• AnyStream is having some DRM issues currently, Netflix is not available in HD for the time being.
    Situations like this will always happen with AnyStream: streaming providers are continuously improving their countermeasures while we try to catch up, it's an ongoing cat-and-mouse game. Please be patient and don't flood our support or forum with requests, we are working on it 24/7 to get it resolved. Thank you.

Question about varying resulting file sizes

Andy Rotor

New Member
Thread Starter
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Messages
4
Likes
0
Does anyone know why the same video, with the same download parameters selected, can result in different output file sizes.

To test, I downloaded an episode of Marcella from Netflix...

downloading with infinite (unrestricted) download speed gave a file of size 784 MB (822,242,550 bytes)

downloading the same file again at 1x (realtime) speed gave a file size of 1.04 GB (1,123,493,410 bytes)


To repeat - all selections for the download (video res / audio tracks / subs etc) are selected identically.
 
Can you run mediainfo against both to see what the actual difference is? Did you save the logs for those downloads?
 
I didn't save the logs but, this is medio info of the first time I downloaded the file (unrestricted speed):


General

Format/String : MPEG-4
Format_Profile : Base Media / Version 2
CodecID/String : mp42 (mp42/iso6)
FileSize/String : 784 MiB
Duration/String : 45 min 22 s
OverallBitRate_Mode/String : Variable
OverallBitRate/String : 2 416 kb/s
Movie : Episode 2
Encoded_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
Tagged_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
Comment : Marcella is desperate to remember what happened at Grace's. Meanwhile, she sees patterns that convince her the killings are linked to her old case.

Video
ID/String : 1
Format/String : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format_Profile : High@L4
Format_Settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format_Settings_CABAC/String : Yes
Format_Settings_RefFrames/String : 4 frames
CodecID : avc1
CodecID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration/String : 45 min 22 s
Source_Duration/String : 2 min 25 s
BitRate_Mode/String : Variable
BitRate/String : 1 772 kb/s
BitRate_Maximum/String : 20.0 Mb/s
Width/String : 1 920 pixels
Height/String : 1 080 pixels
DisplayAspectRatio/String : 16:9
FrameRate_Mode/String : Constant
FrameRate/String : 25.000 FPS
ColorSpace : YUV
ChromaSubsampling/String : 4:2:0
BitDepth/String : 8 bits
ScanType/String : Progressive
Bits-(Pixel*Frame) : 0.034
StreamSize/String : 575 MiB (73%)
Source_StreamSize/String : 575 MiB (73%)
Encoded_Library/String : x264 core 148 r2715 7e75228
Encoded_Library_Settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x111 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=120 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=16 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=126 / scenecut=0 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=250 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.50 / qpmin=6 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=25000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80
Encoded_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
Tagged_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
mdhd_Duration : 2722320
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID/String : 2
Format/String : E-AC-3
Format/Info : Enhanced AC-3
Format_Commercial_IfAny : Dolby Digital Plus
CodecID : ec-3
Duration/String : 45 min 22 s
BitRate_Mode/String : Constant
BitRate/String : 640 kb/s
Channel(s)/String : 6 channels
ChannelLayout : L R C LFE Ls Rs
SamplingRate/String : 48.0 kHz
FrameRate/String : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
BitDepth/String : 16 bits
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
StreamSize/String : 208 MiB (26%)
Language/String : English
ServiceKind/String : Complete Main
Encoded_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
Tagged_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34

Text
ID/String : 3
Format/String : Timed Text
MuxingMode : sbtl
CodecID : tx3g
Duration/String : 1 min 33 s
Source_Duration/String : 44 min 30 s
BitRate_Mode/String : Variable
BitRate/String : 13 b/s
StreamSize/String : 151 Bytes (0%)
Source_StreamSize/String : 20.3 KiB (0%)
Title : English / English
Language/String : English
Forced/String : No
Encoded_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
Tagged_Date : UTC 2021-04-03 22:46:34
 
Second time downloaded (at real-time / 1x speed) media info:


General

Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (mp42/iso6)
File size : 1.05 GiB
Duration : 45 min 22 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 3 301 kb/s
Movie name : Episode 2
Encoded date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
Tagged date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
Comment : Marcella is desperate to remember what happened at Grace's. Meanwhile, she sees patterns that convince her the killings are linked to her old case.

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, RefFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 45 min 22 s
Source duration : 2 min 25 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 2 657 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.051
Stream size : 862 MiB (80%)
Source stream size : 862 MiB (80%)
Writing library : x264 core 148 r2715 7e75228
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x111 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=120 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=8 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=16 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=126 / scenecut=0 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=250 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=16.0 / qcomp=0.50 / qpmin=6 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=25000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80
Encoded date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
Tagged date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
mdhd_Duration : 2722320
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : E-AC-3
Format/Info : Enhanced AC-3
Commercial name : Dolby Digital Plus
Codec ID : ec-3
Duration : 45 min 22 s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 208 MiB (19%)
Language : English
Service kind : Complete Main
Encoded date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
Tagged date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09

Text
ID : 3
Format : Timed Text
Muxing mode : sbtl
Codec ID : tx3g
Duration : 1 min 33 s
Source duration : 44 min 30 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 13 b/s
Stream size : 151 Bytes (0%)
Source stream size : 20.3 KiB (0%)
Title : English / English
Language : English
Forced : No
Encoded date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
Tagged date : UTC 2021-04-04 12:36:09
 
Ah, okay - so one comes up as crf=20.0, and the other comes up as crf=16.0

why would there be any difference between the two downloads if they were really 'downloads' of the same source file and not being re-encoded at some stage by the AS app?
 
