These settings or options can also be the root of all problems. The compression settings can make it that an old MPEG-2 codec can actually out perform a modern codec like h264. Some codecs (en Coder/ Decoder) are more efficient than others when it comes to compressing and storage. The common containers (AVI, MP4, MKV) typically support a variety of so called codecs (en Coder/ Decoders) and the selection of the codec is what influences quality and file size.Ī great codec is not a guarantee for quality but has a great influence on file size. MKV is (in my humble opinion) better, but not as widely supported. AVI is widely supported but MP4 is definitely the strong upcoming format to use. Therefor I’d recommend using the container that is most compatible with your devices and/or software. Since the “container” file has a minimal or even negligible impact on file size or quality. The chosen file format, or “container”, has hardly any effect on file size or quality (MP4, MKV, AVI). So based on personal experience (note that I’m not an expert) a few pointers:

The times that encoding a movie from DVD took 8 hours are long gone, most of my computers can convert a DVD easily under 15 minutes. The time to encode a movie should be irrelevant – sometimes the time difference is really not worth it, for a few minutes extra you will get a better quality and/or smaller file size. Personally I believe that fine tuning should be a balance between file size and quality.

Optimizing or fine tuning of video encoders comes basically down to:

Handbrake make video smaller