Settings for Converting VHS to MP4

[curt]

I’m converting my VHS videos to files that I can store on my computer. I captured them using Windows Media Center (WMC). Then I’m using VLC to convert the WMC files to MP4.

I converted the file with the default settings in VLC (Profile = "Video - H.264 + AAC (MP4)"), and the output looks good. But, I want to make sure that I don’t lose any quality, so I’m trying to determine if I have the right settings, such as the Bitrate and Frame Rate. I read somewhere that the lower the Bitrate, the lower the quality. The default settings in VLC for Bitrate is 0 and for Frame Rate is 0. This is confusing. Should these be set at 0? What does it mean to be set at 0? Shouldn't these be a lot higher if I want to preserve the quality of the video?

Here are the other default settings:
VIDEO CODEC:
Resolution: Scale = 0, Width = 0, Height = 0

ENCAPSULATION:
MP4/MOV is checked

AUDIO CODEC:
Code = MPEG 4 Audio ( AAC )
Bitrate = 128 kb/s
Channels = 2
Sample Rate = 44100

Are the above default settings, the right ones to use if I want to preserve the quality?

I also want to upload and convert my Mini-DV videos to files that I can store on my computer. Which Profile and Settings should I use?

[Lotesdelere]

The default settings in VLC for Bitrate is 0 and for Frame Rate is 0. This is confusing. Should these be set at 0? What does it mean to be set at 0? Shouldn't these be a lot higher if I want to preserve the quality of the video?

Here are the other default settings:
VIDEO CODEC:
Resolution: Scale = 0, Width = 0, Height = 0

ENCAPSULATION:
MP4/MOV is checked

AUDIO CODEC:
Code = MPEG 4 Audio ( AAC )
Bitrate = 128 kb/s
Channels = 2
Sample Rate = 44100

Are the above default settings, the right ones to use if I want to preserve the quality?

FrameRate=0 means the frame rate of the original video will be used for the output. This is the normal behaviour.

For x264 Bitrate=0 means the CRF mode (aka quality mode) will be used. This is the default mode for x264. The default setting for CRF is 23 but you can change this value in the Preferences (Show Settings = ALL) -> Input/Codecs -> Video Codecs -> x264 -> Quality-based VBR. I suggest to use values between 18 and 24, the lower the value the higher the quality and the average bitrate used.

Scale=0, Width=0, Height=0 : don't change these if you don't want to resize/rescale the video.

Audio Bitrate=128 kb/s should be OK for most 2-channel audio tracks. In case of a musical track you may want to increase the bitrate up to 160 kb/s.

[curt]

Lotesdelere:

Thanks for replying.

So, are you saying that if I want to maintain the highest qualify, I should change the CRF from 23 to 18? I tried this (with h.264, Bitrate = 0, Framerate = 0) and I got a file that is 104,886 KB in size.

A friend told me that for best quality large file size, use mpeg 1, frame 29.97, highest bitrate possible. I tried what he suggested. I got:

MPEG 1, frame 29.97, 9999 kbps bitrate : 118,576 KB

Here are the other file sizes:

Windows Media Center file (captured from VHS player): 97,898 KB
MP4 (h.264), frame 0, bitrate 0, CRF 23: 39,181 KB

However, my eyes cannot discern any difference in quality between these 4 videos. The first attempt (MP4 (h.264), frame 0, bitrate 0, CRF 23) is by far the smallest file, but the quality seems just as good as the other ones. Maybe my eyes aren't as good in my old age. Do we lose quality when we use: MP4 (h.264), frame 0, bitrate 0, CRF 23 ?