What Does the Encoding Preset (medium/faster) Control?
Preset controls how much computation the encoder is willing to spend searching for a more efficient way to compress. It doesn't directly set quality, but it indirectly affects both the final file size and processing time at a given CRF.
Preset and CRF control two different things
CRF sets the quality target — a lower number means better quality and a larger file. Preset controls how much time the encoder spends searching for a more efficient way to hit that CRF target — a slower preset tries more encoding strategy combinations and usually produces a smaller file at the same CRF, at the cost of more processing time.
| Preset | Encoding speed | File size at the same CRF |
|---|---|---|
| faster | Fast | Slightly larger |
| medium | Moderate | Smaller |
| slow and beyond | Slow | Smallest, but noticeably more processing time |
Why the high-quality preset uses a slower setting
The high-quality tier aims to keep file size in check even at a lower CRF (higher quality), so it pairs with the somewhat slower medium preset, trading extra computation for better compression efficiency. The balanced and max-compression tiers prioritize processing speed with faster, making up the size difference through the CRF value itself.
When this parameter actually matters to you
Everyday use just needs the preset tiers as they are — no manual understanding or adjustment required. If you notice a big difference in processing speed between tiers at similar CRF values, or wonder why high quality processes slower than balanced, this is the explanation.
- If unsure which tier to use, start with balanced and adjust based on the actual size and quality result.
- For time-sensitive batch work, favor the tier that uses the faster preset.
References
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