was wondering if you could provide an original sample ( un-edited) so we can compare our rendering results

The H264 google sample appears to have standard video properties, although seems to be a re-coded copy as there is no audio stream, as such we cannot match the project properties
which is something essential if we wish to retain the best quality.

The HEVC H265 version has a greater data rate than the H264 which seems unusual given that H265 should produce smaller files yet maintaining the same quality.

so an original sample of your videos would help....

[Aaron407]

That's really been the issue - I don't think the video bitrate is being passed through properly to the encoder. I could specify a much higher bitrate and the file quality and size wouldn't really change. In terms of having no sound, one of them I had accidentally left the audio track on, but they all came from the same project.

At any rate, I threw in the towel yesterday and bought Cyberlink PowerDirector 365. I rendered the same source file without any quality issues, so I'm just going to stick with Cyberlink. I had also been having a lot of stability issues with VS over the years, and losing the ability to properly handle 6ch audio really rubbed me the wrong way. Onward and upward.