Encoding Discussion Megathread (ffmpeg, Handbrake, AV1, etc...)

[TheDreadPirate]

The only hard part here is the cropping of black bars. I both understand and don't why folks do this -- if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts?

On TVs and my computer monitors, it doesn't make a difference.  But most phones today have an aspect ratio around 21:9.  Including my Pixel 6a.  Leaving the black bars in results in the video not filling the screen if the movie is wider than 16:9.  Which is not ideal on an already small screen.  I stopped leaving black bars in my rips almost from the get go when I was still using Plex.  So I don't know if Jellyfin allows zoom to fill or something like that.

From an encoding efficiency standpoint, I know there is little to no gain from removing them.