Severe blocky artifacting using H.264 in Adobe Media Encoder

hi,
i'm testing different codecs use final output of edited game footage upload youtube, , although h.264 recommended codec sources i've researched, having issues codec introduces severe banding , blocky artifacting regardless of bitrate, level, or profile settings.

 

 

i use fraps in rgb lossless capture mode record game footage @ 1080p resolution @ 60fps, after transcode intermediary codec editing in premiere (i've chosen gopro cineform this). intermediary codec introduces no artifacting whatsoever. however, once encode either raw .avi fraps produces or intermediary cineform .mov h.264, artifacting shows up, , noticeable when video paused (particularly banding across sky , blockiness during high-motion or dimly lit scenes), , noticeable in motion. reiterate, none of present in intermediate render.

 

using h.264 codec, render on high profile @ level 5.2, typically set vbr 2-pass encoding target bitrate of 20mbps , maximum bitrate of 30mbps, far exceeding youtube's recommendations 1080p60fps video. however, setting target bitrate 40mbps , maximum bitrate 50mbps, artifacting still present.

 

is there i'm missing here? video quality unacceptable me , made worse youtube's encoding on top of that. i'm hesitant place h.264 culprit because of accepted video quality capabilities , widespread use, need either find wrong workflow introducing issue or find alternative codec give similar file sizes , quality h.264 touted have. insights might causing this?

More discussions in Adobe Media Encoder (AME)

adobe