Alternatives to Handbrake?

[Bsmooth]

I know its probably the easiest to use and its free, but are there any alternatives that don't heat up the CPU so much for regular x264 conversions ? Maybe an apple program even. Maybe I should ask If there are any paid versions of software. Just looking for alternatives as handbrake takes quite awhile and I'm trying to setup a second PC to do the work.

[Woodstock]

Anything that uses the CPU to its maximum will heat it up. And handbrake uses it at the maximum rate. So will any other encoder, unless it is using special encoding hardware (like QSV or the various similar hardware encoders). If you're not seeing handbrake use that hardware (if you have it), you can configure it to (usually).

[Bsmooth]

The closest though to X264 without artifacts is probably QSV though isn't it ? If QSV is the way to go next to X264, what are my best options for a CPU that would get me my best image?

[Woodstock]

QSV can crank up artifacts if you ask it to compress too much, but so can x264. I've got a QSV-capable machine, and it can really crank out the video, but... I don't use it much, except for testing. I'll put up with 80-90% slower speed for fewer artifacts. But, I also have my machine for encoding blowing a LOT of air through the cooling system.

It's a question of what appeals to the individual. I have my tastes, you have yours. The most important tastes are the ones who are viewing it.

The thing to remember is that, "it's the encoder". x264 is going to be the same quality with the same parameters whether you're using handbrake's version or the actual x264 app. QSV quality is going to be the same in handbrake as it is in any other app that uses it. Do YOU like how QSV encodes video X? That's all that counts.

To some extent, "it's the filters". Handbrake has some filters that can make a difference (good and bad) that it can apply regardless of the encoder. If you have a video that was originally interlaced, the de-interlacing filters (there are more than one) can help a lot. A raw QSV encoder wouldn't have those.