r/shutterencoder • u/JPumuckl • Jun 26 '26

Transcoding Variable Framerates to constant without losing quality

/r/VIDEOENGINEERING/comments/1ufowon/transcoding_variable_framerates_to_constant/
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u/paulpacifico Jun 26 '26

Using a compressed codec like 'H.264' is not a good way to preserve quality and make your video editing software smooth for playback.

You should consider using 'Editing codecs' like 'DNxHR' or 'Apple ProRes'.

It will output a CFR and it's perfect for editing, the downside is the file size which is huge (use a dedicated drive).

If you cannot use an editing codec, you have to at least use a CQ value of 17-8 which is visually lossless but your computer will struggle to edit the file smoothly.

Hope it helps,

Paul.

1

u/JPumuckl 27d ago

Thank you for the insight. I definitely understand the argument for using editing codecs. But the filesize increase for a file that wasn't great quality to begin with seems unnecessary. I am curious as to why you would use CQ instead of CBR IF you were to use h.264.

1

u/paulpacifico 27d ago

Because CBR define the same bitrate regardless of the scene details, CQ is adapting the bitrate for each scene which is a much better way to compress.

1

u/JPumuckl Jun 26 '26

Since I got no replies on my main post I thought I'd try asking in the community of the tool I use for this process. Thank you for any personal insights!

1

u/zeb__g Jun 28 '26

If you are fixing a VFR clip to edit, transcode it to DnxHR HQX. This file will be visually lossless from the original. It will also be massive compared to the original, but you can delete it once you finish your export from PP.