Image quality and bitrate at SexLikeReal - what we've learned
The SLR devs have been looking at bitrate in great detail in an attempt to fully understand how this affects streaming and how we can improve it going forward. We’ve made some interesting discoveries that should lead to greater image quality in the future. Please note: this blog was originally published in March 2023, some details may have changed now.
What tests were done?
Our expert dev, Sandi, has taken the lead on this. He implemented a few different tests, including comparing still images, and comparing rendered videos where the bitrate switches during playback. To make it more applicable to the typical user, these tests were undertaken while watching on a headset (the Meta Quest 2 in this case), not using extreme cases, such as zoomed-in images on Photoshop.
What was discovered?
Two video types are offered:
Original file
Constant Bitrate file obtained from the camera footage for SLR Originals or the best quality provided by SLR content creators.
Max resolution
Variable Bitrate encoding with “the highest quality” algorithms setup, dynamically adjusting data rates to retain the best possible quality for the material while optimizing file size. Blind tests indicate no perceptible difference in quality between the two.
Rendered videos
Our team found it impossible to notice the point where the bitrate switches.
Still images
In instances where most of the frame consists of a background image, there were no major differences (other than some slightly different artifacts). However, in scenes with more action, there is a notable dip in quality.
What next?
We found there was room for improvement in some cases - such as the harem scenes where you have a full view of multiple women. From this, we are currently revising our transcoding practices, where instead of using very high quality with a limiter, we will try adapting the quality and let the variable bitrate go up as high as necessary when streaming (maxing at 45Mbits). We intend to do this only on the original (max) resolution of scenes, other resolutions will stay the same.
Please note, SLR is a streaming service first and foremost, so providing the very best streaming experience for our users is and will remain our primary focus.
Once we get the results of the revised transcoding, we will add headsets with a higher resolution. We will update this blog with the latest information and examples as we get them. If you'd like to join in the discussion, head over to our active forum to contribute.
