FFmpeg Hardware Encoding on a Windows 10

Installing FFmpeg: https://www.rickmakes.com/ffmpeg-notes/

Identifying your Processor: https://youtu.be/2T47fLcnp60

FFmpeg doc on Hardware Acceleration: https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/HWAccelIntro

Intel QuickSync Support Chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Quick_Sync_Video

Hardware Encoding with Default Bitrate (low quality)
ffmpeg.exe -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec h264_qsv train_hw_default264.mp4
Create a 5 Second Test Clip with Software Encoder
ffmpeg.exe -i train.mp4 -t 5 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec libx264 train_test.mp4
View Test Clip Specs to Determine Bitrate (ex. 6658 kb/s)
ffprobe.exe train_test.mp4
Encode with Hardware Encoder (fastest)
ffmpeg.exe -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec h264_qsv -b:v 6300k train_hw264.mp4
Encode with Software Encoder (slowest)
ffmpeg.exe -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec libx264 -b:v 6300k train_sw264.mp4

FFmpeg Hardware Encoding on a Mac

Installing FFmpeg: https://www.rickmakes.com/ffmpeg-notes/

Identifying your Processor: https://youtu.be/yJjnLe4HbCM

FFmpeg doc on Hardware Acceleration: https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/HWAccelIntro

Intel QuickSync Support Chart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Quick_Sync_Video

Mac Models by Processor Type: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Macintosh_models_grouped_by_CPU_type

Hardware Encoding with Default Bitrate (low quality)
ffmpeg -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec h264_videotoolbox train_hw_default264.mp4
Create a 5 Second Test Clip with Software Encoder
ffmpeg -i train.mp4 -t 5 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec libx264 train_test.mp4
View Test Clip Specs to Determine Bitrate (ex. 6658 kb/s)
ffprobe train_test.mp4
Encode with Hardware Encoder (fastest)
ffmpeg -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec h264_videotoolbox -b:v 6700k train_hw264.mp4
Encode with Software Encoder (slowest)
ffmpeg -i train.mp4 -vf scale=1920:1080 -acodec copy -vcodec libx264 -b:v 6700k train_sw264.mp4