H.265, or HEVC as it is better-known, is the MPEG group's follow-up to the ubiquitous H.264/AVC video codec. It offers significant improvements in reduction of file size for equivalent perceptual quality over its predecessor.
Encoding.com offers a number of implementations of HEVC, including x265 (the default described here), content-adaptive HEVC encoding via Beamr CABR, as well as Dolby Vision.
x265's options frequently mirror those in its related project, x264, with some notable exceptions. The majority of users will not need to define these parameters in a job request, unless expressly required by your decoder, but they are documented here for those who need to modify them.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<query>
<userid>[UserID]</userid> <!-- required-->
<userkey>[UserKey]</userkey> <!-- required-->
<action>[Action]</action> <!-- required-->
<source>[SourceFile]</source> <!-- required-->
<format>
<output>[mpeg_dash|mp4]</output> <!-- required-->
<video_codec>hevc</video_codec>
<video_codec_parameters>
<level>[Level]</level>
<refresh>1</refresh>
<rc-lookahead>20</rc-lookahead>
<b-adapt>2</b-adapt>
<bframes>4</bframes>
<b-pyramid>1</b-pyramid>
<ref>3</ref>
<ctu>64</ctu>
<tu-intra-depth>1</tu-intra-depth>
<tu-inter-depth>1</tu-inter-depth>
<me>1</me>
<subme>2</subme>
<merange>60</merange>
<max-merge>2</max-merge>
<rect>1</rect>
<amp>1</amp>
<early-skip>0</early-skip>
<fast-cbf>0</fast-cbf>
<signhide>1</signhide>
<lft>1</lft>
<tskip>0</tskip>
<sao>1</sao>
<weightp>1</weightp>
<tskip-fast>0</tskip-fast>
</video_codec_parameters>
<!-- format params -->
</format>
</query>
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<query>
<userid>[UserID]</userid> <!-- required-->
<userkey>[UserKey]</userkey> <!-- required-->
<action>[Action]</action> <!-- required-->
<source>[SourceFile]</source> <!-- required-->
<format>
<output>[advanced_dash|fmp4_hls]</output> <!-- required-->
<stream>
<video_codec>hevc</video_codec>
<video_codec_parameters>
<level>[Level]</level>
<refresh>1</refresh>
<rc-lookahead>20</rc-lookahead>
<b-adapt>2</b-adapt>
<bframes>4</bframes>
<b-pyramid>1</b-pyramid>
<ref>3</ref>
<ctu>64</ctu>
<tu-intra-depth>1</tu-intra-depth>
<tu-inter-depth>1</tu-inter-depth>
<me>1</me>
<subme>2</subme>
<merange>60</merange>
<max-merge>2</max-merge>
<rect>1</rect>
<amp>1</amp>
<early-skip>0</early-skip>
<fast-cbf>0</fast-cbf>
<signhide>1</signhide>
<lft>1</lft>
<tskip>0</tskip>
<sao>1</sao>
<weightp>1</weightp>
<tskip-fast>0</tskip-fast>
</video_codec_parameters>
</stream>
<stream>
<!-- stream params -->
</stream>
<!-- format params -->
</format>
</query>
{
"query": {
"userid": "[UserID]", // required
"userkey": "[UserKey]", // required
"action": "[Action]", // required
"source": "[SourceFile]", // required
"format": {
"output": "[mpeg_dash|mp4]", // required
"video_codec": "hevc",
"video_codec_parameters": {
"level": "[Level]",
"refresh": "1",
"rc-lookahead": "20",
"b-adapt": "2",
"bframes": "4",
"b-pyramid": "1",
"ref": "3",
"ctu": "64",
"tu-intra-depth": "1",
"tu-inter-depth": "1",
"me": "1",
"subme": "2",
"merange": "60",
"max-merge": "2",
"rect": "1",
"amp": "1",
"early-skip": "0",
"fast-cbf": "0",
"signhide": "1",
"lft": "1",
"tskip": "0",
"sao": "1",
"weightp": "1",
"tskip-fast": "0"
}
// format params
}
}
}
{
"query": {
"userid": "[UserID]", // required
"userkey": "[UserKey]", // required
"action": "[Action]", // required
"source": "[SourceFile]", // required
"format": {
"output": "[advanced_dash|fmp4_hls]", // required
