[MEncoder-users] cat /dev/video0 | mencoder - ...

[Andrew Berg]

 On 7/30/2010 12:47 PM, Bob Tennent wrote:
>  >| You don't even specify a bitrate or quality here. The man page lists
>  >| the options available.
>
> The man page is virtually incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't already
> understand the technical issues. For example: I can see that there is an
> x264 option for bitrate. So what should I use? 10, 100, 10000, 10000000?
> How should I know?
The man page assumes you know the basics of video encoding. It's not an
introduction to encoding, nor should it be.

http://forum.doom9.org/ - There's even a Newbies section where people
should be able to help you with the basics. Once you understand the
basics, the options in the man page will be easier to understand.
http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings - information on x264's
presets and a great guide to x264 options overall.
http://git.videolan.org/?p=x264.git;a=blob;f=doc/ratecontrol.txt;h=2d05603a19d5a75904a88b6b1cc765fb54fdbf30;hb=HEAD
- information on rate control. Rate control is the absolute most
important option and you cannot just use the default (is there even a
default?). What you choose is based on what your needs are and there is
no "one size fits all".