This is the sweet spot for x265. CRF 22 keeps 1080p movie file sizes around 1.5GB to 2.5GB. CRF 20 ensures 4K files retain sharp textures at reasonable bitrates.
Sample Adaptive Offset (SAO) is a filter designed to smooth artifacts. The problem? It also smooths away film grain, leaving faces looking like plastic. RARBG turned it off ( --no-sao ). They accepted a tiny increase in noise in exchange for keeping the cinematic texture of the film. Rarbg X265 Encoding Settings
Let’s break down why each of these lines matters. This is the sweet spot for x265