"stream": [
{
"video_codec": "hevc",
"video_codec_parameters": {
"level": "[Level]",
"refresh": "1",
"rc-lookahead": "20",
"b-adapt": "2",
"bframes": "4",
"b-pyramid": "1",
"ref": "3",
"ctu": "64",
"tu-intra-depth": "1",
"tu-inter-depth": "1",
"me": "1",
"subme": "2",
"merange": "60",
"max-merge": "2",
"rect": "1",
"amp": "1",
"early-skip": "0",
"fast-cbf": "0",
"signhide": "1",
"lft": "1",
"tskip": "0",
"sao": "1",
"weightp": "1",
"tskip-fast": "0"
}
},
{
// stream params
}
]
}
}
}
| Parameter | Definition | Allowed Values | Default Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slice Descision Options | - | - | - |
| refresh | Specify the intra refresh type | 0 — none 1 — CDR 2 — IDR | 1 |
| rc-lookahead | Specify the number of frames for the frame-type lookahead. | An integer less than or equal to 250 and greater than the maximum consecutive bframes count. | 20 |
| b-adapt | Enable adaptive bframe scheduling. | 0 — none 1 — fast 2 — full (trellis) | 2 |
| bframes | Specify the number of consecutive b-frames. | Positive integer from 0 to 16. | 4 |
| b-pyramid | Enable the use b-frames as references. | 0 — Disabled 1 — Enabled | 1 |
| ref | Specify the max number of L0 references to be allowed. | Positive integer from 0 to 16. | 3 |
| weightp | Enable the weighted prediction in P slices. | 0 — Disabled 1 — Enabled | 1 |
| Quad-Tree Analisys Options | - | - | |
| ctu | Specify the maximum CU size (width and height). | 16,32,64 | 64 |
| tu-intra-depth | Specify the maximum TU recursive depth for intra CUs. | 1,2,3,4 | 1 |
| tu-inter-depth | Specify the maximum TU recursive depth for inter CUs. | 1,2,3,4 | 1 |
| Motion Search Options | - | - | - |
| me | Specify the motion search method. | 0 — dia 1 — hex 2 — umh 3 — star 4 — full | 1 |
| subme | Specify the amount of subpel refinement to perform. | Positive integer from 0 to 7 (0: least … 7: most) | 2 |
| merange | Specify the motion search range. | Integer from 0 to 32768 | 60 |
| max-merge | Specify the maximum number of merge candidates. | Positive integer from 1 to 5 | 2 |
| rect | Specify the number of rectangular motion partitions Nx2N and 2NxN | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 1 |
| amp | Specify the asymmetric motion partitions (requires rect enabled) | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 1 |
| early-skip | Enable early SKIP detection. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 0 |
| fast-cbf | Enable CBF fast mode. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 0 |
| Rate Control Options | - | - | - |
| rd | Specify level of rate distortion in mode decision. | 0 — Least 1 — Lightweight RDO Analysis | 0 |
| signhide | Hide the sign bit of one coeff per TU. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 1 |
| Loop Filter Options | - | - | - |
| lft | Enable the oop filter. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 1 |
| Intra Options | - | - | - |
| tskip | Enable intra transform skipping. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 0 |
| tskip-fast | Enable fast intra transform skipping | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 0 |
| Sample Adaptive Offset Loop Filter Options | - | - | |
| sao | Enable simple adaptive offset. | 0 — Disable 1 — Enable | 1 |
| General Options | - | - | - |
| level | Video Level | Positive integer number 10 – 1.0, 20 – 2.0, 21 – 2.1, 22 – 2.2, 30 – 3.0, 31 – 3.1, 32 – 3.2, 40 – 4.0, 41 – 4.1, 50 – 5.0, 51 – 5.1, 52 – 5.2, 60 – 6.0, 61 – 6.1, 62 – 6.2 | none |