Using Mencoder Profiles

Posted by gmendoza on January 21, 2011 under Tech Tips | 2 Comments to Read

Here’s a quick tip on using Mencoder profiles that serve as shortcuts for all of your favorite settings. This can save you a lot of time, especially when your encoding syntax is lengthy and difficult to remember.

Profiles are stored in the mencoder.conf file located in the appropriate place for your operating system. For Linux users, you can create a personalized file in your own home directory, ~/.mplayer/mencoder.conf.

Here’s the syntax you might use on a single-pass XviD project without using profiles.

mencoder -oac mp3lame -lameopts aq=0:q=0 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts \
fixed_quant=2:max_key_interval=25:vhq=2:bvhq=1:chroma_opt:quant_type=mpeg \
input.avi -o output.avi

Compare that with the following examples of some of my favorite profiles, and how easy it is to use them.

XviD Single-pass Profile Example

[xvid]
profile-desc="MPEG4/MP3 encoding"
ovc=xvid=1
xvidencopts=fixed_quant=2:max_key_interval=25:vhq=2:bvhq=1:chroma_opt=1:quant_type=mpeg
oac=mp3lame=1
lameopts=aq=0:q=0

mencoder -profile xvid input.avi -o output.avi

XviD 2-pass Profile Examples

[xvid-pass1]
profile-desc="MPEG4/MP3 encoding - PASS 1"
ovc=xvid=1
xvidencopts=pass=1:max_key_interval=25:turbo=1:vhq=0
nosound=1
o=/dev/null
passlogfile=xvid-pass1.log

[xvid-pass2]
profile-desc="MPEG4/MP3 encoding - PASS 2"
ovc=xvid=1
xvidencopts=pass=2:max_key_interval=25:vhq=2:bvhq=1:chroma_opt=1:quant_type=mpeg:bitrate=2000
oac=mp3lame=1
lameopts=aq=0:q=0
passlogfile=xvid-pass1.log

mencoder -profile xvid-pass1 input.avi
mencoder -profile xvid-pass2 input.avi -o output.avi

x264 2-pass Profile Examples

[x264-pass1]
profile-desc="x264 encoding - PASS 1"
ovc=x264=1
x264encopts=pass=1:threads=0:subq=1:frameref=1:bframes=3:b_pyramid=normal:weight_b=1:keyint=25
nosound=1
o=/dev/null
passlogfile=x264-pass1.log

[x264-pass2]
profile-desc="x264 encoding - PASS 2"
ovc=x264=1
x264encopts=pass=2:threads=0:subq=6:frameref=5:partitions=all:8x8dct=1:me=umh:bframes=3:b_pyramid=normal:weight_b=1:keyint=25:bitrate=2000
oac=mp3lame=1
lameopts=aq=0:q=0
passlogfile=x264-pass1.log

mencoder -profile x264-pass1 input.avi
mencoder -profile x264-pass2 input.avi -o output.avi

x264 Single-pass Profile Example

[x264]
profile-desc="x264 encoding"
ovc=x264=1
x264encopts=crf=20:threads=0:subq=6:frameref=5:partitions=all:8x8dct=1:me=umh:bframes=3:b_pyramid=normal:weight_b=1:keyint=25
aspect=16/9
oac=mp3lame=1
lameopts=aq=0:q=0

mencoder -profile x264 input.avi -o output.avi

Related posts:

1. DVD to XviD Encoding with Mencoder
2. Convert MKV to Xvid with Mencoder
3. Extract AC3 Dolby Digital with FFMpeg
4. Adding Chapters to Videos Using MKV Containers
5. Extract Audio from Video Files to WAV using FFmpeg
6. Convert 3gp Videos to XviD AVI