How does "SecretMyth (Kingdom-Release)/Kingdom RG" do it?

[AnitaPeterson]

SecretMyth (Kingdom-Release)/Kingdom RG

If you know who they are, you know how good their encodes are. They achieve a lot of compression with a minimum of image quality loss.

How do they do it?

I wish I could encode my 1080p camera files with whatever it is they're using....

 

[Nik]

http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=36

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Fine. You think it should go to "Video"... but why was it erased altogether, instead of being moved? I was only able to find it by going "Back" in my browser...

 

[Crono]

No idea to specific group, but maxed out compression options with multipass using x264 with custom matrices? Just a guess. They also probably manually set zones for lower bitrate/higher compression where your eyes wouldn't necessarily notice a big difference.

EDIT: I don't notice anything extraordinary just from specs:

Format: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
Bitrate: 1702 kbs
Encoding: 2 Pass
Resolution: 1280x 720
Quality Factor (QF): 0.076
Frame Rate: 23,976 fps
Size: 1.19 GB (1,280,535,958 bytes)
Display Aspect Ratio: 1.778

Audio Specs :

Type: mp4a: MPEG-4 AAC LC
Bitrate: 304 kbs
Sample Rate: 48000Hz
Channels: 6 channels: Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Size: 208 mb (218,995,528 bytes)
Subtitle: English,Romanian

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Yes, I've seen those specs too... but how? What applications are they using? What are their encoding machines like? Has anyone ever pondered these thoughts and questions?

I would very much like to obtain such extraordinary quality in such small containers. My 1080p .MOV files from the Canon SX1 are in the vicinity of 1 GB per three minutes of video, while a release group (like these guys) packs 2 hours in 720p quality, at 120 minutes in length, usinga mere 2 GB fro the whole thing.

I'll be damned if I can get such superb compression using Ulead/Corel VideoStudio, Vegas, Pinnacle or other pieces of software I tried over time...

I would have assumed that other videographers would be interested in such details as well... and yet it seems I'm the only one asking these questions.

 

[Crono]

It's not that amazing. I could tell you more if I had a sample (too lazy to download right now lol) but they probably use CLI encoder for x264. It's been a while since I did any H.264/AVC encoding, but you could probably use an GUI encoder like MeGUI (featured on Doom9 forums, one of the best video encoding/transcoding forums).

http://forum.doom9.org/forumdisplay.php?f=78

 

[Riceninja]

because their h264 bitrate are horrendously low for blu-ray and they use a lot of smoothing, where as the "no compromises" ripper groups like WiKi and DON and ESiR do near lossless video bitrates of 8-10mbps. this is why you'll see natural grain and detail in those rips as compared to secretmyth's. in the scene secretmyth's rips are considered mini-HD.

they also use 320 kbps mp3 quality sound as compared to the 1.5mbps DTS 6 channel of the other rippers.

im not saying they're a bad group, they just have a different release philosophy, and they're getting really popular because people are sick of the standard xvid rips but can't afford the bandwidth necessary to download 10gig lossless releases.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Gah!

I appreciate the details, folks - but I still haven't received a real answer...

So here's my question again:

What programs and settings can I use, following the "scene" techniques, which would allow me to store smooth, good-looking 120 minutes of 720p video in less than 3 GB???

 

[Cogman]

Gah!

I appreciate the details, folks - but I still haven't received a real answer...

So here's my question again:

What programs and settings can I use, following the "scene" techniques, which would allow me to store smooth, good-looking 120 minutes of 720p video in less than 3 GB???

Dude, you have received your answer. They are using x264 (That IS the encoder), maxed out settings, and noise filters. If you want the exact settings, it is probably something along the lines of

x264 --placebo --preset=film --crf 21 file.in -o file.264

720p at that resolution and bitrate is nothing special.

For one of the best de-noisers, look up MCTemporalDenoise

 

[nemish]

Dude, you have received your answer. They are using x264 (That IS the encoder), maxed out settings, and noise filters. If you want the exact settings, it is probably something along the lines of

x264 --placebo --preset=film --crf 21 file.in -o file.264

720p at that resolution and bitrate is nothing special.

For one of the best de-noisers, look up MCTemporalDenoise

Dude... I don't believe that is true.
Have you ever encoded a Blue Ray Disc?
Most Blue Ray end up at pretty damn good encoding turn into 4.5-6GB files... these are 1.5-2.5GB...
That's INSANE for a BlueRay encode... especially at the quality they are turning out.
I could encode a BR and get a file resulting at that size... but it won't look like their's ...
So it still seems to remain a mystery.

 

[Cogman]

Dude... I don't believe that is true.
Have you ever encoded a Blue Ray Disc?
Most Blue Ray end up at pretty damn good encoding turn into 4.5-6GB files... these are 1.5-2.5GB...
That's INSANE for a BlueRay encode... especially at the quality they are turning out.
I could encode a BR and get a file resulting at that size... but it won't look like their's ...
So it still seems to remain a mystery.

Yes, Yes I have. Hence the reason I'm commenting.

 

[jacc1234]

I agree with Cogman, I have done a good bit of Bluray encoding and its nothing magical. They are simply finding a compromise between quality and filesize. You need to use x264 and also feed the raw AVC or H264 stream to the encoder correctly. You need to learn about using avisynth along with megui for the video. Then look up how to extract the DTS core audio then covert it to MP3 for your audio.

 

[pontifex]

i'm not 100% sure what you're talking about, but it sounds like pirated movies?

 

[Cogman]

I agree with Cogman, I have done a good bit of Bluray encoding and its nothing magical. They are simply finding a compromise between quality and filesize. You need to use x264 and also feed the raw AVC or H264 stream to the encoder correctly. You need to learn about using avisynth along with megui for the video. Then look up how to extract the DTS core audio then covert it to MP3 for your audio.

Yikes, why would you use MP3 audio? AAC all the way.

 

[BurnItDwn]

i'm not 100% sure what you're talking about, but it sounds like pirated movies?

No way, I'm pretty sure it's about zombies who are playing Missile Command on their Atari 2400's that you often can encounter when you go through the Stargate.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Try Handbrake. It's a free x264 encoding software, and it seems to work pretty well. You might not get quite as good of a rip from it as this group, but it'll be way better than what you're getting now.

 

[Cheesetogo]

i'm not 100% sure what you're talking about, but it sounds like pirated movies?

He's talking about the compression methods that a pirating group uses, which he wants to use on video that he's filmed. It's not really a piracy discussion IMO.

 

[jpeyton]

I heart SecretMyth. Seriously.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Hello again everyone,

First, apologies for the lack of updates...

It seems that my main problem is the original video format - .MOV is not very compatible with most encoders out there.

Anyway, I've tried Handbrake 0.9.3, using the XBOX 360 preset, and upping the bitrate to 4000, with 2-pass encoding checked. I obtained .mp4 files approximately 1/10 the size of the original .MOV, without discernible loss of quality. For instance, I converted a 786 MB .MOV file (totalling 2 minutes 22 seconds) into a single 1080p .mp4 video file of only 70.7 MB - which is no mean feat! Objectively, I'd say that the quality loss is around 10%, when the source and result are compared closely and extensively on a 1080p 42-inch screen. For instance, while slow pans are ok, fast-motion scenes have some blocking, if you know where to look.

I'm going to try tweaking the parameters in order to obtain even better results... of course, if any of you already has an experience with these tools, please post your advice.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Holy crap, Handbrake 0.94 is even better!

I can't recommend it enough - this could very well be the last tool anyone would need for HiDef content!