[Discussion] List of recommended LAME settings
Reply #48 – 2005-09-18 01:31:32
Hope this doesn't seem to cheeky for a lurker to post this, but here is my suggestion for how a recommend settings thread could be done. I'm not saying that this should be the exact wording (or that the wording is even correct!) and some colour could probably improve readability. Stuff about --vbr-new vs. --vbr-old, and and a table showing what the --preset switches are equivalent to, could go in a post below (maybe as a mini FAQ) to keep the main info as tidy as possible. *************************** <very short introduction goes here> [span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%']VBR (Variable Bitrate)[/span] VBR mode provides constant quality at the expense of bitrate prediction. This is the recommend way to use LAME when quality is most important factor.--V n --vbr-new (where n is a number between 0-9) Example: -V 2 --vbr-new 0 is the highest quality and 9 is the lowest. Below is a table showing the approximate bitrate range you can expect with each quality setting:Switch Target bitrate range (kbps) -V 0 --vbr-new 245…285 -V 1 --vbr-new 220…260 -V 2 --vbr-new 170…210 -V 3 --vbr-new 155…195 -V 4 --vbr-new 145…185 -V 5 --vbr-new 110…150 -V 6 --vbr-new 95…135 -V 7 --vbr-new 80…120 -V 8 --vbr-new 65…105 -V 9 --vbr-new 45…85 -V 2 --vbr-new will provide transparent quality for most people. It is a good compromise between file size and sound quality, and is recommended as a starting point for new users. [span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%']ABR (Average Bitrate)[/span] ABR mode is a type of VBR mode where you can specify the target bitrate. Files created with the normal VBR mode will be of a higher quality than those created with the ABR mode at the same bitrate. Use ABR mode when bitrate is more important than quality.--abr n (where n is any number between 8-320) Example: --abr 173 [span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%']CBR (Constant Bitrate)[/span] CBR mode uses the same bitrate throughout the file and is the mode that most other MP3 encoders use. It will provide lower quality than ABR mode for a given bitrate, but it can be useful for streaming and when VBR/ABR may cause compatibility problems.-b n (where n is 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 64 , 80 , 96 , 112 , 128 , 160 , 192 , 256 or 320) Example: -b 128 [span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%']Best possible quality[/span] If you want LAME to encode using the best quality possible use the following switch:-b 320 This will produce a 320kbps CBR file, and it is the only time when CBR mode is recommended instead of VBR mode for quality.