Package: txs
txs(testx264settings) is a command line tool that can
generate different combinations of x264 settings and make short test encodings
withffmpeg. It also comes with a Lua script formpvthat allows you to visually compare the test encodes and
find the best one based on quality, estimated file size and estimated encoding
time. It looks like this:This is the output oftxs tutorial:This is a tutorial that should get you started. Runtxs -handtxs SUBCOMMAND -hfor more information.$ txs -s source.mkv -r 25:00 10 -x crf=19:me=umh samples \
  -xs subme=9/10:deblock=-2,-1/-3,-3:no-fast-pskipThe above command creates test encodes or samples with all possible combinations
of the given values for "subme", "deblock" and "no-fast-pskip" in the directory
"samples.orig@25:00-1.subme:deblock:no-fast-pskip". The samples are all encoded
with "crf=19:me=umh", they are all 10 seconds long and start at 25 minutes in
source.mkv:source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10:deblock=-2,-1.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10:deblock=-2,-1:no-fast-pskip.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10:deblock=-3,-3.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10:deblock=-3,-3:no-fast-pskip.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=9:deblock=-2,-1.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=9:deblock=-2,-1:no-fast-pskip.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=9:deblock=-3,-3.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=9:deblock=-3,-3:no-fast-pskip.mkvBy providing multiple sets of sample settings to -xs you can limit the number of
combinations:$ txs -s source.mkv -r 25:00 10 -x crf=19:me=umh samples \
  -xs subme=10/11:no-deblock deblock=-2,-1/-3,-3This creates the following samples:source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:deblock=-2,-1.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:deblock=-3,-3.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=10:no-deblock.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=11.mkv
source.sample@25:00-10.crf=19:me=umh:subme=11:no-deblock.mkvTo compare encodes, use the "compare" subcommand:$ txs -s source.mkv compare samples.orig@25:00-1.subme:deblock:no-fast-pskipThis opens mpv in fullscreen mode with a playlist of two samples. Switch between
samples with "j" and "k" or toggle the original source with "o". Pick the better
sample with "b", the worse with "w" or mark them as equal with "e". New samples
are loaded automatically every time you make a decision. After you've rated all
samples once, any samples that were marked as equal are loaded again. This
process will leave you with the best sample and its settings in the end.You can adjust the playlist size with the -p (--playlist-size) option if you
want to compare more than two samples."Shift+w" does the same thing as "w", but it also removes the sample and its log
file from the file system.Show and hide the playlist overlay with "`".Some final notes you might find useful:Choose your sample range carefully. It should be representative of the full
video. 10 seconds or less is fine to check something quickly, but use 60
seconds or more for fine tuning.Increasing gamma with "6" to around 10 to 15 makes differences more obvious.
(Decrease with "5".) Don't go too high or you'll watch pixels dance that
nobody else will ever see.Try switching between samples while playing. txs should preserve playback
time, but there is a small delay when mpv seeks.You can seek forward and backward by single frames with "." and ",".InstallationInstallpipxwith your distro's package
manager or with pip:$ python3 -m pip install --user pipxThen install txs with pipx:$ pipx install txsUpgrade:$ pipx upgrade txsInstall development version over current release:$ pipx upgrade --spec git+https://github.com/plotski/txs.git txsInstall development version without an existing txs installation:$ pipx install --spec git+https://github.com/plotski/txs.git txsUninstall:$ pipx uninstall pipx