Ah, okay - so one comes up as crf=20.0, and the other comes up as crf=16.0

why would there be any difference between the two downloads if they were really 'downloads' of the same source file and not being re-encoded at some stage by the AS app?

No, AS doesn't do any transcoding, and barring one thing, I can't think of a reason why this should reasonably happen, it's something that the dev would look at (of course logs would've helped enormously). Quite possibly it's related to this bug: https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/as-...te-of-1080p-movie-on-nf-details-inside.80719/
 
Ah, okay - so one comes up as crf=20.0, and the other comes up as crf=16.0

why would there be any difference between the two downloads if they were really 'downloads' of the same source file and not being re-encoded at some stage by the AS app?

So I went off and tried to replicate what you did, and had no luck with 1.1.0.1---I got the inferior ABR 1772 kbps/crf 20 version regardless of real-time or unlimited speed, but using the verboten version, I got the ABR 2657 kbps/crf 16 version. I doubt this is intentional...
 

Attachments

  • AnyStream_1.0.9.1.m.astlog
    124 KB · Views: 1
  • AnyStream_1.1.0.1.m.astlog
    620.5 KB · Views: 0
Appears to be fixed in 1.1.0.2, just retried the same epi
I'm using the new 1102 right now and have done some testing.

1.Travelers S01E02 still has low bitrate (looks pixelated). 1 802 kb/s .. 1920x1080 .. 816 MiB. When watching the episode on the Netflix-app on my Shield/AppleTV the picture is much better.
2. When trying to download the movie "2 Guns" the resolution 1920x1080 isn't available (max 960x540)

Can someone please do a test for me and check what results you get? Your help would be appreciated!
Thank you.
 
Sure, thank you!

So for 2 Guns, I get 1080p@6647 kbps in Edge (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+D), and with AS I get:
Code:
00:00:27.507 - [Debug] [download config netflix] Video: 1920x1080, bitrate: 6647000

The actual file:
Code:
Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 1 h 49 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 6 642 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 20.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels

For travellers s1 e2, in Edge I get 1080p@1815 kbps, with AS:
Code:
00:42:57.580 - [Debug] [download config netflix] Video: 1920x1080, bitrate: 1815000

and the actual file
Code:
Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 46 min 36 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 802 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 20.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels

Travellers looks consistent with what you can reasonably "squeeze out," where did you notice pixelation? But could it be the OCA/ISP that's serving you that is playing up with 2 Guns?
 
So for 2 Guns, I get 1080p@6647 kbps in Edge (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+D), and with AS I get:
Code:
00:00:27.507 - [Debug] [download config netflix] Video: 1920x1080, bitrate: 6647000

The actual file:
Code:
Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 1 h 49 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 6 642 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 20.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels

For travellers s1 e2, in Edge I get 1080p@1815 kbps, with AS:
Code:
00:42:57.580 - [Debug] [download config netflix] Video: 1920x1080, bitrate: 1815000

and the actual file
Code:
Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 46 min 36 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 1 802 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 20.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels

Travellers looks consistent with what you can reasonably "squeeze out," where did you notice pixelation? But could it be the OCA/ISP that's serving you that is playing up with 2 Guns?

Thank you for checking! After seeing your Travelers result I still think it's strange that the even numbered episodes (2,4,6 etc.) have about half the bitrate in comparison to the odd-numbered episodes (1,3 etc.)

With regards to the 960x540 resolution: I live in the Netherlands with Gigabit connection and have a 4k Netflix account,so that shouldn't be the problem. Also in EDGE browser I get the 1080p resolution.
Since yesterday there are a lot of shows & movies that offer me 540p as maximum resolution (I tried all the Anystream versions). I don't know what's going on, very weird and frustrating. Do I need to open a new thread for that?
 
Yup, you'd probably better start a new thread for that as not getting resolution that's normally available in Edge is an entirely different issue...
 
Shall do!

Any thoughts about the huge difference in bitrate in the even and odd episode numbers?
 
Shall do!

Any thoughts about the huge difference in bitrate in the even and odd episode numbers?

It could be a hangover from COVID-related down throttling, PTEO [1], or just a cock-up; I suppose the first and the last could be resolved by writing to customer service and saying the episodes look crap on 32" display, for example...

Code:
1. https://netflixtechblog.com/per-title-encode-optimization-7e99442b62a2
 
Back
Top