HandBrake-docs/source/docs/en/1.3.0/technical/video-nvenc.markdown

Type, Title, Project, Project_URL, Project_Version, Language, Language_Code, Authors, Copyright, License, License_Abbr, License_URL

Type	Title	Project	Project_URL	Project_Version	Language	Language_Code	Authors	Copyright	License	License_Abbr	License_URL
article	Nvidia Nvenc	HandBrake	https://handbrake.fr/	1.3.0	English	en	Bradley Sepos <bradley@bradleysepos.com> (BradleyS) Scott (s55)	2020 HandBrake Team	Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International	CC BY-SA 4.0	https://handbrake.fr/docs/license.html

Nvidia Nvenc

Supported Hardware and Configurations

• Nvidia GeForce GTX Pascal (1050+) and RTX Turing (1650+, 2060+) series GPU or better
• Nvidia Graphics Driver 418.81 or later
• Windows 10
• Experimental Linux support is available in HandBrake’s command line interface

Please note, these are not hard limits. Hardware encoding via Nvenc might work on older series GPUs and older operating systems, but this is not officially supported.

Enabling support

Support for the Nvidia Nvenc encoder is enabled in preferences on the video tab. If your system is not supported, the option will be disabled.

Performance

Only video encoding is performed by the hardware encoder. Every stage prior to and after video encoding including decoding, filters, audio/video sync, audio encoding, muxing, etc., is performed by the CPU. As a result, it is normal to have high (even 100%) CPU utilisation during encodes.

It is common, particularly on lower-end hardware, for the CPU to be a bottleneck for the hardware video encoder. To minimize this effect, disable any filters that you do not require.

Advanced options

The Nvidia Nvenc hardware encoder has a limited set of advanced encoder options. Generally speaking, it is not recommended to change these parameters, as the built-in presets offer a good range of options for common uses.

From HandBrake’s command line interface, use the --encopts parameter as follows:

--encopts="option1=value1:option2=value2"

From HandBrake’s graphical interface, set the options in the Advanced Options field on the Video tab:

option1=value1:option2=value2

Option value types

The following value types are supported (each option only accepts one value type):

• integer
  A number that can be written without a fractional or decimal component.

• boolean
  0 means off (or disabled).
  1 means on (or enabled).

• string
  An alphanumeric string of characters. See the option’s comments for acceptable values.

Options list

Option	Type	H.264	H.265	Detail
gpu	string	✓	✓	GPU selection. Values: any (default), 0 (first GPU), 1 (second GPU), etc.
coder	string	✓		Coder selection. Values: auto (default), cabac, cavlc.
temporal-aq	boolean	✓		Set to 1 to enable Temporal Adaptive Quality, 0 to disable (default). Note the hyphen for H.264.
temporal_aq	boolean		✓	Set to 1 to enable Temporal Adaptive Quality, 0 to disable (default). Note the underscore for H.265. Requires RTX Turing 1660 or better.
spatial-aq	boolean	✓		Set to 1 to enable Spatial Adaptive Quality, 0 to disable (default). Note the hyphen for H.264.
spatial_aq	boolean		✓	Set to 1 to enable Spatial Adaptive Quality, 0 to disable (default). Note the underscore for H.265.
aq-strength	int	✓	✓	When Spatial AQ is enabled, the values scale is 1 (low) – 15 (aggressive). Default: 8.
nonref_p	boolean	✓	✓	Set to 1 to enable automatic insertion of non-reference P-frames, 0 to disable (default).
strict_gop	boolean	✓	✓	Set to 1 to minimize GOP-to-GOP rate fluctuations, 0 to disable (default).
weighted_pred	boolean	✓	✓	Set to 1 to enable weighted prediction, 0 to disable (default).
rc-lookahead	int	✓	✓	Number of frames to look ahead for rate control. Default: 0.
b_adapt	boolean	✓		When lookahead is enabled, set this to 1 to enable adaptive B-frame decision (default), 0 to disable.
no-scenecut	boolean	✓	✓	When lookahead is enabled, set this to 1 to enable adaptive I-frame insertion at scene cuts (default), 0 to disable.