MeGUI vs HandBrake: Which Encoder Should You Use?

Speed Up Your Rips: MeGUI Tips and Best SettingsRipping and encoding video can be slow and fiddly, especially when you want both good speed and good quality. MeGUI remains a powerful, free tool for advanced users who need precise control over ripping workflows — but its default setup and common workflows can be slow if you don’t optimize. This article covers practical, actionable tips and recommended settings to speed up your rips with MeGUI while preserving image quality.

Why speed matters (without sacrificing quality)

Faster rips let you process large libraries, test settings more quickly, and save time when re-encoding. However, speed gains that destroy visual quality or introduce artifacts are pointless. The goal here is to reduce encode time while keeping perceptual quality high — focusing on efficient encoders, sensible presets, multi-threading, and good source preparation.

Overview: where time is spent in a typical MeGUI workflow

• Demuxing (extracting streams from source) — usually fast.
• Audio extraction and encoding — depends on codec and options.
• Filtering and preprocessing (deinterlacing, resizing, denoising) — can be CPU/GPU intensive.
• Video encoding (the slowest step) — major target for speed optimizations.
• Muxing (packaging streams into final container) — usually fast.

Hardware-first optimizations

1. Use a fast CPU with high single-thread performance. Modern encoders use multiple threads, but per-thread speed matters.
2. Ensure ample RAM and fast storage (NVMe/SSD) to avoid I/O bottlenecks.
3. Use GPU-accelerated encoders for huge speedups when acceptable quality trade-offs exist (see encoder choice).
4. Keep your system cool and power settings set to “High performance” to avoid throttling.

Choose the right encoder for your goals

• x264 (CPU) — best for maximum quality per bitrate; slower but more efficient at lower bitrates. Best when quality is priority and you accept longer encodes.
• x265 (CPU) — similar tradeoffs to x264 but slower; better compression at same quality. Use only when you need smaller files and can tolerate longer encodes.
• NVENC / QSV / AMF (GPU) — greatly faster. Newer NVENC (Turing/Ampere) quality is close to x264 medium presets at much higher speed. Use GPU encoders for batch jobs or when speed is critical.
• AV1 hardware encoders are emerging but not yet generally competitive in speed/quality for desktop use.

Recommendation: For fastest rips with solid quality, use recent NVENC (if you have an Nvidia Turing/RTX or newer GPU). If you need best file-size efficiency and have time, use x264 or x265.

MeGUI-specific setup tips

1. Install updated encoder binaries

   • Ensure MeGUI is configured to use current x264/x265/NVENC builds. Older binaries can be slower or miss performance improvements.

2. Update Avisynth/ VapourSynth and use VapourSynth when possible

   • VapourSynth tends to be better maintained and can be faster with multithreaded filters. MeGUI supports VapourSynth through script input — prefer it for complex filtering.

3. Configure thread and affinity settings

   • Let encoders auto-detect threads, but if you need to run other system tasks, pin MeGUI/encoder threads with CPU affinity to avoid interference.

4. Use batch encoding

   • Queue multiple jobs overnight. MeGUI’s batch processing keeps the system busy and reduces idle overhead.

Filtering and preprocessing: speed-conscious choices

• Avoid unnecessary filters. Every filter adds CPU work.
• Prefer fast denoisers if you must denoise: e.g., BM3D is high-quality but slow; try faster alternatives such as FFT3Dmod with relaxed settings or Neat Video with reasonable profiles.
• Resize early in the pipeline if you will encode at a lower resolution — AVS/VapourSynth resizing is very fast and reduces encoder workload.
• Use hardware-assisted deinterlace/resize if available via GPU where supported.

Encoder settings: balance speed and quality

Note: MeGUI provides easy access to preset profiles; use them as starting points.

1. x264

   • Preset: use “faster” or “fast” for good speed with reasonable quality. “Medium” gives better compression but is slower.
   • Tune: choose “film” or “animation” if appropriate, otherwise leave default.
   • CRF vs 2-pass: Use CRF for single-pass simplicity; choose CRF 18–22 (lower = better quality). For streaming/target bitrate needs, use 2-pass.
   • CABAC/psy tweaks: leave defaults unless you know psycho-visual tuning; aggressive psy tuning increases encode time.

2. x265

   • Preset: use “fast” or “medium” — x265 is significantly slower than x264 at the same presets.
   • CRF: 20–28 typical; lower for higher quality. Use two-pass if targeting bitrate.
   • Consider using x265 only when file size matters more than speed.

3. NVENC (Nvidia)

   • Encoder selection: pick the latest NVENC available in MeGUI (check if supported build).
   • Preset: use “hq” or “high quality” NVENC preset for a good speed/quality tradeoff.
   • Bitrate mode: use VBR with a good target bitrate, or CQP with tuned values for quality. CQP 18–22 often looks good.
   • Rate control: larger overall bitrate reduces visible artifacts while keeping encode very fast.

4. Quick tips for bitrate/quality choices

   • For general-purpose re-encodes of 1080p, NVENC with VBR target ~6–10 Mbps is usually pleasant for movies; higher for animation.
   • For x264 CRF, target CRF ~18–21 for near-transparent quality; 22–24 if you need smaller files.

Practical MeGUI workflow example (fast NVENC rip)

1. Demux source (MeGUI -> File -> Open -> Choose source, demux tracks).
2. Create index and open in AVS/VapourSynth. Add minimal filtering: resize to target, denoise lightly if needed. Save script.
3. In MeGUI’s x264/x265/NVENC profile selection choose NVENC encoder; select “hq” preset or CQP 18–20 for good quality. Set audio passthrough or re-encode to AAC/Opus depending on need.
4. Add to queue and run batch. If you have many files, set MeGUI to encode multiple concurrently only if system resources allow (usually one encode at a time for best GPU utilization unless you have multiple GPUs).

Audio settings to save time

• Passthrough lossless audio (FLAC/AC3) when possible to avoid re-encoding.
• If re-encoding, use a fast encoder like AAC or Opus at reasonable bitrates (e.g., AAC 128–192 kbps, Opus 96–160 kbps) and single pass.

Advanced tips

• Use hardware acceleration for decoding where available (FFmpeg with CUVID/DMABUF), to reduce CPU decoding overhead.
• For repeated test encodes, use short segments (e.g., 10–30s clip) to tune settings before committing to full-length encodes.
• Keep MeGUI logs and compare encode speeds (fps) reported by encoder — use them to track improvements after changes.
• If using plugins/scripts, profile them individually; some filters (e.g., advanced denoisers) can dominate CPU time.

Troubleshooting common slowdowns

• CPU throttling due to power settings/thermal limits — check temperatures and power mode.
• Slow disk I/O — ensure source files and temp folders are on fast drives.
• Using very slow filters (e.g., BM3D) unintentionally — disable or replace them.
• Outdated encoder binaries or drivers — update GPU drivers and encoder builds.

Quick checklist to speed up rips with minimal quality loss

• Use NVENC (newer Nvidia GPU) when speed is priority.
• Update MeGUI + encoder binaries and GPU drivers.
• Resize before encoding if reducing resolution.
• Use CRF (x264) or CQP/VBR (NVENC) with reasonable values.
• Avoid unnecessary filters; choose faster denoisers.
• Batch jobs and test on short clips first.

Fast rips in MeGUI are about choosing the right encoder for your priorities (speed vs size/quality), minimizing unnecessary preprocessing, and using modern hardware and up-to-date binaries. Follow the recommendations above to cut encode times dramatically with little visible quality loss.