RIP RARBG. You taught us that smaller doesn't have to mean worse. Now we know how to do it better.
To surpass them, you should move away from their fixed-bitrate approach and embrace a workflow that preserves more detail while keeping the "small footprint" spirit alive. ⚙️ The "Better than RARBG" Encoding Blueprint rarbg x265 encoding settings better
For those looking to replicate RARBG quality today, the standard rule remains: use a slower preset, a balanced CRF (around 20), and always encode from the highest quality source available. RIP RARBG
If you encode Anime (where RARBG often failed with banding in skies): Add these parameters: -x265-params "crf=21:profile=main10:no-sao=1:aq-mode=4:qg-size=8:psy-rd=1.5" a balanced CRF (around 20)
The secret sauce of RARBG’s quality was likely their adherence to a strict methodology, often referred to as Quality-Based Encoding.